When the Crusaders took Constantinople in 1204, the Belgians sent many relics home (these are reckoned up in D’Outremann, ‘Constantinopolis Belgica’); among them this dragon was sent to Bruges. In 1382, Bruges was taken and plundered by the men of Ghent, and the dragon as a trophy was put on the top of the belfry in Ghent, where it still is. In Sigurd Jorsalafari’s Saga (Heimskringla), ch. 14, and Fornmanna Sögur, vii. 98, we read that Sigurd put the gilded dragon-heads of his ship on Peter’s Church (a part of Sophia Church, in Constantinople) (‘Recueil des chroniques de Flandre 1837–41,’ vol. i.; Schiern, ‘Nyere historiske Studier,’ i. 1875). Footnote 138: The Bayeux tapestry corroborates the truthfulness of this, and shows that designs were either painted or embroidered upon them. Footnote 139: Grandson of the great Hakon. Footnote 140: An ornament used on the prow of ships and main doors of houses—a sort of weathercock, which was often adorned with gold. Footnote 141: Saturday. Footnote 142: See battle of Svold, p. 188. Footnote 143: Cf. also Egil’s Saga, c. 55, 72; St. Olaf, 148; Fagrskinna, 42. Footnote 144: Phosphorescent, looking like fire at night. Footnote 145: That is, swells as high as a mound. Footnote 146: The sea is compared to snow lying in heaps or drifts. CHAPTER X. THE FLEETS OF THE NORTHMEN. Maritime power of the North—Their huge fleets—Good harbours—Strategical skill—Size of some of their fleets—Fleets accompanied by provision ships. Nothing can give us a greater insight into the maritime power of the North than the accounts we read, here and there in the Sagas, of the fleets gathered together for the purpose of war and invasion. The number of the vessels is quite remarkable, but seeing that the finds corroborate so much that is told us in the Sagas, there is no reason to doubt the truthfulness of their statements as regards the magnitude of the fleets, and the vessels were far from being as small as have been imagined. From the Sagas we learn that the aim of every chief was to be powerful at sea; every bondi was owner of one or more craft. They were born seamen, but were also trained to fight on land. They surrounded themselves with warlike retainers, and with these made distant expeditions to win honour and booty. These men were also soldiers, and good horsemen. As we see that in every great land battle the warriors came from all parts of the Northern lands, it must be concluded that the same took place in regard to their invasions of foreign countries. Only in a very few instances have we accounts of the Norsemen being defeated at sea by the fleets of the countries they attacked; even in these rare instances their combats took place with a very small number of vessels compared with the powerful fleets of their enemies, who were either Frisians or their own people who had settled in England.