{"collection":"philosophy-ethics","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_61264/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_61264","id":"gutenberg_61264","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/61264","summary":null,"tags":["Category: History - Medieval/Middle Ages","Category: History - Royalty","Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Education of princes","Encyclopedias and dictionaries -- Early works to 1600","Scandinavia -- Civilization"],"text":"The Library of Scandinavian Literature\n\n\n\nTHE KING\u2019S MIRROR\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                           THE KING\u2019S MIRROR\n\n                   (SPECULUM REGALE\u2014KONUNGS SKUGGSJ\u00c1)\n\n\n\n\n                     TRANSLATED FROM THE OLD NORSE\n                     WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES BY\n                       LAURENCE MARCELLUS LARSON\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n                   TWAYNE PUBLISHERS, INC., NEW YORK\n                                   &\n                  THE AMERICAN-SCANDINAVIAN FOUNDATION\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                 The Library of Scandinavian Literature\n                     Erik J. Friis, General Editor\n\n                               Volume 15\n\n                           The King\u2019s Mirror\n\n\n        Copyright \u00a9 1917 by The American-Scandinavian Foundation\n            Library of Congress catalog card number: 72-1542\n\n\n              MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                        TO MY FATHER AND TO THE\n\n                          MEMORY OF MY MOTHER\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                FOREWORD\n\n\nAmong the many arguments that have recently been advanced in support of\nimperialistic ambitions and statesmanship, there is one that justifies\nand demands aggression in the interest of human culture. According to\nthis rather plausible political philosophy, it is the destiny of the\nsmaller states to be absorbed into the larger and stronger. The\napplication is not to be limited to the so-called \u201cbackward races\u201d; it\nis also extended to the lesser peoples of Europe. These have, it is\nheld, no real right to an independent existence; only the great, the\npowerful, and the mighty can claim this privilege, for they alone are\nable to render the higher forms of service to civilization.\n\nTo this theory the history of the Scandinavian lands provides a complete\nand striking refutation. In the drama of European development the\nNorthern countries have played important and honorable parts; but except\nfor a brilliant period in Swedish history (chiefly during the\nseventeenth century) they have never weighed heavily in the Continental\nbalance. Their geographical situation is unfavorable and their economic\nresources have never been comparable to those of the more prominent\nstates beyond the Baltic and the North Sea. But when we come to the\nkingdom of intellect the story is a totally different one. The literary\nannals of Europe in the nineteenth century give prominence to a series\nof notable Scandinavian writers who not only achieved recognition in\ntheir own lands but found a place in the competition for leadership in\nthe world at large. The productivity of the Northern mind is not of\nrecent origin, however; the literatures of Scandinavia have a history\nthat leads back into the days of heathen worship more than a thousand\nyears ago.\n\nPerhaps the most effective illustration of what a fruitful intellect can\naccomplish even when placed in the most unpromising environment is\nmedieval Iceland. Along the western and southwestern coasts of the\nisland lay a straggling settlement of Norwegian immigrants whose lives\nwere spent chiefly in a struggle to force the merest subsistence from a\nniggardly soil. And yet, in the later middle ages and even earlier,\nthere was a literary activity on these Arctic shores which, in output as\nwell as in quality, compares favorably with that of any part of\ncontemporary Europe. Evidently intellectual greatness bears but slight\nrelation to economic advantages or political power. What was true of\nIceland was also true of Norway, though in a lesser degree. In that\ncountry, too, life was in great measure a continuous struggle with the\nsoil and the sea. Still, even in that land and age, the spirits were\nactive, the arts flourished, and the North added her contribution to the\ntreasures of European culture.\n\nThe poems and tales of those virile days, the eddas and sagas, are too\nfamiliar to need more than a mention in this connection. But the fact is\nnot so commonly known that the medieval Northmen were thinkers and\nstudents as well as poets and romancers. They, too, were interested in\nthe mysteries of the universe, in the problems of science, and in the\nintricate questions of social relationships. In their thinking on these\nmatters they showed more intellectual independence and less slavish\nregard for venerable authority than was usually the case among medieval\nwriters. And of all the men who in that age of faith tried to analyse\nand set in order their ideas of the world in which they moved, perhaps\nnone drew more largely on his own spiritual resources than the unknown\nauthor of the _King\u2019s Mirror_.\n\nUnlike the sagas and related writings, the purpose of the _King\u2019s\nMirror_ is utilitarian and didactic. The author has before him a group\nof serious and important problems, which he proceeds to discuss for the\ninstruction of his readers. Consequently, certain qualities of style\nthat are often associated with Old Norse literature are not apparent in\nhis work to any marked degree. In his effort to make his language clear,\ndefinite, and intelligible, the author sometimes finds it necessary to\nrepeat and restate his ideas, with the result that his literary style is\nfrequently stiff, labored, and pedantic. These defects are, however, not\ncharacteristic of the book as a whole. Many of its chapters display rare\nworkmanship and prove that the author of the _King\u2019s Mirror_ is one of\nthe great masters of Old Norse prose.\n\nIn preparing the translation of this unique work, my aim has been to\nreproduce the author\u2019s thought as faithfully as possible and to state it\nin such a form as to satisfy the laws of English syntax. But I have also\nfelt that, so far as it can be done, the flavor of the original should\nbe retained and that a translator, in his effort to satisfy certain\nconventional demands of modern composition, should not deviate too far\nfrom the path of mental habit that the author has beaten in his roamings\nthrough the fields of thought. Peculiarities of style and expression,\ncan, it is true, usually not be reproduced in another language; at the\nsame time it is possible to ignore these considerations to such an\nextent that the product becomes a paraphrase rather than a translation;\nand I have believed that such a rendition should be avoided, even at the\nrisk of erring on the side of literalness.\n\nThe importance of the _King\u2019s Mirror_ as a source of information in the\nstudy of medieval thought was first brought to my attention by Professor\nJulius E. Olson of the University of Wisconsin, who has also, since the\nwork of preparing this edition was begun, followed its progress with\nhelpful interest. Professors G. T. Flom and A. H. Lybyer of the\nUniversity of Illinois, and Professor W. H. Schofield of Harvard\nUniversity, have read the manuscript in whole or part and have\ncontributed many valuable suggestions. My wife, Lillian May Larson, has\nassisted in a great variety of ways, as in all my work. Dr. H. G. Leach\nof the American-Scandinavian Foundation has read the proof sheets of the\nentire volume and has suggested many improvements in the text. To all\nthese persons I wish to express my thanks. I am also deeply indebted to\nthe trustees of the American-Scandinavian Foundation whose generosity\nhas made it possible to publish the work at this time.\n\n                                                                L. M. L.\n\n    _University of Illinois,\n    August, 1917._\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                CONTENTS\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\n                                                                  PAGE\n\n             NORTHERN LITERATURE IN THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY           1\n\n             THE SPECULUM REGALE, OR KING\u2019S MIRROR; SOURCES          6\n\n             SCIENTIFIC LORE AND THE BELIEF IN MARVELS              11\n\n             COURTESY AND THE KING\u2019S HOUSEHOLD                      26\n\n             THE THEORY OF THE DIVINE RIGHT OF NORWEGIAN            33\n               KINGSHIP\n\n             ETHICAL AND THEOLOGICAL IDEAS OF THE WORK              49\n\n             MODERN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE KING\u2019S MIRROR            53\n\n             THE PROBLEM OF AUTHORSHIP                              54\n\n             DATE AND PLACE OF COMPOSITION                          59\n\n             EDITIONS OF THE KING\u2019S MIRROR                          65\n\nTHE KING\u2019S MIRROR\n\n          I. INTRODUCTION: NAME AND PURPOSE OF THE WORK             72\n\n         II. \u201cTHE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM\u201d      76\n\n        III. THE ACTIVITIES AND HABITS OF A MERCHANT                79\n\n         IV. THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED                             81\n\n          V. THE SUN AND THE WINDS                                  86\n\n         VI. THE TIDES AND THE CHANGES IN THE COURSE OF THE SUN     92\n\n        VII. THE SUBJECT OF THE SUN\u2019S COURSE CONTINUED              95\n\n       VIII. THE MARVELS OF NORWAY                                  99\n\n         IX. POPULAR DOUBT AS TO THE GENUINENESS OF MARVELS        102\n\n          X. THE NATURAL WONDERS OF IRELAND                        105\n\n         XI. IRISH MARVELS WHICH HAVE MIRACULOUS ORIGINS           111\n\n        XII. THE MARVELS OF THE ICELANDIC SEAS: WHALES; THE        119\n               KRAKEN\n\n       XIII. THE WONDERS OF ICELAND                                126\n\n        XIV. THE VOLCANIC FIRES OF ICELAND                         130\n\n         XV. OTHER ICELANDIC WONDERS: ORE AND MINERAL SPRINGS      133\n\n        XVI. THE MARVELS OF THE WATERS ABOUT GREENLAND:            135\n               MONSTERS, SEALS, AND WALRUSES\n\n       XVII. THE ANIMAL LIFE OF GREENLAND AND THE CHARACTER OF     141\n               THE LAND IN THOSE REGIONS\n\n      XVIII. THE PRODUCTS OF GREENLAND                             144\n\n        XIX. THE CLIMATE OF GREENLAND; THE NORTHERN LIGHTS         145\n\n         XX. THE SUBJECT OF THE NORTHERN LIGHTS CONTINUED          151\n\n        XXI. THE ZONES OF HEAT AND COLD                            153\n\n       XXII. THE WINDS WITH RESPECT TO NAVIGATION                  156\n\n      XXIII. THE PROPER SEASON FOR NAVIGATION. END OF THE FIRST    161\n               PART\n\n       XXIV. INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND PART: THE KING AND HIS     162\n               COURT\n\n        XXV. THE IMPORTANCE OF COURTESY IN THE ROYAL SERVICE       165\n\n       XXVI. THE ADVANTAGES DERIVED FROM SERVICE IN THE KING\u2019S     167\n               HOUSEHOLD\n\n      XXVII. THE VARIOUS CLASSES AMONG THE KINGSMEN                170\n\n     XXVIII. THE HONORED POSITION OF THE KINGSMEN                  173\n\n       XXIX. THE SUPERIOR ORDER OF KINGSMEN: THE HIRD              175\n\n        XXX. HOW A MAN WHO WISHES TO APPLY FOR ADMISSION TO THE    179\n               ROYAL HOUSEHOLD SERVICE SHOULD APPROACH THE KING\n\n       XXXI. WHY ONE SHOULD NOT WEAR A MANTLE IN THE ROYAL         184\n               PRESENCE\n\n      XXXII. RULES OF SPEECH AND CONVERSATION IN THE KING\u2019S        186\n               HALL\n\n     XXXIII. THE PROPER USES OF \u201cYOU\u201d AND \u201cTHOU\u201d                   188\n\n      XXXIV. THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED                            189\n\n       XXXV. CONCERNING FAILURE OF CROPS AND DEARTH IN MORALS      193\n               AND GOVERNMENT\n\n      XXXVI. THE CAUSES OF SUCH PERIODS OF DEARTH AND WHAT         195\n               FORMS THE DEARTH MAY TAKE\n\n     XXXVII. THE DUTIES, ACTIVITIES, AND AMUSEMENTS OF THE         203\n               ROYAL GUARDSMEN\n\n    XXXVIII. WEAPONS FOR OFFENSE AND DEFENSE                       217\n\n      XXXIX. MILITARY ENGINES                                      220\n\n         XL. THE PROPER MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF A ROYAL COURT       226\n\n        XLI. THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED                            231\n\n       XLII. A DISCUSSION OF HOW GOD REWARDS RIGHTEOUSNESS,        234\n               HUMILITY, AND FIDELITY, ILLUSTRATED BY EXAMPLES\n               DRAWN FROM SACRED AND PROFANE HISTORY\n\n      XLIII. THE DUTIES AND THE EXALTED POSITION OF THE KING       245\n\n       XLIV. THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED                            248\n\n        XLV. CONCERNING THE MODERATION WHICH A KING MUST           251\n               OBSERVE IN HIS JUDICIAL SENTENCES AND PENALTIES,\n               WITH ILLUSTRATIONS DRAWN FROM THE STORY OF GOD\u2019S\n               JUDGMENT IN THE CASE OF ADAM AND EVE, IN WHICH\n               CASE TRUTH AND JUSTICE WERE ASSOCIATED WITH\n               PEACE AND MERCY\n\n       XLVI. AN EXAMPLE OF RIGHTEOUS SEVERITY IN JUDGMENT DRAWN    258\n               FROM THE STORY OF GOD\u2019S CONDEMNATION OF LUCIFER\n\n      XLVII. A FURTHER DISCUSSION OF VERDICTS AND PENALTIES        260\n               WITH ILLUSTRATIONS FROM THE STORY OF LUCIFER\u2019S\n               REBELLION AND DOWNFALL AND OF THE SIN AND\n               PUNISHMENT OF THE FIRST MAN AND WOMAN\n\n     XLVIII. A COMMENTARY ON THE STORY OF LUCIFER                  272\n\n       XLIX. INSTANCES IN WHICH GOD HAS ALLOWED THE DECISION TO    277\n               BE FRAMED ACCORDING TO THE STERN DEMANDS OF\n               TRUTH AND JUSTICE\n\n          L. OTHER INSTANCES IN WHICH THE ARGUMENTS OF PEACE       279\n               AND MERCY HAVE HAD GREATER WEIGHT\n\n         LI. THE REASONS FOR THIS DIVERSITY IN THE VERDICTS OF     283\n               GOD\n\n        LII. THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED                            284\n\n       LIII. INSTANCES IN WHICH GOD HAS MODIFIED HIS SENTENCES     285\n               AND THE REASONS FOR SUCH MODIFICATIONS\n\n        LIV. THE KING\u2019S PRAYER                                     290\n\n         LV. A FURTHER DISCUSSION OF THE KING\u2019S BUSINESS           297\n               ESPECIALLY HIS JUDICIAL DUTIES\n\n        LVI. THE SPEECH OF WISDOM                                  299\n\n       LVII. DIFFICULT DUTIES OF THE KING\u2019S JUDICIAL OFFICE        304\n               WITH ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n      LVIII. THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED                            309\n\n        LIX. WHEN JUDGMENTS SHOULD BE SEVERE AND WHEN THEY         313\n               SHOULD BE MERCIFUL\n\n         LX. THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED                            316\n\n        LXI. CONCERNING CAPITAL PUNISHMENT                         318\n\n       LXII. THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED                            320\n\n      LXIII. THE JUDGMENTS OF GOD ILLUSTRATED BY THE STORY OF      321\n               DAVID AND SAUL\n\n       LXIV. ILLUSTRATIONS FROM THE JUDGMENTS OF SOLOMON           339\n\n        LXV. SOLOMON\u2019S DECISION IN THE CASE OF SHIMEI              341\n\n       LXVI. SOLOMON\u2019S JUDGMENT IN THE CASE OF ADONIJAH AND HIS    344\n               FOLLOWERS\n\n      LXVII. WHY SOLOMON BROKE HIS PROMISE OF PEACE AND            353\n               SECURITY TO JOAB\n\n     LXVIII. A DISCUSSION OF PROMISES: WHEN THEY MUST BE KEPT      355\n               AND WHEN THEY SHOULD BE WITHDRAWN\n\n       LXIX. CONCERNING THE KINGSHIP AND THE CHURCH AND THE        357\n               KING\u2019S RESPONSIBILITY TO GOD\n\n        LXX. THE AUTHORITY OF KINGS AND BISHOPS. END OF THE        363\n               SECOND PART\n\n             BIBLIOGRAPHY                                          369\n\n             INDEX                                                 375\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                           THE KING\u2019S MIRROR\n\n\n\n\n                              INTRODUCTION\n\n\nThe place of the thirteenth century in the history of human achievement\nis a subject upon which scholars have not yet come to a general\nagreement. There can be no doubt that it was, on the whole, an age of\nprogress in many fields; but there is much in its history that points to\nstagnation, if not to actual decline. From a superficial study of its\nannals one might be led to class it with the lesser centuries; most\nwriters are inclined to rank it lower than the fourteenth century, and\nperhaps not even so high as the twelfth. It was in this period that the\ncrusading movement finally flickered out and the Christian world was\ncompelled to leave the cradle of the holy faith in the hands of the\ninfidel. In the thirteenth century, too, the medieval empire sank into\nhopeless inefficiency and all but expired. The papacy, which more than\nany other power was responsible for the ruin of the imperial ambitions,\nalso went into decline. Whether the loss in authority and prestige on\nthe part of the holy see was compensated by a renewed spiritual energy\nin the church at large may well be doubted: what evidence we have would\nindicate that the religion of the masses was gross and materialistic,\nthat ethical standards were low, and that the improvement in clerical\nmorals, which the church had hoped would follow the enforcement of\ncelibacy, had failed to appear.\n\nYet the thirteenth century also had its attractive figures and its\nimportant movements. The old social order was indeed crumbling, but in\nits place appeared two new forces which were to inherit the power and\nopportunities of feudalism and reshape social life: these were the new\nmonarchy, enjoying wide sovereign powers, and the new national\nconsciousness, which was able to think in larger units. In England the\ncentury saw the development of a new representative institution, which\nhas become the mother of modern legislative assemblies. The Italian\ncities were growing rich from the profits of Oriental trade; in the\nFlemish towns the weaver\u2019s industry was building up new forms of\nmunicipal life; the great German Hansa was laying hold on the commerce\nof the northern seas. In the realms of higher intellect, in science,\nphilosophy, and theology, the age was a notable one, with Roger Bacon,\nAlbertus Magnus, and Thomas Aquinas as the leaders, each in his field.\nThe century also meant much for the progress of geographical knowledge,\nfor it was in this period that Marco Polo penetrated the mysterious\nlands of the Far East.\n\nAs the historian looks back into this age, he is, therefore, able to\nfind broad traces of much that is regarded as fundamental to modern\nlife. Of first importance in this regard is the employment of popular\nidioms in literary productions. French literature saw its beginnings in\nthe eleventh century with the _chansons de geste_, songs of valorous\ndeeds from the heroic age of the Frankish kingdom. In the next century\nthe poets began to use the themes of the Arthurian legends and sang the\nexploits of the famous British king and the knights of his Round Table.\nA little later came another cycle of poems based on the heroic tales of\nclassical antiquity. The twelfth century witnessed a parallel movement\nin Germany, which at first was largely an imitation of contemporary\nFrench poetry. The poets, however, soon discovered literary treasures in\nthe dim world of the Teutonic past, in the tales of the Nibelungs, in\nthe heroic deeds of Theodoric, and in the exploits of other heroes.\n\nThus in the first half of the thirteenth century there was a large body\nof French and German verse in circulation. The verses were borne from\nregion to region and from land to land by professional entertainers, who\nchanted the poems, and by pilgrims and other travelers, who secured\nmanuscript copies. In the course of time the new tales reached the\nNorthern countries, and it was not long before the Northmen were eagerly\nlistening to the stories of chivalrous warfare, militant religion, and\ntragic love, that they had learned in the southlands.\n\nThe Northern peoples thus had a share in the fruitage of the later\nmiddle ages; but they also had a share in their achievements.\nPolitically as well as intellectually the thirteenth century was a great\nage in the Scandinavian countries. The Danish kingdom rose to the\nhighest point of its power under Valdemar the Victorious, whose troubled\nreign began in 1202. Valdemar succeeded in extending the territories of\nDenmark along the entire southern coast of the Baltic Sea; but the\ngreatness was short-lived: after the defeat of the Danes by the North\nGermans at B\u00f6rnhoved in 1227, the decline of Danish imperialism began.\nIn Sweden, too, men dreamed of conquest beyond the sea. Under the\nleadership of Earl Birger, the most eminent statesman of medieval\nSweden, Swedish power was steadily extended into Finnish territory, and\nthe foundations of Sweden as a great European power was being laid.\n\nDuring the days of Valdemar and the great Birger Norway also reached its\ngreatest territorial extent. After a century of factional warfare, the\nnation settled down to comparative peace. All the Norwegian colonies\nexcept those in Ireland, were definitely made subject to the Norwegian\ncrown: these were the Isle of Man, the Hebrides, the Orkneys, the\nShetlands, the Faroes, Iceland, and Greenland. In every field of\nnational life there was vigor and enterprise. And on the throne sat a\nstrong, wise, and learned monarch, Hakon IV, the ruler with the \u201cgreat\nking-thought.\u201d\n\nThe real greatness of the thirteenth century in the North lies, however,\nin the literary achievements of the age. It is not known when the Old\nNorse poets first began to exercise their craft, but the earliest poems\nthat have come down to us date from the ninth century. For two hundred\nyears the literary production was in the form of alliterative verse; but\nafter 1050 there came a time when scaldic poetry did not seem to thrive.\nThis does not mean that the interest in literature died out; it merely\ntook a new form: the age of poetry was followed by an age of prose. With\nthe Christian faith came the Latin alphabet and writing materials, and\nthere was no longer any need to memorize verse. The new form was the\nsaga, which began to appear in the twelfth century and received many\nnotable additions in the thirteenth. The literary movement on the\ncontinent, therefore, had its counterpart in the North; only here the\nwritings took the form of prose, while there literature was chiefly in\nverse.\n\nThese two currents came into contact in the first half of the thirteenth\ncentury, when the men and women of the North began to take an interest\nin the Arthurian romances and other tales that had found their way into\nNorway. In this new form of Norwegian literature there could not be much\noriginality; still its appearance testifies to a widening of the\nintellectual horizon. In addition to sagas and romances the period was\nalso productive of written laws, homilies, legends, Biblical narratives,\nhistories, and various other forms of literature. It is to be noted that\nvirtually everything was written in the idiom of the common people.\nLatin was used to some extent in the North in the later middle ages, but\nit never came into such general use there as in other parts of Europe.\nIn the thirteenth century it had almost passed out of use as a literary\nlanguage.\n\nIn our interest in tales and romances we must not overlook the fact that\nthe thirteenth century also produced an important literature of the\ndidactic type. For centuries the Christian world had studied the\nencyclopedic works of Capella, Cassiodorus, and Isidore, or had read the\nwritings of Bede and his many followers who had composed treatises \u201con\nthe nature of things,\u201d in which they had striven to set in order the\nknown or supposed facts of the physical world. The thirteenth century\nhad an encyclopedist of its own in Vincent of Beauvais, who produced a\nvast compendium made up of several _Specula_, which were supposed to\ncontain all the knowledge that the world possessed in science, history,\ntheology, and other fields of learning. The age also produced various\nother Latin works of the didactic sort, of which the _Historia\nScholastica_ of Petrus Comestor was perhaps the most significant for the\nintellectual history of the North.\n\nNorway had no encyclopedist, but the thirteenth century produced a\nNorwegian writer who undertook a task which was somewhat of the\nencyclopedic type. Some time during the reign of Hakon IV, perhaps while\nVincent was composing his great _Speculum Majus_, a learned Norseman\nwrote the _Speculum Regale_, or _King\u2019s Mirror_, a work which a\ncompetent critic has characterized as \u201cone of the chief ornaments of Old\nNorse literature.\u201d[1] Unlike the sagas and the romances, which have in\nview chiefly the entertainment of the reader, the _King\u2019s Mirror_ is\ndidactic throughout; in a few chapters only does the author depart from\nhis serious purpose, and all but two of these are of distinct value. The\npurpose of the work is to provide a certain kind of knowledge which will\nbe of use to young men who are looking forward to a career in the higher\nprofessions.\n\nFootnote 1:\n\n  R. Keyser in the introduction to the Christiania edition (p. xi).\n\nAs outlined in the introductory chapter, the work was to deal with the\nfour great orders of men in the Norwegian kingdom: the merchants and\ntheir interests; the king and his retainers; the church and the clergy;\nand the peasantry or husbandmen. In the form in which the _King\u2019s\nMirror_ has come down to modern times, however, the first two divisions\nonly are included; not the least fragment of any separate discussion of\nthe clerical profession or of the agricultural classes has been found.\nIt is, therefore, generally believed that the work was not completed\nbeyond the point where the extant manuscripts close. Why the book was\nleft unfinished cannot be known; but it is a plausible conjecture that\nillness or perhaps death prevented the author, who was apparently an\naged man, from completing the task that he had set before him. It is\nalso possible that the ideas expressed in the closing chapters of the\nwork, especially in the last chapter, which deals with the subject of\nclerical subordination to the secular powers, were so repugnant to the\necclesiastical thought of the time that the authorities of the church\ndiscouraged or perhaps found means to prevent the continuation of the\nwork into the third division, where the author had planned to deal with\nthe church and the clergy.\n\nIn form the _Speculum_ is a dialog between a wise and learned father and\nhis son, in which the larger part of the discussion naturally falls to\nthe former. The son asks questions and suggests problems, which the\nfather promptly answers or solves. In the choice of form there is\nnothing original: the dialog was frequently used by didactic writers in\nthe middle ages, and it was the natural form to adopt. The title,\n_Speculum Regale_, is also of a kind that was common in those days.[2]\n_Specula_ of many sorts were being produced: _Speculum Ecclesiae_,\n_Speculum Stultorum_, _Speculum Naturale_, and _Speculum Perfectionis_\nare some of the titles used for writings of a didactic type. The German\n_Sachsenspiegel_ is an instance of the title employed for a work in a\nvulgar idiom. There was also a _Speculum Regum_, or _Mirror of Kings_,\nand a century later an English ecclesiastic wrote a _Speculum Regis_,\nbut the writer knows of no other work called the _Speculum Regale_.\n\nFootnote 2:\n\n  It is believed that the title came into use in Europe in imitation of\n  Hindu writers who wrote \u201cMirrors of Princes.\u201d Nansen, _In Northern\n  Mists_, II, 242.\n\nIt is an interesting question whether the _King\u2019s Mirror_ was inspired\nby any earlier work written along similar lines. Originality was a rare\nvirtue in the middle ages, and the good churchmen who wrote books in\nthose days cannot have regarded plagiarism as a mortal sin. The great\nwriters were freely copied by the lesser men, thoughts, titles,\nstatements, and even the wording being often taken outright. It is,\ntherefore, difficult to determine the sources of statements found in the\nlater works, as they may have been drawn from any one of a whole series\nof writings on the subject under discussion. The writer has not been\nable to make an exhaustive examination of all the didactic and\ndevotional literature of the centuries preceding the thirteenth, but the\nsearch that has been made has not proved fruitful. There is every reason\nto believe that the author of the _King\u2019s Mirror_ was an independent\nthinker and writer. He was doubtless acquainted with a large number of\nbooks and had drawn information from a great variety of sources; but\nwhen the writing was actually done he had apparently a few volumes only\nat his disposal. In the region where the work seems to have been\ncomposed, on the northern edge of European civilization, there was\nneither cathedral nor monastery nor any other important ecclesiastical\nfoundation where a collection of books might be found.[3] It is likely,\ntherefore, that the author had access to such books only as were in his\nown possession. But he came to his task with a well-stocked mind, with a\nvast fund of information gathered by travel and from the experiences of\nan active life; and thus he drew largely from materials that had become\nthe permanent possession of his memory. This fact, if it be a fact, will\nalso help to explain why so many inaccuracies have crept into his quoted\npassages; in but very few instances does he give the correct wording of\na citation.\n\nFootnote 3:\n\n  There must have been important collections of manuscripts at Nidaros\n  (Trondhjem), where there was a cathedral and several monastic\n  institutions. The _King\u2019s Mirror_ was probably composed in Namdalen,\n  about one hundred miles northeast of Nidaros. See below, pp. 59\u201360.\n\nThere can be no doubt that the author had a copy of the _Vulgate_ before\nhim; at least one Biblical passage is correctly given, and it is quoted\nin its Latin form.[4] It has also been discovered that he had access to\nan Old Norse paraphrase of a part of the Old Testament, the books of\nSamuel and of the Kings.[5] It is likely that he was also acquainted\nwith some of the works of Saint Augustine, and perhaps with the writings\nof certain other medieval authorities. Among these it seems safe to\ninclude the _Disciplina Clericalis_, a collection of tales and ethical\nobservations by Petrus Alfonsus, a converted Jew who wrote in the first\nhalf of the twelfth century. The _Disciplina_ is a somewhat fantastic\nproduction wholly unlike the sober pages of the _Speculum Regale_;\nnevertheless, the two works appear to show certain points of resemblance\nwhich can hardly have been accidental. The _Disciplina_ is a dialog and\nthe part of the son is much the same as in the _King\u2019s Mirror_. In both\nworks the young man expresses a desire to become acquainted with the\ncustoms of the royal court, inasmuch as he may some day decide to apply\nfor admission to the king\u2019s household service.[6] The description of\ncourtly manners and customs in the earlier dialog, though much briefer\nthan the corresponding discussion in the Norwegian treatise, has some\nresemblance to the latter which suggests a possible relationship between\nthe two works.\n\nFootnote 4:\n\n  See below, p. 237.\n\nFootnote 5:\n\n  Storm, \u201cOm Tidsforholdet mellem Kongespeilet og Stj\u00f3rn samt Barlaams\n  Saga\u201d: _Arkiv for nordisk Filologi_, III, 83-88.\n\nFootnote 6:\n\n  See _Disciplina Clericalis_, fabula xxiv: Migne, _Patrologia Latina_,\n  CLVII, 698-700.\n\nThe Norwegian author may also have used some of the many commentaries on\nthe books of Holy Writ, in the production of which the medieval\ncloisters were so prolific. Of the influence of Petrus Comestor\u2019s\n_Historia Scholastica_ the writer has found no distinct trace in the\n_King\u2019s Mirror_; but one can be quite sure that he knew and had used the\n_Elucidarium_ of Honorius of Autun. The _Elucidarium_ is a manual of\nmedieval theology which was widely read in the later middle ages and was\ntranslated into Old Norse, probably before the _King\u2019s Mirror_ was\nwritten.[7] But our Norwegian author was not a slavish follower of\nearlier authorities: in his use and treatment of materials drawn from\nthe Scriptures he shows remarkable independence. Remarkable at least is\nhis ability to make Biblical narratives serve to illustrate his own\ntheories of Norwegian kingship. He was acquainted with some of the\nlegends that circulated through the church and made effective use of\nthem. He must also have known a work on the marvels of Ireland[8] and\nthe letter of Prester John to the Byzantine emperor,[9] in which that\nmythical priest-king recounts the wonders of India. But the chief source\nof his work is a long life full of action, conflict, thought, and\nexperience.\n\nFootnote 7:\n\n  A fragment of the _Elucidarium_, comprising, however, the greater part\n  of the work, is published in _Annaler for nordisk Oldkyndighed_, 1852\n  and 1853; in the former volume a Danish translation is given; the\n  latter contains the Icelandic text.\n\nFootnote 8:\n\n  See below, pp. 22\u201325.\n\nFootnote 9:\n\n  See below, p. 101 (c. viii).\n\nThe importance of the _King\u2019s Mirror_ lies in the insight that it gives\ninto the state of culture and civilization of the North in the later\nmiddle ages. The interest follows seven different lines: physical\nscience, especially such matters as are of importance to navigators;\ngeography, particularly the geography of the Arctic lands and waters;\nthe organization of the king\u2019s household and the privileges and duties\nof the king\u2019s henchmen; military engines, weapons, and armour used in\noffensive and defensive warfare; ethical ideas, especially rules of\nconduct for courtiers and merchants; the royal office, the duties of the\nking and the divine origin of kingship; and the place of the church in\nthe Norwegian state.\n\nIn one of his earlier chapters the author enumerates the chief subjects\nof a scientific character that ought to be studied by every one who\nwishes to become a successful merchant. These are the great luminaries\nof the sky, the motions and the paths of the heavenly bodies, the\ndivisions of time and the changes that bring the seasons, the cardinal\npoints of the compass, and the tides and currents of the ocean.[10] In\ndiscussing these matters he is naturally led to a statement as to the\nshape of the earth. All through the middle ages there were thinkers who\naccepted the teachings of the classical astronomers who had taught that\nthe earth is round like a sphere; but this belief was by no means\ngeneral. Bede for one appears to have been convinced that the earth is\nof a spherical shape, though he explains that, because of mountains\nwhich rise high above the surface, it cannot be perfectly round.[11]\nAlexander Neckam, an English scientist who wrote two generations before\nthe _King\u2019s Mirror_ was composed, states in his _Praise of Divine\nWisdom_ that \u201cthe ancients have ventured to believe that the earth is\nround, though mountains rise high above its surface.\u201d[12] Neckam\u2019s own\nideas on this point are quite confused and he remains discreetly\nnon-committal.\n\nFootnote 10:\n\n  C. iv. See also Larson, \u201cScientific Knowledge in the North in the\n  Thirteenth Century\u201d: _Publications of the Society for the Advancement\n  of Scandinavian Study_, I, 139-146.\n\nFootnote 11:\n\n  _De Natura Rerum_, c. xlvi: Migne, _Patrologia Latina_, XC, 264-265.\n\nFootnote 12:\n\n  _De Naturis Rerum_, 441.\n\nBut if the earth is a globe, there is every reason to believe in the\nexistence of antipodes; and if there are antipodes, all cannot behold\nChrist coming in the clouds on the final day. To the medieval\ntheologians, at least to the larger number of them, this argument\ndisposed effectually of the Ptolemaic theory. Job does indeed say that\nGod \u201changeth the earth upon nothing,\u201d[13] and this passage might point\nto a spherical form; but then the Psalmist affirms that He \u201cstretched\nout the earth above the waters,\u201d[14] and this statement would indicate\nthat the inhabited part of the earth is an island floating upon the\nwaters of the great Ocean, by which it is also surrounded. This belief\nwas generally maintained in the earlier centuries of the classical\nworld, and it had wide acceptance in the middle ages. There were also\nthose who held that beyond and around the outer Ocean is a great girdle\nof fire. It is likely, however, that many believed with Isidore of\nSeville that it is useless to speculate on subjects of this sort.\n\u201cWhether it [the earth] is supported by the density of the air, or\nwhether it is spread out upon the waters ... or how the yielding air can\nsupport such a vast mass as the earth, whether such an immense weight\ncan be upheld by the waters without being submerged, or how the earth\nmaintains its balance ... these matters it is not permitted any mortal\nto know and they are not for us to discuss.\u201d[15]\n\nFootnote 13:\n\n  _Job_, xxvi, 7.\n\nFootnote 14:\n\n  _Psalms_, cxxxvi, 6.\n\nFootnote 15:\n\n  _De Natura Rerum Liber_, c. xlv: Migne, _Patrologia Latina_, LXXXIII,\n  1015.\n\nThere can be no doubt that the author of the _King\u2019s Mirror_ believed in\nthe Ptolemaic theory of a spherical earth. In speaking of our planet he\nuses the term _jar\u00f0arbollr_,[16] earth-sphere. In an effort to explain\nwhy some countries are hotter than others, he suggests an experiment\nwith an apple. It is not clear how this can shed much light on the\nproblem, but the author boldly states the point to be illustrated: \u201cFrom\nthis you may infer that the earth-circle is round like a ball.\u201d[17]\n\nFootnote 16:\n\n  See c. xix.\n\nFootnote 17:\n\n  See c. vii.\n\nToward the close of the medieval period there were certain thinkers who\nattempted to reconcile the spherical theory with the belief that the\ninhabited part of the earth is an island. These appear to have believed\nthat the earth is a globe partly submerged in a larger sphere composed\nof water.[18] The visible parts of the earth would rise above the\nsurrounding ocean like a huge island, and the Biblical passages which\nhad caused so much difficulty could thus be interpreted in accord with\napparent facts. It is quite clear that the author of the _King\u2019s Mirror_\nheld no such theory. In a poetic description of how the eight winds form\ntheir covenants of friendship at the approach of spring, he tells us\nthat \u201cat midnight the north wind goes forth to meet the coursing sun and\nleads him through rocky deserts toward the sparse-built shores.\u201d[19] The\nauthor, therefore, seems to believe that the earth is a sphere, that\nthere are lands on the opposite side of the earth, and that these lands\nare inhabited. He also understands that the regions that lie beneath the\nmidnight course of the sun in spring and summer must be thinly\npopulated, as the sun\u2019s path on the opposite side of the earth during\nthe season of lengthening days is constantly approaching nearer the\npole.\n\nFootnote 18:\n\n  Ruge, _Geschichte des Zeitalters der Entdeckungen_, 97.\n\nFootnote 19:\n\n  C. v.\n\nBut while the author seems to accept the Ptolemaic theory of the\nuniverse, he is not able to divest his mind entirely of current\ngeographical notions. There can be no doubt that he believed in the\nencircling outer ocean, and it is barely possible that he also looked\nwith favor on the belief that the whole was encompassed by a girdle of\nfire. On this point, however, we cannot be sure: he mentions the belief\nmerely as one that is current, not as one accepted by himself.[20]\n\nFootnote 20:\n\n  C. xix.\n\nIt was commonly held in the middle ages that the earth is divided into\nfive zones, only two of which may be inhabited. This was a theory\nadvanced by a Greek scientist in the fifth century before our era,[21]\nand was given currency in medieval times chiefly, perhaps, through the\nworks of Macrobius.