“No man is allowed to give away an inheritance; a fraudulent bargain shall be reckoned as no bargain. The father who adopts his own son shall step into the shoe, and then his full-grown son. That is a full adoption. If there is no son the one who consents to the adoption shall step into the shoe. Then he who consents to his ódal rights shall step into the shoe. He shall say this: ‘I lead this man to the property which I give him, to payment and gift, to seat and settle, to indemnities and rings, and to all _rétt_ as if his mother had been bought with mund” (Earlier Gulathings Law, c. 58). The father[85] had then to declare that he led the adopted son into the share of the inheritance which he gave him, and with the same rights as if his mother had been law fully wed. Those present had to bear witness to this leading into the family, as also to the use of the shoe, by means of which it had been done. The Gulathings Law required the adopted to publicly announce his adoption at the _Thing_ every twenty years, until he stepped into his inheritance. “A man shall announce publicly his adoption every twenty winters until he gets his inheritance, which shall thereafter be his witness” (Gulath., 58). “A woman could adopt as well as a man, but she could not adopt her illegitimate son, nor a man his illegitimate daughter. “A man must never lead a woman into his family (adopt her), nor a woman a man” (Frostathings Law, ix. 21). To an illegitimate son a father could not give more than a certain amount without the consent of his heir. “Höskuld Dala-Kollsson fell sick in his old age. He sent for his sons, and other friends and kinsmen; when they came he said to the brothers Bard and Thorleik: ‘I am now ill, but I have been a man not apt to be taken ill. My third son is not legitimately born, and I ask you, his brothers, to let Olaf inherit a third of my property, and you the two other thirds.’ Bard answered first, and said he would do as his father wanted. ‘I believe Olaf will do us credit in every respect, and the more so the richer he is.’ Thorleik answered: ‘I do not want Olaf to be made legitimate heir; he has already more than enough property; thou, father, hast given him many things, and for a long time hast shared very unequally between us brothers; I am not willing to give up the honour to which I am born.’ Höskuld replied: ‘You will not object if I give my son three mörk[86] (of gold), since he is so high-born on his mother’s side.’ To this Thorleik consented. Then Höskuld took the gold ring that Hakon jarl had given him, which weighed two mörk, and the sword which was the gift of the king, on which was a mörk of gold” (Laxdæla, ch. 26).