| PAGE | ||
| NORTHERN LITERATURE IN THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY | [1] | |
| THE SPECULUM REGALE, OR KING’S MIRROR; SOURCES | [6] | |
| SCIENTIFIC LORE AND THE BELIEF IN MARVELS | [11] | |
| COURTESY AND THE KING’S HOUSEHOLD | [26] | |
| THE THEORY OF THE DIVINE RIGHT OF NORWEGIAN KINGSHIP | [33] | |
| ETHICAL AND THEOLOGICAL IDEAS OF THE WORK | [49] | |
| MODERN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE KING’S MIRROR | [53] | |
| THE PROBLEM OF AUTHORSHIP | [54] | |
| DATE AND PLACE OF COMPOSITION | [59] | |
| EDITIONS OF THE KING’S MIRROR | [65] |
THE KING’S MIRROR
| I. | INTRODUCTION: NAME AND PURPOSE OF THE WORK | [72] |
| II. | “THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM” | [76] |
| III. | THE ACTIVITIES AND HABITS OF A MERCHANT | [79] |
| IV. | THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED | [81] |
| V. | THE SUN AND THE WINDS | [86] |
| VI. | THE TIDES AND THE CHANGES IN THE COURSE OF THE SUN | [92] |
| VII. | THE SUBJECT OF THE SUN’S COURSE CONTINUED | [95] |
| VIII. | THE MARVELS OF NORWAY | [99] |
| IX. | POPULAR DOUBT AS TO THE GENUINENESS OF MARVELS | [102] |
| X. | THE NATURAL WONDERS OF IRELAND | [105] |
| XI. | IRISH MARVELS WHICH HAVE MIRACULOUS ORIGINS | [111] |
| XII. | THE MARVELS OF THE ICELANDIC SEAS: WHALES; THE KRAKEN | [119] |
| XIII. | THE WONDERS OF ICELAND | [126] |
| XIV. | THE VOLCANIC FIRES OF ICELAND | [130] |
| XV. | OTHER ICELANDIC WONDERS: ORE AND MINERAL SPRINGS | [133] |
| XVI. | THE MARVELS OF THE WATERS ABOUT GREENLAND: MONSTERS, SEALS, AND WALRUSES | [135] |
| XVII. | THE ANIMAL LIFE OF GREENLAND AND THE CHARACTER OF THE LAND IN THOSE REGIONS | [141] |
| XVIII. | THE PRODUCTS OF GREENLAND | [144] |
| XIX. | THE CLIMATE OF GREENLAND; THE NORTHERN LIGHTS | [145] |
| XX. | THE SUBJECT OF THE NORTHERN LIGHTS CONTINUED | [151] |
| XXI. | THE ZONES OF HEAT AND COLD | [153] |
| XXII. | THE WINDS WITH RESPECT TO NAVIGATION | [156] |
| XXIII. | THE PROPER SEASON FOR NAVIGATION. END OF THE FIRST PART | [161] |
| XXIV. | INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND PART: THE KING AND HIS COURT | [162] |
| XXV. | THE IMPORTANCE OF COURTESY IN THE ROYAL SERVICE | [165] |
| XXVI. | THE ADVANTAGES DERIVED FROM SERVICE IN THE KING’S HOUSEHOLD | [167] |
| XXVII. | THE VARIOUS CLASSES AMONG THE KINGSMEN | [170] |
| XXVIII. | THE HONORED POSITION OF THE KINGSMEN | [173] |
| XXIX. | THE SUPERIOR ORDER OF KINGSMEN: THE HIRD | [175] |
| XXX. | HOW A MAN WHO WISHES TO APPLY FOR ADMISSION TO THE ROYAL HOUSEHOLD SERVICE SHOULD APPROACH THE KING | [179] |
| XXXI. | WHY ONE SHOULD NOT WEAR A MANTLE IN THE ROYAL PRESENCE | [184] |
| XXXII. | RULES OF SPEECH AND CONVERSATION IN THE KING’S HALL | [186] |
| XXXIII. | THE PROPER USES OF “YOU” AND “THOU” | [188] |
| XXXIV. | THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED | [189] |
| XXXV. | CONCERNING FAILURE OF CROPS AND DEARTH IN MORALS AND GOVERNMENT | [193] |
| XXXVI. | THE CAUSES OF SUCH PERIODS OF DEARTH AND WHAT FORMS THE DEARTH MAY TAKE | [195] |
| XXXVII. | THE DUTIES, ACTIVITIES, AND AMUSEMENTS OF THE ROYAL GUARDSMEN | [203] |
| XXXVIII. | WEAPONS FOR OFFENSE AND DEFENSE | [217] |
| XXXIX. | MILITARY ENGINES | [220] |
| XL. | THE PROPER MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF A ROYAL COURT | [226] |
| XLI. | THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED | [231] |