[22] At first these zones were conceived as belts\ndrawn across the heavens; later they came to be considered as divisions\nof the earth\u2019s surface. It will be noted that our author uses the older\nterminology and speaks of the zones as belts on the heaven;[23] it may\nbe inferred, therefore, that he derived his information from one of the\nearlier Latin treatises on the nature of the universe.[24] For two\nthousand years it was believed that human life could not exist in the\npolar and torrid zones. Even as late as the fifteenth century European\nnavigators had great fear of travel into the torrid zone, where the heat\nwas thought to grow more intense as one traveled south, until a point\nmight be reached where water in the sea would boil. The author of the\n_King\u2019s Mirror_ seems to doubt all this. He regards the polar zones as\ngenerally uninhabitable; still, he is sure that Greenland lies within\nthe arctic zone; and yet, Greenland \u201chas beautiful sunshine and is said\nto have a rather pleasant climate.\u201d[25] He sees quite clearly that the\nphysical nature of a country may have much to do with climatic\nconditions. The cold of Iceland he ascribes in great part to its\nposition near Greenland: \u201cfor it is to be expected that severe cold\nwould come thence, since Greenland is ice-clad beyond all other\nlands.\u201d[26] He conceives the possibility that the south temperate zone\nis inhabited. \u201cAnd if people live as near the cold belt on the southern\nside as the Greenlanders do on the northern, I firmly believe that the\nnorth wind blows as warm to them as the south wind to us. For they must\nlook north to see the midday and the sun\u2019s whole course, just as we, who\ndwell north of the sun, must look to the south.\u201d[27]\n\nFootnote 21:\n\n  Parmenides of Ela (ca. 480 B.C.). Nansen, _In Northern Mists_, I, 12.\n\nFootnote 22:\n\n  See below, p. 147 (c. xix). Cf. _Ibid._, 123.\n\nFootnote 23:\n\n  C. xix.\n\nFootnote 24:\n\n  Probably from the writings of Isidore, who speaks of the zones as\n  belts on the heavens. _Etymologiae_, iii, c. xliv; xiii, c. vi; _De\n  Natura Rerum_, c. x.\n\nFootnote 25:\n\n  C. xix.\n\nFootnote 26:\n\n  C. xiii.\n\nFootnote 27:\n\n  C. xxi.\n\nOn the questions of time and its divisions the author of the _King\u2019s\nMirror_ seems to have had nearly all the information that the age\npossessed. He divides the period of day and night into two \u201cdays\u201d\n(_d\u00e6gr_) of twelve hours each. Each hour is again divided into smaller\nhours called _ostenta_ in Latin.[28] Any division below the minute he\napparently does not know. The length of the year he fixes at 365 days\nand six hours, every fourth year these additional hours make twenty-four\nand we have leap year.[29] The waxing and waning of the moon and the\ntidal changes in the ocean are also reckoned with fair accuracy.[30]\n\nFootnote 28:\n\n  C. vi.\n\nFootnote 29:\n\n  _Ibid._\n\nFootnote 30:\n\n  _Ibid._\n\nMedieval scientists found these movements in the ocean a great mystery.\nSome ascribed the tides to the influence of the moon;[31] others\nbelieved that they were caused by the collision of the waters of two\narms of the ocean, an eastern arm and a western; still others imagined\nthat somewhere there were \u201ccertain cavern-like abysses, which now\nswallow up the water, and now spew it forth again.\u201d[32] The author of\nthe _Speculum_ has no doubts on the subject: he believes that the tides\nare due to the waxing and waning of the moon.[33]\n\nFootnote 31:\n\n  The Venerable Bede held that the moon is in some way responsible for\n  the tides. _De Natura Rerum_, c. xxxix: Migne, _Patrologia Latina_,\n  XC, 258-259; see also _ibid._, XC, 422-426 (_De Tempore Ratione_, c.\n  xxix).\n\nFootnote 32:\n\n  Alexander Neckam, _De Naturis Rerum_, 138.\n\nFootnote 33:\n\n  C. vi.\n\nIn his discussion of the volcanic fires of Iceland he shows that on this\nsubject he was completely under the influence of medieval conceptions.\nHe has heard that Gregory the Great believed that the volcanic eruptions\nin Sicily have their origins in the infernal regions. Our author is\ninclined to question, however, that there is anything supernatural about\nthe eruptions of Mount Etna; but he is quite sure that the volcanic\nfires of Iceland rise from the places of pain. The fires of Sicily are\nliving fires, inasmuch as they devour living materials, such as wood and\nearth; those of Iceland, on the other hand, consume nothing living but\nonly dead matter like rock. And he therefore concludes that these fires\nmust have their origin in the realms of death.[34]\n\nFootnote 34:\n\n  C. xiii.\n\nThe author has a suspicion that earthquakes may be due to volcanic\naction, but he offers another explanation, though he does not give it as\nhis own belief. Down in the bowels of the earth there is probably a\nlarge number of caverns and empty passages. \u201cAt times it may happen that\nthese passages and cavities will be so completely packed with air either\nby the winds or by the power of the roaring breakers, that the pressure\nof the blast cannot be confined, and this may be the origin of those\ngreat earthquakes that occur in that country.\u201d[35] In this theory there\nis nothing new or original: the belief that the earth is of a spongy\nconstitution and that earthquakes are caused by air currents is a very\nold one, which can be followed back through the writings of Alexander\nNeckam,[36] the Venerable Bede,[37] and others, at least as far as to\nIsidore.[38] The elder Pliny, who wrote his _Natural History_ in the\nfirst century of the Christian era, seems to have held similar views: \u201cI\nbelieve there can be no doubt that the winds are the cause of\nearthquakes.\u201d[39]\n\nFootnote 35:\n\n  _Ibid._\n\nFootnote 36:\n\n  _De Naturis Rerum_, 158.\n\nFootnote 37:\n\n  _De Natura Rerum_, c. xlix: Migne, _Patrologia Latina_, XC, 275-276.\n\nFootnote 38:\n\n  _De Natura Rerum_, c. xlvi: Migne, _Patrologia Latina_, LXXXIII, 1015.\n  See also _The Christian Topography_ of Cosmas (written about 547),\n  17-18; Cosmas scoffs at the theory.\n\nFootnote 39:\n\n  _Naturalis Historiae_, I, 201 (ii, c. lxxix).\n\nThe chapters that deal with the northern lights are interesting because\nthey seem to imply that these lights were not visible in those parts of\nNorway where the _King\u2019s Mirror_ was written. The editors of the\nChristiania edition of this work call attention to the fact that there\nhave been periods when these phenomena were less prominent, and suggest\nthat there may have been such a period in the thirteenth century.[40]\nThe author discusses these lights as one of the wonders of Greenland,\nand the natural inference is that they were not known in Norway. But it\nis also true that he speaks of whales as if they were limited to the\nseas about Iceland and Greenland, which is manifestly incorrect. It is\nlikely that the author merely wishes to emphasize the fact that the\nnorthern lights appear with greater frequency and in greater brilliance\nin Greenland than anywhere in Norway. He gives three theories to account\nfor these phenomena: some ascribe them to a girdle of fire which\nencircles the earth beyond the outer ocean; others hold that the lights\nare merely rays of the sun which find their way past the edges of the\nearth while the sun is coursing underneath; but his own belief is that\nfrost and cold have attained to such a power in the Arctic that they are\nable to put forth light.[41] In his opinion cold is a positive force as\nmuch as heat or any other form of energy. To the men of the author\u2019s\ntime there was nothing strange in this belief: it seems to have been\nheld by many even before the thirteenth century that ice could under\ncertain conditions produce heat and even burn.[42]\n\nFootnote 40:\n\n  P. ix, note.\n\nFootnote 41:\n\n  C. xix.\n\nFootnote 42:\n\n  Thus Solinus (pp. xxxiv, xxxvii, 236) says \u201cthe sea-ice on this island\n  ignites itself on collision, and when it is ignited it burns like\n  wood.\u201d See Nansen, _In Northern Mists_, I, 193. Adam von Bremen\n  (_Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum_, iv, 34) writes: \u201cthey\n  report this remarkable thing about it that this ice appears so black\n  and dry that, on account of its age, it burns when it is kindled.\u201d\n  _Ibid._ The same belief appears in a German poem _Meregarto_: \u201cThereby\n  the ice there becomes so hard as crystal, that they make a fire above\n  it till the crystal glows.\u201d _Ibid._, I, 181.\n\nAmong the author\u2019s scientific notions very little that is really\noriginal can be found. It is Riant\u2019s belief that he drew to some extent\nfrom Oriental sources, the lore of the East having come into the North\nas the spoil of crusaders or as the acquisitions of Norwegian\npilgrims.[43] It may be doubted, however, whether the Saracenic\ncontribution is a real one: almost everything that the author of the\n_Speculum Regale_ presents as his belief can be found in the Latin\nscientific manuals of the middle ages. He alludes to the writings of\nIsidore of Seville, and there can be little doubt that he was acquainted\nwith the ideas of the great Spaniard, though he does not accept them\nall. His ideas as to the shape of the earth and the probable causes of\nearthquakes may have been derived from the writings of the Venerable\nBede, or from one of his numerous followers. The divisions of time are\ndiscussed in many of the scientific treatises of the middle ages, but\nthe division of the hour into sixtieths called _ostenta_ is probably not\nfound in any manual written before the ninth century; so far as the\nwriter has been able to determine, _ostenta_, meaning minutes, first\nappears in the works of Rabanus Maurus.[44]\n\nFootnote 43:\n\n  Riant, _Exp\u00e9ditions et P\u00e8lerinages des Scandinaves en Terre Sainte_,\n  440-441.\n\nFootnote 44:\n\n  Rabanus Maurus died in 856.\n\nThe discussion of these scientific notions has its chief value in\nshowing to what extent the Norwegians of the thirteenth century were\nacquainted with the best theories of the age as to the great facts of\nthe universe. The author\u2019s own contribution to the scientific learning\nof his time lies almost exclusively in the field of geography. \u201cBeyond\ncomparison the most important geographical writer of the medieval\nNorth,\u201d says Dr. Nansen, \u201cand at the same time one of the first in the\nwhole of medieval Europe, was the unknown author who wrote the _King\u2019s\nMirror_.... If one turns from contemporary or earlier European\ngeographical literature, with all its superstition and obscurity, to\nthis masterly work, the difference is very striking.\u201d[45] This is\ndoubtless due to the fact that our author was not a cloistered monk who\nwas content to copy the ideas and expressions of his predecessors with\nsuch changes as would satisfy a theological mind, but a man who had been\nactive in the secular world and was anxious to get at real facts.\n\nFootnote 45:\n\n  Nansen, _In Northern Mists_, II, 242.\n\nAmong the chapters devoted to scientific lore the author has introduced\nseveral which are ostensibly intended to serve the purpose of\nentertainment; the author seems to fear that the interest of his readers\nis likely to flag, if the dry recital of physical facts is continued\nunbroken. It is in these chapters, which profess to deal with the\nmarvels of Norway, Ireland, Iceland, Greenland, and the Arctic seas,\nthat he introduces his geographical data. In the description of\nGreenland are included such important and practical subjects as the\ngeneral character of the land, the great ice fields, the products of the\ncountry, wild animals, and a few facts from the economic life of the\npeople. In the chapters on Iceland the author limits himself to certain\nphysical features, such as glaciers, geysers, mineral springs,\nvolcanoes, and earthquakes. He also gives a \u201cdescription of the animal\nworld of the northern seas to which there is no parallel in the earlier\nliterature of the world.\u201d[46] He enumerates twenty-one different species\nof whales[47] and describes several of them with some fulness. He\nmentions and describes six varieties of seals[48] and also gives a\ndescription of the walrus. The marvelous element is represented by\ndetailed accounts of the \u201csea-hedges\u201d (probably sea quakes) on the\ncoasts of Greenland, the merman, the mermaid, and the kraken.[49] But on\nthe whole these chapters give evidence of careful, discriminating\nobservation and a desire to give accurate knowledge.\n\nFootnote 46:\n\n  Nansen, _In Northern Mists_, II, 243.\n\nFootnote 47:\n\n  _Ibid._ \u201cIf we make allowance for three of them being probably sharks\n  and for two being perhaps alternative names for the same whale, the\n  total corresponds to the number of species that are known in northern\n  waters.\u201d\n\nFootnote 48:\n\n  _Ibid._ This \u201ccorresponds to the number of species living on the\n  coasts of Norway and Greenland.\u201d\n\nFootnote 49:\n\n  Cc. xii, xvi.\n\nFor all but the two chapters on Ireland the sources of the author\u2019s\ngeographical information are evidently the tales of travelers and his\nown personal experiences; of literary sources there is no trace. The\naccount of the marvels of Ireland, however, gives rise to certain\nproblems. It may be that the Norwegian geographer based these chapters\non literary sources that are still extant, or he may have had access to\nwritings which have since disappeared. It is also possible that some of\nthe information was contributed by travelers who sailed the western seas\nand had sojourned on the \u201cwestern isles;\u201d for it must be remembered that\nNorway still had colonies as far south as the Isle of Man, and that\nNorsemen were still living in Ireland, though under English rule. When\nHakon IV made his expedition into these regions in 1263, some of these\nNorwegian colonists in Ireland sought his aid in the hope that English\nrule might be overthrown.[50]\n\nFootnote 50:\n\n  _H\u00e1konar Saga_, c. 322.\n\nIt has long been known that many of the tales of Irish wonders and\nmiracles that are recounted in the _Speculum Regale_ are also told in\nthe _Topographia Hibernica_ by Giraldus Cambrensis. The famous Welshman\nwrote his work several decades before the _King\u2019s Mirror_ was composed;\nand it is not impossible that the author of the latter had access to the\n\u201cIrish Topography.\u201d Moreover, the _Speculum Regale_ and the _Topographia\nHibernica_ have certain common features which correspond so closely that\nliterary kinship seems quite probable. The resemblances, however, are\nnot so much in the details as in the plan and the viewpoint. In the\nsecond book of his \u201cTopography,\u201d Giraldus recounts \u201cfirst those things\nthat nature has planted in the land itself;\u201d and next \u201cthose things that\nhave been miraculously performed through the merits of the saints.\u201d[51]\nThe author of the _King\u2019s Mirror_ has adopted a similar grouping. After\nhaving discussed some of the wonders of the island he continues: \u201cThere\nstill remain certain things that may be thought marvelous; these,\nhowever, are not native to the land but have originated in the\nmiraculous powers of holy men.\u201d[52] This correspondence in the general\nplan is too remarkable to be wholly accidental; at least it should lead\nus to look for other resemblances elsewhere.\n\nFootnote 51:\n\n  Giraldus, Opera, V, 62-64; _King\u2019s Mirror_, c. x.\n\nFootnote 52:\n\n  _Topographia Hibernica_, iii, c. 28; _King\u2019s Mirror_, c. x.\n\nIn his general description of Ireland the author of the Norwegian work\ncalls attention to the excellence of the land and its temperate climate:\n\u201cfor all through the winter the cattle find their feed in the open.\u201d[53]\nGiraldus informs us that grass grows in winter as well as in summer, and\nhe adds: \u201ctherefore they are accustomed neither to cut hay for fodder\nnor to provide stables for the cattle.\u201d[54] Both writers emphasize the\nfact that grapes do not grow on the island. In both writings attention\nis called to the sacred character of the Irish soil, which makes it\nimpossible for reptiles and venomous animals to live on the land, though\nGiraldus has his doubts as to the supernatural phase of the matter. Both\nwriters add that if sand or dust is brought from Ireland to another\ncountry and scattered about a reptile, it will perish.[55] Both\ncharacterize the Irish people as savage and murderous, but they also\ncall attention to their kind treatment of holy men, of whom the island\nhas always had many.[56] In fact, every statement in the _King\u2019s Mirror_\nas to the nature of the land and the character of the inhabitants can be\nduplicated in Giraldus\u2019 description of Ireland, except, perhaps, the\nsingle observation that the Irish people, because of the mildness of the\nclimate, often wear no clothes.\n\nFootnote 53:\n\n  _Topographia Hibernica_, ii, introd.: _Opera_, V, 74.\n\nFootnote 54:\n\n  C. xi.\n\nFootnote 55:\n\n  C. x.\n\nFootnote 56:\n\n  _Topographia Hibernica_, i, c. xxxiii: _Opera_, V, 67.\n\nBut even if Giraldus\u2019 work is to be regarded as one of the sources which\nthe Norwegian author may have used in writing his chapters on the Irish\nmirabilia, it cannot have been the only or even the principal source.\nThe account of these marvels in the _King\u2019s Mirror_ does not wholly\nagree with that of the Welshman\u2019s work. In some instances the wonders\nare told with details that are wanting in the earlier narrative.\nFrequently, too, the Norwegian version is more explicit as to localities\nand gives proper names where Giraldus has none. It also records marvels\nand miracles which are not found in the _Topographia Hibernica_.\n\nIn an edition of the _Irish Nennius_ the editor has added as an appendix\na brief account of the \u201cWonders of Ireland,\u201d many of the tales of which\nhave interesting parallels in the _King\u2019s Mirror_. There is also a\nmedieval poem on the same theme[57] which contains allusions to much\nthat the Norwegian author has recorded with greater fulness. Neither of\nthese works, however, can have been the source from which the chapters\non Ireland in the _Speculum Regale_ have been derived.\n\nFootnote 57:\n\n  See Wright-Halliwell, _Reliquiae Antiquae_, II, 103-107.\n\nThe learned editors of the Christiania edition of the _King\u2019s Mirror_\nreached the conclusion that the author did not draw from any literary\nsource but derived his information from current tales and other oral\naccounts.[58] This is also the opinion of Dr. Kuno Meyer, the eminent\nstudent of Celtic philology.[59] Dr. Meyer bases his belief on the form\nof the Irish proper names. As written in the _Speculum Regale_ they can\nnot have been copied, as the spelling is not normally Irish; he\nbelieves, therefore, that they show an effort on the author\u2019s part to\nreproduce phonetically these names as he heard them spoken. But this\ntheory ignores the fact that in writing them the author employs\ncombinations of consonants which are unusual to say the least.\nCombinations of _ch_ and _gh_ are used in writing nearly all the Irish\nproper names that occur in the _King\u2019s Mirror_ and the _gh_-combination\nis found nowhere else in the work.[60] It was probably coming into the\nlanguage in the century to which the work is credited, but the author\nuses it only as indicated above. It seems likely, therefore, that he had\naccess to a written source, though it is also likely that he did not\nhave this account before him when the writing was actually done. As has\nalready been stated, the author seems to have written largely from\nmemory, and his memory is not always accurate.\n\nFootnote 58:\n\n  P. x.\n\nFootnote 59:\n\n  _\u00c9riu_, IV., 14-16.\n\nFootnote 60:\n\n  In a letter to the writer Professor Meyer expresses the belief that\n  the use of _gh_ in the Irish proper names is an invention by the\n  author. The combination of _c_ and _h_ is also used in certain other\n  proper names, the system varying in the different manuscripts. For a\n  discussion of the writing of proper names in the chief manuscript, see\n  the American Facsimile Edition of the _Konungs Skuggsj\u00e1_ (edited by G.\n  T. Flom), xxxvii-xxxix.\n\nHaving discussed the subjects which he considers of chief importance for\nthe education of a merchant, the learned father proceeds to describe the\nking\u2019s household and its organization, the manners which one should\nobserve at court, and the business that is likely to come before a king.\nFor the part which deals with the royal court, it is probable that no\nliterary sources were used. The author evidently wrote from long\nexperience in the king\u2019s retinue; he is not discussing an ideal\norganization but the king\u2019s household as it was in Bergen and Trondhjem\nin his own day. If he drew from any written description of courtly\nmanners, it may have been from some book like Petrus Alfonsus\u2019\n_Disciplina Clericalis_, which has already been mentioned[61] and which\nseems to have had a wide circulation throughout western Europe in the\nlater middle ages.\n\nFootnote 61:\n\n  See above, pp. 9\u201310.\n\nThe chapters that are devoted to the discussion of the duties and\nactivities of the king\u2019s guardsmen, to the manners and customs which\nshould rule in the king\u2019s garth, and to the ethical ideas on which these\nwere largely based are of great interest to the student of medieval\nculture. They reveal a progress in the direction of refined life and\npolished manners, which one should scarcely expect to find in the\nNorthern lands. The development of courtesy and refined manners may have\nbeen accelerated by the new literature which was coming into Scandinavia\nfrom France and Germany, a literature that dealt so largely with the\ndoings of knights and kings;[62] but it was probably not so much a\nmatter of bookish instruction as of direct imitation. The Northmen,\nthough they lived far from the great centers of culture, were always in\nclose touch with the rest of the world. In the earlier centuries the\nviking sailed his dreaded craft wherever there was wealth and plunder\nand civilized life. After him and often as his companion came the\nmerchant who brought away new ideas along with other desirable wares.\nAfter a time Christianity was introduced from the southlands, and the\npilgrim and the crusader took the place of the heathen pirate. And all\nthese classes helped to reshape the life of courtesy in the Northern\ncountries.\n\nFootnote 62:\n\n  See above, pp. 2\u20133.\n\nIt is difficult to overestimate the influence of the crusader as a\npioneer of Christian culture in Scandinavia, but it seems possible that\nthe pilgrim was even more important in this respect. It was no doubt\nlargely through his journeys that German influences began to be felt in\nthe Scandinavian lands, though it is possible that the wide activities\nof the Hanseatic merchants should also be credited with some importance\nfor the spread of Teutonic culture. It is told in the _King\u2019s Mirror_\nthat a new mode of dressing the hair and the beard had been introduced\nfrom Germany since the author had retired from the royal court.[63] It\nis significant that the routes usually followed by Norwegian pilgrims\nwho sought the Eternal City and the holy places in the Orient ran\nthrough German lands. As a rule the pilgrims traveled through Jutland,\nHolstein, and the Old Saxon territories and reached the Rhine at Mainz.\nIt was also possible to take a more easterly route, and sometimes the\ntravelers would go by sea to the Low Countries and thence southward past\nUtrecht and Cologne; but all these three routes converged at Mainz,\nwhence the journey led up the Rhine and across the Alps. It will be\nnoted that a long stretch of the journey from Norway to Rome would lead\nthrough the German kingdom. Concerning the people of the Old Saxon or\nGerman lands an Icelandic scribe makes the following significant remark:\n\u201cIn that country the people are more polished and courteous than in most\nplaces and the Northmen imitate their customs quite generally.\u201d[64]\n\nFootnote 63:\n\n  C. xxx.\n\nFootnote 64:\n\n  Nikolas S\u00e6mundarson, abbot of Thingeyrar, who made a journey to the\n  Holy Land about 1151, wrote an itinerary for the use of pilgrims from\n  which the above quotation is taken. The itinerary is summarized in\n  Riant, _Exp\u00e9ditions et P\u00e8lerinages des Scandinaves en Terre Sainte_,\n  80-87.\n\nThe cultural influences which followed in the wake of the returning\ncrusaders were no doubt largely of Frankish origin. As a rule the\ncrusading expeditions followed the sea route along the coasts of France\nand the Spanish peninsula; thus the Northern warriors came in contact\nwith French ideas and customs in the Frankish homeland as well as in the\nChristian armies, which were largely made up of enthusiastic and\nventuresome knights from Frankland. The author of the _King\u2019s Mirror_\nurges his son to learn Latin and French, \u201cfor these idioms are most\nwidely used.\u201d[65]\n\nFootnote 65:\n\n  C. iii. It is likely that English culture found its way into the North\n  along with the French. When King Sigurd sailed to the Orient in 1107,\n  he spent the winter of 1107-1108 at the English court.\n\nOne of the reasons why the son wishes to master the mercantile\nprofession is that he desires to travel and learn the customs of other\nlands.[66] In the thirteenth century the Norwegian trade still seems to\nhave been largely with England and the other parts of the British Isles.\nIt is also important to remember that the Norwegian church was a\ndaughter of the church of England, and that occasionally English\nchurchmen were elevated to high office in the Norwegian establishment.\nIt is likely that Master William, who was Hakon IV\u2019s chaplain, was an\nEnglishman; at least he bore an English name.[67]\n\nFootnote 66:\n\n  C. iii.\n\nFootnote 67:\n\n  _H\u00e1konar Saga_, c. 228.\n\nInformation as to foreign civilization and the rules of courteous\nbehavior could also pass from land to land and from court to court with\nthe diplomatic missions of the time. The wise father states that envoys\nwho come and go are careful to observe the manners that obtain at the\ncourts to which they are sent.[68] Frequent embassies must have passed\nbetween the capitals of England and Norway in the thirteenth century. It\nis recorded that both King John and his son Henry III received envoys\nfrom the king of Norway, and that they brought very acceptable gifts,\nsuch as hawks and elks,[69] especially the former: in twelve different\nyears Hakon IV sent hawks to the English king.[70]\n\nFootnote 68:\n\n  C. xxix.\n\nFootnote 69:\n\n  _Rotuli Litterarum Clausarum_, I, 382, 506, 509.\n\nFootnote 70:\n\n  Olafsen, \u201cFalkefangsten i Norge\u201d: _Historisk Tidsskrift_, Femte R\u00e6kke,\n  III, 351.\n\nEmbassies also came quite frequently from the imperial court in Germany.\nIt was during the reign of Hakon IV that the Hohenstaufens were waging\ntheir last fight with the papacy, and both sides in the conflict seemed\nanxious to secure the friendship of the great Norwegian king. The Saga\nof Hakon relates that early in the king\u2019s reign \u201cmissions began between\nthe emperor and King Hakon.\u201d[71] In 1241, \u201cwhen King Hakon came to the\nKing\u2019s Crag, that man came to him whose name was Matthew, sent from the\nemperor Frederick with many noble gifts. Along with him came from abroad\nfive Bluemen (negroes).\u201d[72] Just how acceptable such a gift would be in\nmedieval Norway the chronicler does not state. There can be no doubt,\nhowever, that Hakon returned the courtesy. The saga mentions several men\nwho were sent on diplomatic errands to the imperial court. One of these\nemissaries had to go as far as Sicily, \u201cand the emperor received him\nwell.\u201d[73]\n\nFootnote 71:\n\n  _H\u00e1konar Saga_, c. 191.\n\nFootnote 72:\n\n  _Ibid._, c. 243.\n\nFootnote 73:\n\n  _Ibid._, c. 191.\n\nThe relationship with the other Scandinavian kingdoms was more direct.\nThe _King\u2019s Mirror_ states that occasionally kings find it necessary to\nmeet in conference for the discussion of common problems; and that on\nsuch occasions the members of the various retinues note carefully the\ncustoms and manners of the other groups.[74] These meetings were usually\nheld at some point near the mouth of the G\u00f6ta River, where the\nboundaries of the three kingdoms touched a common point. In 1254 such a\nmeeting was held at which Hakon of Norway, Christopher of Denmark, and\nthe great Earl Birger of Sweden were in attendance with their respective\nretinues.[75]\n\nFootnote 74:\n\n  C. xxix.\n\nFootnote 75:\n\n  _H\u00e1konar Saga_, c. 281.\n\nThe kings of the North were not limited, however, in their diplomatic\nintercourse to the neighboring monarchies; their ambassadors went out to\nthe remotest parts of Europe and even to Africa. Valdemar the\nVictorious, in his day one of the greatest rulers in Christendom,\nmarried as his first wife Dragomir, a Bohemian princess who brought the\nDagmar name into Denmark, and took as his second consort Berengaria of\nPortugal, Queen Bengjerd, whose lofty pride is enshrined in the Danish\nballads of the age. Hakon IV married the daughter of his restless rival,\nDuke Skule; but his daughter Christina was sought in marriage by a\nprince in far-away Spain. The luckless princess was sent to Castile and\nwas married at Valladolid to a son of Alfonso the Wise.[76] Louis IX of\nFrance was anxious to enlist the support of the Norwegian king for his\ncrusading ventures and sent the noted English historian Matthew Paris to\npresent the matter to King Hakon.[77] The mission, however, was without\nresults. Norwegian diplomacy was concerned even with the courts of the\ninfidel: in 1262 an embassy was sent to the Mohammedan sultan of Tunis\n\u201cwith many falcons and those other things which were there hard to get.\nAnd when they got out the Soldan received them well, and they stayed\nthere long that winter.\u201d[78]\n\nFootnote 76:\n\n  _H\u00e1konar Saga_, c. 294.\n\nFootnote 77:\n\n  Matthew Paris, _Chronica Majora_, IV, 651-652.\n\nFootnote 78:\n\n  _H\u00e1konar Saga_, c. 313.\n\nAn important event of the diplomatic type was the coming of Cardinal\nWilliam of Sabina as papal legate to crown King Hakon. The coronation\nceremony was performed in Bergen, July 29, 1247. At the coronation\nbanquet the cardinal made a speech in which, as the Saga of Hakon\nreports his remarks, he called particular attention to the polished\nmanners of the Northmen. \u201cIt was told me that I would here see few men;\nbut even though I saw some, they would be liker to beasts in their\nbehaviour than to men; but now I see here a countless multitude of the\nfolk of this land, and, as it seems to me, with good behaviour.\u201d[79] If\nthe _King\u2019s Mirror_ gives a correct statement of what was counted good\nmanners and proper conduct at the court of Hakon IV, the cardinal\u2019s\npraise is none too strong.\n\nFootnote 79:\n\n  _H\u00e1konar Saga_, c. 255. (Dasent\u2019s translation.)\n\nAs a part of his discussion of the duties and activities of the king\u2019s\nhenchmen, the author describes the military methods of the age, arms and\narmour, military engines and devices used in offensive and defensive\nwarfare, and other necessary equipment.[80] He also discusses the ethics\nof the military profession to some extent. This part of the work has\nbeen made the subject of a detailed study by Captain Otto Blom of the\nDanish artillery, who has tried to fix a date for the composition of the\n_King\u2019s Mirror_ on the basis of these materials.[81] It is not likely,\nhowever, that the work describes the military art of the North; such an\nelaborate system of equipment and such a variety of military engines and\ndevices the Norwegians probably never knew at any time in the middle\nages. It is the military art of Europe which the author describes,\nespecially the war machinery of the crusades. One should not be\nsurprised to find that he had knowledge of the devices which were\nemployed by the Christian hosts in their warfare against the infidel in\nthe Orient. The crusades attracted the Norwegian warriors and they took\na part in them almost from the beginning. The fifth crusade began in\n1217, the year of Hakon IV\u2019s accession to the kingship. Several\nNorwegian chiefs with their followers joined this movement, some\nmarching by land through Germany and Hungary, while others took the sea\nroute. One is tempted to believe that the author was himself a crusader,\nbut it is also possible that he got his information as to the military\nart of the south and east from warriors who returned from those lands.\n\nFootnote 80:\n\n  Cc. xxxviii-xxxix.\n\nFootnote 81:\n\n  See below, pp. 62\u201363.\n\nFrom the subject of proper behavior and good breeding the author passes\nto a discussion of evil conduct and its effect on the welfare of the\nkingdom. Many causes, he tells us, may combine to bring calamities upon\na land, and if the evils continue any length of time, the realm will be\nruined.[82] There may come dearth upon the fields and the fishing\ngrounds near the shores; plagues may carry away cattle, and the huntsman\nmay find a scarcity of game; but worst of all is the dearth which\nsometimes comes upon the intellects and the moral nature of men. As a\nprolific source of calamities of the last sort, the author mentions the\ninstitution of joint kingship, the evils of which he discusses at some\nlength. His chapter on this subject is an epitome of Norwegian history\nin the twelfth century when joint kingship was the rule.\n\nFootnote 82:\n\n  C. xxxv.\n\nAccording to the laws of medieval Norway before the thirteenth century,\nthe national kingship was the king\u2019s allodial possession and was\ninherited by his sons at his death. All his sons were legal heirs, those\nof illegitimate birth as well as those who were born in wedlock. When\nthere was more than one heir, the kingship was held jointly, all the\nclaimants receiving the royal title and permission to maintain each his\nown household. Usually a part of the realm was assigned to each; but it\nwas the administration, and not the kingdom itself, which was thus\ndivided. It is readily seen that such a system would offer unusual\nopportunities for pretenders; and at least three times in one hundred\nyears men whose princely rights were at best of a doubtful character\nmounted the Norwegian throne. It is an interesting fact that two of\nthese, the strenuous Sverre and the wise Hakon IV, must be counted among\nthe strongest, ablest, and most attractive kings in the history of\nNorway.\n\nThough there had been instances of joint rule before the twelfth\ncentury, the history of that unfortunate form of administration properly\nbegins with the death of Magnus Bareleg on an Irish battlefield in 1103.\nThree illegitimate sons, the oldest being only fourteen years of age,\nsucceeded to the royal title. One of these was the famous Sigurd\nJerusalemfarer, who took part in the later stages of the first crusade.\nAbout twenty years after King Magnus\u2019 death, a young Irishman, Harold\nGilchrist by name, appeared at the Norwegian court and claimed royal\nrights as a son of the fallen king. King Sigurd forced him to prove his\nbirthright by an appeal to the ordeal, but the Irishman walked unhurt\nover the hot plowshares. Harold became king in 1130 as joint ruler with\nSigurd\u2019s son Magnus, later called \u201cthe Blind.\u201d[83] Three of his sons\nsucceeded to the kingship in 1136. During the next century several\npretenders appeared and civil war became almost the normal state of the\ncountry. Between 1103 and 1217 fifteen princes were honored with the\nroyal title; eleven of these were minors. The period closed with the\ndefeat and death of King Hakon\u2019s father-in-law, the pretender Skule, in\n1240.\n\nFootnote 83:\n\n  The strife that followed the accession of Harold Gille and Magnus the\n  Blind is the subject of Bj\u00f6rnson\u2019s great historical drama, Sigurd\n  Slembe (English translation by William Morton Payne).\n\nIt was the history of these hundred years and more of joint kingship, of\npretenders, of minorities, and of civil war, which the author of the\n_King\u2019s Mirror_ had in mind when he wrote his gloomy chapter on the\ncalamities that may befall a state. Perhaps he was thinking more\nespecially of the unnatural conflict between King Hakon and Duke\nSkule,[84] which was fought out in 1240, and the memory of which was\nstill fresh at the time when the _King\u2019s Mirror_ was being written.\n\nFootnote 84:\n\n  See below, p. 48.\n\nOf the king and his duties as ruler and judge the _Speculum Regale_ has\nmuch to say; but as these matters offer no problems that call for\ndiscussion, it will not be necessary to examine them in detail. Wholly\ndifferent is the case of the king\u2019s relation to the church, of the\nposition of the church in the state, of the divine origin of kingship,\nof the fulness of the royal authority. On these questions the author\u2019s\nopinions and arguments are of great importance: in the history of the\ntheory of kingship by the grace of God and divine right and of absolute\nmonarchy, the _Speculum Regale_ is an important landmark.\n\nIn the discussion of the origin and powers of the royal office, the\n_King\u2019s Mirror_ again shows unmistakably the influence of events in the\npreceding century of Norwegian history. So long as the church of Norway\nwas under the supervision of foreign archbishops, first the metropolitan\nof distant Hamburg and later the archbishop of the Danish (now Swedish)\nsee of Lund, there was little likelihood of any serious clash between\nthe rival powers of church and state. But when, in 1152, an\narchiepiscopal see was established at Nidaros (Trondhjem) trouble broke\nout at once. The wave of enthusiasm for a powerful and independent\nchurch, which had developed such vigor in the days of Gregory VII, was\nstill rising high. Able men were appointed to the new metropolitan\noffice and the Norwegian church very soon put forth the usual demands of\nthe time: separate ecclesiastical courts and immunity from anything that\nlooked like taxation or forced contribution to the state. At first these\nclaims had no reality in fact, as the kings would not allow them; but in\n1163[85] an opportunity came for the church to make its demands\neffective. In that year a victorious faction asked for the coronation of\na new king whose claims to the throne came through his mother only. The\npretender was a mere child and the actual power was in the hands of his\ncapable and ambitious father, Erling Skakke. The imperious archbishop\nEystein agreed to consecrate the boy king if he would consent to become\nthe vassal of Saint Olaf, or, in other words, of the archbishop of\nNidaros. Erling acquiesced and young Magnus was duly crowned. It was\nfurther stipulated that in future cases of disputed succession the final\ndecision should rest with the bishops.[86] The state was formally made\nsubject to the church. It must be noted, however, that it was not the\nhead of Catholic Christendom who made these claims, but the chief\nprelate of the national Norwegian church. The theory was doubtless this,\nthat if the pope is superior to the emperor, the archbishop is superior\nto the king.\n\nFootnote 85:\n\n  The date usually given is 1164; but Ebbe Hertzberg argues quite\n  conclusively for the earlier year. \u201cDen f\u00f6rste norske Kongekroning\u201d;\n  _Historisk Tidsskrift_, Fjerde R\u00e6kke, III, 30-37.\n\nFootnote 86:\n\n  According to the new rules of succession the oldest legitimate son, if\n  qualified for the office, should inherit the throne. The oldest might\n  be passed over, however, in favor of a younger legitimate son, or even\n  in favor of an illegitimate descendant, if the bishops should find\n  such a procedure expedient. See Gjerset, _History of the Norwegian\n  People_, I, 364.\n\nThe new arrangement did not long remain unchallenged. In 1177 the\nopposition to the ecclesiastical faction found a leader in Sverre,\ncalled Sigurdsson, an adventurer from the Faroe Islands, who pretended\nto be a grandson of Harold Gilchrist, though the probabilities are that\nhis father was one Unas, a native of the Faroes.[87] Sverre\u2019s followers\nwere known as Birchshanks, because they had been reduced to such straits\nthat they had to bind birch bark around their legs. The faction in\ncontrol of the government was called the Croziermen and was composed of\nthe higher clergy with an important following among the aristocracy.