The Land Defence section concerns military preparedness, mobilization, warships, equipment, and armament. Much was based on the older provincial laws, but the Laws of the Land established common rules for the entire kingdom. The levy is the most important theme in this section – the naval defence system that, according to the saga writer Snorri Sturluson, was introduced by King Håkon the Good in the mid-10th century. The levy scheme divided the counties into “war-ship districts” – areas obligated to provide a certain number of men and ships for the defence of the land. King Magnus the Lawmender’s testament of 1277 enumerates 279 “warship districts”. Theoretically, a fleet of over 300 longships and around 30,000 men could be mustered, although such a massive levy was never assembled. While this was an impressive military force, even by European standards, the levy force was nevertheless a people’s army, consisting mainly of peasants. They could not compare to the soldiers in the king’s guard or the warrior retinues associated with powerful men of the elite. Toward the end of the Middle Ages, the levy force was outmatched by continental ship types, mercenaries, and firearms.