| XLII. | A DISCUSSION OF HOW GOD REWARDS RIGHTEOUSNESS, HUMILITY, AND FIDELITY, ILLUSTRATED BY EXAMPLES DRAWN FROM SACRED AND PROFANE HISTORY | [234] |
| XLIII. | THE DUTIES AND THE EXALTED POSITION OF THE KING | [245] |
| XLIV. | THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED | [248] |
| XLV. | CONCERNING THE MODERATION WHICH A KING MUST OBSERVE IN HIS JUDICIAL SENTENCES AND PENALTIES, WITH ILLUSTRATIONS DRAWN FROM THE STORY OF GOD’S JUDGMENT IN THE CASE OF ADAM AND EVE, IN WHICH CASE TRUTH AND JUSTICE WERE ASSOCIATED WITH PEACE AND MERCY | [251] |
| XLVI. | AN EXAMPLE OF RIGHTEOUS SEVERITY IN JUDGMENT DRAWN FROM THE STORY OF GOD’S CONDEMNATION OF LUCIFER | [258] |
| XLVII. | A FURTHER DISCUSSION OF VERDICTS AND PENALTIES WITH ILLUSTRATIONS FROM THE STORY OF LUCIFER’S REBELLION AND DOWNFALL AND OF THE SIN AND PUNISHMENT OF THE FIRST MAN AND WOMAN | [260] |
| XLVIII. | A COMMENTARY ON THE STORY OF LUCIFER | [272] |
| XLIX. | INSTANCES IN WHICH GOD HAS ALLOWED THE DECISION TO BE FRAMED ACCORDING TO THE STERN DEMANDS OF TRUTH AND JUSTICE | [277] |
| L. | OTHER INSTANCES IN WHICH THE ARGUMENTS OF PEACE AND MERCY HAVE HAD GREATER WEIGHT | [279] |
| LI. | THE REASONS FOR THIS DIVERSITY IN THE VERDICTS OF GOD | [283] |
| LII. | THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED | [284] |
| LIII. | INSTANCES IN WHICH GOD HAS MODIFIED HIS SENTENCES AND THE REASONS FOR SUCH MODIFICATIONS | [285] |
| LIV. | THE KING’S PRAYER | [290] |
| LV. | A FURTHER DISCUSSION OF THE KING’S BUSINESS ESPECIALLY HIS JUDICIAL DUTIES | [297] |
| LVI. | THE SPEECH OF WISDOM | [299] |
| LVII. | DIFFICULT DUTIES OF THE KING’S JUDICIAL OFFICE WITH ILLUSTRATIONS | [304] |
| LVIII. | THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED | [309] |
| LIX. | WHEN JUDGMENTS SHOULD BE SEVERE AND WHEN THEY SHOULD BE MERCIFUL | [313] |
| LX. | THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED | [316] |
| LXI. | CONCERNING CAPITAL PUNISHMENT | [318] |
| LXII. | THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED | [320] |
| LXIII. | THE JUDGMENTS OF GOD ILLUSTRATED BY THE STORY OF DAVID AND SAUL | [321] |
| LXIV. | ILLUSTRATIONS FROM THE JUDGMENTS OF SOLOMON | [339] |
| LXV. | SOLOMON’S DECISION IN THE CASE OF SHIMEI | [341] |
| LXVI. | SOLOMON’S JUDGMENT IN THE CASE OF ADONIJAH AND HIS FOLLOWERS | [344] |
| LXVII. | WHY SOLOMON BROKE HIS PROMISE OF PEACE AND SECURITY TO JOAB | [353] |
| LXVIII. | A DISCUSSION OF PROMISES: WHEN THEY MUST BE KEPT AND WHEN THEY SHOULD BE WITHDRAWN | [355] |
| LXIX. | CONCERNING THE KINGSHIP AND THE CHURCH AND THE KING’S RESPONSIBILITY TO GOD | [357] |
| LXX. | THE AUTHORITY OF KINGS AND BISHOPS. END OF THE SECOND PART | [363] |
| BIBLIOGRAPHY | [369] | |
| INDEX | [375] | |
| FOOTNOTES | [403] |
THE KING’S MIRROR
INTRODUCTION
The place of the thirteenth century in the history of human achievement is a subject upon which scholars have not yet come to a general agreement. There can be no doubt that it was, on the whole, an age of progress in many fields; but there is much in its history that points to stagnation, if not to actual decline. From a superficial study of its annals one might be led to class it with the lesser centuries; most writers are inclined to rank it lower than the fourteenth century, and perhaps not even so high as the twelfth. It was in this period that the crusading movement finally flickered out and the