\nSverre\u2019s fight was, therefore, not against King Magnus alone but against\nthe Guelph party of Norway. For half a century there was intermittent\ncivil warfare between the supporters of an independent and vigorous\nkingship on the one side and the partisans of clerical control on the\nother. King Sverre\u2019s great service to Norway was that he broke the chain\nof ecclesiastical domination. The conflict was long and bitter and the\ngreat king died while it was still on; but when it ended the cause of\nthe Croziermen was lost. The church attained to great power in the\nNorwegian state, but it never gained complete domination.\n\nFootnote 87:\n\n  While it seems probable that Sverre was not of royal blood he was not\n  necessarily an impostor; he may have believed his mother\u2019s assertions.\n  For a discussion of the problem see _ibid._, 376-377.\n\nSverre was a man of great intellectual strength; he was a born leader of\nmen, a capable warrior, and a resourceful captain. When it began to look\nas if victory would crown his efforts, the archbishop fled to England\nand from his refuge in Saint Edmundsbury excommunicated the king. But\nexile is irksome to an ambitious man, and after a time the fiery prelate\nreturned to Norway and was reconciled to the strenuous ruler. Eystein\u2019s\nsuccessor, however, took up the fight once more; and when Sverre made\nNorway too uncomfortable for him, he fled to Denmark and excommunicated\nhis royal opponent. A few years later, Innocent III, who had just\nascended the papal throne, also excommunicated Sverre, and threatened\nthe kingdom with an interdict.[88] But the papal weapons had little\neffect in the far North; the king forced priests and prelates to remain\nloyal and to continue in their duties. No doubt they obeyed the\nexcommunicated ruler with great reluctance and much misgiving; but no\nother course was possible, for the nation was with the king.\n\nFootnote 88:\n\n  It is usually stated that Innocent III actually did lay an interdict\n  on the land, but this appears to be an error. He authorized the\n  bishops to do so, but they seem not to have made use of the\n  authorization. See Bull, \u201cInterdiktet mot Sverre\u201d: _Historisk\n  Tidsskrift_, Femte R\u00e6kke, III, 321-324.\n\nThe militant Faroese was a man with strong literary interests; he was\neducated for the priesthood and it is believed that he had actually\ntaken orders. He was eloquent in speech, but he realized the power of\nthe written as well as of the spoken word. It is a fact worth noting\nthat among the Northmen of the thirteenth century learning was not\nconfined to the clergy. While the author of the _King\u2019s Mirror_ urges\nthe prospective merchant to learn Latin and French, he also warns him\nnot to neglect his mother tongue. King Sverre replied to the\necclesiastical decrees with a manifesto in the Norwegian language in\nwhich he stated his position and his claims for the royal office. This\npamphlet, which is commonly known as \u201cAn Address against the Bishops,\u201d\nwas issued about 1199 and was sent to all the shire courts to be read to\nthe freemen. It was a cleverly written document and seems to have been\nvery effective. In spite of the fact that the king was under the ban,\nthe masses remained loyal.\n\nBetween the political theory of the _Address_ and the ideas of kingship\nexpressed in the _King\u2019s Mirror_ there is an agreement which can hardly\nbe accidental. It is more likely that we have in this case literary\nkinship of the first degree. It has been thought that King Sverre may\nhave prepared his manifesto himself, but this is scarcely probable. Some\none of his court, however, must have composed it, perhaps some clerk in\nthe royal scriptorium, for the ideas developed in the document are\nclearly those of the king. It has also been suggested that the _Address_\nand the _Speculum Regale_ may have been written by the same hand;[89]\nbut the only evidence in support of such a conclusion is this agreement\nof political ideas, which may have originated in a careful study of the\nearlier document by the author of the later work.\n\nFootnote 89:\n\n  This appears to be Heffermehl\u2019s opinion. See _Historiske Skrifter\n  tilegnede Ludvig Daae_, 87.\n\nKing Sverre\u2019s _Address_ begins with a violent attack on the higher\nclergy: the bishops have brought sorrow upon the land and confusion into\nholy church. This deplorable condition is ascribed chiefly to a reckless\nuse of the power of excommunication. In this connection the king is\ncareful to absolve the pope from all guilt: his unfortunate deeds were\ndue to ignorance and to false representations on the part of the\nbishops. It is next argued that excommunication is valid only when the\nsentence of anathema is just; an unjust sentence is not only invalid but\nit recoils upon the head of him who is the author of the anathema. In\nsupport of this contention the author of the manifesto quotes the\nopinions of such eminent fathers as Saint Jerome, Saint Augustine, Pope\nGregory the Great, and other authorities on canon law. It will be\nremembered that the king himself was under the ban at the time. The\nauthor argues further that his view is supported by reason as well as by\nthe law of the church. Bishops have been appointed shepherds of the\nflocks of God; they are to watch over them, not drive them away into the\njaws of the wolves. But if a bishop excommunicates one who is without\nguilt, he consigns him to hell; and if his decree is effective, he\ndestroys one of God\u2019s sheep.\n\nFrom this subject the _Address_ passes to the nature of the royal\noffice. \u201cSo great a number of examples show clearly that the salvation\nof a man\u2019s soul is at stake if he does not observe complete loyalty,\nkingly worship, and a right obedience; for kingly rule is created by\nGod\u2019s command and not by the ordinance of man, and no man can obtain\nroyal authority except by divine dispensation.\u201d The king is not a\nsecular ruler only, he also has holy church in his power and keeping. It\nis his right and duty to appoint church officials, and the churchmen owe\nhim absolute loyalty the same as his other subjects. Christ pointed out\nthe duty of church officials quite clearly when he paid tribute to his\nearthly ruler, one who was, moreover, a heathen.[90]\n\nFootnote 90:\n\n  The _Address_ is published as an appendix to the Christiania edition\n  of the _King\u2019s Mirror_. It has also been issued in separate form under\n  the title _En Tale mod Biskopperne_; this edition is by Gustav Storm.\n\nIt will be seen that the _Address_ puts forth four claims of\nfar-reaching importance: kingship is of divine origin and the king rules\nby the grace of God; the power of royalty extends to the church as well\nas to the state and includes the power to appoint the rulers of the\nchurch; disloyalty to the king is a mortal sin; an unjust sentence of\nexcommunication is invalid and injures him only who publishes the\nanathema. On all these points the _King\u2019s Mirror_ is in complete\nagreement with Sverre\u2019s manifesto.\n\nIn the course of the dialog in the _Speculum Regale_ the son requests\nhis father to take up and discuss the office and business of the king;\nfor, says he, \u201che is so highly honored and exalted upon earth that all\nmust bend and bow before him as before God.\u201d[91] The father accounts for\nthe power and dignity of kingship in this way: men bow before the king\nas before God, because he represents the exalted authority of God; he\nbears God\u2019s own name and occupies the highest judgment seat upon earth;\nconsequently, when one honors a king, it is as if he honors God himself,\nbecause of the title that he has from God.[92]\n\nFootnote 91:\n\n  C. xliii.\n\nFootnote 92:\n\n  C. xliii.\n\nThe author evidently realizes that statements of this sort will not be\naccepted without further argument, and he naturally proceeds to give his\ndoctrine a basis in Biblical history. The reverence due kingship is\nfully illustrated with episodes in the career of David. So long as God\npermitted King Saul to live, David would do nothing to deprive him of\nhis office; for Saul was also the Lord\u2019s anointed. He took swift revenge\nupon the man who came to his camp pretending that he had slain Saul; for\nhe had sinned against God in bearing arms against His anointed. He also\ncalls attention to Saint Peter\u2019s injunction: \u201cFear God and honor your\nking;\u201d and adds that it is \u201calmost as if he had literally said that he\nwho does not show perfect honor to the king does not fear God.\u201d[93]\n\nFootnote 93:\n\n  C. xliv.\n\nTo emphasize his contention that kingship is of divine origin, the\nauthor cites the example of Christ. The miracle of the fish in whose\nmouth the tribute money was found is referred to in the _Address_ as\nwell as in the _King\u2019s Mirror_. Peter was to examine the first fish, not\nthe second or the third. In the same way, and here the argument is\ncharacteristically medieval, \u201cevery man should in all things first honor\nthe king and the royal dignity; for God Himself calls the king His\nanointed.\u201d[94]\n\nFootnote 94:\n\n  _Ibid._\n\nBut, objects the son, how could Christ who is himself the lord of heaven\nand earth be willing to submit to an earthly authority? To this the\nfather replies that Christ came to earth as a guest and did not wish to\ndeprive the divine institution of kingship of any honor or dignity.[95]\nThe author evidently deems it important to establish this contention;\nfor if Christ submitted to Caesar as to a rightful authority, the church\nin opposing secular rulers could scarcely claim to be following in the\nfootsteps of the Master.\n\nFootnote 95:\n\n  C. xliv.\n\nIt seems to be a safe conclusion that the doctrine of the divine\ncharacter of kingship as developed in the _King\u2019s Mirror_ is derived\nfrom King Sverre\u2019s _Address_, unless it should be that the two have\ndrawn from a common source. There is nothing novel about Sverre\u2019s ideas\nexcept the form in which they are stated; fundamentally they are a\nreturn to the original Norwegian theory of kingship. The Norwegian kings\nof heathen times were descendants of divine ancestors. They recognized\nthe will of the popular assemblies as a real limitation on their own\npowers, but no religious authority could claim superiority to the ruler.\nThe king was indeed himself a priest, a mediator between the gods and\nmen. The Christian kings for a century and a half had controlled the\nchurch in a very real manner; they had appointed bishops and had also on\noccasion removed them. The claim of the archbishop to overlordship was\ntherefore distinctly an innovation. The king makes use of arguments from\nthe Bible to support his theory, not because it was based on Scriptural\ntruths, but because to a Christian people these would prove the most\nconvincing.\n\nIn his statement of the fulness and majesty of the royal power, the\nauthor of the _Speculum Regale_ goes, however, far beyond the author of\nthe _Address_. So complete is the king\u2019s power, \u201cthat he may dispose as\nhe likes of the lives of all who live in his kingdom.\u201d[96] He \u201cowns the\nentire kingdom as well as all the people in it, so that all the men who\nare in his kingdom owe him service whenever his needs demand it.\u201d[97]\nThese sentences would indicate that the author\u2019s position lies close to\nthe verge of absolutism. But Norwegian kingship was anything but\nabsolute; the king had certain well-defined rights, but the people also\nhad some part in the government. Professor Ludvig Daae has put forth the\nhypothesis that the author of the _King\u2019s Mirror_ was acquainted with\nthe governmental system of Frederick II in his Italian kingdom, which he\ngoverned as an absolute monarch.[98] There may be some truth in this for\nthere is no doubt that the character of Frederick\u2019s government was known\nto the Northmen; but it is also possible that the theory of absolute\nmonarchy had a separate Norse origin, that the insistence on divine\nright in the long fight with the church had driven the partisans of\nmonarchy far forward along the highway that led to practical absolutism.\nLess than a generation after the _King\u2019s Mirror_ was composed, the newer\nideas of kingship appear in the legislation of Magnus Lawmender. Kings\nhave received their authority from God, for \u201cGod Himself deigns to call\nHimself by their name;\u201d and the preamble continues: \u201che is, indeed, in\ngreat danger before God, who does not with perfect love and reverence\nuphold them in the authority to which God has appointed them.\u201d[99] This\nis the doctrine of the _Address_ as well as of the _Speculum_; the\nsignificant fact is that the principle has now been introduced into the\nconstitution of the monarchy. It is possible that the author of the\n_King\u2019s Mirror_ states an alien principle; but it is more probable that\nhe merely gives form to a belief that had been growing among Northmen\nfor some time.\n\nFootnote 96:\n\n  C. xliii.\n\nFootnote 97:\n\n  C. xxviii.\n\nFootnote 98:\n\n  \u201cStudier angaaende Kongespeilet\u201d: _Aarb\u00f6ger for nordisk Oldkyndighed_,\n  1896, 189.\n\nFootnote 99:\n\n  _Norges gamle Love_, II. 23; Gjerset, _History of the Norwegian\n  People_, I, 463.\n\nOn the question of the validity of excommunication the teachings of the\n_Speculum Regale_ are in perfect accord with those of the _Address_. The\nuncompromising position and methods of Innocent III had given point to\nan exceedingly practical question: was a Christian permitted to obey a\nking who was under the ban of the church? Generally the church held that\nobedience under the circumstances would be sinful. The author of the\n_Speculum_ distinguishes closely, however, between just and unjust\nsentences of excommunication. God has established two houses upon earth,\nthe house of the altar and the house of the judgment seat.[100] There\nis, therefore, a legitimate sphere of action for the bishop as well as\nfor the king. But an act is not necessarily righteous because it\nemanates from high authority either in the church or in the state. If\nthe king pronounces an unjust judgment, his act is murder; if a bishop\nexcommunicates a Christian without proper reasons, the ban is of no\neffect, except that it reacts upon the offending prelate himself.[101]\n\nFootnote 100:\n\n  C. lxix.\n\nFootnote 101:\n\n  C. lxx.\n\nAfter the author has thus denied the right of the church to use the\nsword of excommunication in certain cases, there remains the question:\nhas the king any superior authority over the church? The answer is that\nthe king has such authority; and the author fortifies his position by\nrecalling the story how Solomon punished Abiathar the high priest, or\nbishop as he is called in the _King\u2019s Mirror_. In reply to the young\nman\u2019s inquiry whether Solomon did right when he deprived Abiathar of the\nhigh-priestly office, the father affirms that the king acted properly\nand according to law. The king is given a two-edged sword for the reason\nthat he must guard, not only his own house of judgment, but also the\nhouse of the altar, which is ordinarily in the bishop\u2019s keeping.\nAbiathar had sinned in becoming a party to the treasonable intrigues of\nAdonijah, who was plotting to seize the throne of Israel while his\nfather David was still living. Inasmuch as the high priest had attempted\nto deprive the Lord\u2019s anointed of his royal rights, Solomon would have\nbeen guiltless even if he had taken Abiathar\u2019s life. The author also\ncalls attention to the fact that Abiathar was elevated to the\nhigh-priestly office by David himself.[102]\n\nFootnote 102:\n\n  C. lxx.\n\nOn the question of the king\u2019s right to control episcopal appointments\nthe _King\u2019s Mirror_ is also in agreement with the earlier _Address_. On\nthe death of Archbishop John, the _Address_ tells us, \u201cInge appointed\nEystein, his own chaplain, to the archiepiscopal office[103] ... without\nconsulting any cleric in Trondhjem, either the canons or any one else;\nand he drove Bishop Paul from the episcopal throne in Bergen and chose\nNicholas Petersson to be his successor.\u201d Doubtless the philosopher of\nthe _King\u2019s Mirror_, when he wrote of the fall of Abiathar, was also\nthinking of the many Abiathars of Norwegian history in the twelfth\ncentury, especially, perhaps, of the bishops of Sverre\u2019s reign, who had\nstriven so valiantly to rid the nation of its energetic king. There can\nbe no doubt, however, that he regarded the hierarchy as inferior to the\nsecular government. A bishop, who unrighteously excommunicates a\nNorwegian king and attempts in this way to render him impossible as a\nruler, forfeits not only his office but his life.\n\nFootnote 103:\n\n  Archbishop Eystein was consecrated in 1161.\n\nThere was another problem in the middle ages which also involved the\nquestion of ecclesiastical authority as opposed to secular jurisdiction,\nthe right of sanctuary. There can be no doubt that in the unsettled\nstate of medieval society it was well that there were places where an\naccused might find security for a time at least; but the right of\nsanctuary was much abused, too frequently it served to shield the\nguilty. The _King\u2019s Mirror_ teaches unequivocally that the right of\nsanctuary cannot be invoked against the orders of the king. As usual the\nauthor finds support for his position in the Scriptures. Joab fled to\nGod\u2019s tabernacle and laid hold on the horns of the altar; nevertheless,\nKing Solomon ordered him to be slain, and the command was carried\nout.[104] Solomon appears to have reasoned in this wise: \u201cIt is my duty\nto carry out the provisions of the sacred law, no matter where the man\nhappens to be whose case is to be determined.\u201d It was not his duty to\nremove Joab by force, for all just decisions are God\u2019s decisions and not\nthe king\u2019s; and \u201cGod\u2019s holy altar will not be defiled or desecrated by\nJoab\u2019s blood, for it will be shed in righteous punishment.\u201d[105] And the\nauthor is careful to emphasize the fact that God\u2019s tabernacle was the\nonly house in all the world that was dedicated to Him, and must\nconsequently have had an even greater claim to sacredness than the\nchurches of the author\u2019s own day, of which there was a vast number.[106]\n\nFootnote 104:\n\n  C. lxvi.\n\nFootnote 105:\n\n  C. lxix.\n\nFootnote 106:\n\n  C. lxvii.\n\nThere was a Norwegian Joab in the first half of the thirteenth century,\nwho, like the chieftain of old, plotted against his rightful monarch and\nwas finally slain within the sacred precincts of an Augustinian convent.\nSkule, King Hakon\u2019s father-in-law, was a man of restless ambition, who\ncould not find complete satisfaction in the titles of earl and duke, but\nstretched forth his hand to seize the crown itself. In 1239 he assumed\nthe royal title, but a few months later (1240) his forces were surprised\nin Nidaros by the king\u2019s army, and the rebellion came to a sudden end.\nSkule\u2019s men fled to the churches; his son Peter found refuge in one of\nthe buildings belonging to the monastery of Elges\u00e6ter, but was\ndiscovered and slain. After a few days Duke Skule himself sought\nsecurity in the same monastery; but the angry Birchshanks, in spite of\nthe solemn warnings and threatenings of the offended monks, slew the\npretender and burned the monastery.[107] This was an act of violence\nwhich must have caused much trouble for the king\u2019s partisans, and it is\nmost likely the act which the author of the _King\u2019s Mirror_ had in his\nthoughts when he wrote of the fate of Joab.\n\nFootnote 107:\n\n  _H\u00e1konar Saga_, cc. 239-241; Munch, _Det norske Folks Historie_, III,\n  977-978.\n\nWriters on political philosophy usually begin their specific discussion\nof the theory of divine right of kingship when they come to the great\npolitical theorists of the fourteenth century.[108] The most famous of\nthese is Marsiglio of Padua, who wrote his _Defensor Pacis_ in 1324. In\nthis work he asserted that the emperor derived his title and sovereignty\nfrom God and that his authority was superior to that of the pope. Some\nyears earlier William Occam, an English scholar and philosopher, made\nsimilar claims for the rights of the king of France. Earlier still,\nperhaps in 1310, Dante had claimed divine right for princes generally in\nhis famous work _De Monarchia_. Somewhat similar, though less precise,\nideas had been expressed by John of Paris in 1305. But nearly two\ngenerations earlier the doctrine had been stated in all its baldness and\nwith all its implications by the author of the _King\u2019s Mirror_; and more\nthan a century before Dante wrote his work on \u201cMonarchy\u201d Sverre had\npublished his _Address_ to the Norwegian people. So far as the writer\nhas been able to determine there is no treatise on general medieval\npolitics, at least no such treatise written in English, which contains\neven an allusion to these two significant works.\n\nFootnote 108:\n\n  On this subject, see Figgis, _Divine Right of Kings_, c. iii.\n\nThe ethical ideas that are outlined in the _Speculum Regale_ are also of\nmore than common interest. On most points the learned father preaches\nthe conventional principles of the church with respect to right and\nwrong conduct, and as a rule his precepts are such as have stood the\ntest of ages of experience. He emphasizes honesty, fair dealing, careful\nattendance upon worship, and devotion to the church; he warns his son to\nshun vice of every sort; he must also avoid gambling and drinking to\nexcess.[109] In some respects the author\u2019s moral code is Scandinavian\nrather than Christian: in the emphasis that he places upon reputation\nand the regard in which one is held by one\u2019s neighbors he seems to echo\nthe sentiment that runs through the earlier Eddic poetry, especially the\n\u201cSong of the High One.\u201d \u201cOne thing I know that always remains,\u201d says\nWoden, \u201cjudgment passed on the dead.\u201d[110] And the Christian scribe more\nthan three centuries later writes thus of one who has departed this\nlife: \u201cBut if he lived uprightly while on earth and made proper\nprovision for his soul before he died, then you may take comfort in the\ngood repute that lives after him, and even more in the blissful\nhappiness which you believe he will enjoy with God in the other\nworld.\u201d[111] And again he says: \u201cNow you will appreciate what I told you\nearlier in our conversation, namely that much depends on the example\nthat a man leaves after him.\u201d[112]\n\nFootnote 109:\n\n  Cc. iii-iv, xxxvii.\n\nFootnote 110:\n\n  C. xli.\n\nFootnote 111:\n\n  _H\u00e1vam\u00e1l_, 40: _Corpus Poeticum Boreale_, I, 8.\n\nFootnote 112:\n\n  C. xlii.\n\nThe author is also Norse in his emphasis on moderation in every form of\nindulgence, on the control of one\u2019s passion, and in permitting private\nrevenge. His attitude toward this present world is not medieval: we may\nenjoy the good things of creation, though not to excess. On the matter\nof revenge, however, his ideas are characteristically medieval. Private\nwarfare was allowed almost everywhere in the middle ages, and it appears\nto have a place in the political system of the _Speculum Regale_. But on\nthis point too the author urges moderation. \u201cWhen you hear things in the\nspeech of other men which offend you much, be sure to investigate with\nreasonable care whether the tales be true or false; but if they prove to\nbe true and it is proper for you to seek revenge, take it with reason\nand moderation and never when heated or irritated.\u201d[113]\n\nFootnote 113:\n\n  C. xli.\n\nThe theology of the _King\u2019s Mirror_, as far as it can be discerned, is\nalso medieval, though it is remarkable that the Virgin and the saints\nfind only incidental mention in the work. No doubt if the author had\nbeen able to complete his treatise as outlined in his introduction, he\nwould have discussed the forms and institutions of the church at greater\nlength and we should be able to know to what extent his theological\nnotions were in agreement with the religious thought of the age.\n\nIn this connection his theory of penance and punishment for crime is of\npeculiar interest. He makes considerable use of Biblical narratives to\nillustrate his teachings and refers at length to some of the less worthy\ncharacters of Holy Writ, including certain men who suffered death for\ncriminal offenses. Almost invariably he justifies the punishment by\narguing that it was better for the criminal to suffer a swift punishment\nin death than to suffer eternally in hell. Apparently his theory is that\na criminal can cleanse himself in his own blood, that a temporal death\ncan save him from eternal punishment. The idolaters who were slain by\nMoses and the Levites[114] \u201cwere cleansed in their penance and in the\npangs which they suffered when they died; and it was much better for\nthem to suffer a brief pain in death than a long torture in hell.\u201d The\nsacramental efficiency of the death penalty seems also to extend to the\none who executes punishment: for those who assisted Moses in the\nslaughter sanctified their hands in the blood of those who were slain.\nIn the same way \u201ca king cleanses himself in the blood of the unjust, if\nhe slays them as a rightful punishment to fulfil the sacred laws.\u201d[115]\n\nFootnote 114:\n\n  Exodus, xxxii.\n\nFootnote 115:\n\n  C. lxi.\n\nThere can be little doubt that this doctrine of the death penalty also\nshows the influence of the great civil conflict which ended with the\ndeath of Duke Skule in 1240. During a century of factional warfare there\nhad been much violence, much slaughter, much \u201cswift punishment.\u201d Applied\nto Norwegian history the author\u2019s argument amounts to a justification of\nthe slaughter at Elges\u00e6ter; for Skule and his partisans had rebelled\nagainst the Lord\u2019s anointed. The hands of the Birchshanks were cleansed\nand sanctified in the blood of the rebels; but the author also has this\ncomforting assurance for the kinsmen of the fallen, that their souls\nwere not lost: Skule and his companions were cleansed from their sins in\nthe last great penance of death.\n\nIt may also be that this same long record of violence, treason, and\nrebellion was responsible for the prominence that the _King\u2019s Mirror_\ngives to the duty of obedience. In the political ethics of the work\nobedience is the chief virtue and the central principle. Conversely\ndisobedience is the greatest of all sins. When Saul spared the\nAmalekites, whom the Lord had ordered him to destroy, he sinned far more\ngrievously than did David when he dishonored Uriah\u2019s wife and afterward\nbrought about Uriah\u2019s death; for Saul neglected to carry out the\ncommands of God, and \u201cno offense is graver than to be disobedient toward\none\u2019s superiors.\u201d[116]\n\nFootnote 116:\n\n  C. lxiii.\n\nThe _King\u2019s Mirror_ is a medieval document; it was in large part\ninspired by the course of events in Norway during the century of the\ncivil wars; it records the scientific and political thought of a certain\ndefinite period in Norwegian history. But even though the author of the\nwork must be classed among the thinkers of his own time, his place is\nfar in advance of most of his fellows. His outlook on the world is\nbroader than that of most medieval writers. In matters of science he is\nless credulous and less bound by theological thought than others who\nwrote on these subjects in his own century or earlier. On such questions\nas the cause of earthquakes and the source of the northern lights he\nshows an open-mindedness, which is rarely met with in the middle\nages.[117] For the author\u2019s view of life was not wholly medieval; on\nmany subjects we find him giving utterance to thoughts which have a\ndistinctly modern appearance. His theory of the state and its functions\nis distinctly unorthodox. But it is probably in the field of education\nwhere the great Northman is farthest in advance of his time. In his day\nthe work of instruction was still in the hands of the church; and the\nchurchmen showed no great anxiety to educate men except for the clerical\nprofession. The _King\u2019s Mirror_, however, teaches that merchants must\nalso be educated: they must learn the art of reckoning and those facts\nof science that are of interest to navigators; they must study\nlanguages, Latin, French, and Norwegian; and they must become thoroughly\nacquainted with the laws of the land. But the author does not stop here:\na merchant should also educate his children. \u201cIf children be given to\nyou, let them not grow up without learning a trade; for we may expect a\nman to keep closer to knowledge and business when he comes of age, if he\nis trained in youth while under control.\u201d[118]\n\nFootnote 117:\n\n  See Larson, \u201cScientific Knowledge in the North in the Thirteenth\n  Century\u201d: _Publications of the Society for the Advancement of\n  Scandinavian Study_, I, 141-146.\n\nFootnote 118:\n\n  C. iv.\n\nThe identity of the author of the _Speculum Regale_ has never been\ndisclosed. Anonymous authorship was not uncommon in medieval Norse\nliterature: many of the sagas were written by men whose names are not\nknown. In the thirteenth century, however, it had become customary for\nwriters to claim the honors of authorship. Our philosopher of the\n_King\u2019s Mirror_ clearly understood that his readers would be curious to\nknow his name: if the book, he tells us in his introductory chapter, has\nany merit, that should satisfy the reader, and there is no reason why\nany one should wish to search out the name of the one who wrote it.[119]\nEvidently he had a purpose in concealing his identity, and the motive is\nnot far to seek.\n\nFootnote 119:\n\n  C. i.\n\nAfter the death of King Sverre (1202) the conflict between the king and\nthe hierarchy ceased for a time. The church made peace with the\nmonarchy; the exiled bishops returned; and the faction of the Croziermen\ndisintegrated. After a few years, however, the old quarrels broke out\nanew. On the accession of Hakon IV the church yielded once more, though\nthe prelates did not renounce their earlier claims. In 1245, when plans\nwere being made for King Hakon\u2019s coronation, the bishops put forth the\nsuggestion that the king should, on that occasion, renew the agreement\nof 1163, which gave the bishops control of the succession. But the great\nking refused. \u201cIf we swear such an oath as King Magnus swore, then it\nseems to us as though our honor would be lessened by it rather than\nincreased.\u201d[120] He flatly asserted that he would be crowned without any\nconditions attached to the act, or the crown \u201cshall never come upon our\nhead.\u201d\n\nFootnote 120:\n\n  _H\u00e1konar Saga_, c. 247.\n\nAfter the arrival of Cardinal William of Sabina, who had been sent by\nthe pope to officiate at the coronation, and while preparations for that\njoyous event were going forward, the subject was brought up once more.\nOn the suggestion of the Norwegian bishops the cardinal asked the king\nto take Magnus Erlingsson\u2019s oath; but the king again refused, and the\ncardinal decided that \u201cthere is no need to speak of it oftener.\u201d[121]\nThe king was crowned and there was peace between the two great forces of\nchurch and monarchy, at least so long as Hakon lived. Sometime not long\nbefore or after the coronation of the great king (1247) the _King\u2019s\nMirror_ seems to have been written. It is clear that such ideas as are\nenunciated in this work with respect to the submission of the church to\nthe authorities of the state can not have been relished by the\nhierarchy, and perhaps they were just then somewhat unwelcome to the\nsecular rulers as well, since a discussion of this sort might tend to\nrenew ill feeling and stir up strife. Consequently the author may have\nthought it wiser to remain anonymous.\n\nFootnote 121:\n\n  _Ibid._, c. 251.\n\nEarlier students of the _Speculum Regale_ have believed that the author\nwas some local chieftain, who had spent his more active days at the\nroyal court, but who had later retired to his estates and was spending\nhis declining years in literary pursuits. Various efforts have been made\nto find this chieftain,[122] but with no success; there is no evidence\nthat the lords or crusaders who have been suggested as probable authors\nhad any literary interests or abilities. There can be no doubt that the\nauthor was at one time a prominent member of the royal retinue; he\nasserts in several places that such was the case.[123] He is,\nfurthermore, too thoroughly familiar with the organization of the royal\nhousehold to have been an occasional courtier merely. At the same time\nit is not likely that he was a secular lord; it seems impossible that he\ncould have been anything but a churchman. He knows the Latin language;\nhe is well acquainted with sacred history; he has read a considerable\nnumber of medieval books. It is quite unlikely that the various types of\nlearning that are reflected in the chapters of the _King\u2019s Mirror_ could\nbe found in the thirteenth century in any scholar outside the clerical\nprofession. He could not have been one of the higher ecclesiastics, as\nthe prelates belonged to the faction of the Croziermen. The _Speculum\nRegale_ was evidently written by a member of the Norwegian priesthood,\nthough it is possible that he belonged to one of the minor orders. But\nat all events he was a professional churchman.[124]\n\nFootnote 122:\n\n  See the Sor\u00f6 edition, xxiii; Munch, _Det norske Folks Historie_, III,\n  399, note.\n\nFootnote 123:\n\n  Cc. ii, iii, xxx.\n\nFootnote 124:\n\n  Cf. Daae, \u201cStudier angaaende Kongespeilet\u201d: _Aarb\u00f6ger for nordisk\n  Oldkyndighed_, 1896, 180-181. Daae holds that the author was a\n  clergyman.\n\nThere was an old belief in Norway that the work was written at King\nSverre\u2019s court, perhaps by the priest-king himself;[125] but this theory\nis wholly without foundation. Professor Ludvig Daae, believing that only\na few Northmen possessed the necessary qualifications for the authorship\nof such a work as the _King\u2019s Mirror_, concluded that it must have been\nwritten by Master William, one of the chaplains at the court of Hakon\nIV.[126] Master William was evidently a man of some erudition; he held a\ndegree (_magister_) from a European university; he must have traveled\nabroad and was no doubt a man of experience; he lived and flourished in\nthe period when the work must have been composed. But there is no shred\nof evidence that Master William actually wrote the _King\u2019s Mirror_ or\nthat he was interested in the problems that are discussed in this work.\n\nFootnote 125:\n\n  _Ibid._, 1896, 178.\n\nFootnote 126:\n\n  _Ibid._, 1896, 192-196; see also pp. 179 ff. Daae believes that Master\n  William must have held a position at court corresponding to the office\n  of chancellor; he also conjectures that he was the tutor of the king\u2019s\n  sons. Master William is mentioned in the _H\u00e1konar Saga_, cc. 210, 228.\n\nMore recently A. V. Heffermehl has made an attempt to prove that the\nauthor so long sought for was Ivar Bodde, a Norwegian priest, who seems\nto have played an important part in the history of Norway in the first\nhalf of the thirteenth century as an influential member of the\nanti-clerical party.[127] Much is not known of Ivar Bodde, and nearly\nall that we do know comes from a speech which he is reported to have\ndelivered in his own defence in 1217.[128] He entered King Sverre\u2019s\nservice \u201cbefore the fight was at Strindsea,\u201d which was fought in the\nsummer of 1199. This was also the year in which King Sverre seems to\nhave issued his famous _Address_. \u201cI had good cheer from the king while\nhe lived, and I served him so that at last I knew almost all his secret\nmatters.\u201d In King Inge\u2019s reign (1204-1217) he served in the capacity of\nchancellor: \u201cand that besides, which was much against my wish, they\nrelied on me for writing letters.\u201d During the same reign he also served\nas Prince Hakon\u2019s foster father, and was consequently responsible for\nthe education of the great king.[129] Ivar was also skilled in military\narts: he was a warrior as well as a priest.[130] He was apparently twice\nsent to England on diplomatic errands, first to the court of King John,\nlater to that of Henry III.[131] He withdrew from the court in 1217. In\n1223 he reappears as one of the king\u2019s chief counsellors. After this\nyear nothing is known of Ivar Bodde.\n\nFootnote 127:\n\n  _Historiske Skrifter tilegnede Ludvig Daae_, 79-104 (\u201cPresten Ivar\n  Bodde\u201d). Ivar is one of the characters in Ibsen\u2019s _Pretenders_.\n\nFootnote 128:\n\n  _H\u00e1konar Saga_, c. 21.\n\nFootnote 129:\n\n  _Historiske Skrifter tilegnede Ludvig Daae_, 88-89 (Heffermehl);\n  _H\u00e1konar Saga_, c. 20.\n\nFootnote 130:\n\n  _Historiske Skrifter tilegnede Ludvig Daae_, 80.\n\nFootnote 131:\n\n  _Ibid._, 81, 85.\n\nThe author of the _King\u2019s Mirror_ was a professional churchman who\nbelonged to the anti-clerical faction; he was a master of the literary\nart. Ivar Bodde was a man of this type; nothing is known of his literary\nabilities, but it is clear that a man who was entrusted with the king\u2019s\ncorrespondence can not have been without literary skill. There seems to\nbe no reason why Ivar Bodde could not have written the _King\u2019s Mirror_,\nand he may also have had a hand in the preparation of Sverre\u2019s\n_Address_; but that he actually did write either or both of these\nimportant works has not yet been proved; there may have been other\npriests in Norway in the thirteenth century who stood for the divine\nright of Norwegian kingship.\n\nFrom certain geographical allusions it is quite clear that the work was\nwritten in Norway and in some part of the country that would be counted\nfar to the north. The author mentions two localities in the Lofoten\nregion and he shows considerable knowledge of conditions elsewhere in\nHalogaland;[132] but it is evident that he did not reside in that part\nof the kingdom when he was at work on his great treatise. It is\ngenerally agreed that the home of the _Speculum Regale_ is Namdalen, a\nregion which lies northeast of the city of Trondhjem and which touches\nthe border of Halogaland on the north.[133] This conclusion is based on\ncertain astronomical observations on the part of the author, namely the\nlength of the shortest day, the daily increase in the length of the day,\nand the relationship between the length of the sun\u2019s path and the sun\u2019s\naltitude at noon of the longest and the shortest day.[134] The Norwegian\nastronomer Hans Geelmuyden has determined that if the author\u2019s\nstatements on these points are to be regarded as scientific\ncomputations, they indicate a latitude of 65\u00b0, 64\u00b0 42\u00b4, and 64\u00b0 52\u00b4\nrespectively. All these points lie within the shire of Namdalen.[135] As\nthe author can scarcely have been much more than a layman in the fields\nof mathematics and astronomy, the agreement as to results obtained is\nquite remarkable.\n\nFootnote 132:\n\n  C. vii.\n\nFootnote 133:\n\n  See the Sor\u00f6 edition, pp. lix-lx; the Christiana edition, p. v.\n\nFootnote 134:\n\n  Cc. vi, vii.\n\nFootnote 135:\n\n  \u201cOm Stedet for Kongespeilets Forfattelse\u201d: _Arkiv for nordisk\n  Filologi_, I, 205-208.\n\nThe problem of place is relatively unimportant, but the question of the\ndate of composition has more than mere literary interest. There is\nnothing in the work itself which gives any clue to the year when it was\nbegun or completed. It seems evident, however, that it was written after\nthe period of the civil wars, though while the terrors of that century\nof conflicts were yet fresh in the memories of men. For various other\nreasons, too, it is clear that the _King\u2019s Mirror_ was composed in the\nthirteenth century and more specifically during the reign of Hakon IV.\n\nThe allusion to the Byzantine emperor Manuel Comnenus,[136] whose reign\nbegan in 1143, gives a definite date from which any discussion of this\nproblem must begin. It is also clear that the work was written after the\nchurch had begun to lay claim to power in the government of the state,\nwhich was in 1163.[137] The author looks back to an evil time when\nminorities were frequent and joint kingships were the rule;[138] but the\nperiod of joint rule virtually came to a close in 1184 when Sverre\nbecame sole king; and the last boy king whom the author can have taken\ninto account was Hakon IV, who was thirteen years old when he was given\nthe royal title. It therefore seems evident that the _King\u2019s Mirror_ was\nwritten after 1217, the year of Hakon\u2019s accession.\n\nFootnote 136:\n\n  C. viii.