to the bay.

King Haldor and his companions at once ran their ships on the beach near
the mouth of the river, and, landing, drew them up, intending to fight
on shore. Skarpedin did not try to prevent this, for he was a bold man,
and thought that with so large a force he could well manage to beat the
Northmen, if they would fight on level ground. He therefore drew up his
men in order of battle at one end of the plain, and Haldor the Fierce,
to whom was assigned the chief command, drew up the Northmen at the
other end. Erling joined them with his band, and then it was seen that
the two armies were not equal--that of the Northmen being a little
smaller than the other.

Then Haldor said, "Let us draw up in a long line that they may not turn
our flanks, as they have most men."

This was done, and Haldor advanced into the plain and set up his banner.
The Danes in like manner advanced and planted their banner, and both
armies rushed to the attack, which was very sharp and bloody. Wherever
the battle raged most fiercely there King Haldor and Erling were seen,
for they were taller by half a head than most other men. Being clothed
alike in almost every respect, they looked more like brothers than
father and son. Each wore a gilt helmet, and carried a long shield, the
centre of which was painted white, but round the edge was a rim of
burnished steel. Each had a sword by his side, and carried a javelin to
throw, but both depended chiefly on their favourite weapon, the
battle-axe, for, being unusually strong, they knew that few men could
withstand the weight of a blow from that. The defensive armour of
father and son was also the same--a shirt of leather, sewed all over
with small steel rings. Their legs were clothed in armour of the same
kind, and a mantle of cloth hung from the shoulders of each.

Most of the chief men on both sides were armed in a similar way, though
not quite so richly, and with various modifications; for instance, the
helmet of Thorvold was of plain steel, and for ornament had the tail of
the ptarmigan as its crest. Skarpedin's, on the other hand, was quite
plain, but partly gilded; his armour was of pieces of steel like fish
scales sewed on a leathern shirt, and over his shoulders he wore as a
mantle the skin of a wolf. His chief weapon was a bill--a sort of hook
or short scythe fixed to a pole, and it was very deadly in his hands.
Most of the carles and thralls were content to wear thick shirts