Christian world was compelled to leave the cradle of the holy faith in the hands of the infidel. In the thirteenth century, too, the medieval empire sank into hopeless inefficiency and all but expired. The papacy, which more than any other power was responsible for the ruin of the imperial ambitions, also went into decline. Whether the loss in authority and prestige on the part of the holy see was compensated by a renewed spiritual energy in the church at large may well be doubted: what evidence we have would indicate that the religion of the masses was gross and materialistic, that ethical standards were low, and that the improvement in clerical morals, which the church had hoped would follow the enforcement of celibacy, had failed to appear.
Yet the thirteenth century also had its attractive figures and its important movements. The old social order was indeed crumbling, but in its place appeared two new forces which were to inherit the power and opportunities of feudalism and reshape social life: these were the new monarchy, enjoying wide sovereign powers, and the new national consciousness, which was able to think in larger units. In England the century saw the development of a new representative institution, which has become the mother of modern legislative assemblies. The Italian cities were growing rich from the profits of Oriental trade; in the Flemish towns the weaver’s industry was building up new forms of municipal life; the great German Hansa was laying hold on the commerce of the northern seas. In the realms of higher intellect, in science, philosophy, and theology, the age was a notable one, with Roger Bacon, Albertus Magnus, and Thomas Aquinas as the leaders, each in his field. The century also meant much for the progress of geographical knowledge, for it was in this period that Marco Polo penetrated the mysterious lands of the Far East.
As the historian looks back into this age, he is, therefore, able to find broad traces of much that is regarded as fundamental to modern life. Of first importance in this regard is the employment of popular idioms in literary productions. French literature saw its beginnings in the eleventh century with the chansons de geste, songs of valorous deeds from the heroic age of the Frankish kingdom. In the next century the poets began to use the themes of the Arthurian legends and sang the exploits of the famous British king and the knights of his Round Table. A little later came another cycle of poems based on the heroic tales of classical antiquity. The twelfth century witnessed a parallel movement in Germany, which at first was largely an imitation of contemporary French poetry. The poets, however, soon discovered literary treasures in the dim world of the Teutonic past, in the tales of the Nibelungs, in the heroic deeds of Theodoric, and in the exploits of other heroes.
Thus in the first half of the thirteenth century there was a large body of French and German verse in circulation. The verses were borne from region to region and from land to land by professional entertainers, who chanted the poems, and by pilgrims and other travelers, who secured manuscript copies. In the course of time the new tales reached the Northern countries, and it was not long before the Northmen were eagerly listening to the stories of chivalrous warfare, militant religion, and tragic love, that they had learned in the southlands.