\n\nFootnote 137:\n\n  See above, p. 36.\n\nFootnote 138:\n\n  See above, pp. 33\u201335.\n\nOn the other hand, it is also quite evident that the treatise can not\nhave been written after the great revision of the Norwegian laws which\nwas carried out during the reign of Magnus Lawmender. The new court-law,\nwhich was promulgated about 1275, is clearly later than the _Speculum\nRegale_: the fine exacted for the death of a king\u2019s thegn, which is\ngiven as forty marks in the _King\u2019s Mirror_, is fixed at a little more\nthan thirteen marks in Magnus\u2019 legislation. In 1273 the law regulating\nthe succession to the throne made impossible the recurrence of joint\nkingships; but the principle of this arrangement appears to have been\naccepted as early as 1260, when the king\u2019s son Magnus was given the\nroyal title. Another decree, apparently also from Hakon\u2019s reign, which\nabolished the responsibility of kinsmen in cases of manslaughter and\ndeprived the relatives of the one who was slain of their share in the\nblood fine, also runs counter to methods described in the _King\u2019s\nMirror_, which states distinctly that kinsmen share in the payment.[139]\nIt is therefore safe to conclude that the work was written some time\nbetween 1217 and 1260.\n\nFootnote 139:\n\n  C. xxxvi (p. 201).\n\nThe earliest attempt to date the _King\u2019s Mirror_ was made by the learned\nIcelander, Hans Finsen. In an essay included in the Sor\u00f6 edition (1768)\nhe fixes the time at about 1164.[140] J. Erichsen, who wrote the\nintroduction to this edition, doubts that it was composed at so early a\ndate; impressed with the fact that the work reflects the political views\nof the Birchshank faction, he is inclined to place the date of\ncomposition some time in Sverre\u2019s reign or in the last decade of the\ntwelfth century.[141] The striking resemblance between the ideas\nexpressed in the treatise and the guiding principles of Sverre\u2019s regime\nled the editors of the Christiania edition to the same conclusion: 1196\nor soon after.[142] And so it was held that the work is a twelfth\ncentury document until a Danish artillery officer, Captain Otto Blom,\nbegan to make a careful study of the various types of weapons, armor,\nand siege engines mentioned in the work. His conclusion, published in\n1867, was that the _King\u2019s Mirror_ reflects the military art of the\nthirteenth century and that the manuscript was composed in the latter\nhalf of the century, at any rate not long before 1260.[143] This\nconclusion has been accepted by Gustav Storm,[144] Ludvig Daae,[145] and\nvirtually all who have written on the subject since Blom\u2019s study\nappeared, except Heffermehl, whose belief that Ivar Bodde was the author\ncould not permit so late a date, as Ivar, who was a man of prominence at\nSverre\u2019s court about 1200, must have been an exceedingly aged man, if he\nwere still living in 1260. Heffermehl is, therefore, compelled to force\nthe date of composition back to the decade 1230-1240.\n\nFootnote 140:\n\n  See page xx of the Sor\u00f6 edition.\n\nFootnote 141:\n\n  See pages lxv-lxvi of the Sor\u00f6 edition.\n\nFootnote 142:\n\n  Christiania edition, p. viii.\n\nFootnote 143:\n\n  _Aarb\u00f6ger for nordisk Oldkyndighed_, 1867, 65-109. See above, p. 32.\n\nFootnote 144:\n\n  _Arkiv for nordisk Filologi_, III, 83-88.\n\nFootnote 145:\n\n  _Aarb\u00f6ger for nordisk Oldkyndighed_, 1896, 176-177.\n\nThe weakness of Captain Blom\u2019s argument is that he supposes the military\nart described in the _Speculum Regale_ to be the military art of the\nNorth at the time when the work was written. If all the engines and\naccoutrements that the author describes ever came into use in the North,\nit was long after 1260. Nearly all the weapons and devices mentioned\nwere in use in southern Europe and in the Orient in earlier decades of\nthe thirteenth century; some of them belong to much earlier times. If\ncertain engines and devices which Captain Blom is disposed to regard as\nmythical are left out of account, it will be found that only three items\nfail to appear in illustrations from the earlier part of the thirteenth\ncentury; and it would not be safe to assume that these were not in use\nbecause no drawing of them has been found.\n\nViewed against the background of Norwegian history, those chapters of\nthe _King\u2019s Mirror_ which deal with the nature and the rights of\nmonarchy and with the place of the church in the state take on the\nappearance of a political pamphlet written to defend and justify the\ndoings of the Birchshank party. The motives for composing an apology of\nthis sort may be found at almost any time in the thirteenth century but\nespecially during the decade that closed with the coronation of Hakon\nIV. It will be remembered that the author of the _King\u2019s Mirror_\ndiscusses the calamities that may befall a kingdom as a result of joint\nrule.[146] But in 1235, after one of Earl Skule\u2019s periodic attempts at\nrebellion, his royal son-in-law granted him the administration of\none-third of the realm. The grant was ratified the next year with\ncertain changes: instead of a definite, compact fief the earl now\nreceived territories everywhere in the kingdom. In 1237 Skule was given\nthe ducal title and to many men it seemed as if the curse of joint\nkingship was about to afflict the land once more. Two years later the\npartisans of the duke proclaimed him king: like Adonijah of old he tried\nto displace the Lord\u2019s anointed.[147] But after a few months came the\nsurprise of Skule\u2019s forces in Trondhjem and the duke\u2019s own tragic end in\nElges\u00e6ter convent.[148] It will be recalled that the author defends King\nSolomon\u2019s dealings with Joab and lays down the principle that the right\nof sanctuary will not hold against a king.[149] The rebellion of the\nNorwegian Adonijah was in 1239; he died the death of Joab in 1240. Three\nyears later the believers in a strong monarchy were disturbed by the\nnews that the bishops had revived the old claim to supremacy in the\nstate. Soon after this series of events the political chapters of the\n_King\u2019s Mirror_ must have been composed.\n\nFootnote 146:\n\n  C. xxxvi.\n\nFootnote 147:\n\n  C. lxvi.\n\nFootnote 148:\n\n  See above, p. 48.\n\nFootnote 149:\n\n  C. lxix.\n\nIn 1247, the year of Hakon\u2019s coronation, the hierarchy was once more\nreconciled to the monarchy, and nothing more is heard of ecclesiastical\npretensions during the remainder of the reign. It would seem that after\nthis reconciliation, no churchman, at least not one of the younger\ngeneration, would care to send such a challenge as the _King\u2019s Mirror_\nout into the world. One of the older men, one who had suffered with\nSverre and his impoverished Birchshanks, might have wished to write such\na work even after 1247; but after that date the surviving followers of\nthe eloquent king must have been very few indeed, seeing that Sverre had\nnow lain forty-five years in the grave. It is therefore the writer\u2019s\nopinion, though it cannot be regarded as a demonstrated fact, that the\nclosing chapters of the _King\u2019s Mirror_ were written after 1240, the\nyear when Duke Skule was slain, perhaps after 1243, in which year\nNorwegian clericalism reasserted itself, but some time before 1247, the\nyear of Hakon\u2019s coronation and final reconciliation with the church.\n\nIn the centuries following its composition the _King\u2019s Mirror_ appears\nto have had wide currency in the North. When the editors of the Sor\u00f6\nedition began to search for manuscripts, they found a considerable\nnumber, though chiefly fragments, in Norway and Iceland; and traces of\nthe work were also found in Sweden.[150] Thus far twenty-five\nmanuscripts have come to light; \u201csome of them are extensive, but many\nare fragments of only a few leaves.\u201d[151] Copies of the work were made\nas late as the reformation period and even later.\n\nFootnote 150:\n\n  See the Sor\u00f6 edition, pp. xxix-xxxvii.\n\nFootnote 151:\n\n  _Konungs Skuggsj\u00e1_ (ed. G. T. Flom), p. i. Among the fragments is a\n  part of a Latin paraphrase made in Sweden in the first half of the\n  fourteenth century. The translator was a cleric in the service of the\n  Duchess Ingeborg, a daughter of the Norwegian King Hakon V. Ingeborg\n  was married to the Swedish Duke Erik. _Arkiv for nordisk Filologi_, I,\n  110-112.\n\nThe first mention of the _Speculum Regale_ in any printed work is in\nPeder Clauss\u00f6n\u2019s \u201cDescription of Norway,\u201d[152] the manuscript of which\ndates from the earlier years of the seventeenth century. But more than\none hundred years were still to pass before this important work was\nbrought to the attention of the literary world. Early in the eighteenth\ncentury, however, great interest began to be shown in the records of the\nOld Northern past. The great Icelandic scholar and antiquarian, Arne\nMagnussen, had begun to collect manuscripts and was laying the\nfoundation of the Arnamagnean collection, which is one of the treasures\nof the Danish capital. Among other things he found several copies and\nfragments of manuscripts of the _Speculum Regale_. No effort was made to\npublish any of these before the middle of the century was past; but\nabout 1760 three young scholars began to plan editions of this famous\nwork. The first to undertake this task was Professor Gerhard\nSch\u00f6ning,[153] a Norwegian by birth, who was at the time rector of the\nLatin school in Trondhjem but later held a professorship in the Danish\nacademy at Sor\u00f6. Sch\u00f6ning began the preparation of a Latin translation\nof the work, which he planned to publish along with the original\nversion; but his work was never completed. About the same time an\nIcelandic student at the University of Copenhagen, Hans Finsen,[154]\nlater bishop in his native island, projected an edition, but was unable\nto carry out his plans for want of a publisher, and turned his materials\nover to others. The third and only successful attempt at publication was\nmade on the suggestion of a recently organized association of Icelandic\nscholars known as \u201cthe Invisible\u201d society. This association requested\nHalfdan Einersen,[155] rector of the Latin school at Holar, one of the\nmembers and founders of the \u201cinvisible\u201d body, to prepare an edition. An\nIcelandic merchant, S\u00f6ren Pens, generously offered to bear all the\nexpense of publication.[156]\n\nFootnote 152:\n\n  _Norrigis Bescriffuelse_. See _Aarb\u00f6ger for nordisk Oldkyndighed_,\n  1896, 172 (Daae).\n\nFootnote 153:\n\n  Sch\u00f6ning\u2019s dates are 1722-1780. He was professor of Latin literature\n  and history at Sor\u00f6, but his real achievements lie in the field of\n  Norwegian history.\n\nFootnote 154:\n\n  1739-1796.\n\nFootnote 155:\n\n  1732-1785.\n\nFootnote 156:\n\n  See the introduction to the Sor\u00f6 edition, xxv-xxviii, from which the\n  above facts have been culled.\n\nRector Einersen prepared the text from the best available Icelandic\nmanuscripts. He also made a Danish translation and a Latin paraphrase of\nthe same and forwarded the whole to Denmark to be published. The\nmaterials were given into the editorial charge of another learned\nIcelander, Jon Erichsen, teacher of jurisprudence at Sor\u00f6 Academy.\nAlthough Jon Erichsen\u2019s name does not appear on the title page, it is\nquite clear that the general excellence of the work is in large measure\ndue to his careful collation of Einersen\u2019s text with manuscripts to\nwhich the Icelandic rector had not had access. Professor Erichsen\ndiscarded Einersen\u2019s Danish translation and prepared one of his own. He\nalso found place in the volume for a dissertation by Hans Finsen, which\nwas first published in 1766, and in which the learned theologian\ndiscusses various literary problems, such as the authorship of the work,\nthe date of composition, and the like. All these materials were brought\ntogether and published at Sor\u00f6 in 1768. On the whole the Sor\u00f6 edition is\nan excellent piece of work. The Icelandic text was made with great care\nand reveals the fact that the editors were possessed of a critical\ninsight which for the time was remarkable. The Danish translation is\nsomewhat stiff and literal and does not always follow the laws of Danish\nsyntax; but it is generally accurate and retains an unmistakable flavor\nof the Old Norse original.\n\nExcept for some assistance rendered by Professor Sch\u00f6ning, the first\nedition of the _King\u2019s Mirror_ was the work of Icelanders. The\nNorwegians were also beginning to show some interest in their medieval\npast; but Norway was still a part of the Danish monarchy, the political\nand intellectual center of which was Copenhagen, and for half a century\nlonger the Norwegians were unable to do anything to promote the\npublication of historical materials. However, four years after the Sor\u00f6\nedition had come from the press, a society of Norsemen at the University\nof Copenhagen was organized, the purpose of which was to further the\ncause of Norwegian autonomy. After Norway in 1814 resumed her place\namong the nations of Europe, it was only natural that Norwegian scholars\nshould be attracted to the Old Norse treasures of the middle ages. So\nfar as the means of the impoverished state would allow, publication of\nthe sources of Norwegian history was undertaken. The first Norwegian\nhistorian of distinction was Rudolf Keyser, professor in the University\nof Christiania. In his efforts to draw the attention of his countrymen\nto the glories of earlier centuries, he was soon re\u00ebnforced by his\nyounger contemporary, the fiery and industrious scholar and investigator\nPeter Andreas Munch, who, though his work is somewhat marred by the\nfervor of his patriotism, has not yet found a superior among the\nhistorians of the North. Soon a third was added to these two: Carl R.\nUnger, a man of remarkable abilities as a linguist. These three now\nundertook to edit a series of Old Norse texts, among which was the\n_King\u2019s Mirror_, which was published under the auspices of the\nUniversity of Christiania in 1848.\n\nThe Christiania edition is based on the main manuscript of the _Speculum\nRegale_, the manuscript 243 B of the Arnamagnean collection. This was\nproduced in Norway some time during the last quarter of the thirteenth\ncentury, perhaps not long after 1275.[157] As the manuscript was\nincomplete in part, the editors also made use of the copies which had\nbeen made the basis of the earlier edition. Inasmuch as the materials to\nbe used had been copied at different times and consequently reflected\nvarious stages of linguistic development, it was thought desirable to\nnormalize the orthography: and in this part of their task the editors\nmade use of a fragment which was thought to belong to a somewhat earlier\ndate than the main manuscript.[158] If this belief is correct, the\nChristiania edition must, in respect to orthography, be a comparatively\nclose approximation of the original manuscript.\n\nFootnote 157:\n\n  See Flom\u2019s edition of _Konungs Skuggsj\u00e1_, introduction.\n\nFootnote 158:\n\n  See the Christiania edition, pp. xiii-xvi.\n\nIn 1881 a third edition prepared by the German philologist Otto Brenner\nwas published under the title _Speculum Regale, ein altnorwegischer\nDialog_. Brenner based his text on the Norwegian manuscript 243 B, but\nhe also made use of the Icelandic copy (243 A) and of some of the older\nfragments. His edition consequently includes all the materials that had\nbeen used in the earlier editions. It was Brenner\u2019s purpose to prepare a\ntext which should give the Norwegian version in its original form, so\nfar as such a restoration is possible. Though scholars are not agreed\nthat Brenner achieved his purpose, all have acknowledged the value of\nhis work, and since its publication his version has been regarded as the\nstandard edition.\n\nTwo years ago (1915) the University of Illinois published, under the\neditorial direction of Professor George T. Flom, a photographic\nreproduction of this same manuscript, 243 B. This important linguistic\nmonument has thus been made accessible to scholars in its original form.\nProfessor Flom has also prepared the Old Norse text of the manuscript,\nwhich makes a part of the publication, and has prefaced the whole with\nan extended introduction in which he discusses the history of the\nmanuscript, marginal addenda, abbreviations, and other paleographic and\nlinguistic problems.\n\nUntil very recently the Danish version prepared by Jon Erichsen for the\nSor\u00f6 edition was the only translation of the _Speculum Regale_ into a\nmodern language.[159] But a few years ago the first part of the work was\npublished under the title _Kongespegelen_ in the form of a translation\ninto New Norse, a language of recent origin based on the spoken dialects\nof Norway. As these dialects are closely related to the original idiom\nof the North, such a translation can be made with comparative ease. The\nwork has recently been completed, and in most respects the New Norse\nversion proves to be a very satisfactory translation.\n\nFootnote 159:\n\n  In 1892 a small volume of extracts from the _King\u2019s Mirror_ translated\n  by Chr. Dorph was published in Copenhagen.\n\nSome years ago a number of American scholars who have interests in the\nfields of Scandinavian history, language, and literature united to form\na Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study. The founders\nbelieved that the purpose of the organization might be in part achieved\nby encouraging the publication of some of the great Scandinavian\nclassics in English translation. It was on the suggestion of this\nSociety that the writer undertook to prepare the present version of the\n_King\u2019s Mirror_. The translation is based on the text of the Christiania\nedition, the readings of which have been consistently followed, except\nin a few instances where the scribe does not seem to have copied his\nmanuscript correctly; in such cases the most satisfactory variant\nreadings have been followed.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                   I\n\n               INTRODUCTION: NAME AND PURPOSE OF THE WORK\n\n\nI passed all the crafts before my mind\u2019s eye and studied intently all\nthe practices belonging to each craft; and I saw a vast multitude\nwalking wearily along the paths that slope downward from the highways of\nvirtue into error and vice. Some of these were very steep, and those who\nfollowed them perished in desolate ravines; for the long, wearisome road\nhad fatigued them, and they had not enough strength left to climb up the\nhillside, nor were they able to find the by-paths that led back to the\nhighways of virtue.\n\nThe destruction of this multitude was due, it seemed to me, to various\ncauses: some perished through ignorance, for the ways of error were\ntrodden so generally that they appeared to be the most convenient to\nfollow, and ignorant men mistook them for highways, since the majority\nseemed to walk in them; some perished because of laziness and\ncarelessness; others feared that they would suffer derision and\ncontumely, if they walked the highroad alone; while still others were\nled astray by perversity, wickedness, and the various passions.\n\nBut when I had observed how good morals were scorned and how the\nscorners perished, I began to wonder how to find a road where I should\nnot be traveling entirely alone and yet would not have to choose one of\nthose paths where the crowd were exhausting their strength, lest the\nsteep climb should weary me, if I were to make an effort to get back up\nagain.\n\nInasmuch as my father was still living and loved me well, I thought it\nwould be better to seek his counsel than after a slight consideration to\nreach a decision which might displease him. So I hastened to my father\nand laid the whole problem before him. He was a wise and kind man, and I\nfound that he was pleased when he heard that my errand was to learn\nright conduct. He permitted me to ask whatever I wished about the\npractices of the various crafts, and how they differed. He also promised\nto make known to me all the usages that are most properly observed by\neach craft that I might ask about. He further promised to point out, as\na warning, the paths of error which most men enter upon when they leave\nthe highways of virtue. Finally he promised to show me the by-paths that\nthose may take who wish to return from wrong roads to the highway.\n\nThereupon I began my inquiry by asking about the activities of merchants\nand their methods. At the close of the first discussion, when my\nquestions had all been answered, I became bolder in speech and mounted\nto a higher point in our review of the conditions of men; for next I\nbegan to inquire into the customs of kings and other princes and of the\nmen who follow and serve them. Nor did I wholly omit to ask about the\ndoings of the clergy and their mode of life. And I closed by inquiring\ninto the activities of the peasants and husbandmen, who till the soil,\nand into their habits and occupation.\n\nBut when my father had given wise and sufficient replies to all the\nquestions that I had asked, certain wise and worthy men, who, being\npresent, had heard my questions and his wise and truthful answers,\nrequested me to note down all our conversations and set them in a book,\nso that our discussions should not perish as soon as we ceased speaking,\nbut prove useful and enjoyable to many who could derive no pastime from\nus who were present at these conversations.\n\nSo I did as they advised and requested. I searched my memory and\npondered deeply upon the speeches and set them all in a book, not only\nfor the amusement or the fleeting pastime of those who may hear them,\nbut for the help which the book will offer in many ways to all who read\nit with proper attention and observe carefully everything that it\nprescribes. It is written in such a way as to furnish information and\nentertainment, as well as much practical knowledge, if the contents are\ncarefully learned and remembered. But whoever has clear and proper\ninsight will realize that, if a book is to develop these subjects fully,\nit will have to be a much larger work than this one.\n\nThe book has been given a handsome title: it is called _Speculum\nRegale_, not because of pride in him who wrote it, but because the title\nought to make those who hear it more eager to know the work itself; and\nfor this reason, too, that if any one wishes to be informed as to proper\nconduct, courtesy, or comely and precise forms of speech, he will find\nand see these therein along with many illustrations and all manner of\npatterns, as in a bright mirror. And it is called _King\u2019s Mirror_,\nbecause in it one may read of the manners of kings as well as of other\nmen. A king, moreover, holds the highest title and ought, with his court\nand all his servants, to observe the most proper customs, so that in\nthem his subjects may see good examples of proper conduct, uprightness,\nand all other courtly virtues. Besides, every king should look\nfrequently into this mirror and observe first his own conduct and next\nthat of the men who are subject to him. He should reward all whose\nconduct is good, but should discipline and compel those to observe good\nmorals who cannot learn without threats. Although the book is first and\nforemost a king\u2019s mirror, yet it is intended for every one as a common\npossession; since whoever wishes is free to look into it and to seek\ninformation, as he may desire, about his own conduct, or any other type\nof manners which he may find discussed in the book. And I believe that\nno man will be considered unwise or unmannerly who carefully observes\neverything that he finds in this work which is suited to his mode of\nliving, no matter what his rank or title may be.\n\nIf any one desires or is curious to hear or study this book, he need not\ninquire about the name or the standing of the man who composed and wrote\nit, lest perchance he should reject what may be found useful in it\nbecause of contempt, envy, or hostile feeling of some sort for the\nauthor.[160]\n\nFootnote 160:\n\n  It seems probable that the form in which the author of the _Speculum_\n  expresses his desire to remain anonymous shows the influence of the\n  Old Norse version of the _Elucidarium_, a theological discussion in\n  dialog form, which dates from the twelfth century and is ascribed to\n  Honorius of Autun. The author of the _Elucidarium_ writes as follows\n  in his preface: \u201cMy name, however, I have purposely withheld, lest\n  wicked men should be prompted by a feeling of envy to cast aside a\n  useful work.\u201d For the original Latin preface to the _Elucidarium_ see\n  Migne, _Patrologia Latina_, CLXXII, 1110; the Old Norse version is\n  given in _Annaler for nordisk Oldkyndighed_, 1857, p. 240, 1858, p.\n  24.\n\nThis request, however, which surely may be granted to any man, we should\nlike to make: we ask all good men who hear this book to give it careful\nthought and study; and if there should be aught which seems necessary to\nthe work but has not been included, whether concerning morals and\nconduct or discreet and proper forms of speech, let them insert it in\nproper form and connection. And if they find any matters which seem to\nimpair the work or to have been discussed at too great length, let them\ndiscreetly remove all such and thus, amending our ignorance in kindness,\nhelp our work to be appreciated in proper spirit. For it was not pride\nthat impelled us to labor but good will toward all who seemed to need\nand desire knowledge of this sort.\n\nWhen I went to my father with these inquiries that I have now mentioned,\nI learned in the very first words that I addressed to him, how every one\nought to salute or address one\u2019s father.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                   II\n\n           \u201cTHE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM\u201d\n\n\n_Son._ Good day,[161] sire! I have come to see you as it behooves a\nhumble and obedient son to approach a loving and renowned father; and I\npray you to listen with patience to the questions that I have in mind to\nask and kindly to vouchsafe an answer to each one.\n\nFootnote 161:\n\n  Good day (_God dag_) is still the common form of greeting among\n  Norwegians and other Scandinavians.\n\n_Father._ Inasmuch as you are my only son, I am pleased to have you come\noften to see me, for there are many subjects which we ought to discuss.\nI shall be glad to hear what you wish to inquire about and to answer\nsuch questions as are discreetly asked.\n\n_Son._ I have heard the common report (which I believe is true) as to\nyour wisdom, that in all the land it would be difficult to find a man\nwho has greater insight into every form of knowledge than you have; for\nall those who have difficult matters to settle are eager to get your\ndecision. I have also been told that the same was true when you were at\nthe royal court, and that the entire government, lawmaking, treaty\nmaking, and every other sort of business, seemed to be guided by your\nopinion. Now as I am the lawful heir to your worldly possessions, I\nshould also like to share somewhat in the heritage of your wisdom.\nWherefore I wish to have you point out to me the beginnings and the\nalphabet of wisdom, as far as I am able to learn them from you, so that\nI may later be able to read all your learned writings, and thus follow\nin your footsteps. For I am sure that after your decease many will rely\non your having trained me after your own ways.\n\n_Father._ It pleases me to hear you speak in this wise, and I shall be\nglad to answer; for it is a great comfort to me that I shall leave much\nwealth for my own true son to enjoy after my days; but I should scarcely\nregard him as a son, though I had begotten him, if he were a fool. Now\nif you seek understanding, I will show you the basis and the beginning\nof all wisdom, as a great and wise man once expressed it: to fear\nAlmighty God, this is the beginning of wisdom.[162] But He is not to be\nfeared as an enemy, but rather with the fear of love, as the Son of God\ntaught the man who asked him what the substance of the law was. For the\nSon of God referred him to the Scripture that reads as follows: Thou\nshalt love God with all thy heart and with all thy strength and with all\nthy might.[163] Now one should love God above everything else and fear\nHim at all times when evil desires arise; he should banish evil longings\nfor God\u2019s sake, though he were bold enough to cherish them for men\u2019s\nsake. Now if you wish to know what are the beginnings and the first\nsteps in the pursuit of wisdom, this is the true beginning, and there is\nnone other. And whoever learns this and observes it shall not be wanting\nin true knowledge or in any form of goodness.\n\nFootnote 162:\n\n  _Proverbs_, ix, 10. In the use of Scriptural quotations the author is\n  seldom accurate.\n\nFootnote 163:\n\n  _St. Luke_, x, 27.\n\n_Son._ This is indeed loving counsel, such as one might expect from you;\nbesides, it is good and easily learned by every one whom fortune\nfollows. Still, if one is to be reputed a wise man, it will surely be\nnecessary to take up many things that pertain to the various crafts.\n\n_Father._ This is the beginning and the alphabet of every good thing.\nBut through the alphabet one learns to read books, and in the same way\nit is always better the more crafts are added to this art. For through\nthe crafts a man gains wisdom whatever the calling that he intends to\nfollow, whether that of kingsman,[164] yeoman, or merchant.\n\nFootnote 164:\n\n  A \u201ckingsman\u201d (_konungsma\u00f0r_) was any one who had formally entered into\n  the king\u2019s personal service, whether he was actually employed at court\n  or not. See below, cc. xxiv ff.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  III\n\n                THE ACTIVITIES AND HABITS OF A MERCHANT\n\n\n_Son._ I am now in my most vigorous years and have a desire to travel\nabroad; for I would not venture to seek employment at court before I had\nobserved the customs of other men. Such is my intention at present,\nunless you should give me other advice.\n\n_Father._ Although I have been a kingsman rather than a merchant, I have\nno fault to find with that calling, for often the best of men are chosen\nfor it. But much depends on whether the man is more like those who are\ntrue merchants, or those who take the merchant\u2019s name but are mere\nfrauds and foisterers, buying and selling wrongfully.\n\n_Son._ It would be more seemly for me to be like the rightful ones; for\nit would be worse than one might think likely, if your son were to\nimitate those who are not as they ought. But whatever my fate is to be,\nI desire to have you inform me as to the practices of such men as seem\nto be capable in that business.\n\n_Father._ The man who is to be a trader will have to brave many perils,\nsometimes at sea and sometimes in heathen lands,[165] but nearly always\namong alien peoples; and it must be his constant purpose to act\ndiscreetly wherever he happens to be. On the sea he must be alert and\nfearless.\n\nFootnote 165:\n\n  These \u201cheathen lands\u201d were probably the regions along the Arctic\n  inhabited by the Finns; it is also possible that the author alludes to\n  trading voyages to lands occupied by Esquimaux, though he makes no\n  mention of these people anywhere in his work.\n\nWhen you are in a market town, or wherever you are, be polite and\nagreeable; then you will secure the friendship of all good men. Make it\na habit to rise early in the morning, and go first and immediately to\nchurch wherever it seems most convenient to hear the canonical hours,\nand hear all the hours and mass from matins on. Join in the worship,\nrepeating such psalms and prayers as you have learned. When the services\nare over, go out to look after your business affairs. If you are\nunacquainted with the traffic of the town, observe carefully how those\nwho are reputed the best and most prominent merchants conduct their\nbusiness. You must also be careful to examine the wares that you buy\nbefore the purchase is finally made to make sure that they are sound and\nflawless. And whenever you make a purchase, call in a few trusty men to\nserve as witnesses as to how the bargain was made.\n\nYou should keep occupied with your business till breakfast or, if\nnecessity demands it, till midday; after that you should eat your meal.\nKeep your table well provided and set with a white cloth, clean\nvictuals, and good drinks. Serve enjoyable meals, if you can afford it.\nAfter the meal you may either take a nap or stroll about a little while\nfor pastime and to see what other good merchants are employed with, or\nwhether any new wares have come to the borough which you ought to buy.\nOn returning to your lodgings examine your wares, lest they suffer\ndamage after coming into your hands. If they are found to be injured and\nyou are about to dispose of them, do not conceal the flaws from the\npurchaser: show him what the defects are and make such a bargain as you\ncan; then you cannot be called a deceiver. Also put a good price on your\nwares, though not too high, and yet very near what you see can be\nobtained; then you cannot be called a foister.\n\nFinally, remember this, that whenever you have an hour to spare you\nshould give thought to your studies, especially to the law books; for it\nis clear that those who gain knowledge from books have keener wits than\nothers, since those who are the most learned have the best proofs for\ntheir knowledge. Make a study of all the laws, but while you remain a\nmerchant there is no law that you will need to know more thoroughly than\nthe Bjarkey code.[166] If you are acquainted with the law, you will not\nbe annoyed by quibbles when you have suits to bring against men of your\nown class, but will be able to plead according to law in every case.\n\nFootnote 166:\n\n  The \u201cBirch-isle\u201d code was originally a set of rules governing\n  commercial intercourse. After a time it became a more elaborate law\n  governing the municipality as well as the traders who were more or\n  less permanently located there. It is believed that the name is\n  derived from Birka, a trading center in eastern Sweden not far from\n  the site of modern Stockholm. The \u201cBirch-Isle\u201d code is published in\n  _Norges Gamle Love_, I, part iii, 303-336.\n\nBut although I have most to say about laws, I regard no man perfect in\nknowledge unless he has thoroughly learned and mastered the customs of\nthe place where he is sojourning. And if you wish to become perfect in\nknowledge, you must learn all the languages, first of all Latin and\nFrench, for these idioms are most widely used; and yet, do not neglect\nyour native tongue or speech.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                   IV\n\n                       THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED\n\n\n_Son._ May God reward you, sire, for the love of kinship that you show\nin pointing out so many things that I may find needful,\u2014if I have the\ngood fortune to learn them and to remember them after they are learned.\nAnd if you think there are any other important matters that ought to be\ntaken up in this discussion, I shall be glad to listen attentively.\n\n_Father._ There are, indeed, certain matters which should not be omitted\nfrom this discourse, but they can be stated in a few words, if that\nseems best. Train yourself to be as active as possible, though not so as\nto injure your health. Strive never to be downcast, for a downcast mind\nis always morbid; try rather to be friendly and genial at all times, of\nan even temper and never moody. Be upright and teach the right to every\nman who wishes to learn from you; and always associate with the best\nmen. Guard your tongue carefully; this is good counsel, for your tongue\nmay honor you, but it may also condemn you. Though you be angry speak\nfew words and never in passion; for unless one is careful, he may utter\nwords in wrath that he would later give gold to have unspoken. On the\nwhole, I know of no revenge, though many employ it, that profits a man\nless than to bandy heated words with another, even though he has a\nquarrel to settle with him. You shall know of a truth that no virtue is\nhigher or stronger than the power to keep one\u2019s tongue from foul or\nprofane speech, tattling, or slanderous talk in any form. If children be\ngiven to you, let them not grow up without learning a trade; for we may\nexpect a man to keep closer to knowledge and business when he comes of\nage, if he is trained in youth while under control.\n\nAnd further, there are certain things which you must beware of and shun\nlike the devil himself: these are drinking, chess, harlots, quarreling,\nand throwing dice for stakes. For upon such foundations the greatest\ncalamities are built; and unless they strive to avoid these things, few\nonly are able to live long without blame or sin.\n\nObserve carefully how the sky is lighted, the course of the heavenly\nbodies, the grouping of the hours, and the points of the horizon. Learn\nalso how to mark the movements of the ocean and to discern how its\nturmoil ebbs and swells; for that is knowledge which all must possess\nwho wish to trade abroad. Learn arithmetic thoroughly, for merchants\nhave great need of that.\n\nIf you come to a place where the king or some other chief who is in\nauthority has his officials, seek to win their friendship; and if they\ndemand any necessary fees on the ruler\u2019s behalf, be prompt to render all\nsuch payments, lest by holding too tightly to little things you lose the\ngreater. Also beware lest the king\u2019s belongings find their way into your\npurse; for you cannot know but that he may be covetous who has those\nthings in charge, and it is easier to be cautious beforehand than to\ncrave pardon afterwards. If you can dispose of your wares at suitable\nprices, do not hold them long; for it is the wont of merchants to buy\nconstantly and to sell rapidly.\n\nIf you are preparing to carry on trade beyond the seas and you sail your\nown ship, have it thoroughly coated with tar in the autumn and, if\npossible, keep it tarred all winter. But if the ship is placed on\ntimbers too late to be coated in the fall, tar it when spring opens and\nlet it dry thoroughly afterwards. Always buy shares in good vessels or\nin none at all. Keep your ship attractive, for then capable men will\njoin you and it will be well manned. Be sure to have your ship ready\nwhen summer begins and do your traveling while the season is best. Keep\nreliable tackle on shipboard at all times, and never remain out at sea\nin late autumn, if you can avoid it. If you attend carefully to all\nthese things, with God\u2019s mercy you may hope for success. This, too, you\nmust keep constantly in mind, if you wish to be counted a wise man, that\nyou ought never to let a day pass without learning something that will\nprofit you. Be not like those who think it beneath their dignity to hear\nor learn from others such things even as might avail them much if they\nknew them. For a man must regard it as great an honor to learn as to\nteach, if he wishes to be considered thoroughly informed.\n\nThere remain a few minor matters that ought to be mentioned. Whenever\nyou travel at sea, keep on board two or three hundred ells of wadmal of\na sort suitable for mending sails, if that should be necessary, a large\nnumber of needles, and a supply of thread and cord. It may seem trivial\nto mention these things, but it is often necessary to have them on hand.\nYou will always need to carry a supply of nails, both spikes and rivets,\nof such sizes as your ship demands; also good boat hooks and broadaxes,\ngouges and augers, and all such other tools as ship carpenters make use\nof. All these things that I have now named you must remember to carry\nwith you on shipboard, whenever you sail on a trading voyage and the\nship is your own. When you come to a market town where you expect to\ntarry, seek lodgings from the innkeeper who is reputed the most discreet\nand the most popular among both kingsmen and boroughmen. Always buy good\nclothes and eat good fare if your means permit; and never keep unruly or\nquarrelsome men as attendants or messmates. Keep your temper calm though\nnot to the point of suffering abuse or bringing upon yourself the\nreproach of cowardice. Though necessity may force you into strife, be\nnot in a hurry to take revenge; first make sure that your effort will\nsucceed and strike where it ought. Never display a heated temper when\nyou see that you are likely to fail, but be sure to maintain your honor\nat some later time, unless your opponent should offer a satisfactory\natonement.