vårdkase

Swedish

Compound of vård (“protection”) +‎ kase (“pyre, bonfire”). According to SO attested since 1656.

vårdkase c

A beacon; bonfire used for signaling; specifically about incoming land or sea invasions
Synonyms: vårdböte, vårdeld, vårdrör
- 1894, Hedda Anderson, Norska konungasagor‎^[1], page 33:
  Öfverallt i landet skulle på fjällen uppresas vårdkasar på ett visst afstånd från hvarandra. Där fienden först upptäcktes, skulle närmaste vårdkase antändas. När elden därifrån syntes till en annan vårdkase, skulle denna tändas, och så alltfort, tills alla vårdkasarna hade utvisat, att fienden var kommen. På detta sätt kunde underrättelsen om fiendens inbrytande på sju dagar spridas öfver hela Norge.
  All over the country, beacons would be erected on the fells at a certain distance from each other. Where the enemy was first discovered, the nearest beacon would be ignited. When the fire from there was visible to another beacon, this would be lit, and so on, until all the beacons had shown that the enemy had come. In this way, the information about the enemy's invasion could be spread over the whole of Norway in seven days.

Declension of vårdkase