and slinging of pebbles, were harassing and annoying, but seldom
sufficiently important to affect the result of the main engagement.

Men ride to battle, but fight on foot; occasionally an aged king is
car-borne to the fray, and once the car, whether by Saxo's adorning
hand, or by tradition, is scythe-armed.

The gathered host is numbered, once, where, as with Xerxes, counting was
too difficult, by making each man as he passed put a pebble in a pile
(which piles survive to mark the huge size of Frode's army). This is,
of course, a folktale, explaining the pebble-hills and illustrating the
belief in Frode's power; but armies were mustered by such expedients of
old. Burton tells of an African army each man of whom presented an egg,
as a token of his presence and a means of taking the number of the host.

We hear of men marching in light order without even scabbards, and
getting over the ice in socks.

The war equipment and habits of the Irish, light armoured, clipped at
back of head, hurling the javelin backwards in their feigned flight; of
the Slavs, small blue targets and long swords; of the Finns, with their
darts and skees, are given.

Watches are kept, and it is noted that "uht", the early watch
after midnight, is the worst to be attacked in (the duke's
two-o'clock-in-the-morning courage being needed, and the darkness and
cold helping the enemy).

Spies were, of course, slain if discovered. But we have instances of
kings and heroes getting into foeman's camps in disguise (cf. stories of