\n\nIf your wealth takes on rapid growth, divide it and invest it in a\npartnership trade in fields where you do not yourself travel; but be\ncautious in selecting partners. Always let Almighty God, the holy Virgin\nMary, and the saint whom you have most frequently called upon to\nintercede for you be counted among your partners. Watch with care over\nthe property which the saints are to share with you and always bring it\nfaithfully to the place to which it was originally promised.\n\nIf you have much capital invested in trade, divide it into three parts:\nput one-third into partnerships with men who are permanently located in\nmarket boroughs, are trustworthy, and are experienced in business. Place\nthe other two parts in various business ventures; for if your capital is\ninvested in different places, it is not likely that you will suffer\nlosses in all your wealth at one time: more likely it will be secure in\nsome localities, though frequent losses be suffered. But if you find\nthat the profits of trade bring a decided increase to your funds, draw\nout the two-thirds and invest them in good farm land, for such property\nis generally thought the most secure, whether the enjoyment of it falls\nto one\u2019s self or to one\u2019s kinsmen. With the remaining third you may do\nas seems best,\u2014continue to keep it in business or place it all in land.\nHowever, though you decide to keep your funds invested in trade,\ndiscontinue your own journeys at sea or as a trader in foreign fields,\nas soon as your means have attained sufficient growth and you have\nstudied foreign customs as much as you like. Keep all that you see in\ncareful memory, the evil with the good; remember evil practices as a\nwarning, and the good customs as useful to yourself and to others who\nmay wish to learn from you.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                   V\n\n                         THE SUN AND THE WINDS\n\n\n_Son._ It is evident that whoever wishes to become informed on such\nmatters as those which you have now discussed must first try to\ndetermine what is most worth learning and afterwards to keep in mind all\nthat he has heard. But in your discussion just recently you mentioned\nseveral things the nature of which I do not understand, though I have\nreflected upon your statements, namely, the lights of the sky and the\nmovements of the ocean. Moreover, you urged me to learn these things and\nstated that there is knowledge in learning them. But I cannot comprehend\nthem unless I shall hear them explained; and I know of no other wise\nmaster with so kind a will to teach me these matters as yourself.\nTherefore, with your permission, I will ask you to continue this\ndiscussion, so that I may become somewhat better informed on these\nsubjects: how the lights of the sky and the course of the heavenly\nbodies wax and wane; how the time of the day is told and the hours are\ngrouped; but especially how the ocean moves and what causes its\nrestlessness. For sometimes the ocean appears so blithe and cheerful\nthat one would like to sport with it through an entire season; but soon\nit displays such fierce wrath and ill-nature that the life and property\nof those who have anything to do with it are endangered. Now I have\nthought that, although the sun completes its course according to an\nestablished law, that fact cannot produce the unquiet of the sea. If you\nare disposed to explain these things further, I shall listen gladly and\nattentively.\n\n_Father._ I can indeed give such an explanation, just as I have heard it\nfrom the lips of well-informed men, and as seems most reasonable\naccording to the insight that God has given me. The sun has received\ndivers offices: for it brings light and warmth to all the earth, and the\nvarious parts of the world rejoice in its approaching; but its course is\nplanned in such a way that it sometimes withdraws from those regions\nthat it approaches at other times. When it first comes to visit the east\nwith warmth and bright beams, the day begins to lift up silvery brows\nand a pleasant face to the east wind. Soon the east wind is crowned with\na golden glory and robed in all his raiments of joy. He eases griefs and\nregretful sighs and turns a bright countenance toward his neighbors on\neither side, bidding them rejoice with him in his delight and cast away\ntheir winterlike sorrows. He also sends blazing rays into the face of\nthe west wind to inform him of his joy and happiness. He advises the\nwest wind, too, that in the evening he shall be clad in garments similar\nto those which the east wind wore in the morning. Later in the day and\nat the proper hour the southeast wind displays the glory of his\nnewly-gotten robes and sends warming rays with friendly messages into\nthe face of the northwest wind. But at midday the south wind reveals how\nhe has been endowed with riches of heat, sends warm gifts of friendship\nacross to the north wind, warms his cool face, and invites all the\nneighboring winds to share in the abundance of his wealth. As the day\ndeclines the southwest wind with glad face receives the gentle sheen and\ngenial beams. Having put away wrath, he reveals his desire for peace and\nconcord; he commands the mighty billows and steep wave-crests to subside\nwith waning power and calls forth quickening dews in a wish to be fully\nreconciled with all his neighbors. Gently he blows a refreshing breath\ninto the face of the northeast wind, warms his wind-chilled lips, and\nthaws his frosty brow and frozen cheeks. But when evening begins, the\nwest wind, clad in splendor and sunset beauty as if robed for a festal\neve, lifts a gleaming brow above a blithe countenance, and sends a\nmessage on darting beams across to the east wind telling him to prepare\nfor the festive morrow to come.\n\nAt sunset the northwest wind begins to raise his fair brows and with\nlifted eyelids betokens to all his neighbors that the dazzling radiance\nis now in his keeping. Thereupon he sends forth a shadow over the face\nof the earth proclaiming to all that now come the hours of rest after\nthe toil of day. But at midnight the north wind goes forth to meet the\ncoursing sun and leads him through rocky deserts toward the sparse-built\nshores. He calls forth heavy shadows, covers his face with a\nbroad-brimmed helmet, and informs all that he is arrayed for the night\nwatch to keep guard over his neighbors that they may have comfort and\nuntroubled rest after the heat of day. With cool lips he gently blows\nupon the face of the south wind, that he may be better able to resist\nthe violent heat of the coming day. He also scatters the dark clouds and\nclears up the face of heaven in order that the sun, when light appears,\nmay be easily able to send forth his warm and radiant beams in all\ndirections. But on the coming of morn the northeast wind begins to open\nhis closed eyelids and blinks to both sides as if to determine whether\nit is time to rise. Then he opens quickly his clear eyes as if sated\nwith sleep after ended rest. Soon he leads forth the gleaming day into\nall the homesteads like a fair youth and fitting herald, to give sure\nknowledge that the radiant sphere and shining sun follows close behind\nand to command all to be arrayed for his coming. Soon the sun rises and\nshoots forth his beams in all directions to watch over the covenant made\nby the winds; and after that he goes on through his ordained course as\nwe have already told.\n\nWhen peace has been established among these chiefs that we have just\nnamed, it is safe to travel wherever you may wish through the realms of\nany one of them. Then the sea begins to bar out all violent storms and\nmake smooth highways where earlier the route was impassable because of\nbroad billows and mighty waves; and the shores offer harbors in many\nplaces which formerly gave no shelter. Now, while this covenant holds,\nthere will be fair sailing for you or any others who wish to travel to\nforeign shores or steer their ships over the perils of the ocean. It is,\ntherefore, the duty of every man, indeed it is a necessary one, to learn\nthoroughly when one may look for dangerous seasons and bad routes, or\nwhen times come when one may risk everything. For even unwitting beasts\nobserve the seasons, though by instinct, since they have no intellect.\nEven the fishes, though lacking human insight, know how to find security\nin the deep seas, while the winter storms are most violent; but when\nwinter wanes, they move nearer the shores and find enjoyment as after a\nsorrow suffered and past. Later in the spring after the roe has come,\nthey lay the spawn and bring forth a vast multitude of young fishes and\nin this way increase their race, each after its kind and class. It does,\nindeed, show great forethought for unintelligent creatures to provide so\ncarefully against the coming winter storms, and to bring forth their\noffspring at the opening of spring, so that they may enjoy the calm\nweather of summer and search for food in peace and quiet along the wide\nshores; for thus they gather strength enough in summer against the\nensuing winter to sustain themselves among other fishes in the chilly\ndeep.\n\nThe covenant brings joy to the sky as well as to the sea; for as spring\nadvances the birds soaring high into the air rejoice with beautiful\nsongs in the newly made treaty of these lords as in a coming festival.\nTheir joy is as great as if they have escaped great and terrible dangers\nwhich might arise from the strife of these chieftains. Soon they build\nnests upon the earth and lead birdlings forth from them, each after its\nkind. Thus they increase their species and care for their young in the\nsummer that these may be able to find their own sustenance in the winter\nfollowing. Even the earth rejoices in this peace-making, for as soon as\nthe sun begins to pour out its warming rays over the face of the earth,\nthe ice begins to thaw around the frozen grass roots; soon fragrant and\nfair-hued herbs sprout forth, and the earth shows that she finds\ngladness and festive joy in the fresh beauty of her emerald robes. She\ngladly offers to all her offspring the sustenance which she had to\nrefuse them earlier because of the dearth in winter. The trees that\nstood with dripping branches and frozen roots put forth green leaves,\nthus showing their joy that the sorrow and distress of winter are past.\n\nUnclean and repulsive beasts display insight and understanding in their\nability to determine the proper time to increase their kind and to come\nout of their dens. They also observe the season when it is necessary to\nflee the cold and stormy distress of winter and seek shelter under\nrocks, in large crags, or in the deep scar of the landslide till the\ntime to come forth is at hand. Wild beasts that seek their food in woods\nor on the mountains know well how to discern the seasons; for they bear\nthe begotten offspring while winter is most severe, so that they may\nbring forth their young when the grass is fresh and the summer is warm.\nThere is a little creeping thing called the ant, which can teach\nthoughtful men much practical wisdom, whether they be merchants or\nhusbandmen, kings or lesser men. It teaches kings how to build castles\nand fortresses; in the same way it teaches the merchants and the\nhusbandmen with what industry and at what seasons they ought to pursue\ntheir callings; for he who has proper insight and observes carefully the\nactivities of the ant will note many things and derive much profit from\nthem. All other creatures, too, whether clean or unclean, rejoice in\nthis season, and with vigilant eyes seek their food in the warm summer\ntime so as to be able to endure more confidently the perils of a\ndestitute winter season. Now it is this covenant between these eight\nwinds that calls forth all the delights of earth and sky and the calm\nstirring of the sea according to the command and mysterious skill of Him\nWho ordained in the beginning that thus should all nature remain until\nHe should change the order of things. Now if you feel that some of these\nmatters have not yet been fully cleared up, you may continue your\ninquiries and ask what questions you like.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                   VI\n\n           THE TIDES AND THE CHANGES IN THE COURSE OF THE SUN\n\n\n_Son._ It was a wise thought, it seems to me, to ask those questions to\nwhich I have just received such fair replies; and I am encouraged to\ninquire into certain other matters, namely the waxing of the sun, the\nmoon, and the streams or tides of the ocean,\u2014how much and how rapidly\nthese things wax and wane. Now these things that I have brought up for\ndiscussion are subjects which especially touch the welfare of seafaring\nmen, and it looks to me as if they would profit much from a knowledge of\nthese matters, since it gives insight into the right conduct of their\nprofession. And since I intend to labor diligently in the trader\u2019s\ncalling, I should like very much, if it can be done, to have you explain\nfurther some of those things that I have just mentioned.\n\n_Father._ Those things that you have now asked about do not all wax or\nwane with equal rapidity; for the tide, when it rises, completes its\ncourse in seven days plus half an hour of the eighth day; and every\nseventh day there is flood tide in place of ebb. For the tide rises one\nseventh part daily from the time when the rise begins; and after it\nturns and begins to fall, it ebbs in the same way during the next seven\ndays but is retarded as much as half an hour of the eighth day,[167]\nwhich must be added to the seven days. As to how long an hour should be\nI can give you definite information; for there should be twenty-four\nhours in two days, that is, a night and a day, while the sun courses\nthrough the eight chief points of the sky: and according to right\nreckoning the sun will pass through each division in three hours of the\nday. On the other hand, the moon, while it waxes, completes its course\nin fifteen days less six hours;[168] and in a like period it wanes until\nthe course is complete and another comes. And it is always true that at\nthis time the flood tide is highest and the ebb strongest. But when the\nmoon has waxed to half, the flood tide is lowest and the ebb, too, is\nquite low. At full moon the flood tide is again very high and the ebb is\nstrong. But when it has waned to half, both ebb and flood are quite low.\nMerchants are, however, scarcely able to note these changes, as the\ncourse is too swift; for the moon takes such long strides both in waxing\nand waning that men, on that account, find it difficult to determine the\ndivisions of its course. The sun, on the other hand, completes its\ncourse more slowly both in ascending and declining, so that one may\neasily mark all the stages of its course. The sun moves upward one\nhundred and eighty-two and one-half days and three hours and for a like\nperiod it recedes again; it has then completed its entire course, both\nascent and decline, in three hundred days, by the twelve-count[169]\n{360}, plus five days and six hours. Every fourth year this becomes\nthree hundred by the twelve-count and six days more {366}; this is\ncalled leap year, for it has one day more than the preceding\ntwelvemonth, the additional hours being gathered into twenty-four, a\nnight and a day. In Latin all hundreds are counted by tens, and there\nare, therefore, properly computed three hundred by the ten-count plus\nsixty-six days whenever leap year occurs, while the intervening years\nhave only five days and six hours with as many additional days by the\nother reckoning as I have just stated.\n\nFootnote 167:\n\n  The mean retardation is forty-eight minutes.\n\nFootnote 168:\n\n  This is within twenty-two minutes of the length of the lunar\n  half-month.\n\nFootnote 169:\n\n  The Northmen in medieval times had two hundreds, the great hundred, or\n  duodecimal hundred, which counted 120 (12 \u00d7 10) and the ordinary\n  hundred (10 \u00d7 10).\n\nBut to your question concerning the growth of the sun\u2019s path, how one\ncan most clearly discern it, I can scarcely give an answer so precise as\nnot to be wrong in part; for the sun\u2019s path does not wax at the same\nrate in all parts of the earth. I can, of course, answer according to\nwhat I have found in the writings of men who have treated the subject\nthoroughly, and it is generally believed that their words come very near\nthe truth. I have already told you how many hours there are in a night\nand day and gave the number as twenty-four.[170] I have indicated the\nlength of each hour in stating that three hours pass while the sun moves\nacross one division of the sky. Now there are some other little hours\ncalled _ostensa_,[171] sixty of which make one of those that I mentioned\nearlier. It seems to me quite likely that, as far north as we are, the\nsun\u2019s path waxes five of these little hours in a day and as much less\nthan six as a twelfth part of a little hour. And as to the growth of the\nsun\u2019s path it seems most reasonable to me that it waxes three-fourths of\nthese hours toward the east and the west and the remaining fourth in\nheight toward the zenith. South of us, however, this reckoning will\nfail; for north of us the increase is greater and to the south less than\nwe have just stated; and the farther south, the greater is the\ndifference, and the sun more nearly overhead.\n\nFootnote 170:\n\n  See Brenner\u2019s edition, 20.\n\nFootnote 171:\n\n  Error for _ostenta_; the _ostentum_, computed at one-sixtieth of an\n  hour, seems to appear first in the writings of Rabanus Maurus (ninth\n  century).\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  VII\n\n               THE SUBJECT OF THE SUN\u2019S COURSE CONTINUED\n\n\n_Son._ With your permission I wish to inquire somewhat more fully into\nthis subject, for I do not quite understand it. You have said that the\nsun\u2019s ascent is more rapid to the north of us, where summer is almost\nwanting, while the strength of winter is so overpowering that summer\nseems like a mere shadow, and where in many places both snow and ice lie\nall through summer just as in winter, as is true of Iceland and\nparticularly of Greenland. But I have heard that in the southlands there\nare no severe winters, the sun being as hot in winter as it is with us\nin summer; and that in winter, when the sun has less power, both grain\nand other crops grow, while in summer the earth cannot endure the\nfervent heat of the sun and consequently yields neither grass nor grain;\nso that in regions like Apulia and even more so in the land of Jerusalem\nthe heat of summer causes as great distress as the cold of winter with\nus. Now when you tell me that the sun\u2019s path waxes faster here in the\nnorth than yonder in the south, I cannot see the reason why; for there\nthe sun\u2019s heat is as great in winter as it is with us in summer; and it\nis so much greater in summer that all vegetation on the earth is\nscorched by it. Therefore it seems to me more likely that the sun\u2019s path\nwaxes most rapidly where the heat is most intense. Now if you can and\nwill clear this up for me so that I can grasp it, I shall listen gladly\nand attentively.\n\n_Father._ I shall begin my talk on the subject that I am now to take up\nwith a little illustration, which may help you to a clearer insight,\nsince you find it so difficult to believe the facts as stated. If you\ntake a lighted candle and set it in a room, you may expect it to light\nup the entire interior, unless something should hinder, though the room\nbe quite large. But if you take an apple and hang it close to the flame,\nso near that it is heated, the apple will darken nearly half the room or\neven more. However, if you hang the apple near the wall, it will not get\nhot; the candle will light up the whole house; and the shadow on the\nwall where the apple hangs will be scarcely half as large as the apple\nitself. From this you may infer that the earth-circle is round like a\nball and not equally near the sun at every point. But where the curved\nsurface lies nearest the sun\u2019s path, there will the greatest heat be;\nand some of the lands that lie continuously under the unbroken rays\ncannot be inhabited. On the other hand, those lands which the sun\napproaches with slanting rays may readily be occupied; and yet, some of\nthese are hotter than others according as they lie nearer the sun\u2019s\npath. But when the curved and steep slope of the sphere-shaped wheel\nmoves up before the light and the beams of the sun, it will cast the\ndeepest shadow where its curved surface lies nearest the sun; and yet,\nthe lands nearest the sun are always hottest.[172] Now I agree with you\nthat Apulia and Jerusalem are hotter than our own country; but you must\nknow that there are places where the heat is greater than in either of\nthose just mentioned, for some countries are uninhabitable on account of\nthe heat. And I have heard it stated as a fact, that even when the sun\nmounts highest, the night in those regions is very dark and quite long.\nFrom this you must conclude that where the strength and power of the sun\nare greater, since it is nearer, it must ascend and decline more slowly;\nfor the night is long in summer when the sun mounts highest, and the day\nis long in winter when it sinks lowest. Now I shall explain this so\nclearly that you will understand it fully.\n\nFootnote 172:\n\n  It is evident from this discussion that the author believes in a\n  spherical earth; elsewhere, too, he speaks of the sphere of earth\n  (_jar\u00f0arbollr_); see c. lvi.\n\nYou know that here with us in winter the day and the course of the sun\nare brief; for so short is the sun\u2019s path that it passes through but a\nsingle region of the sky, and then only where the sun has considerable\nstrength. But in many places the sun is not to be seen during a large\npart of winter, for example in Halogaland,[173] as we have not only\nheard tell but have often and constantly learned and observed with our\nown eyes. For we know definitely that from about November 10 to January\n10 there never comes a day so bright up north in Vaag or at Andenes[174]\nin Halogaland but that the stars in the sky are visible at midday as at\nmidnight. And although the days have so much light that the stars cannot\nbe seen, nevertheless, in most of the places that we have mentioned the\nsun remains invisible till January 23. But after that date the days\nlengthen and the sun mounts so rapidly, that beginning with April 6\ndaylight does not disappear before September 17, all the intervening\ntime being one continuous day, for daylight never fails in all that\nwhile. From this you may safely conclude that, though the sun is hotter\nin the southern lands that we spoke of earlier, its course waxes and\nmounts more slowly where the night, even at mid-summer, is deep and long\nand dark, and where there is never a time in the whole twelvemonth when\nday does not fail. But in Halogaland, as I have just said, there is no\nday in winter and stars are visible at midday when the day should be\nbrightest; later, however, when the days begin to lengthen, they grow so\nrapidly that early in spring daylight begins to tarry all the night and\ncontinues till much of the autumn is past.\n\nFootnote 173:\n\n  Halogaland, the modern _Nordland_, is that part of Norway lying north\n  of the sixty-fifth parallel.\n\nFootnote 174:\n\n  Vaag and Andenes are points in the Lofoten Islands; their latitudes\n  are 68\u00b0 12\u00b4 35\u2033 and 69\u00b0 18\u00b4 50\u2033 respectively.\n\nThere remains one more proof which will seem very clear to you. You know\nthat in those localities in Halogaland that we have just mentioned the\nsun about May 15 begins to shine with the same brightness by night as by\nday, never setting either at night or during the day but shining\ncontinuously in this manner and with this brightness, except when its\nlight is obscured by clouds, even to July 25. Now you know that the sun\nis only moderately warm in Halogaland, and that there is but a little\ntime in summer when it gives sufficient warmth. Still, there it is with\nits blazing disk about as long as we have just stated, and it maintains\nthe daylight about as long as we have just computed. But neither fact is\ntrue of the southlands, though the sun is hotter there. Now these facts\ngive evidence that the sun is more distant here, for it gives less heat.\nThey also testify to the waxing of its course, for, since its light is\nas bright by night as by day, its path must lengthen more rapidly here.\nBut yonder it waxes less and more slowly, for there the night has its\nprescribed period both for length and darkness in summer as well as in\nwinter.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  VIII\n\n                         THE MARVELS OF NORWAY\n\n\n_Son._ I see this so clearly now that I can no longer gainsay that the\nsun mounts higher and more rapidly up the sky where there is almost no\nday in winter and the sunlight is so abundant in summer that it shines\nby night as well as by day throughout almost the entire season. I also\nsee that its course changes much less yonder where it rises high in\nwinter and gives long days with much heat and sunshine, though the night\nin summer is long and dark. Seafaring traders ought to note the\ndifferences precisely so as to be able to determine what seas they are\nupon, whether they lie to the north or to the south. And it seems\nunnecessary to inquire any further into these matters, for I believe\nthat I have had correct and sufficient answers. Now since we are wearied\nwith profound questions and thoughtful discourse, let us rest from these\nfor a while and turn our conversation to matters of a lighter sort. And\neven though I should inquire about things that are not so useful as\nthose others, which are of the highest utility, I pray you for the sake\nof our intimacy to vouchsafe replies to such questions as I may ask; for\nmy mind is often as eager for amusement as for things of useful intent.\nAnd it may seem restful in a long talk, if a few questions come up that\ncan stir the mind to gentle mirth. I do not wish, however, to bring such\nthemes into our talk unless you give me permission.\n\n_Father._ I take it that you will ask no stupid questions, seeing that\nyou have thus far inquired into such matters only as seem very\npertinent; and you are therefore free to ask whatever you wish; for if\nthe questions do not seem appropriate, we are at liberty to drop them as\nsoon as we like.\n\n_Son._ Now that I am permitted to choose a topic for entertainment, it\noccurs to me that I have asked too little about Ireland, Iceland, and\nGreenland, and all the wonders of those lands, such as fire and strange\nbodies of water, or the various kinds of fish and the monsters that dash\nabout in the ocean, or the boundless ice both in the sea and on the\nland, or what the Greenlanders call the \u201cnorthern lights,\u201d or the\n\u201csea-hedges\u201d that are found in the waters of Greenland.\n\n_Father._ I am not much disposed to discuss the wonders that exist among\nus here in the North, though my reason may be rather trivial: many a man\nis inclined to be suspicious and think everything fiction that he has\nnot seen with his own eyes; and therefore I do not like to discuss such\ntopics, if my statements are to be called fabrications later on, even\nthough I know them to be true beyond doubt, inasmuch as I have seen some\nof these things with mine own eyes and have had daily opportunity to\ninquire about the others from men whom we know to be trustworthy and who\nhave actually seen and examined them, and therefore know them to be\ngenuine beyond question. My reason for bringing up this objection is\nthat a little book has recently come into our country, which is said to\nhave been written in India and recounts the wonders of that country. The\nbook states that it was sent to Emmanuel, emperor of the Greeks.[175]\nNow it is the belief of most men who have heard the book read, that such\nwonders are impossible, and that what is told in the book is mere\nfalsehood. But if our own country were carefully searched, there would\nbe found no fewer things here than are numbered in that book which would\nseem as wonderful, or even more so, to men of other lands who have not\nseen or heard anything like them. Now we call those things fiction\nbecause we had not seen them here or heard of them before the coming of\nthat book which I have just mentioned. That little book has, however,\nbeen widely circulated, though it has always been questioned and charged\nwith falsehood; and it seems to me that no one has derived honor from\nit, neither those who have doubted it nor the one who wrote it, even\nthough his work has been widely distributed and has served to amuse and\ntickle the ear, seeing that what is written in it has always been called\nfiction.\n\nFootnote 175:\n\n  Manuel I, Comnenus, 1143-1180. The \u201clittle book\u201d is thought to have\n  been one of the many forms of the legend of Prester John, a fabulous\n  Christian ruler of India of whom much was heard in the middle ages.\n  About 1165 a letter from the \u201cPresbyter Johannes\u201d addressed to the\n  emperor Manuel Comnenus was circulated through Europe and later found\n  its way into the North. In the extant copies of this letter many\n  marvels are told, though the wonder mentioned in the _Speculum Regale_\n  does not appear. See Zarncke, _Der Priester Johannes_, 83-98.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                   IX\n\n             POPULAR DOUBT AS TO THE GENUINENESS OF MARVELS\n\n\n_Son._ Of course I cannot know how widely our talks will travel either\nin our days or later; and yet, with your permission, I will again ask\nthe pleasure of hearing further speech concerning those matters that we\nmight think strange in other lands, but which we know are surely\ngenuine. And we need not be so very skeptical of this book which is said\nto have been written in India, though many marvels are told in it; for\nthere are many things in our own country, which, though not strange to\nus, would seem wonderful to other people, if our words should fly so far\nas to come thither where such things are unheard of. But if I should\nexpress surprise at any of those tales that are told in that book, it\nseems to me not least wonderful that manikins are able to subdue those\ngreat winged dragons which infest the mountains and desert places there,\nas the book tells us, and tame them so completely that men are able to\nride them just as they please like horses, fierce and venomous beasts\nthough they are said to be and not inclined to allow men in their\nneighborhood, still less to be tamed and to do service.\n\n_Father._ Both such and many other tales are told in that book which\nseem so marvelous that many express their doubts about them; but it\nseems to me that there is no need to compare the wonders that are\ndescribed there with those that we have in our own country, which would\nseem as strange to men yonder as those that you have just mentioned seem\nto us. For it must be possible to tame wild beasts and other animals,\nthough they be fierce and difficult to manage. But it would seem a\ngreater marvel to hear about men who are able to tame trees and boards,\nso that by fastening boards seven or eight ells long under his feet, a\nman, who is no fleeter than other men when he is barefooted or shod\nmerely with shoes, is made able to pass the bird on the wing, or the\nfleetest greyhound that runs in the race, or the reindeer which leaps\ntwice as fast as the hart. For there is a large number of men who run so\nwell on skis that they can strike down nine reindeer with a spear, or\neven more, in a single run. Now such things must seem incredible,\nunlikely, and marvelous in all those lands where men do not know with\nwhat skill and cleverness it is possible to train the board to such\ngreat fleetness that on the mountain side nothing of all that walks the\nearth can escape the swift movements of the man who is shod with such\nboards. But as soon as he removes the boards from his feet, he is no\nmore agile than any other man. In other places, where men are not\ntrained to such arts, it would be difficult to find a man, no matter how\nswift, who would not lose all his fleetness if such pieces of wood as we\nhave talked about were bound to his feet. We, however, have sure\ninformation and, when snow lies in winter, have opportunity to see men\nin plenty who are expert in this art.\n\nNot long since, we mentioned a certain fact which must be thought\nexceedingly strange elsewhere, as it runs wholly counter to the order\nwhich holds good in most places with respect to the change from night to\nday, namely, that here the sun shines as bright and fair and with as\nmuch warmth by night as by day through a large part of the summer.\n\nIn our own country, in M\u00f6re, there is a bog called the Bjarkudal bog,\nwhich must also seem wonderful: for every sort of wood that is thrown\ninto it and left there three winters loses its nature as wood and turns\ninto stone.[176] If it is thrown upon the fire, it will glow like stone,\nthough before it would have burned like wood. I have seen and handled\nmany such stones of which the half that rose above the mire was wooden,\nwhile the part submerged in the bog was wholly petrified. Now we must\ncall that a marvel, for the bog is located in a forest which is heavily\nwooded with young trees of all sorts; and these are not injured so long\nas they are green and growing, but as soon as one is hewn down and,\nhaving begun to decay, is thrown into the bog, it turns into stone.\n\nFootnote 176:\n\n  The \u201cBirchdale\u201d bog seems to be a myth; but that stories of such a\n  marvel were current is evident from a statement by Giraldus\n  Cambrensis, who has heard that there was such a bog in Norway.\n  _Opera_, V, 86. M\u00f6re is an old Norwegian shire lying to the west of\n  Trondhjem along the coast.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                   X\n\n                     THE NATURAL WONDERS OF IRELAND\n\n\n_Son._ I am familiar with all these things since they are found in our\nown country, and I have seen them all. But I have no knowledge of all\nthose other marvels which are to be found in Iceland, Greenland, and\nIreland, and in the seas about those lands, for of those things I have\nheard rumors only.\n\n_Father._ Those lands, if we are to speak more fully about them, differ\nmuch in character and are not all of the same appearance. For the\nwonders of Iceland and Greenland consist in great frost and boundless\nice, or in unusual display of flame and fire, or in large fishes and\nother sea monsters. And these countries are everywhere barren and\nunfruitful and consequently almost unfit for habitation. But Ireland\ncomes near being the best land that is known to man, though the grape\nvine does not grow there.[177] And there are many marvels in Ireland,\nsome of which are of such a character that this country may be called\nholier than all others.\n\nFootnote 177:\n\n  Cf. Giraldus Cambrensis, _Opera_, V, 26-28. Giraldus quotes Bede\n  (_Historia Ecclesiastica_, i, c. 1). See also Isidore, _Etymologiae_,\n  xiv, 6.\n\nThe country lies on that side of the world where heat and cold are so\nwell tempered that the weather is never very hot or very cold. For all\nthrough the winter the cattle find their feed in the open, and the\ninhabitants wear almost no clothes there either in winter or in summer.\nAnd so holy is this land beyond all others that no venomous animal can\nexist there, either snake or toad.[178] When such animals are brought in\nfrom other countries, they die as soon as they touch the bare earth or\nrock.[179] And if wood, earth, or sand is taken from that country and\nbrought to a land where venomous beasts are found, and the sand or earth\nis strewn around them where they lie, they will never be able to cross\nthe circle but must remain within it and perish. In the same way, if you\ntake a stick of wood which has come from the country of which we now\nspeak and trace a circle around them with it by scratching the soil with\nthe stick, they will soon all lie dead within the circle. It is told of\nIreland that men scarcely know of another island of equal size where\nthere are so many holy men. We are also told that the inhabitants of the\ncountry are by nature fierce and murderous and very immoral. But\nbloodthirsty though they be, they have never slain any of the saints who\nare so numerous in the land; the holy men who have dwelt there have all\ndied in sick bed. For the Irish have been kindly disposed toward all\ngood and holy men, though they have dealt savagely with each other.[180]\n\nFootnote 178:\n\n  Cf. Giraldus, _Opera_, V, 62; see also Bede, _Hist. Eccles._, i, c. 1.\n\nFootnote 179:\n\n  \u201cWonders of Ireland\u201d (_Irish Nennius_, 219); this writer states that\n  the experiment has been made.\n\nFootnote 180:\n\n  Giraldus tells us that the Irish are faithless and treacherous\n  (_Opera_, V, 165) but that the island has no martyrs (_ibid._, 174).\n  Cf. _\u00c9riu_, IV, 4 (Meyer, \u201cIrish Memorabilia in the _Speculum\n  Regale_\u201d).\n\nThere is a lake in that country concerning the nature of which strange\ntales are told; it is called Logechag[181] in the native speech. It is\nquite an extensive lake and has this property, that if you take a stick\nof the wood that some call holm and others holly but is called\n_acrifolium_[182] in Latin and fix it in the lake so that part of it is\nin the earth, a part in the water, and a part rising above, the part in\nthe earth will turn into iron, the part in the water into stone, while\nthat which stands out above will remain as before. But if you set any\nother sort of wood in the lake, its nature will not change.[183]\n\nFootnote 181:\n\n  The editor of the _Irish Nennius_ gives this name as Loch n-Echach\n  (Lough Neagh). P. 195, note.\n\nFootnote 182:\n\n  Error for _aquifolium_.\n\nFootnote 183:\n\n  See the \u201cWonders of Ireland\u201d (_Irish Nennius_, 195) where a similar\n  account is given; but according to this \u201cthe part of it that sinks\n  into the earth will be stone, the part that remains in the water will\n  be iron.\u201d Giraldus writes of a petrifying well (_fons_) in the north\n  of Ulster, but gives no place name. _Opera_, V, 86. See also\n  Wright-Halliwell, _Reliquiae Antiquae_, II, 103. (Latin poem on the\n  wonders of Ireland.)\n\nAgain, there are two springs on a mountain called Blandina,[184] which\nis almost a desert mountain; these have a peculiar nature. One of them\nhas this property that if you take either a white sheep, cow, or horse,\nor a man with white hair, and wash any one of these with the water, the\nwhite will immediately turn to coal black. And such is the nature of the\nother spring in that place that if a man washes himself in its water,\nhis hair will turn to a snowy white as if he were an aged man, no matter\nwhat its color be before, whether red or white or black.[185]\n\nFootnote 184:\n\n  Blandina (Bladina, Bladma) is the Slieve Bloom range in central\n  Ireland.\n\nFootnote 185:\n\n  Giraldus has heard of such springs, but he locates the one in Ulster\n  and the other in Munster. _Opera_, V, 84. A spring that whitens hair\n  is mentioned in Wright-Halliwell, _Reliquiae Antiquae_, II, 104, and\n  in the _Irish Nennius_, 195.\n\nThere is also a lake in that country which the natives call Loycha. In\nthat lake there is what appears to be a little floating island; for it\nfloats about in the lake, here and there approaching the shore sometimes\nso near that one may step out upon it; and this occurs most frequently\non Sundays. And such is the property of this islet that if one who is\nill steps out upon it and partakes of the herbs that grow there, he is\nhealed at once, no matter what his ailment may be. Another singular fact\nis this, that never more than one can come upon it at one time, though\nmany may wish to do so; for as soon as one has landed, the island\nimmediately floats away. It also has this peculiarity that it floats\nconstantly about in the lake for seven winters; but as soon as the\nseventh winter is past, it floats to the shore somewhere and unites with\nthe other land, as if it had always been joined to it. But when that\nmoment has come, a crash like a peal of thunder is heard, and, when the\ndin is past, another island can be seen in the lake of the same size and\ncharacter as the earlier one. Thus it happens regularly every seventh\nyear that, as soon as the one island has joined the mainland, another\nappears, though no one knows whence it comes.[186]\n\nFootnote 186:\n\n  See _\u00c9riu_, IV, 6. Kuno Meyer knows of no such story in Irish\n  folklore, but refers to similar tales told of floating islands in\n  Wales and Scotland.