'common army' (lesser men who owed service to their king), the feudal host (greater men who owed military service for their lands), and also paid troops. The evidence suggests that the main Scottish force arrived from the south, rather than from the east or the north. For example, Alexander III is recorded to have been south at Ayr in September, and the power centre of Alexander of Dundonald, Steward of Scotland (d. 1282), who is thought to have commanded the Scottish forces at the battle, was also located to the south. Furthermore, at the time of the battle, the Sheriff of Ayr was probably a member of the steward's family—probably his younger brother, the Earl of Menteith. If the Scots had indeed arrived from the south, then they would have also assembled at a muster site to the south, possibly somewhere near Ayr. The saga indicates that the Norwegians were divided into two groups. The smaller force, numbered at 200 men, was stationed on a mound, somewhat inland from the beach, under the command of Norwegian nobleman Ogmund Crouchdance. The main Norwegian force, numbered at about 700 to 800 men (including Haakon himself), was stationed on the beach below. These two detachments were likely only a fraction of the total number of forces at Haakon's disposal. The numbers that the saga allots to either side may be exaggerated. A more likely number may be only about one hundred or several hundred men per side with the number of knights present may have been closer to 50 than the saga's 500. The forces which Haakon had mustered in Norway formed part of his realm's leidang, a naval levy in which districts contributed men, ships, and provisions for military service. As the Scots advanced towards the Norwegians, the saga indicates that Ogmund withdrew his troops from the mound to avoid being cut off from his comrades on the beach below. If the Scots had indeed marched northwards, their advance would have threatened to drive a wedge between the Norwegians on the mound and those on beach. Once the Scottish vanguard came into contact with Ogmund's men, the saga indicates that his orderly withdrawal disintegrated into a chaotic scramble. On the beach below, Haakon followed the advice of his men and retired to the safety of his ships. To the men on the beach, the rapid descent of Ogmund's men towards them looked