It is said that Harald Blátönn (blue tooth) went to Norway with a fleet of 700 (840) ships. “Then King Harald summoned a host from his entire kingdom. Hákon jarl was with him, and Harald Grænski, son of Gudraud Björnsson, and many other powerful men, who had fled from their estates in Norway on account of Gunnhild’s sons. “The King of Denmark sailed from the south into Vikin with 700 ships,[148] and there all the inhabitants came under his rule; and when he reached Túnsberg, large numbers gathered to him. “King Harald gave to Hákon jarl all the men who had come to him in Norway; and made him ruler over the seven fylkis of Rogaland, Hördaland, Sogn, Firdafylki, Sunnmœri, Raumsdal, Nordmœri”[149] (Olaf Tryggvason, c. 24, 2 Fms. I.). Knut the Great had gathered a fleet of 1,200 vessels[150] for an attack on Norway. “King Knut called to mind many things with which he charged King Olaf, as follows: That he captured his nephew Hakon, and let him take oath to him, and then seized the kingdom and drove him from the land; that he also took possession of the land which for a long time had been tributary to the Danish kings; that he had ravaged in the country of King Knut. So he went east from England with a great host to Denmark, reached the Limafjord, and thence sailed to Norway with 1,440 ships, for he had raised a general levy both in Denmark and England. Arriving at Agdir, he proceeded northward along the coast, and held meetings with the bœndr; he was acknowledged as king wherever he went, and he did not stop until he came to Nidaros”[151] (Fagrskinna, c. 104).[152] When fleets went on distant expeditions, special vessels called _vistabyrding_ (provision ships) followed them. Butter, the hard bread still used, dry, smoked, or salted meat, formed the stock of eatables, and there are many instances where ale and beer are mentioned. From the Eddas and Sagas we gain an insight into their mode of warfare at sea. The accounts given of some of their combats are so vivid and precise, that we could almost imagine ourselves to be eye-witnesses of those terrific and bloody conflicts which, even to this day, stand unparalleled in the annals of maritime warfare for the length of their duration, the fierceness and obstinacy of the attack or defence, the number of ships or men engaged, and the carnage that took place. For centuries these people remained undisputed masters of the sea. In their case, as in that of the ruling nations of to-day, it was their navy that enabled them to conquer, settle, and colonize other lands. If we call these men pirates, we must also apply the name to the English, French, Spaniards, Dutch, &c., because they have taken possession of countries against the will of the inhabitants, just as in the United States the land of the Indians has been gradually taken away from them. Civilisation was aggressive in ancient times, as it is to-day. ----- Footnote 147: See p. 437. Footnote 148: Heimskringla says 600 ships.