\n\nThere is another little island in that country, which the natives call\nInhisgluer.[187] There is a large village on this island and also a\nchurch; for the population is about large enough for a parish. But when\npeople die there, they are not buried in the earth but are set up around\nthe church along the churchyard fence, and there they stand like living\nmen with their limbs all shriveled but their hair and nails unmarred.\nThey never decay and birds never light on them. And every one who is\nliving is able to recognize his father or grandfather and all the\nsuccessive ancestors from whom he has descended.\n\nFootnote 187:\n\n  Inhisgluair, now Inishglory, is on the west coast of Ireland in county\n  Mayo. Giraldus mentions the legend but assigns it to a different\n  locality; see _Opera_, V, 83 and note. The _Irish Nennius_ (193) adds\n  that the nails and hair grow and that unsalted meat does not decay on\n  the island. The island is also referred to in the _Reliquiae\n  Antiquae_, II, 103.\n\nThere is still another quite extensive lake that is called Logri.[188]\nIn that lake is an islet inhabited by men who live a celibate life and\nmay be called, as one likes, either monks or hermits; they live there in\nsuch numbers that they fill the island, though at times they are fewer.\nIt is said concerning this isle that it is healthful and quite free from\ndiseases, so that people grow aged more slowly there than elsewhere in\nthe land. But when one does grow very old and sickly and can see the end\nof the days allotted by the Lord, he has to be carried to some place on\nthe mainland to die; for no one can die of disease on the island. One\nmay sicken and suffer there, but his spirit cannot depart from the body\nbefore he has been removed from the island.\n\nFootnote 188:\n\n  Giraldus refers briefly to this legend. _Opera_, V, 81. The editor of\n  Giraldus\u2019 writings adds in a note (_ibid._): \u201cthe isle of the living\n  was three miles from Roscrea, parish of Cobally, in a lake called Loch\n  Cr\u00e9, now dried up.\u201d Roscrea is near the north edge of Munster not far\n  from the Slieve Bloom mountains. See also the _Irish Nennius_, 217.\n  Meyer identifies Logri with Loch Ree in west central Ireland. _\u00c9riu_,\n  IV, 7.\n\nThere is another large lake which the natives call Logherne.[189] In\nthis lake there is a great abundance of fish of the sort that we call\nsalmon; and the fish is sent into all the country about in such\nquantities that all have plenty for table use. In this lake there are\nalso many islands, one of which is called Kertinagh by the natives. This\nisland might very well be inhabited, as far as size is concerned, if men\ndared occupy it. But it is reported about this island that the powers of\nevil have as great authority over one-half of it as they have in hell\nitself. Venturesome men who have tried to settle there have said that\nthey suffered as great trouble and torment as souls are believed to\nsuffer in hell. But on the other half of the island there is a church\nwith a churchyard about it. Both halves are now deserted, however,\nthough we are told that over the half where the church is the demons\nhave no power.[190]\n\nFootnote 189:\n\n  Probably Lough Erne, though Loch Uair, now Lough Owel, in Westmeath\n  has also been suggested.\n\nFootnote 190:\n\n  Giraldus calls this island the Purgatory of Saint Patrick; but this\n  famous place was \u201con an island in Lough Derg, in county Donegal.\u201d\n  _Opera_, V, 82-83 and note. It seems likely, however, that two\n  different legends have been confused in the Welshman\u2019s account.\n\nIt once happened in that country (and this seems indeed strange) that a\nliving creature was caught in the forest as to which no one could say\ndefinitely whether it was a man or some other animal; for no one could\nget a word from it or be sure that it understood human speech. It had\nthe human shape, however, in every detail, both as to hands and face and\nfeet; but the entire body was covered with hair as the beasts are, and\ndown the back it had a long coarse mane like that of a horse, which fell\nto both sides and trailed along the ground when the creature stooped in\nwalking. I believe I have now recounted most of the marvels that have\ntheir origin in the nature of the land itself, so far as we seem to have\nsure knowledge concerning them.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                   XI\n\n              IRISH MARVELS WHICH HAVE MIRACULOUS ORIGINS\n\n\n_Son._ I consider it fortunate that I had some curiosity to know about\nthese matters, for there are no doubt many so ill-informed that they\nhave never heard about such things. Most men who may hear these accounts\nare likely to find them marvelous, though also somewhat informing. But\nsince I gather from your remarks that there may be certain other things\nthat are wonderful and seem worth discussing, either native to the land\nor having some other origin, I wish to request that nothing be omitted\nwhich you consider worth mentioning, now that we have taken up these\nsubjects.\n\n_Father._ There still remain certain things that may be thought\nmarvelous; these, however, are not native to the land but have\noriginated in the miraculous powers of holy men, and we know of a truth\nthat these do exist. Certain things are told, too, of which we cannot be\nsure whether they are credible or merely the talk of men, though they\nare common rumor in that country; but what follows we know to be true\nbeyond a doubt.\n\nIn that same lake that I mentioned earlier which is called Logri, lies a\nlittle island named Inisclodran. Once there was a holy man named\nDiermicius who had a church on the isle near which he lived. Into this\nchurch and churchyard of which he is the patron no female creature is\nallowed to enter. All beasts are aware of this, for both birds and other\nanimals which are without human reason avoid it as carefully as humans\ndo. And no creature of the female sex ever ventures into that\nchurchyard, nor could it enter if it tried.[191]\n\nFootnote 191:\n\n  The holy island which is shunned by all females is mentioned by\n  Giraldus (_Opera_, V, 80-81), but he fails to give the name of either\n  the lake or the island. In the \u201cWonders of Ireland\u201d (_Irish Nennius_,\n  217) this island is also the one on which no one is permitted to die.\n  A similar legend is alluded to in _Reliquiae Antiquae_, II, 107. Meyer\n  believes that \u201cthe Norse version offers a combination or confusion of\n  two different Irish stories, one relating to Diarmait\u2019s churchyard in\n  Inis Clothrann, and the other relating to an island on Loch Cr\u00e9.\u201d\n  _\u00c9riu_, IV, 9.\n\nOnce there was a holy man in that country named Kevinus, who lived in a\nplace called Glumelaga.[192] At the time he lived almost as a hermit,\nand the event which we shall now relate occurred in his day. It so\nbefell that a young man was living with him, a kinsman of his who was\nhis servant, and the saint loved the youth very much. But the lad fell\nill before his eyes, and the malady grew so heavy and severe that death\nseemed imminent. It was in the spring time, in the month of March, when\nthe man\u2019s illness was at the worst. Then it happened that the youth\nasked his kinsman Kevinus to give him an apple, saying that he would\nfind relief from his illness if he got what he asked for. It seemed\nunlikely, however, that apples could be gotten in that season, as the\nbuds had only just begun to swell and sprout forth leaves on the fruit\ntrees. But because the holy Kevinus grieved sorely over the illness of\nhis kinsman, and also because he was unable to procure what he had\nrequested, he knelt down in prayer and implored God to send him somewhat\nof those things, so that his kinsman might find the relief that he\nyearned for. Having risen from prayer, he stepped outside and looked\naround. Near the house stood a willow of large growth. Kevinus looked up\namong the branches of the willow as if expecting to find help and\ncomfort there; then he saw that apples had grown upon the willow, just\nas there would be on an apple tree in the proper season. He picked three\napples and gave them to the youth, and after the lad had eaten of these,\nhis illness began to leave him and he was cured of the malady. But the\nwillow has ever since continued to keep the gift that God gave it on\nthat occasion, for every year it bears apples like an apple tree; and\nsince that day these have always been called Saint Kevinus\u2019 apples.[193]\nThey have been carried into all parts of Ireland in order that those who\nare ill may partake of them; and they seem to have virtue in all human\nailments, for those who eat of them appear to get relief. But they are\nnot sweet in taste and would not be wanted if men did not prize them for\ntheir healing properties. Many wonderful things have come to pass in\nIreland which certain highly endowed saints have brought about in an\ninstant; and these, too, must seem very marvelous. Thus far, however, we\nhave spoken only of such things as have been achieved through a holiness\nso great that they remain as a testimony to this day and seem as\nwonderful now as on the day when they first occurred. But those other\nmatters that men regard as surely genuine and speak of as actual facts\nwe may now proceed to point out.\n\nFootnote 192:\n\n  Glendalough. St. Kevin was the founder of the great abbey of\n  Glendalough. The year of his death is variously given as 617 and 618.\n\nFootnote 193:\n\n  For a less detailed account of Saint Kevin and the wonderful willow,\n  see Giraldus, _Opera_, V, 113. Cf. _\u00c9riu_, IV, 9.\n\nIn that country there is also a place called Themar,[194] which in olden\ntimes was apparently a capital or royal borough; now, however, it is\ndeserted, for no one dares to dwell there. It was this event that caused\nthe place to be abandoned: all the people in the land believed that the\nking who resided at Themar would always render just decisions and never\ndo otherwise; although they were heathen in other respects and did not\nhave the true faith concerning God, they held firmly to their belief\nthat every case would be decided properly if that king passed upon it;\nand never, they thought, could an unrighteous decision come from his\nthrone. On what seems to have been the highest point of the borough, the\nking had a handsome and well built castle in which was a large and\nbeautiful hall, where he was accustomed to sit in judgment. But once it\nhappened that certain lawsuits came before the king for decision in\nwhich his friends and acquaintances were interested on the one side, and\nhe was anxious to support their contentions in every way. But those who\nwere interested in the suits on the other side were hostile toward him,\nand he was their enemy. So the outcome was that the king shaped his\ndecision more according to his own wish than to justice. But because an\nunrighteous judgment had come whence all people expected just decisions\nand because of this popular belief, the judgment seat was overturned and\nthe hall and the castle likewise, even to their very foundations. The\nsite, too, was overturned, so that those parts of the earth which had\nformerly pointed downward were now turned upward; and all the houses and\nhalls were turned down into the earth and thus it has been ever since.\nBut because such a great miracle happened there, no one has since dared\nto inhabit the place, nor has any king ventured to set up his throne\nthere; and yet, it is the loveliest place known in all that country. It\nis also thought that if men should attempt to rebuild the town, not a\nsingle day would pass without the appearance of some new marvel.\n\nFootnote 194:\n\n  Themar was the ancient royal seat Temhair, now Tara. It seems to be\n  alluded to in _Reliquiae Antiquae_, II, 105. Cf. _\u00c9riu_, IV, 10.\n\nThere is still another wonder in that country which must seem quite\nincredible; nevertheless, those who dwell in the land affirm the truth\nof it and ascribe it to the anger of a holy man. It is told that when\nthe holy Patricius[195] preached Christianity in that country, there was\none clan which opposed him more stubbornly than any other people in the\nland; and these people strove to do insult in many ways both to God and\nto the holy man. And when he was preaching the faith to them as to\nothers and came to confer with them where they held their assemblies,\nthey adopted the plan of howling at him like wolves. When he saw that he\ncould do very little to promote his mission among these people, he grew\nvery wroth and prayed God to send some form of affliction upon them to\nbe shared by their posterity as a constant reminder of their\ndisobedience. Later these clansmen did suffer a fitting and severe\nthough very marvelous punishment, for it is told that all the members of\nthat clan are changed into wolves for a period and roam through the\nwoods feeding upon the same food as wolves; but they are worse than\nwolves, for in all their wiles they have the wit of men, though they are\nas eager to devour men as to destroy other creatures. It is reported\nthat to some this affliction comes every seventh winter, while in the\nintervening years they are men; others suffer it continuously for seven\nwinters all told and are never stricken again.[196]\n\nFootnote 195:\n\n  Saint Patrick.\n\nFootnote 196:\n\n  See the poem on the \u201cWonders of Ireland\u201d (_Reliquiae Antiquae_, II,\n  105), where this transformation is alluded to. Stories of men who have\n  become wolves are also told in Giraldus, _Opera_, V, 101, and in the\n  _Irish Nennius_, 205; but these differ widely from the account given\n  above. Stories of werewolves and lycanthropy are found in folklore\n  everywhere.\n\nThere is still another matter, that about the men who are called\n\u201cgelts,\u201d[197] which must seem wonderful. Men appear to become gelts in\nthis way: when hostile forces meet and are drawn up in two lines and\nboth set up a terrifying battle-cry, it happens that timid and youthful\nmen who have never been in the host before are sometimes seized with\nsuch fear and terror that they lose their wits and run away from the\nrest into the forest, where they seek food like beasts and shun the\nmeeting of men like wild animals. It is also told that if these people\nlive in the woods for twenty winters in this way, feathers will grow\nupon their bodies as on birds; these serve to protect them from frost\nand cold, but they have no large feathers to use in flight as birds\nhave. But so great is their fleetness said to be that it is not possible\nfor other men or even for greyhounds to come near them; for those men\ncan dash up into a tree almost as swiftly as apes or squirrels.\n\nFootnote 197:\n\n  Gelt (_gjalti_) is evidently a Celtic loanword, a form of the Irish\n  _geilt_, meaning mad or madman. Cf. the _Adventures of Suibhne Geilt_,\n  translated by J. G. O\u2019Keefe. Suibhne was an Irish king who lost his\n  reason in battle and for years afterwards led a wild life in the\n  woods. O\u2019Keefe thinks that the author of the _King\u2019s Mirror_ must have\n  heard the tale of Suibhne (pp. xxxiv-xxxv). See also _\u00c9riu_, IV, 12.\n\nThere happened something once in the borough called Cloena,[198] which\nwill also seem marvelous. In this town there is a church dedicated to\nthe memory of a saint named Kiranus.[199] One Sunday while the populace\nwas at church hearing mass, it befell that an anchor was dropped from\nthe sky as if thrown from a ship; for a rope was attached to it, and one\nof the flukes of the anchor got caught in the arch above the church\ndoor. The people all rushed out of the church and marveled much as their\neyes followed the rope upward. They saw a ship with men on board\nfloating before the anchor cable; and soon they saw a man leap overboard\nand dive down to the anchor as if to release it. The movements of his\nhands and feet and all his actions appeared like those of a man swimming\nin the water. When he came down to the anchor, he tried to loosen it,\nbut the people immediately rushed up and attempted to seize him. In this\nchurch where the anchor was caught, there is a bishop\u2019s throne. The\nbishop was present when this occurred and forbade his people to hold the\nman; for, said he, it might prove fatal as when one is held under water.\nAs soon as the man was released, he hurried back up to the ship; and\nwhen he was up the crew cut the rope and the ship sailed away out of\nsight. But the anchor has remained in the church since then as a\ntestimony to this event.[200]\n\nFootnote 198:\n\n  Kuno Meyer identifies Cloena with Clonmacnois. _\u00c9riu_, IV, 12.\n  Clonmacnois is in King\u2019s county eight miles southwest of Athlone.\n\nFootnote 199:\n\n  St. Ciaran (Kiranus) of Clonmacnois was the founder of a great\n  monastery there. The year of his death is given as 547.\n\nFootnote 200:\n\n  In the _Irish Nennius_ (211-213) the following version of this tale\n  appears. \u201cCongalach, son of Maelmithig, was at the fair of Teltown on\n  a certain day, when he saw a ship (sailing) along in the air. One of\n  the crew cast a dart at a salmon. The dart fell down in the presence\n  of the gathering, and a man came out of the ship after it. When he\n  seized its end from above, a man from below seized it from below. Upon\n  which the man from above said: \u2018I am being drowned,\u2019 said he. \u2018Let him\n  go,\u2019 said Congalach; and he is allowed to go up, and then he goes from\n  them swimming.\u201d The translation is by Kuno Meyer: _\u00c9riu_, IV, 13.\n  Congalach was an Irish king (944-956); Teltown is in county Meath. The\n  legend is alluded to in _Reliquiae Antiquae_, II, 105, with some\n  difference in details.\n\nI believe we have now mentioned all the features of this country that\nare most worth discussing. But there is one other matter that I can tell\nabout, if you wish, for the sport or amusement of it. Long time ago a\nclownish fellow lived in that country; he was a Christian, however, and\nhis name was Klefsan.[201] It is told of this one that there never was a\nman who, when he saw Klefsan, was not compelled to laugh at his amusing\nand absurd remarks. Even though a man was heavy at heart, he could not\nrestrain his laughter, we are told, when he heard that man talk. But\nKlefsan fell ill and died and was buried in the churchyard like other\nmen. He lay long in the earth until the flesh had decayed from his\nbones, and his bones, too, were largely crumbled. Then it came to pass\nthat other corpses were buried in the same churchyard, and graves were\ndug so near the place where Klefsan lay that his skull was unearthed,\nand it was whole. They set it up on a high rock in the churchyard, where\nit has remained ever since. But whoever comes to that place and sees\nthat skull and looks into the opening where the mouth and tongue once\nwere immediately begins to laugh, even though he were in a sorrowful\nmood before he caught sight of that skull. Thus his dead bones make\nalmost as many people laugh as he himself did when alive. Now I know of\nno further facts about that country which appear to be suitable\nmaterials with which to lengthen a talk like this.\n\nFootnote 201:\n\n  A somewhat different version of this tale is found in the poem on the\n  \u201cWonders of Ireland\u201d (_Reliquiae Antiquae_, II, 105). See also _\u00c9riu_,\n  IV, 14.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  XII\n\n                   THE MARVELS OF THE ICELANDIC SEAS:\n                           WHALES; THE KRAKEN\n\n\n_Son._ Now since we have discussed everything in Ireland that may be\ncounted marvelous, let us have a talk about Iceland and the wonders that\nare found in the Icelandic seas.\n\n_Father._ Aside from the whales in the ocean, there are, I should say,\nbut few things in the Icelandic waters which are worth mentioning or\ndiscussing. The whales vary much both in kind and size. Those that are\ncalled blubber-cutters\u2014and they are the most numerous\u2014grow to a length\nof twenty ells;[202] a great many of them are, however, so small that\nthey measure only ten ells; the rest are in between, each having its own\nsize. These fishes have neither teeth nor whalebone, nor are they\ndangerous either to ships or men, but are rather disposed to avoid the\nfishermen. Nevertheless, they are constantly being caught and driven to\nland by the hundreds, and where many are caught, they provide much food\nfor men.[203] There are also other varieties of small whales, such as\nthe porpoise, which is never longer than five ells, and the caaing\nwhale, which has a length of seven ells only.\n\nFootnote 202:\n\n  An ell was approximately eighteen inches.\n\nFootnote 203:\n\n  Whale fishing is an ancient industry in Norway; it is mentioned as\n  early as the ninth century in the writings of Alfred the Great. See\n  Nansen, _In Northern Mists_, I, 172.\n\nThere is another kind of whales called the grampus, which grow no longer\nthan twelve ells and have teeth in proportion to their size very much as\ndogs have. They are also ravenous for other whales just as dogs are for\nother beasts. They gather in flocks and attack large whales, and, when a\nlarge one is caught alone, they worry and bite it till it succumbs. It\nis likely, however, that this one, while defending itself with mighty\nblows, kills a large number of them before it perishes.\n\nThere are two other varieties, the beaked whale and the \u201chog whale,\u201d the\nlargest of which are not more than twenty-five ells in length. These are\nnot fit to be eaten, for the fat that is drawn from them cannot be\ndigested either by man or by any beast that may partake of it. For it\nruns through them and even through wood; and after it has stood a while,\nscarcely any vessel can contain it, even if made of horn. There are\ncertain other types which are worth a passing mention only, namely the\n\u201craven whale\u201d and the white whale.[204] The white whales are so named\nbecause of their snow white color, while most other varieties are black,\nexcept that some of them have spots, such as the \u201cshield whale,\u201d the\n\u201cspear whale,\u201d and the baleen whale. All these kinds that I have just\nmentioned may be freely eaten and many other kinds too.\n\nFootnote 204:\n\n  Probably the beluga, also called white whale. The other varieties\n  named in this paragraph, excepting the beaked whale and the baleen\n  whale seem not to have been identified with any known types of whales.\n  It has been suggested that some of them may have been sharks. See\n  Nansen, _In Northern Mists_, II, 243.\n\nThere is another sort of whales called the \u201cfish driver,\u201d[205] which is\nperhaps the most useful of all to men; for it drives the herring and all\nother kinds of fish in toward the land from the ocean outside, as if\nappointed and sent by the Lord for this purpose. This is its duty and\noffice as long as the fishermen keep the peace on the fishing grounds.\nIts nature is also peculiar in this, that it seemingly knows how to\nspare both ships and men. But when the fishermen fall to quarreling and\nfighting, so that blood is spilt, this whale seems able to perceive it;\nfor it moves in between the land and the fish and chases the shoals back\ninto the ocean, just as it earlier had driven them in toward the men.\nThese whales are not more than thirty ells in length, or forty at the\nvery largest. They would provide good food, if men were allowed to hunt\nthem, but no one is permitted to catch or harm them, since they are of\nsuch great and constant service to men.\n\nFootnote 205:\n\n  The editor of the Sor\u00f6 edition identifies this with the nor-caper\n  (_Bal\u00e6na glacialis_), though he thinks it possible that the fin-fish\n  (_Bal\u00e6noptera laticeps_) may be meant (p. 125).\n\nAnother kind is called the sperm whale. These are toothed whales, though\nthe teeth are barely large enough to be carved into fair-sized knife\nhandles or chess men. They are neither fierce nor savage, but rather of\na gentle nature, and so far as possible they avoid the fishermen. In\nsize they are about like those that I mentioned last. Their teeth are so\nnumerous that more than seventy can be found in the head of a single\nwhale of this sort.\n\nStill another species is called the right whale;[206] this has no fins\nalong the spine and is about as large as the sort that we mentioned\nlast. Sea-faring men fear it very much, for it is by nature disposed to\nsport with ships.\n\nFootnote 206:\n\n  _Bal\u00e6na mysticetus_; also called bowhead or Greenland whale.\n\nThere is another kind called the Greenland shark,[207] which is peculiar\nin this, that it has caul and fat in the abdomen like cattle. The\nlargest of these whales grow to a length of thirty ells at most.\n\nFootnote 207:\n\n  It is possible that the basking sharks are meant rather than the\n  Greenland sharks; they are larger than the Greenland sharks, but do\n  not seem to be common in the Arctic waters.\n\nThere are certain varieties that are fierce and savage toward men and\nare constantly seeking to destroy them at every chance. One of these is\ncalled the \u201chorse whale,\u201d and another the \u201cred comb.\u201d[208] They are very\nvoracious and malicious and never grow tired of slaying men. They roam\nabout in all the seas looking for ships, and when they find one they\nleap up, for in that way they are able to sink and destroy it the more\nquickly. These fishes are unfit for human food; being the natural\nenemies of mankind, they are, in fact, loathsome. The largest of this\ntype never grow more than thirty or forty ells in length.\n\nFootnote 208:\n\n  The \u201chorse whale\u201d and the \u201cred comb\u201d have not been identified.\n\nThere is still another sort called the narwhal, which may not be eaten\nfor fear of disease, for men fall ill and die if they eat of it. This\nwhale is not large in size; it never grows longer than twenty ells. It\nis not at all savage but rather tries to avoid fishermen. It has teeth\nin its head, all small but one which projects from the front of the\nupper jaw. This tooth is handsome, well formed, and straight as an onion\nstem. It may grow to a length of seven ells and is as even and smooth as\nif shaped with a tool. It projects straight forward from the head when\nthe whale is traveling; but sharp and straight though it is, it is of no\nservice as a defensive weapon; for the whale is so fond and careful of\nits tusk that it allows nothing to come near it. I know of no other\nvarieties of whales that are unfit for human food, only these five that\nI have now enumerated: the two that I mentioned first were the beaked\nwhale and the \u201chog whale;\u201d the three mentioned later were the \u201chorse\nwhale,\u201d the \u201cred comb,\u201d and the narwhal.\n\nThere are certain varieties of even greater size which I have not yet\ndescribed; and all those that I shall now discuss may be eaten by men.\nSome of them are dangerous for men to meet, while others are gentle and\npeaceable. One of these is called humpback; this fish is large and very\ndangerous to ships. It has a habit of striking at the vessel with its\nfins and of lying and floating just in front of the prow where sailors\ntravel. Though the ship turn aside, the whale will continue to keep in\nfront, so there is no choice but to sail upon it; but if a ship does\nsail upon it, the whale will throw the vessel and destroy all on board.\nThe largest of these fishes grow to a length of seventy or eighty ells;\nthey are good to eat.\n\nThen there is that kind which is called the Greenland whale.[209] This\nfish grows to a length of eighty or even ninety ells and is as large\naround as it is long; for a rope that is stretched the length of one\nwill just reach around it where it is bulkiest. Its head is so large\nthat it comprises fully a third of the entire bulk. This fish is very\ncleanly in choice of food; for people say that it subsists wholly on\nmist and rain and whatever falls into the sea from the air above. When\none is caught and its entrails are examined, nothing is found in its\nabdomen like what is found in other fishes that take food, for the\nabdomen is empty and clean. It cannot readily open and close its mouth,\nfor the whalebone which grows in it will rise[210] and stand upright in\nthe mouth when it is opened wide; and consequently whales of this type\noften perish because of their inability to close the mouth. This whale\nrarely gives trouble to ships. It has no teeth and is fat and good to\neat.\n\nFootnote 209:\n\n  This is another name for the right whale described above; the author\u2019s\n  classification in this case must have been based on size only.\n\nFootnote 210:\n\n  The author seems to believe that the whalebone rises from the lower\n  jaw or the floor of the mouth; as a matter of fact it is fastened to\n  the palate.\n\nThen there is a kind of whale called the rorqual, and this fish is the\nbest of all for food. It is of a peaceful disposition and does not\nbother ships, though it may swim very close to them. This fish is of\ngreat size and length; it is reported that the largest thus far caught\nhave measured thirteen times ten ells, that is, one hundred and thirty\nells by the ten-count. Because of its quiet and peaceful behavior it\noften falls a prey to whale fishers. It is better for eating and smells\nbetter than any of the other fishes that we have talked about, though it\nis said to be very fat; it has no teeth. It has been asserted, too, that\nif one can get some of the sperm of this whale and be perfectly sure\nthat it came from this sort and no other, it will be found a most\neffective remedy for eye troubles, leprosy, ague, headache, and for\nevery other ill that afflicts mankind. Sperm from other whales also\nmakes good medicine, though not so good as this sort. And now I have\nenumerated nearly all the varieties of whales that are hunted by men.\n\nThere is a fish not yet mentioned which it is scarcely advisable to\nspeak about on account of its size, which to most men will seem\nincredible. There are, moreover, but very few who can tell anything\ndefinite about it, inasmuch as it is rarely seen by men; for it almost\nnever approaches the shore or appears where fishermen can see it, and I\ndoubt that this sort of fish is very plentiful in the sea. In our\nlanguage it is usually called the \u201ckraken.\u201d I can say nothing definite\nas to its length in ells, for on those occasions when men have seen it,\nit has appeared more like an island than a fish. Nor have I heard that\none has ever been caught or found dead. It seems likely that there are\nbut two in all the ocean and that these beget no offspring, for I\nbelieve it is always the same ones that appear. Nor would it be well for\nother fishes if they were as numerous as the other whales, seeing that\nthey are so immense and need so much food. It is said, that when these\nfishes want something to eat, they are in the habit of giving forth a\nviolent belch, which brings up so much food that all sorts of fish in\nthe neighborhood, both large and small, will rush up in the hope of\ngetting nourishment and good fare. Meanwhile the monster keeps it mouth\nopen, and inasmuch as its opening is about as wide as a sound or fjord,\nthe fishes cannot help crowding in in great numbers. But as soon as its\nmouth and belly are full, the monster closes its mouth and thus catches\nand shuts in all the fishes that just previously had rushed in eagerly\nto seek food.[211]\n\nFootnote 211:\n\n  The kraken myth probably came to the North with the legend of St.\n  Brendan, an Irish abbot, who was believed to have made a journey into\n  the Atlantic about the middle of the sixth century. The oldest extant\n  form of the legend, the _Navigatio Brendani_, dates from the eleventh\n  century. For earlier versions of the myth see Nansen, _In Northern\n  Mists_, II, 234.\n\nNow we have mentioned and described most of those things in the\nIcelandic waters that would be counted wonderful, and among them a few\nthat are more plentiful in other seas than in those which we have just\ndiscussed.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  XIII\n\n                         THE WONDERS OF ICELAND\n\n\n_Son._ Now since we have named most of the species of fish that roam\nabout in the ocean, those that are worth mentioning or discussing, I\nshould like to hear about those features of the land itself that are\nmost worthy of mention. What do you think of the extraordinary fire\nwhich rages constantly in that country? Does it rise out of some natural\npeculiarity of the land, or can it be that it has its origin in the\nspirit world? And what do you think about those terrifying earthquakes\nthat can occur there, or those marvelous lakes, or the ice which covers\nall the higher levels?\n\n_Father._ As to the ice that is found in Iceland, I am inclined to\nbelieve that it is a penalty which the land suffers for lying so close\nto Greenland; for it is to be expected that severe cold would come\nthence, since Greenland is ice-clad beyond all other lands. Now since\nIceland gets so much cold from that side and receives but little heat\nfrom the sun, it necessarily has an over-abundance of ice on the\nmountain ridges. But concerning the extraordinary fires which burn\nthere, I scarcely know what to say, for they possess a strange nature. I\nhave heard that in Sicily there is an immense fire of unusual power\nwhich consumes both earth and wood. I have also heard that Saint Gregory\nhas stated in his _Dialogues_[212] that there are places of torment[213]\nin the fires of Sicily. But men are much more inclined to believe that\nthere must be such places of torment in those fires in Iceland. For the\nfires in Sicily feed on living things, as they consume both earth and\nwood. Trees live; they grow and put forth green leaves; but they dry up\nand wither when they begin to die; therefore, since they die when they\nwither, they must be called living while they are green. The earth, too,\nmust be called living, inasmuch as it sometimes yields much fruitage;\nand as soon as one crop is fallen into decay, it gives new growth. All\nliving creatures, too, are formed of earth, and therefore it surely must\nbe called living. Both these things, earth and wood, the fires of Sicily\ncan burn and consume as nourishment. The fire of Iceland, however, will\nburn neither earth nor wood, though these be cast upon it; but it feeds\nupon stone and hard rock and draws vigor from these as other fires do\nfrom dry wood. And never is rock or stone so hard but that this fire\nwill melt it like wax and then burn it like fat oil. But when a tree is\ncast upon the fire, it will not burn but be scorched only. Now since\nthis fire feeds on dead things only and rejects everything that other\nfires devour, it must surely be said that it is a dead fire; and it\nseems most likely that it is the fire of hell, for in hell all things\nare dead.\n\nFootnote 212:\n\n  _Dialogorum Libri_ IV. Pope Gregory died in 604. The Icelandic version\n  of Gregory\u2019s _Dialogues_ is published in _Heilagra Manna S\u00f6gur_, I.\n\nFootnote 213:\n\n  It is difficult to determine whether the author uses \u201cplaces of\n  torment\u201d as a term for hell or for purgatory; it seems probable,\n  however, that in this case hell is meant.\n\nI am also disposed to believe that certain bodies of water in Iceland\nmust be of the same dead nature as the fire that we have described. For\nthere are springs which boil furiously all the time both winter and\nsummer. At times the boiling is so violent that the heated water is\nthrown high into the air. But whatever is laid near the spring at the\ntime of spouting, whether it be cloth or wood or anything else that the\nwater may touch when it falls down again, will turn to stone. This seems\nto lead to the conclusion that this water must be dead, seeing that it\ngives a dead character to whatever it sprinkles and moistens; for the\nnature of stone is dead. But if the fire should not be dead but have its\norigin in some peculiarity of the country, the most reasonable theory as\nto the formation of the land seems to be that there must be many veins,\nempty passages, and wide cavities in its foundations. At times it may\nhappen that these passages and cavities will be so completely packed\nwith air, either by the winds or by the power of the roaring breakers,\nthat the pressure of the blast cannot be confined, and this may be the\norigin of those great earthquakes that occur in that country.[214] Now\nif this should seem a reasonable or plausible explanation, it may be\nthat the great and powerful activity of the air within the foundations\nof the earth also causes those great fires to be lit and to appear,\nwhich burst forth in various parts of the land.[215]\n\nFootnote 214:\n\n  For the history of this theory see above, pp. 17\u201318.\n\nFootnote 215:\n\n  The number of volcanoes in Iceland is variously given, but the more\n  reliable authorities give 107.\n\nNow it must not be regarded as settled that the facts are as we have\njust said; we have merely tried to bring together and compare various\nopinions in order to determine what seems most reasonable. For we see\nthat all fire originates in force. If a hard stone is stricken against\nhard iron, fire comes out of the iron and out of the energy of the\nstroke when they clash. You can also rub pieces of wood against each\nother in such a way that their antagonism will produce fire. It also\nhappens frequently that two winds rising at the same time will go\nagainst each other; and when they meet in the air, heavy blows fall, and\nthese blows give forth a great fire which spreads widely over the\nsky.[216] At times it also happens that this fire is driven to the earth\nwhere it causes much damage by burning houses and sometimes forests and\nships at sea. But all the fires that I have now named, whether they come\nfrom iron, or winds colliding in the air, or any of those mighty forces\nwhich can produce fire, will consume trees, forests, and earth: while\nthe fire which we discussed earlier and which appears in Iceland refuses\nall these things, as I have already shown. Now these facts lead to this\nconclusion as to its nature, that it is more likely to have arisen from\ndead things or from like sources, than those other fires that we have\nnow discussed. And in case it is as we have imagined, it is likely that\nthe great earthquakes of that country originate in the power of those\nmighty fires that well through the bowels of the land.\n\nFootnote 216:\n\n  The common belief of medieval scientists was that lightning was caused\n  by the collision of clouds.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  XIV\n\n                     THE VOLCANIC FIRES OF ICELAND\n\n\n_Son._ I should like very much, with your permission, to ask further\nabout this fire. You stated earlier in your remarks that Gregory has\nwritten in his _Dialogues_ that there are places of torment in Sicily;\nbut to me it seems more likely that those places are in Iceland. You\nalso said that so vast are the fires in the bowels of the land that\nearthquakes arise out of their violent movements; but if the fires are\nso destructive to stone and rock that it melts them like wax and feeds\nwholly upon them, I should imagine that it would soon consume all the\nfoundations beneath the land and all the mountains as well. Though you\nmay think I am asking childish questions about these things, still I\nentreat you to give indulgent replies; for, of course, one can ask many\nquestions that reveal youth rather than wisdom.\n\n_Father._ I have no doubt that there are places of torment in Iceland\neven in places where there is no burning; for in that country the power\nof frost and ice is as boundless as that of fire. There are those\nsprings of boiling water which we have mentioned earlier. There are also\nice-cold streams which flow out of the glaciers with such violence that\nthe earth and the neighboring mountains tremble; for when water flows\nwith such a swift and furious current, mountains will shake because of\nits vast mass and overpowering strength. And no men can go out upon\nthose river banks to view them unless they bring long ropes to be tied\naround those who wish to explore, while farther away others sit holding\nfast the rope, so that they may be ready and able to pull them back if\nthe turbulence of the current should make them dizzy. Now it seems\nevident to me that wherever such a great violence appears and in such\nterrible forms, there surely must be places of torment. And God has made\nsuch great and terrifying things manifest upon earth to man, not only\nthat men may be the more vigilant, and may reflect that these tortures\nare indeed heavy to think upon, although after they depart this life\nthey will have to suffer those that they see while still on earth; but\neven more to make them reflect that greater still are the things\ninvisible, which they are not permitted to see. But these things are a\ntestimony, that it is not untrue what we have been told, that those men\nwho will not beware of evil deeds and unrighteousness, while they live\non earth, may expect to suffer torment when they leave this world. For\nmany a simple-minded man might think that all this was mere deception\nunworthy of notice and told merely to terrify, if there were no such\nevidence as what we have now pointed out. But now no one can deny what\nhe sees before his own eyes, since we hear exactly the same things about\nthe tortures of hell as those which one can see on the island called\nIceland: for there are vast and boundless fire, overpowering frost and\nglaciers, boiling springs, and violent ice-cold streams.