In addition to the greater gods various supernatural powers were recognised by the Scandinavians as having influence for good or evil upon human fortunes, and to some extent at least worship was paid to these. This is clearest in the case of the _dísir_, female guardian spirits of individuals or families, to whom formal sacrifice was made under the name of _dísablót_. It is less certain that the belief in the _nornir_, or Fates, usually thought of as three sisters, can properly be regarded as belonging to religion, though its influence was evidently a powerful one. A belief in the _valkyrjur_, or war-maidens, who were present at battles and sometimes appeared to the combatants, naturally connects itself with the cult of Odin, but here also the evidence for a religious feeling accompanying the belief is lacking. It is not quite clear what place is to be assigned to the _landvættir_, who were supposed to watch over and protect various parts of the country, and whose presence and favour were reckoned to be of so much importance, that the old heathen law of Iceland (framed about 930) began with a provision relating to them. It enacted that 'men should not have ships with heads on them, or if they did, they should take them off before they came in sight of land, and not approach the shore with gaping heads or yawning snouts by which the _landvættir_ might be scared.' When Egil was incensed against King Eirík of Norway, he set up a _níðstöng_, or insulting post, and declared that he directed it not only against the king and queen, but also against 'those _landvættir_ who inhabit this land, that they may all go astray and none of them find his home, until they drive Eirík and Gunnhild out of the country.' Of the son of a settler in the south-west of Iceland it is said that second-sighted men saw the _landvættir_ accompany him when he went to the assembly, while they followed his brothers in hunting or fishing. The _landvættir_ were also credited with having appeared to a wizard whom the Danish king sent to Iceland about 980, and with having prevented him from landing on its shores. In view of all this, it is extremely probable that these supposed beings may have been actually worshipped, but of this there is no positive evidence.