[217]\n\nFootnote 217:\n\n  The belief that hell was a region of extreme cold as well as of heat\n  was common in the middle ages. The author of the _King\u2019s Mirror_\n  probably derived his ideas of hell in part from the Old Norse version\n  of the _Elucidarium_ of Honorius of Autun. See _Annaler for nordisk\n  Oldkyndighed_, 1857, 292.\n\nBut what you suggested just now, namely that this fire is likely to melt\nand consume the mountains and the foundations of the earth, so that the\nentire land will be destroyed, that cannot come to pass before the time\nthat God has appointed. For neither this created force nor any other\ngoverns itself; but all things are compelled to move as God\u2019s providence\nhas ordained from the beginning. And you will understand this better if\nI take up certain events that can be used to illustrate these things.\n\nWhen the lord of death wished to tempt Job, he had no power to do so\nbefore he had asked permission; and when this had been granted, he did\nnot have power to carry out his will farther than the permission\nextended; for he would gladly have slain Job at once, if that had been\nallowed. He was allowed to take away Job\u2019s wealth and he took it all at\nthe first stroke; but he was not permitted to destroy the man himself.\nAs he yearned for permission to tempt him even more severely than he had\nalready, he was suffered to carry out his will upon Job\u2019s body and upon\nall the possessions that belonged to him. But he was not permitted to\nseparate soul from body, before the hour should come that He had fixed,\nWho has all power over life and destiny. But as soon as Satan had\nreceived permission to carry out his desires upon Job, he showed\nimmediately how eager he was to act in such matters as were within his\npower. For it is written that Satan took away from Job his abundant\nwealth and his seven sons and three daughters, and smote his body with\nterrible leprosy from the crown to the sole of his feet.\n\nNow the meaning of this (which ought to be noted carefully in our minds)\nis that the Lord of life has power over all things and is kindly\ndisposed; while the lord of death has an evil will, but has power over\nnothing, except as he receives authority beforehand from Him Who rules\nover all, Who is Almighty God. The devil can, therefore, injure no one\nto such an extent that he is consumed either by the fires of death which\nhe has kindled and continues to maintain by means of dreadful\nearthquakes, or by such other fiendish enmity or malignity as he\ndelights in. For he is allowed to do nothing more than the task at hand,\nas is evident from what I have just related about the case of Job. And\nif it should be thought necessary to cite several examples in one\nspeech, it will be found that instances of this sort are both plentiful\nand convincing.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                   XV\n\n            OTHER ICELANDIC WONDERS: ORE AND MINERAL SPRINGS\n\n\n_Son._ It seems evident that the more examples I can hear you cite of\nthe sort that leads to knowledge, the better it will be; and from the\ninstance that you have just given I can see clearly that if Satan was\nnot able to carry out his will against one man, except as far as he was\npermitted, he will surely have even less power to carry out his desires\nagainst many thousands, either by his own effort or through a servant,\nexcept as far as permission has been given. Now if we are to go on with\nthis entertaining conversation, as we have been doing, I should like to\nknow, whether there are any other things about this island which you\nthink are worth discussing or which seem remarkable.\n\n_Father._ We have already mentioned nearly everything in Iceland that is\nreally worth noticing; but there are a few other things which I may\ndiscuss, if you wish. In that country there is an abundance of the ore\nthat iron is made of: it is called \u201cswamp-ore\u201d in the speech of the\npeople there, and the same term is used among ourselves. It has happened\nat times that great deposits of this ore have been found, and men have\nprepared to go thither the next day to smelt it and make iron of it,\nonly to find it gone, and none can tell what becomes of it. This is\ncalled the \u201core-marvel\u201d in that country. There is still another marvel\nthat men wonder at. It is reported that in Iceland there are springs\nwhich men call ale-springs. They are so called because the water that\nruns from them smells more like ale than water; and when one drinks of\nit, it does not fill as other water does, but is easily digested and\ngoes into the system like ale. There are several springs in that country\nthat are called ale-springs; but one is the best and most famous of all;\nthis one is found in the valley called Hiterdale.[218] It is told about\nthis spring, or the water flowing from it, that it tastes exactly like\nale and is very abundant. It is also said that if drunk to excess, it\ngoes into one\u2019s head. If a house is built over the spring it will turn\naside from the building and break forth somewhere outside. It is further\nheld that people may drink as much as they like at the spring; but if\nthey carry the water away, it will soon lose its virtue and is then no\nbetter than other water, or not so good. Now we have discussed many and\neven trifling things, because in that country they are thought\nmarvelous; and I cannot recall anything else in Iceland that is worth\nmentioning.\n\nFootnote 218:\n\n  Mineral springs yielding carbonated waters are found in Iceland,\n  though they are not numerous. The Hiterdale spring is probably\n  mythical. See Herrmann, _Island_, I, 66.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  XVI\n\n               THE MARVELS OF THE WATERS ABOUT GREENLAND:\n                     MONSTERS, SEALS, AND WALRUSES\n\n\n_Son._ Now that we have entered upon this interesting conversation and\nhave spoken of the marvels that are found in Iceland and the Icelandic\nseas, let us close it by calling to mind what is worth noting in the\nwaters of Greenland or in the land itself and the wonders that are to be\nseen there.\n\n_Father._ It is reported that the waters about Greenland are infested\nwith monsters, though I do not believe that they have been seen very\nfrequently. Still, people have stories to tell about them, so men must\nhave seen or caught sight of them. It is reported that the monster\ncalled merman is found in the seas of Greenland. This monster is tall\nand of great size and rises straight out of the water. It appears to\nhave shoulders, neck and head, eyes and mouth, and nose and chin like\nthose of a human being; but above the eyes and the eyebrows it looks\nmore like a man with a peaked helmet on his head. It has shoulders like\na man\u2019s but no hands. Its body apparently grows narrower from the\nshoulders down, so that the lower down it has been observed, the more\nslender it has seemed to be. But no one has ever seen how the lower end\nis shaped, whether it terminates in a fin like a fish or is pointed like\na pole. The form of this prodigy has, therefore, looked much like an\nicicle. No one has ever observed it closely enough to determine whether\nits body has scales like a fish or skin like a man. Whenever the monster\nhas shown itself, men have always been sure that a storm would follow.\nThey have also noted how it has turned when about to plunge into the\nwaves and in what direction it has fallen; if it has turned toward the\nship and has plunged in that direction, the sailors have felt sure that\nlives would be lost on that ship; but whenever it has turned away from\nthe vessel and has plunged in that direction, they have felt confident\nthat their lives would be spared, even though they should encounter\nrough waters and severe storms.\n\nAnother prodigy called mermaid[219] has also been seen there. This\nappears to have the form of a woman from the waist upward, for it has\nlarge nipples on its breast like a woman, long hands and heavy hair, and\nits neck and head are formed in every respect like those of a human\nbeing. The monster is said to have large hands and its fingers are not\nparted but bound together by a web like that which joins the toes of\nwater fowls. Below the waist line it has the shape of a fish with scales\nand tail and fins. It is said to have this in common with the one\nmentioned before, that it rarely appears except before violent storms.\nIts behavior is often somewhat like this: it will plunge into the waves\nand will always reappear with fish in its hands; if it then turns toward\nthe ship, playing with the fishes or throwing them at the ship, the men\nhave fears that they will suffer great loss of life. The monster is\ndescribed as having a large and terrifying face, a sloping forehead and\nwide brows, a large mouth and wrinkled cheeks. But if it eats the fishes\nor throws them into the sea away from the ship, the crews have good\nhopes that their lives will be spared, even though they should meet\nsevere storms.\n\nFootnote 219:\n\n  The belief that mermaids lived in the Arctic waters was one that was\n  long held by European navigators. Henry Hudson reports that on his\n  voyage into the Arctic in 1608 (June 15) some of his men saw a\n  mermaid. \u201cThis morning one of our companie looking over boord saw a\n  mermaid, and calling up some of the companie to see her, one more came\n  up and by that time shee was come close to the ships side, looking\n  earnestly on the men: a little after a sea came and overturned her:\n  from the navill upward her backe and breasts were like a womans, as\n  they say that saw her; her body as big as one of us; her skin very\n  white, and long haire hanging downe behind of colour blacke: in her\n  going downe they saw her tayle, which was like the tayle of a porposse\n  and speckled like a macrell.\u201d Asher, _Henry Hudson_, 28.\n\nNow there is still another marvel in the seas of Greenland, the facts of\nwhich I do not know precisely. It is called \u201csea hedges,\u201d[220] and it\nhas the appearance as if all the waves and tempests of the ocean have\nbeen collected into three heaps, out of which three billows are formed.\nThese hedge in the entire sea, so that no opening can be seen anywhere;\nthey are higher than lofty mountains and resemble steep, overhanging\ncliffs. In a few cases only have the men been known to escape who were\nupon the seas when such a thing occurred. But the stories of these\nhappenings must have arisen from the fact that God has always preserved\nsome of those who have been placed in these perils, and their accounts\nhave afterwards spread abroad, passing from man to man. It may be that\nthe tales are told as the first ones related them, or the stories may\nhave grown larger or shrunk somewhat. Consequently, we have to speak\ncautiously about this matter, for of late we have met but very few who\nhave escaped this peril and are able to give us tidings about it.\n\nFootnote 220:\n\n  The Danish scientist I. Japetus S. Steenstrup has shown in his paper\n  \u201cHvad er Kongespeilets Havgjerdinger?\u201d that this phenomenon is\n  produced by sea quakes. The three huge waves did not form a triangle\n  as the author\u2019s account would seem to imply; they were three\n  successive waves rolling in toward the shore. Steenstrup argues\n  chiefly from the behavior of sea quakes in modern times. _Aarb\u00f6ger for\n  nordisk Oldkyndighed og Historie_, 1871.\n\nIn that same ocean there are many other marvels, though they cannot be\nreckoned among the prodigies. As soon as one has passed over the deepest\npart of the ocean, he will encounter such masses of ice in the sea, that\nI know no equal of it anywhere else in all the earth. Sometimes these\nice fields are as flat as if they were frozen on the sea itself. They\nare about four or five ells thick and extend so far out from the land\nthat it may mean a journey of four days or more to travel across them.\nThere is more ice to the northeast and north of the land than to the\nsouth, southwest, and west; consequently, whoever wishes to make the\nland should sail around it to the southwest and west, till he has come\npast all those places where ice may be looked for, and approach the land\non that side.[221] It has frequently happened that men have sought to\nmake the land too soon and, as a result, have been caught in the ice\nfloes. Some of those who have been caught have perished; but others have\ngot out again, and we have met some of these and have heard their\naccounts and tales. But all those who have been caught in these ice\ndrifts have adopted the same plan: they have taken their small boats and\nhave dragged them up on the ice with them, and in this way have sought\nto reach land; but the ship and everything else of value had to be\nabandoned and was lost. Some have had to spend four days or five upon\nthe ice before reaching land, and some even longer.\n\nFootnote 221:\n\n  The settled portion of Greenland is in the southern part on the west\n  coast. The author wishes to say that a ship sailing from Norway to\n  Greenland must round Cape Farewell and proceed some distance up the\n  west coast before trying to make land. For a discussion of the\n  conditions of settlement in Greenland and the navigation of the waters\n  about Greenland, see Hovgaard, _The Voyages of the Norsemen to\n  America_, c. ii; Nansen, _In Northern Mists_, cc. vii, viii.\n\nThese ice floes have peculiar habits. Sometimes they lie as quiet as can\nbe, though cut apart by creeks or large fjords; at other times they\ntravel with a speed so swift and violent that a ship with a fair wind\nbehind is not more speedy; and when once in motion, they travel as often\nagainst the wind as with it. There is also ice of a different shape\nwhich the Greenlanders call icebergs. In appearance these resemble high\nmountains rising out of the sea; they never mingle with other ice but\nstand by themselves.\n\nIn those waters there are also many of those species of whales which we\nhave already described. It is claimed that there are all sorts of seals,\ntoo, in those seas, and that they have a habit of following the ice, as\nif abundant food would never be wanting there. These are the species of\nseals that are found there. One is called the \u201ccorse seal;\u201d its length\nis never more than four ells. There is another sort called the\n\u201cerken-seal,\u201d[222] which grows to a length of five ells or six at the\nvery longest. Then there is a third kind which is called the \u201cflett\nseal,\u201d which grows to about the same length as those mentioned above.\nThere is still a fourth kind, called the bearded seal, which\noccasionally grows to a length of six ells or even seven. In addition\nthere are various smaller species, one of which is called the\nsaddleback;[223] it has this name because it does not swim on the belly\nlike other seals but on the back or side; its length is never more than\nfour ells. There remains the smallest kind, which is called the \u201cshort\nseal\u201d and is not more than two ells in length. It has a peculiar nature;\nfor it is reported that these seals can pass under flat ice masses four\nor even five ells thick and can blow up through them; consequently they\ncan have large openings where-ever they want them.\n\nFootnote 222:\n\n  This is called _haverkn_ in modern Norse and seems to be the same as\n  the grey seal: _Halichoerus gryphus_. See Nansen, _In Northern Mists_,\n  II. 155.\n\nFootnote 223:\n\n  Also called the harp seal: _Phoca Gr\u0153nlandica_.\n\nThere still remains another species which the Greenlanders count among\nthe whales, but which, it seems to me, ought rather to be classed with\nthe seals.[224] These are called walrus and grow to a length of fourteen\nells or fifteen at the very highest. In shape this fish resembles the\nseal both as to hair, head, skin, and the webbed feet behind; it also\nhas the swimming feet in front like the seal. Its flesh like that of\nother seals must not be eaten on fast days. Its appearance is\ndistinguished from that of other seals in that it has, in addition to\nthe other small teeth, two large and long tusks, which are placed in the\nfront part of the upper jaw and sometimes grow to a length of nearly an\nell and a half. Its hide is thick and good to make ropes of; it can be\ncut into leather strips of such strength that sixty or more men may pull\nat one rope without breaking it. The seals that we have just discussed\nare called fish because they find their food in the sea and subsist upon\nother fishes. They may be freely eaten, though not like the whales, for\nwhale flesh may be eaten on fast days like other fish food, while these\nfishes may be eaten only on the days when flesh food is allowed. Now I\nknow of nothing else in the waters of Greenland which seems worth\nmentioning or reporting,\u2014only those things that we have just discussed.\n\nFootnote 224:\n\n  This observation accords with modern scientific classification.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  XVII\n\n  THE ANIMAL LIFE OF GREENLAND AND THE CHARACTER OF THE LAND IN THOSE\n                                REGIONS\n\n\n_Son._ These things must seem wonderful to all who may hear of\nthem,\u2014both what is told about the fishes and that about the monsters\nwhich are said to exist in those waters. Now I understand that this\nocean must be more tempestuous than all other seas; and therefore I\nthink it strange that it is covered with ice both in winter and in\nsummer, more than all other seas are. I am also curious to know why men\nshould be so eager to fare thither, where there are such great perils to\nbeware of, and what one can look for in that country which can be turned\nto use or pleasure. With your permission I also wish to ask what the\npeople who inhabit those lands live upon; what the character of the\ncountry is, whether it is ice-clad like the ocean or free from ice even\nthough the sea be frozen; and whether corn grows in that country as in\nother lands. I should also like to know whether you regard it as\nmainland or as an island, and whether there are any beasts or such other\nthings in that country as there are in other lands.\n\n_Father._ The answer to your query as to what people go to seek in that\ncountry and why they fare thither through such great perils is to be\nsought in man\u2019s threefold nature. One motive is fame and rivalry, for it\nis in the nature of man to seek places where great dangers may be met,\nand thus to win fame. A second motive is curiosity, for it is also in\nman\u2019s nature to wish to see and experience the things that he has heard\nabout, and thus to learn whether the facts are as told or not. The third\nis desire for gain; for men seek wealth wherever they have heard that\ngain is to be gotten, though, on the other hand, there may be great\ndangers too. But in Greenland it is this way, as you probably know, that\nwhatever comes from other lands is high in price, for this land lies so\ndistant from other countries that men seldom visit it. And everything\nthat is needed to improve the land must be purchased abroad, both iron\nand all the timber used in building houses. In return for their wares\nthe merchants bring back the following products: buckskin, or hides,\nsealskins, and rope of the kind that we talked about earlier which is\ncalled \u201cleather rope\u201d and is cut from the fish called walrus, and also\nthe teeth of the walrus.\n\nAs to whether any sort of grain can grow there, my belief is that the\ncountry draws but little profit from that source. And yet there are men\namong those who are counted the wealthiest and most prominent who have\ntried to sow grain as an experiment; but the great majority in that\ncountry do not know what bread is, having never seen it. You have also\nasked about the extent of the land and whether it is mainland or an\nisland; but I believe that few know the size of the land, though all\nbelieve that it is continental and connected with some mainland,\ninasmuch as it evidently contains a number of such animals as are known\nto live on the mainland but rarely on islands. Hares and wolves are very\nplentiful and there are multitudes of reindeer. It seems to be generally\nheld, however, that these animals do not inhabit islands, except where\nmen have brought them in; and everybody seems to feel sure that no one\nhas brought them to Greenland, but that they must have run thither from\nother mainlands. There are bears, too, in that region; they are white,\nand people think they are native to the country, for they differ very\nmuch in their habits from the black bears that roam the forests. These\nkill horses, cattle, and other beasts to feed upon; but the white bear\nof Greenland wanders most of the time about on the ice in the sea,\nhunting seals and whales and feeding upon them. It is also as skillful a\nswimmer as any seal or whale.\n\nIn reply to your question whether the land thaws out or remains icebound\nlike the sea, I can state definitely that only a small part of the land\nthaws out, while all the rest remains under the ice. But nobody knows\nwhether the land is large or small, because all the mountain ranges and\nall the valleys are covered with ice, and no opening has been found\nanywhere. But it is quite evident that there are such openings, either\nalong the shore or in the valleys that lie between the mountains,\nthrough which beasts can find a way; for they could not run thither from\nother lands, unless they should find open roads through the ice and the\nsoil thawed out. Men have often tried to go up into the country and\nclimb the highest mountains in various places to look about and learn\nwhether any land could be found that was free from ice and habitable.\nBut nowhere have they found such a place, except what is now occupied,\nwhich is a little strip along the water\u2019s edge.\n\nThere is much marble in those parts that are inhabited; it is variously\ncolored, both red and blue and streaked with green. There are also many\nlarge hawks in the land, which in other countries would be counted very\nprecious,\u2014white falcons, and they are more numerous there than in any\nother country; but the natives do not know how to make any use of\nthem.[225]\n\nFootnote 225:\n\n  In the thirteenth century, the century of the _King\u2019s Mirror_,\n  falconry was a favorite sport of the European nobility and there seems\n  to have been some demand for Norwegian hawks. In the Close Rolls of\n  the reign of Henry III there are allusions to gifts of hawks sent by\n  the king of Norway to the English king. See above p. 29.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                 XVIII\n\n                       THE PRODUCTS OF GREENLAND\n\n\n_Son._ You stated earlier in your talk that no grain grows in that\ncountry; therefore I now want to ask you what the people who inhabit the\nland live on, how large the population is, what sort of food they have,\nand whether they have accepted Christianity.\n\n_Father._ The people in that country are few, for only a small part is\nsufficiently free from ice to be habitable; but the people are all\nChristians and have churches and priests. If the land lay near to some\nother country it might be reckoned a third of a bishopric; but the\nGreenlanders now have their own bishop,[226] as no other arrangement is\npossible on account of the great distance from other people. You ask\nwhat the inhabitants live on in that country since they sow no grain;\nbut men can live on other food than bread.[227] It is reported that the\npasturage is good and that there are large and fine farms in Greenland.\nThe farmers raise cattle and sheep in large numbers and make butter and\ncheese in great quantities. The people subsist chiefly on these foods\nand on beef; but they also eat the flesh of various kinds of game, such\nas reindeer, whales, seals, and bears. That is what men live on in that\ncountry.\n\nFootnote 226:\n\n  The diocese of Gardar in Greenland was established about 1110. For an\n  account of the Norwegian colony in Greenland see Gjerset, _History of\n  the Norwegian People_, I, 197-204.\n\nFootnote 227:\n\n  Cf. the papal letter of Alexander VI, written in 1492. Olson and\n  Bourne, _The Northmen, Columbus, and Cabot_, 73-74.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  XIX\n\n             THE CLIMATE OF GREENLAND; THE NORTHERN LIGHTS\n\n\n_Son._ I believe I still have some questions to ask about this country.\nHow do you account for the fact that Greenland and the ocean that lies\nabout it have greater masses of ice than any other land or sea? For I\ngather from what you have said that the ocean is deep and also very salt\nand always in commotion; and I did not suppose that it could freeze\nreadily there, since, where the ocean is deep and the water is salt, ice\nforms with difficulty, especially when the sea is in turmoil and the\nwaves roll high. But now I hear about these waters that we have just\ntalked about and likewise about the land, that there is never an\ninterval when the land or the sea is not covered with ice, except that\noccasionally an opening appears here and there in the ice field; but\nthis is due to the stirring of the sea and not to the heat.\n\nNow since the land is constantly frozen over in both winter and summer,\nI wish to ask you to tell me exactly how the climate is in Greenland:\nwhether there is any warmth or fair sunshine as in other lands, or if\nthe weather is always unpleasant, and whether that is what causes the\nexcessive ice and frost. I should like to have you clear this matter up\nfor me along with those things that I asked about earlier in our\nconversation, and what that thing is which the Greenlanders call the\nnorthern lights.[228] All these questions I should like to have you\nanswer, and also this, in what part of the world you believe that\ncountry to be located: whether it lies somewhere on the edge of the\nworld or about some large bend in the ocean like other extensive lands,\nseeing that you think it is joined to other mainlands.\n\nFootnote 228:\n\n  We should infer from the form of this question and from the later\n  discussion of the northern lights that this phenomenon was not\n  prominent in Norway in the thirteenth century. There seem to be\n  periods when these \u201clights\u201d are less in evidence than at other times.\n  But it should also be noted that the author discusses whales in\n  connection with Greenland and Iceland only, though it is extremely\n  likely that whales were not unknown on the shores of Norway.\n\n_Father._ The matters about which you have now inquired I cannot wholly\nclear up for you, inasmuch as I have not yet found any one who has\nknowledge of the entire \u201chome-circle\u201d[229] and its dimensions and who\nhas explored the whole earth on all its sides, or the nature of the\nlands and the landmarks located there. If I had ever met such a man, one\nwho had seen and examined these things, I should have been able to give\nyou full information about them. But I can at least tell you what those\nmen have conjectured who have formed the most reasonable opinions.\n\nFootnote 229:\n\n  The \u201chome-circle\u201d (_kringla heimsins_) was the Old Norse translation\n  for the Latin _orbis terrae_, orb of the earth.\n\nThe men who have written best concerning the nature of the earth,\nfollowing the guidance of Isidore and other learned men,[230] state that\nthere are certain zones on the heavens under which men cannot live. One\nis very hot and, because of the glowing heat which burns everything that\ncomes beneath it, people cannot exist under this zone. It seems\nreasonable that this is the broad path of the sun, and I believe it is\nbecause this zone is pervaded with the sun\u2019s flaming rays that no one\nwho wishes only a moderately warm dwelling place can live beneath it.\nThese writers have also said concerning two other zones in the sky that\nunder them too the land is uninhabitable; because, on account of their\nfrigidity, it is no more comfortable to dwell under them than under the\nfirst mentioned where the heat is torrid. For there the cold has\ndeveloped such a power that water casts aside its nature and turns into\nice masses; in this way all those lands become ice-cold, and the seas\ntoo, that lie under either of these two zones. From this I conclude that\nthere are five zones in the heavens: two under which the earth is\nhabitable, and three under which it is uninhabitable.\n\nFootnote 230:\n\n  Isidore of Seville (d. 636) discusses the five zones in his\n  _Etymologiae_, iii, c. xliv; xiii, c. vi; and in his _De Natura\n  Rerum_, c. x. The editors of the Sor\u00f6 edition suggest that the \u201cother\n  learned men\u201d may be Macrobius and Martianus Capella, the famous\n  encyclopedists of the fifth century (p. 195). But as these writers\n  preceded Isidore by nearly two centuries, it is unlikely that their\n  works were more than indirect sources for the scientific statements in\n  the _Speculum Regale_. It is more probable that the reference is to\n  such writers as Bede, Rabanus Maurus, and Honorius of Autun, though it\n  is impossible to specify what authority was followed.\n\nNow all the land that lies under the zones between the hot and the cold\nbelts can be occupied; but it is likely that owing to location the lands\ndiffer somewhat, so that some are hotter than others; the hottest being\nthose that are nearest the torrid belt. But lands that are cold, like\nours, lie nearer the frigid zones, where the frost is able to use its\nchilling powers. Now in my opinion it seems most probable that the hot\nzone extends from east to west in a curved ring like a flaming girdle\naround the entire sphere. On the other hand, it is quite probable that\nthe cold zones lie on the outer edges of the world to the north and\nsouth: and in case I have thought this out correctly, it is not unlikely\nthat Greenland lies under the frigid belt; for most of those who have\nvisited Greenland testify that there the cold has received its greatest\nstrength. Moreover, both sea and land bear testimony in their very\nselves that there the frost and the overpowering cold have become\ndominant, for both are frozen and covered with ice in summer as well as\nin winter.\n\nIt has been stated as a fact that Greenland lies on the outermost edge\nof the earth toward the north; and I do not believe there is any land in\nthe home-circle beyond Greenland, only the great ocean that runs around\nthe earth. And we are told by men who are informed that alongside\nGreenland the channel is cut through which the wide ocean rushes into\nthe gap that lies between the land masses and finally branches out into\nfjords and inlets which cut in between the lands wherever the sea is\nallowed to flow out upon the earth\u2019s surface.\n\nYou asked whether the sun shines in Greenland and whether there ever\nhappens to be fair weather there as in other countries; and you shall\nknow of a truth that the land has beautiful sunshine and is said to have\na rather pleasant climate. The sun\u2019s course varies greatly, however;\nwhen winter is on, the night is almost continuous; but when it is\nsummer, there is almost constant day. When the sun rises highest, it has\nabundant power to shine and give light, but very little to give warmth\nand heat; still, it has sufficient strength, where the ground is free\nfrom ice, to warm the soil so that the earth yields good and fragrant\ngrass. Consequently, people may easily till the land where the frost\nleaves, but that is a very small part.\n\nBut as to that matter which you have often inquired about, what those\nlights can be which the Greenlanders call the northern lights, I have no\nclear knowledge. I have often met men who have spent a long time in\nGreenland, but they do not seem to know definitely what those lights\nare. However, it is true of that subject as of many others of which we\nhave no sure knowledge, that thoughtful men will form opinions and\nconjectures about it and will make such guesses as seem reasonable and\nlikely to be true. But these northern lights have this peculiar nature,\nthat the darker the night is, the brighter they seem; and they always\nappear at night but never by day,\u2014most frequently in the densest\ndarkness and rarely by moonlight. In appearance they resemble a vast\nflame of fire viewed from a great distance. It also looks as if sharp\npoints were shot from this flame up into the sky; these are of uneven\nheight and in constant motion, now one, now another darting highest; and\nthe light appears to blaze like a living flame. While these rays are at\ntheir highest and brightest, they give forth so much light that people\nout of doors can easily find their way about and can even go hunting, if\nneed be. Where people sit in houses that have windows, it is so light\ninside that all within the room can see each other\u2019s faces. The light is\nvery changeable. Sometimes it appears to grow dim, as if a black smoke\nor a dark fog were blown up among the rays; and then it looks very much\nas if the light were overcome by this smoke and about to be quenched.\nBut as soon as the smoke begins to grow thinner, the light begins to\nbrighten again; and it happens at times that people think they see large\nsparks shooting out of it as from glowing iron which has just been taken\nfrom the forge. But as night declines and day approaches, the light\nbegins to fade; and when daylight appears, it seems to vanish entirely.\n\nThe men who have thought about and discussed these lights have guessed\nat three sources, one of which, it seems, ought to be the true one. Some\nhold that fire circles about the ocean and all the bodies of water that\nstream about on the outer sides of the globe; and since Greenland lies\non the outermost edge of the earth to the north, they think it possible\nthat these lights shine forth from the fires that encircle the outer\nocean. Others have suggested that during the hours of night, when the\nsun\u2019s course is beneath the earth, an occasional gleam of its light may\nshoot up into the sky; for they insist that Greenland lies so far out on\nthe earth\u2019s edge that the curved surface which shuts out the sunlight\nmust be less prominent there. But there are still others who believe\n(and it seems to me not unlikely) that the frost and the glaciers have\nbecome so powerful there that they are able to radiate forth these\nflames. I know nothing further that has been conjectured on this\nsubject, only these three theories that I have presented; as to their\ncorrectness I do not decide, though the last mentioned looks quite\nplausible to me. I know of no other facts about Greenland that seem\nworth discussing or mentioning, only those that we have talked about and\nwhat we have noted as the opinions of well-informed men.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                   XX\n\n              THE SUBJECT OF THE NORTHERN LIGHTS CONTINUED\n\n\n_Son._ Everything that you have told here seems wonderful to me, though\nalso very instructive, and this fact most of all, that men, as you have\npointed out, are able to leave the earth, as it were, and view for\nthemselves the boundaries which God has drawn amid such great perils.\nYour last remark, however, suggests that there is yet a little matter to\ninquire about along this same line. In speaking of those three\nconjectures you said that you think it most likely that these lights\nhave their origin in frost and ice; but just before in describing their\nappearance, you added that now and then fog and dark mist resembling\nsmoke would mount up among these lights. But even if the cold should be\nso prevalent there as to give rise to these lights with their fire-like\nrays, I cannot help wondering whence that smoke can come which sometimes\nappears to shade and becloud the light till it seems almost quenched;\nfor to me it seems more likely that the smoke is due to heat than to\nfrost. There is one more thing that looks strange to me which you\nmentioned earlier in your speech, namely that you consider Greenland as\nhaving a good climate, even though it is full of ice and glaciers. It is\nhard for me to understand how such a land can have a good climate.\n\n_Father._ When you say, in asking about the smoke that sometimes appears\nto accompany the northern lights, that you think it more likely that the\nsmoke comes from heat than from cold, I agree with you. But you must\nalso know that wherever the earth is thawed under the ice, it always\nretains some heat down in the depths. In the same way the ocean under\nthe ice retains some warmth in its depths. But if the earth were wholly\nwithout warmth or heat, it would be one mass of ice from the surface\ndown to its lowest foundations. Likewise, if the ocean were without any\nheat, it would be solid ice from the surface to the bottom. Now large\nrifts may appear in the ice that covers the land as well as openings in\nthe ice upon the sea. But wherever the earth thaws out and lies bare,\nwhether in places where there is no ice or under the yawning rifts in\nthe glacier, and wherever the sea lies bare in the openings that have\nformed in the ice, there steam is emitted from the lower depths; and it\nmay be that this vapor collects and appears like smoke or dark fog; and\nthat, whenever it looks as if the lights are about to be quenched by\nsmoke or fog, it is this vapor that collects before them.\n\nIn reply to your remark about the climate of Greenland, that you think\nit strange that it is called a good climate, I shall tell you something\nabout the nature of the land. When storms do come, they are more severe\nthan in most other places, both with respect to keen winds and vast\nmasses of ice and snow. But usually these spells of rough weather last\nonly a short while and come at long intervals only. In the meantime the\nweather is fair, though the cold is intense. For it is in the nature of\nthe glacier to emit a cold and continuous breath which drives the storm\nclouds away from its face so that the sky above is usually clear.[231]\nBut the neighboring lands often have to suffer because of this; for all\nthe regions that lie near get severe weather from this ice, inasmuch as\nall the storms that the glacier drives away from itself come upon others\nwith keen blasts. Now if this is clear to you, I believe there is no\nneed of giving any further explanation of the subject than what you have\nnow heard.\n\nFootnote 231:\n\n  By glacier the author evidently means the great inland ice masses. On\n  the effect of this inland ice on the climate of Greenland and\n  neighboring regions, see Nansen, _In Northern Mists_, II, 247.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  XXI\n\n                       THE ZONES OF HEAT AND COLD\n\n\n_Son._ These things are all clear to me and it seems reasonable that\nthey should be as you say. Still, there are a few things that you\nmentioned a little earlier in your talk, which I wish to ask about, if\nyou permit. You said that both sides of the earth are cold, the southern\nas well as the northern. But I hear it said by all men who come from the\nregions to the south that the farther south one travels, the hotter the\nlands are. Likewise all the winds that come from the south are both\nmoister and milder than other winds. In the winter those winds always\nbring a good thaw, while other winds are so cold that they bring frost,\nand ice is formed. And during the summer the south wind is still warmer\nthan other winds. Now if my questions do not tire you and I do not seem\nto ask too much, I should like to have you answer this question too.\n\n_Father._ When I told you that in the skies three belts are traced under\nwhich it is difficult to cross, one torrid and two frigid, I added that\nthe hot belt curves from east to west. But if I have stated this\ncorrectly, it will be evident that the cold must be as severe in the\nsouthern parts as in the northern.[232] I believe, however, that all the\nregions lying near the hot belt, whether on the south side or on the\nnorth, are also hot; but I believe those lands to be frigid which lie\nvery far in either direction. You have stated that all men tell us that\nthe farther south one travels, the greater the heat; but that, I\nbelieve, is due to the fact that you have never found any one who has\ntraveled as far south of the hot belt as those lands which we have now\ntalked of lie to the north. You have also said that the winds which come\nfrom a southerly direction are warmer than the rest. But it is\nreasonable that the south wind should be warm when it reaches us, even\nthough it comes from the frozen south side of the earth, for it blows\nthrough the curved ring of the torrid belt.[233] Consequently, though it\nblows cold from the south, it is warm when it emerges on the northern\nside. And if people live as near the cold belt on the southern side as\nthe Greenlanders do on the northern, I firmly believe that the north\nwind blows as warm to them as the south wind to us. For they must look\nnorth to see the midday and the sun\u2019s whole course, just as we, who\ndwell north of the sun, must look to the south.\n\nFootnote 232:\n\n  Cf. _Macrobius_, 601. \u201c... for both the northern and the southern\n  extremities lie stiff with perpetual frost, and they are like two\n  zones with which the earth is girdled, but narrow as if they were\n  circlets drawn about the farthest regions.\u201d\n\nFootnote 233:\n\n  Macrobius states the same belief in quite similar terms: the south\n  wind comes from a frozen clime just as the north wind does; but \u201csince\n  it comes to us through the flames of the torrid zone and mixes with\n  the fire, it becomes hot, so that what was cold in the beginning comes\n  to us with warmth.\u201d (P. 603.)\n\nWe have said earlier that in winter the sun\u2019s course here is short, but\nof such extraordinary length in summer that we then have day nearly all\nthe time. From this you may conclude that the sun\u2019s path is quite broad\nand that its course is not narrow and straight as if it were always\nfollowing a certain line. As soon as it reaches the outer edge of its\nsloping circuit toward the south, those who live on the extreme side of\nthe world to the south have summer and long sun paths, while we have\nwinter and little sunlight. And when the sun comes to the extreme edge\nof its circuit to the north, we have long-continued sunshine, while they\nhave cold winter. For it is always this way, that the sun rises higher\nin the north when its path declines in the south: and when its course\nbegins to decline in the north, it begins to wax on the southern side.\n\nYou should also know that the change from day to night is due to the\nmovements of the sun. For some places have midday when others have\nmidnight; and the day dawns and brightens in some places just when\ndarkness begins and night falls in other places.[234] For the day and\nthe light always follow the sun, while the shadows flee from it; still\nthey follow after it as it moves away; and there is always night where\nthe shadows are, but always day where the light is. Now if you\nunderstand all these things that we have discussed in these hours, the\nchange in day and night, the course of the sun, and all the other\nmatters that we have talked about, you may count yourself thoroughly\nprepared for the trader\u2019s calling, inasmuch as few only have had more\ninstruction in these subjects than you have had.\n\nFootnote 234:\n\n  Cf. Capella, _Satiricon_, 204.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  XXII\n\n                  THE WINDS WITH RESPECT TO NAVIGATION\n\n\n_Son._ I should indeed consider it highly informing, if I could remember\nall the things that you have now told me. I gather from your remarks,\nhowever, that you seem to think that I have asked about too many things\nin these our talks. But if you are not wearied with my questions, there\nstill remains a little matter which, with your permission, I should like\nto ask about, one that also seems to belong to the knowledge of\nseafarers.\n\nIn a talk some time ago you said that whoever wishes to be a merchant\nought to be prepared early in spring, and be careful not to remain out\nat sea too late in the autumn; but you did not indicate the earliest\ntime in the spring when you think one may risk a journey over-seas to\nother countries, nor how late you consider it safe to sail the seas in\nautumn. You told how the ocean manages to quiet its storms, but you did\nnot show under what circumstances it begins to grow restless. Therefore\nI would fain ask you again to answer this question, even if it does\nannoy you, for I think that a time may come when it will seem both\nneedful to know this and instructive to understand it.\n\n_Father._ The matters to which you are now referring can scarcely be\ngrouped under one head; for the seas are not all alike, nor are they all\nof equal extent. Small seas have no great perils, and one may risk\ncrossing them at almost any time; for one has to make sure of fair winds\nto last a day or two only, which is not difficult for men who understand\nthe weather. And there are many lands where harbors are plentiful as\nsoon as the shore is reached. If the circumstances are such that a man\ncan wait for winds in a good haven or may confidently expect to find\ngood harbors as soon as he has crossed, or if the sea is so narrow that\nhe needs to provide for a journey of only a day or two, then he may\nventure to sail over such waters almost whenever he wishes. But where\ntravel is beset with greater perils, whether because the sea is wide and\nfull of dangerous currents, or because the prow points toward shores\nwhere the harbors are rendered insecure by rocks, breakers, shallows, or\nsand bars,\u2014wherever the situation is such, one needs to use great\ncaution; and no one should venture to travel over such waters when the\nseason is late.\n\nNow as to the time that you asked about, it seems to me most correct to\nsay that one should hardly venture over-seas later than the beginning of\nOctober. For at that time the sea begins to grow very restless, and the\ntempests always increase in violence as autumn passes and winter\napproaches. And about the time when we date the sixteenth of October,\nthe east wind begins to look sorrowful and thinks himself disgraced, now\nthat his headgear, the golden crown, is taken away. He puts a\ncloud-covered hat on his head and breathes heavily and violently, as if\nmourning a recent loss. But when the southeast wind sees how vexed his\nneighbor is, he is stricken with a double grief: the one sorrow is that\nhe fears the same deprivation as the east wind has suffered; the other\nis grief over the misfortunes of his good and estimable neighbor.\nStirred by the distress of a resentful mind, he knits his brows under\nthe hiding clouds and blows the froth violently about him. When the\nsouth wind sees the wrath of his near neighbors, he wraps himself in a\ncloud-lined mantle in which he conceals his treasures and his wealth of\nwarm rays and blows vigorously as if in terrifying defence. And when the\nsouthwest wind observes how friendship has cooled, now that the truce is\nbroken, he sobs forth his soul\u2019s grief in heavy showers, rolls his eyes\nabove his tear-moistened beard, puffs his cheeks under the cloudy\nhelmet, blows the chilling scud violently forward, leads forth huge\nbillows, wide-breasted waves, and breakers that yearn for ships, and\norders all the tempests to dash forward in angry contest.\n\nBut when the west wind observes that a wrathful blast and a sorrowful\nsighing are coming across to him from the east, whence formerly he was\naccustomed to receive shining beams with festive gifts, he understands\nclearly that the covenant is broken and that all treaties are renounced.\nDeeply grieved and pained because of the unpeace, he puts on a black\nrobe of mourning over which he pulls a cloud-gray cloak, and, sitting\nwith wrinkled nose and pouting lips, he breathes heavily with regretful\ncare. And when the ill-tempered northwest wind observes how sorrowful\nhis neighbors look, and sees how he himself has suffered the loss of the\nevening beauty which he was formerly accustomed to display, he shows at\nonce his temper in stern wrath: he knits his brows fiercely, throws\nrattling hail violently about, and sends forth the rolling thunder with\nterrifying gleams of lightning, thus displaying on his part a fearful\nand merciless anger. But when the north wind misses the friendliness and\nthe kind gifts which he was wont to get from the south wind, he seeks\nout his hidden treasures and displays the wealth that he has most of: he\nbrings out a dim sheen which glitters with frost, places an ice-cold\nhelmet on his head above his frozen beard, and blows hard against the\nhail-bearing cloud-heaps. But the chill northeast wind sits wrathful\nwith snowy beard and breathes coldly through his wind-swollen nostrils.\nGlaring fiercely under his rimy brows, he wrinkles his cheeks beneath\nhis cold and cloudy temples, puffs his jowl with his icy tongue, and\nblows the piercing drift-snow vigorously forth.\n\nBut since peace has been broken among these eight chiefs and the winds\nare stirred to stormy violence, it is no longer advisable for men to\ntravel over-seas from shore to shore because of great perils: the days\nshorten; the nights grow darker; the sea becomes restless; the waves\ngrow stronger and the surf is colder; showers increase and storms arise;\nthe breakers swell and the shores refuse good harbors; the sailors\nbecome exhausted, the lading is lost, and there is great and constant\ndestruction of life due to a too great venturesomeness; souls are placed\nin perils of judgment because of recklessness and sudden death.\nTherefore all sensible men should beware and not venture upon the sea\ntoo late in the season; for there are many dangers to look out for and\nnot one alone, if a man dares too much at such times. Consequently, the\nbetter plan is to sail while summer is at its best; for one is not\nlikely to meet misfortune if there has been careful and wise\nforethought. But it would surely pass all expectations if that were to\nsucceed which was foolishly advised and planned at the beginning, though\nsometimes the outcome may be favorable. I consider it a more sensible\nplan for a man to remain quiet as long as much danger may be looked for,\nand to enjoy during the winter in proper style and in restful leisure\nwhat he labored to win during the summer, than to risk in a little while\nthrough his own obstinate contriving the loss of all the profit which he\nstrove to gain in the summer. But first of all a man must have care for\nhis own person; for he can have no further profit, if it fares so ill\nthat he himself goes under.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                 XXIII\n\n                   THE PROPER SEASON FOR NAVIGATION.\n                         END OF THE FIRST PART\n\n\n_Son._ I did wisely to continue my inquiries when we had our last talk;\nfor you have given replies which will be useful as well as instructive\nfor all who have the sense to understand and profit by such matters as\nwe have discussed. But I wish to ask you again to tell me briefly how\nearly in the spring and at what stated time you think one may venture to\ntravel over-seas to other shores, just as I asked in my earlier\ninquiries.\n\n_Father._ Men may venture out upon almost any sea except the largest as\nearly as the beginning of April. For at the time when we date the\nsixteenth of March, the days lengthen, the sun rises higher, and the\nnights grow shorter. The north wind gently clears up the face of heaven\nwith a light and cool breeze, brushes away the restless and storm-laden\nclouds, and with blithe persuasiveness asks for a new covenant. Then\npeace is renewed among the winds, for they all yearn for rest after the\nseason of violent wrath and wearisome blasts; so they make a covenant\nonce more in the way that we told earlier when we described the peace\nmaking. The showers cease, the waves sink to rest, the breakers flag,\nthe swell of the noisy ocean dies away, all the storms weaken, and quiet\nfollows upon restless turmoil.\n\nNow I have done as you requested: I have pointed out the seasons with\ndefinite dates both in spring and fall, when it seems most advisable to\nbrave the perils of the sea. I have also informed you as to the times\nthat seem more suitable for rest than for travel. I have likewise\ndescribed briefly the sources of light in the sky and the belts that are\ndrawn across the heaven, those under which travel is difficult and those\nwhich allow travel. And if you keep carefully in mind all these things\nthat I have discussed with you, you will never be counted among the\nignorant navigators, if you shall decide to try the trader\u2019s calling. My\nadvice, therefore, is first to fix in your mind all the facts which you\nhave now heard; and later you shall have a chance to ask further\nquestions, if you should wish to do so.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  XXIV\n\n                    INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND PART:\n                         THE KING AND HIS COURT\n\n\n_Son._ The last time that I had a talk with you, sire, I heard a wise\nspeech from your lips, one that should profit every man who intends to\nfollow the craft with which our conversation was concerned. Since then I\nhave meditated on that speech, and I believe that I have fixed firmly in\nmemory most of the facts that were brought out at the time, whatever\nluck I may have later in trying to apply them. No doubt I ought, like\neveryone else, to observe carefully all the good which I have been\ntaught; and more is to be expected from those who take thought than from\nthose who forget. But whatever success or good fortune I may have in the\npractice, I delight to learn while I have the opportunity. Now I still\nhave some subjects in mind which I wish to inquire about, but I am going\nto ask your consent to a discussion before I bring up the questions in\nwhich I am now interested; and when I have presented these, I shall\nawait your answers.\n\n_Father._ When we last met and talked about the doings and mode of\nliving of merchants, we mentioned, I believe, most of the things that\nwere in real need of discussion; and I feel sure that no man will have\nill repute from his conduct who everywhere observes with care what was\nthen brought out. But if you still wish and are anxious to make further\ninquiries into these matters, I shall be glad to answer, if I can. And\neven if you wish to open another discussion, I shall also be glad to\nanswer, as far as I have knowledge. You have permission, therefore, to\nask just as you like; and on my side there shall be such replies as God\nenables me to give.\n\n_Son._ The talk that I last heard you give concerning the business of\nmerchants was delivered with more evident wisdom in the answers than in\nthe questions; and I shall now let that subject rest. As I have in mind,\nwith your permission, to try that business, it may be that a very long\ntime will pass between our conversations. And when I am far away from\nyou, I shall have no opportunity to seek your advice, though I should\nwish to do so, in case my mind should turn to some craft or business\nother than that of the merchant\u2019s trade. But though, God willing, we may\nmeet again in good health, it seems to me advisable to ask about those\nthings that I am interested in, while I have sure opportunity to learn.\nAnd while there is opportunity we should learn what we do not know, for\nthis reason especially, that we cannot be sure of a chance to inquire\nwhen it seems most needful to seek knowledge. Now after having learned\nthe trader\u2019s mode of living and how to travel in unknown lands, it might\nhappen that I should want to visit the king\u2019s court, where I could see\nmore perfect manners than those to be seen on my commercial tours; and\ntherefore I should like to learn from you, while here at home, such\nmanners as are most needful to know, when one is at court, though it is\nnot sure that I shall have to use them. Now if such an interest does not\nseem worthless to you, I should like to have you inform me as to those\ncustoms that I have mentioned.\n\n_Father._ It cannot be called worthless curiosity to wish to know what\ncustoms prevail and must be observed at the king\u2019s court; for all\ncourtesy and proper conduct have their origin there, if the mode of life\nis as it ought to be and as it was ordained of old. Still, customs at\ncourt are by no means of one sort only, for there is a multitude of\nservices and offices about the king, and those of his men who are less\nin rank are usually not held to strict manners. Those who are higher in\nthe service often differ much in manners and deportment, so that the men\nwho observe the better customs are, unfortunately, fewer, as a rule,\nthan those who are moderately courteous, or scarcely so much. Now I do\nnot know whose conduct you are interested in, that of the more mannerly\nor of the greater number.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  XXV\n\n            THE IMPORTANCE OF COURTESY IN THE ROYAL SERVICE\n\n\n_Son._ It would be most profitable both for me and for all others who\nare interested in unfamiliar subjects, whether good breeding or other\nknowledge, to learn what is best and most useful. For there are but few\nmasters who can teach such things, and they are all more difficult to\ngrasp than those subjects which are of but slight value or wholly\nworthless. Now since I hear that there are differences both in the\nduties of men and in the customs of the court, I shall ask you to inform\nme as to the regulations there and to explain how the services differ\nand what belongs to each; also to point out the customs which seem good\nto you and which are surely needful to learn, if one wishes to serve a\nking with honor, as well as those which one who wishes to be reputed a\nmoral man should shun and beware of. I have this reason, too, for\nseeking this information so earnestly, that I have seen men come from a\nking\u2019s household, whose conduct I have noted carefully, most of whom\nseemed only about as well-bred as those who had never been at court, or\neven less than they. Now I do not know which is the more likely, whether\nI do not understand what good breeding means, or that the facts are as\nthey seemed to me.\n\n_Father._ If it should be your fate to serve at court and you wish to be\ncalled courtly and polite, you will need to beware of what happens to\nthose who come to court without manners and leave without refinement.\nBut since you have asked how the services and the usages at a royal\ncourt differ, I shall now explain that to you, and also show why some\nreturn thence rude and unpolished. When a dull man fares to court, it is\nas when an ignorant fellow travels to Jerusalem, or a simpleton enters a\ngood school. An ignorant man who has been to Jerusalem believes himself\nwell informed and tells many things about his journey, though chiefly\nwhat seems worthless to a knowing man, or mere sport and foolery. In the\nsame way the simpleton who comes from school believes himself to be\nperfectly educated; he struts about and shows great disdain whenever he\nmeets one who knows nothing. But when he meets one who is a real\nscholar, he himself knows naught. So it is, too, when stupid men come to\nthe king\u2019s court: they promptly seek out men of their own kind and learn\nfrom them such things as are most easily grasped and into which they had\ngotten some insight earlier; but this is mere folly and unwisdom. And\nwhen they return from court, they will display such manners and courtesy\nas they learned there. And yet, many who come from strange places,\nwhether from other lands or courts, will behave in this way; but when\nthose who have remained at home find that these men bring great tidings,\nthey come to regard them at once as thoroughly informed, both as to\ncustoms and happenings, seeing that they have visited alien peoples and\nforeign lands; and this is most often the case with dull men. Now if you\naim at good breeding, beware lest you fall into such unwisdom. We may\nnow take up the question how the duties of the men at court differ and\nwhat belongs to each service.\n\nAll the men who have gone to the king\u2019s hand[235] are housecarles; but\nhonors and authority are distributed among them according to the merits\nof each and as the king wishes to grant. Thus one class of housecarles\nis made up of men who are always present at court, but draw no wages,\nand do not eat and drink where the _hirdmen_ take their meals. They have\nto do such service in the king\u2019s garth as the steward shall assign,\nwhether it be to go on a journey or to do manual labor in the garth.\n\nFootnote 235:\n\n  To go to the king\u2019s hand (_ganga konungi til handa_) is the technical\n  term for the formal initiation into the royal service. \u201cThe king was\n  in his high-seat with his guard grouped about him; across his knees\n  lay a sword, his right hand grasping the hilt. The candidate\n  approached, knelt, touched the swordhilt, and kissed the royal hand.\n  He then arose and took the oath of fealty. Kneeling once more he\n  placed his folded hands between those of the king and kissed his new\n  lord.\u201d Larson, \u201cThe Household of the Norwegian Kings in the Thirteenth\n  Century:\u201d _American Historical Review_, XIII, 461.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  XXVI\n\n      THE ADVANTAGES DERIVED FROM SERVICE IN THE KING\u2019S HOUSEHOLD\n\n\n_Son._ I pray you, sire, not to regard me as thoughtless or as wishing\nto interrupt your discourse, if I inquire briefly about the duties of\nthese men.\n\n_Father._ While we are on this subject, you had better ask what you\nlike, or you may regret it later, having come away ill-informed about\nwhat you wanted to hear, because you did not inquire sufficiently.\n\n_Son._ Since those whom you have just mentioned live by labor and manual\ntoil in the king\u2019s garth and have no greater honors than at home in the\ncountry, what advantage do they find in being with the king more than in\nserving their parents or kinsmen in the country or engaging in trade and\nwinning wealth in that way?\n\n_Father._ There are many reasons why such men would rather be at court\nthan live in the country or engage in trade. Some prefer being at court\nto living in the country (though in the king\u2019s service their labor is as\nburdensome, or more so) because, though they are of excellent kinship,\nthey have little wealth and cannot engage in trade on account of their\npoverty. If they take up work in the country, they find many who have\nmore wealth, though they are no higher in kinship, or scarcely so high.\nAnd when quarrels arise, the rich find protection in their wealth and\nthrust the poor aside, so that these can get no justice in their law\nsuits. Consequently such men think it better to toil in security at\ncourt than without protection in the country. Others may have committed\nmanslaughter or have come into other difficulties which make it urgent\nfor them to seek security in the king\u2019s power. Some there are, too, who\nalways find pleasure in being in a throng; they also feel more secure\nthere, whatever may happen. When these come back to the country where\nearlier they seemed so utterly defenseless, they regard themselves as\nthe peers of every one, because of the protection which they enjoy as\nkingsmen. If one of them is slain in single combat, the king will take\nforty marks[236] in thegn money[237] for him as for his other thegns,\nand, in addition, one mark gold as housecarle fine,[238] which he exacts\nwhenever a housecarle is slain.\n\nFootnote 236:\n\n  The mark as a standard of value was widely used in the middle ages.\n  Originally it was a measure of weight equivalent to eight ounces of\n  gold or silver. Its value varied at different times and in different\n  places. Dr. Gjerset estimates the purchasing power of a mark of silver\n  in the fourteenth century as equal to that of $80 at the present time.\n  _History of the Norwegian People_, II, 18-19, note.\n\nFootnote 237:\n\n  Thegn money (_\u00feegngildi_) was a fine paid to the king by one who had\n  been guilty of manslaughter.\n\nFootnote 238:\n\n  The housecarle fine was higher than that exacted for the death of a\n  common subject because the housecarle stood in a personal relation to\n  the king.\n\nYou shall also know that many come to court from the country who were\nconsidered of little consequence there; and yet, it often happens that\nthe king gives high honors to such men in return for their service, if\nthey perform it well, though they are but slightly honored in their own\nhomes. Those, on the other hand, whom the cotters in the country seemed\nto value highly for their wealth, kindred, and fellowship, are often no\nmore regarded at the royal court than in their home communities and\nsometimes even less. Indeed, those who come to the king with riches are\noften honored less than those who come in poverty. Frequently, men who\ncome to court with little wealth or none at all and have no choice but\nto accept what the king graciously offers are set so high in riches and\npower that they tower above their kinsmen, though before they came to\nthe king they were not regarded as their equals. They win this either by\nbravery in warfare and good deportment at court, or by being faithful to\nthe king in all things and striving to be discreet and loving toward\nhim. For the king helps and promotes those whom he finds to be anxious\nto remain truly affectionate toward him and to serve him in loyal\nfriendship. For these reasons a king by an act of grace, will very often\nexalt those who are lacking in riches; and therefore many such are\nencouraged to seek service at court, where they all expect to win\nrewards, high honors, and marked advancement in position.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                 XXVII\n\n                 THE VARIOUS CLASSES AMONG THE KINGSMEN\n\n\n_Son._ I believe I have now had correct and adequate answers, and it no\nlonger seems strange to me that such men as you have just talked about\nwould rather be kingsmen than remain in the country, even though their\nduties are as toilsome as those of the farmer, or even more so. But now\nI wish to ask you to describe the other services at the king\u2019s court, so\nthat I may, if possible, gain some knowledge of every one of them.\n\n_Father._ That is surely possible, and since you are interested in such\nmatters, I shall give you what information I have concerning them. There\nare certain other housecarles at the king\u2019s court, who, in addition to\nthe housecarle\u2019s title, have a by-name and are called \u201cgests.\u201d[239] They\nhave this name from their manifold duties; for they visit the homes of\nmany, though not always with friendly intent. These men are also in the\nking\u2019s pay and get half the wages of \u201chirdmen.\u201d These are the duties\nthat belong to the office of these men: they serve as spies throughout\nthe king\u2019s domain to make sure whether he has any enemies in his\nkingdom; and if such are found, the gests are to slay them, if they are\nable to do so. But if the king sends his gests upon his enemies and\nthose against whom they are sent are slain, they are to have for their\ntrouble as much of the enemies\u2019 wealth as they can carry away at the\ntime, only no gold, for that is the king\u2019s, as is all the rest that the\ngests are unable to bring away. And whenever the king becomes aware of\nan enemy, it is the gest\u2019s duty to pursue the foeman and thus to cleanse\nthe realm. Whenever they are present at court, they keep the various\nwatches about the king, just as the others do who share the king\u2019s\nbounty in the royal garth, except the head-ward;[240] this they do not\nkeep; nor do they sit at table to eat or drink in the house where the\nking dines with his hirdmen, except at Christmas and Easter, when they\nare to eat with the hirdmen in the king\u2019s hall, but at no other time. If\nany of these men be slain in single combat, the king exacts as large a\nfine both in thegn money and housecarle fine as for the death of those\nwhom we discussed earlier.\n\nFootnote 239:\n\n  See _American Historical Review_, XIII, 469-471.\n\nFootnote 240:\n\n  The head-ward was stationed near the king\u2019s person, usually outside\n  the door of the chamber where he slept. See _American Historical\n  Review_, XIII, 462.\n\nThere is still another class of royal housecarles who do not share the\nking\u2019s tables and but rarely come to court; these receive nothing from\nthe king but protection and support in securing justice from others; but\nthese, too, are kingsmen. In case any of these are slain, the king\nexacts the same housecarle fine in addition to the thegn money as in the\ncase of those housecarles who dine at his tables. These men come into\nhis service from various walks of life: some are peasants, some\nmerchants, and some laymen. But this service they owe the king before\nall his other subjects, namely, that wherever the king\u2019s officials come\nat his command to present the king\u2019s causes or business, and these\nhousecarles of whom we are speaking are present, they must join the\nretinue of these officials and render such assistance as they can in all\nthe king\u2019s business. These, too, may claim support from the kingsmen in\ntheir efforts to obtain justice, wherever they have suits to bring up.\nLikewise if any of these men are slain, the fines due the king will be\nincreased as much as for those whom we spoke of earlier.\n\nThere is another class of royal housecarles who receive money payments\nfrom the king, some twelve _aura_,[241] some two marks, some three\nmarks, and others more, in proportion as the king finds them likely to\nadd to his strength and credit. These men do not dine with the king at\ncourt; they are abroad in the realm in a sort of official capacity, for\nsome of them are sons of the king\u2019s landedmen,[242] while others are\npeasants, though so wealthy that they seem to rank with the landedmen.\nThese royal housecarles owe the king the same kind of service as those\nwhom we have just mentioned, but more, inasmuch as they have greater\nprestige and enjoy greater favors from the king; and the fines due the\nking in case these men are ill used will be increased about as much as\nhas been stated before. From all these kingsmen that we have now told\nabout, who do not dine at his tables, the king may demand such service\nas he finds each capable of: some are called to pilot the longships when\nthe king sets out on a naval campaign; some are sent abroad in embassies\nto foreign rulers and other princes; while others are sent out upon the\nsea as traders with the king\u2019s wares or ships.[243] These are the duties\nthat they are bound to perform with such other duties as may arise out\nof the king\u2019s needs.\n\nFootnote 241:\n\n  The _Eyrir_ (pl. _aura_, from Latin _aurum_?) was an ounce of silver,\n  or one-eighth of a mark.\n\nFootnote 242:\n\n  The landedman (_lendir ma\u00f0r_) was one who enjoyed a fief granted by\n  the king. The term was also used in a more restricted sense for the\n  local chieftains who in return for the fief enjoyed gave certain\n  assistance in the local administration. See _Norges Gamle Love_, V,\n  396-397; Gjerset, _History of the Norwegian People_, I, 387-388;\n  _American Historical Review_, XIII, 467-468.\n\nFootnote 243:\n\n  The kings of medieval Norway seem to have engaged quite actively in\n  the mercantile profession. The trade with the Finns was made a royal\n  monopoly at least as early as the tenth century; later the trade with\n  Greenland also passed into the king\u2019s hands.\n\nNow I have told you about several classes of the king\u2019s servants, and\nyou will have to determine which of those enumerated seem to you most\nlikely to know much about courtly behavior and the manners that ought by\nright to be found at a king\u2019s court; they are all kingsmen, however. And\nfrom this you will observe that every man cannot become perfect in all\ncourtly customs and manners just as soon as he sees the king and his\nmen; for a man will have to be both quick-witted and quick to learn,\nwho, if he lacks in breeding, is to learn perfect courtliness in a\nyear\u2019s time, even though every day of the year is spent at court among\nthe hirdmen in the king\u2019s own presence. Now you shall know this of a\ntruth, that there are many at court who have spent a large part of their\nlives there and have daily opportunities to see good deportment, and yet\nthey never become either courtly or well-bred.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                 XXVIII\n\n                  THE HONORED POSITION OF THE KINGSMEN\n\n\n_Son._ If such is the case, that some of the customs at court are so\ndifficult to learn that both quick wit and continued observation are\nnecessary, it seems evident that the men whom you have just now spoken\nof can have but slight knowledge of what constitutes deportment or good\nmanners in the king\u2019s house, though they be kingsmen, since they come\nbut rarely into those of the royal apartments where good manners must\nespecially be observed. But there is yet something that I am anxious to\nknow concerning the duties of those men of whom you spoke last: what\nprofit can such men as have an abundance of wealth and kinsmen find in\nthe king\u2019s service and in binding themselves to his service with the\nhousecarle name as their only title? Why do not they rather seek the\nhonor of being called hirdmen, or remain at home looking after their\nproperty as other husbandmen do?\n\n_Father._ I should say that you have not inquired very wisely into this\nmatter; still, as you do not appear to be well informed on this subject,\nI think it better for you to question than to remain ignorant, and since\nyou have inquired I ought to answer. There are many reasons, as we have\nalready said, why men would rather be kingsmen than be called by the\npeasant\u2019s name only. The first reply must be that the king owns the\nentire kingdom as well as all the people in it, so that all the men who\nare in his kingdom owe him service whenever his needs demand it. Thus\nthe king has a right to call upon every freeman, who seems fitted for it\nor is found to possess suitable insight, to serve in embassies to\nforeign lords; likewise, when the king calls upon the freemen to pilot\nhis ship in warfare, each one who is appointed must attend, though he be\nthe king\u2019s henchman only so far as he is his subject. Even if a king\nshould order a clerk or a bishop of his kingdom to fare as envoy to\nanother king or to the pope, if such is his wish, the one who is called\nmust set out, unless he is willing to risk the king\u2019s enmity and to be\ndriven from the kingdom.\n\nNow since all the men of the realm are thus bound to the royal service,\nwhy should not every sensible man regard it a greater advantage to be in\nthe king\u2019s full protection and friendship, no matter what may happen in\nhis intercourse with other men, and to be superior to his comrades and\nhold them loyal to the king if they will not otherwise obey, than to be\ncalled a mere cotter who is constantly under the control of others,\nthough he still owes nearly the same duties as otherwise? Verily you\nmust know that to be called a king\u2019s housecarle is not to be despised as\na title of derision; but it is a name of great honor to everyone who\nbears it. For neither landedmen nor hirdmen, though because of some\ninfirmity or because they are tired of warfare they prefer to cultivate\nan estate in the country, are willing to surrender the housecarle name\nbecause of its honor and security. Now if there is any phase of this\nsubject that seems insufficiently inquired into or explained, we may\nextend the conversation if you wish.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  XXIX\n\n                THE SUPERIOR ORDER OF KINGSMEN: THE HIRD\n\n\n_Son._ This subject has been discussed almost too fully and has been\ncleared up for me with such good and complete answers that it looks to\nme as if a man cannot dispense with the king\u2019s support, if he wishes to\nfound his cause securely. For the multitude is fickle-minded and the one\nunfair toward the other, except those alone to whom God has given wisdom\nand rectitude; but they are few only and not the mass. However, as there\nare certain matters relating to the service and manners at court that\nare still unexplained, I should like to hear you discuss these further,\nlest I continue ignorant about subjects that I desire to know.\n\n_Father._ We must now speak about those of the king\u2019s housecarles who,\nif they give proper attention, are best able to acquire knowledge as to\nwhat is counted good manners in royal circles. They too, however, differ\nin character, and those are very often the fewer who should be the more\nnumerous. These kingsmen that we are now to discuss have, in addition to\nthe housecarle name, the title of hirdmen. Some bear that title\nrightfully, but to many it is a nickname. The one who originated the\nname placed it on a sound basis; for hirdman means the same as keeper\nand guardian; and those who wish to possess this title rightfully should\nbe true keepers and guardians both of the king\u2019s person and of all his\nkingship. They should guard the bounds of equity among all the men of\nthe realm, wherever they are present when suits at law are heard. They\nshould also observe good and courtly behavior and every useful custom,\nfor they are at all times nearest the king in all matters. They guard\nthe king\u2019s life and person both night and day; they are always about the\nking at the table when he eats and drinks, at public assemblies, and at\nall general gatherings, like near kinsmen.\n\nThese men ought of right to be addressed as lords by all men who bear\nlesser titles than they do; for they are, in a sense, stewards of the\nrealm, if they observe the customs that are suited to their title. They\nshould be chosen from all classes and not from wealthy or distinguished\nfamilies only; but those who are chosen to this dignity should be\nperfect in all things, both in ancestry and wealth, and in nobility of\nmind and courtesy, but above all in conduct. They ought, furthermore,\nbefore all others to observe righteousness in every form, so that they\nmay be able to discern clearly what should be loved as belonging to\nhonor and good deportment and what should be shunned as leading to\ndishonor and shame. For wherever they are present, the eyes of all men\nare turned upon their manners and behavior; all incline their ears to\ntheir words; and all expect, as they ought, to find them so much more\nexcellent than other men in deeds and deportment as they stand nearer\nthe king in service and regard than his other men. And if these men wish\nby right to enjoy the titles which are given them along with the\nhousecarle name, they must shun vulgarity and rudeness; they must also,\nmore than other men, avoid many things which a foolish desire might\nsuggest. For many things become a disgrace both in words and deeds to\nwell-bred men, which are not a disgrace to the vulgar who behave in that\nway; wherefore such men must keep watch over their tongues and their\nbehavior.\n\nIt also frequently happens that well trained envoys from other lands\ncome to visit the king and his court; and the more polished they are,\nthe more carefully they observe the royal service as well as the manners\nof the king and his courtiers and all the customs that prevail at the\ncourt. On returning to their own lands, they will describe the customs\nand relate the happenings which they saw or heard at the court to which\nthey were sent. But all the rumors that travel to other lands and are\ncirculated about a lord, if they be truthful, will usually either bring\nhim ridicule and contumely or be turned to his honor. It may also\nfrequently come to pass that the kings themselves need to meet in\nconference to discuss such rules and arrangements as must be kept\njointly by the kingdoms.[244] Wherever kings meet, there the best men\nare always assembled; for the kings bring their chief men with them to\nsuch conferences: archbishops, bishops, earls, landedmen, and hirdmen or\nknights. And the conduct and breeding of those who assemble are\ncarefully noted, first the manners of the mighty ones, and then those of\nall the rest; for everyone watches closely the behavior of all the\nothers. And if one of the kings or one of his principal men is found\nindecorous, he soon becomes the subject of ridicule and contempt and is\nregarded as a common churl. And if a king\u2019s retinue is found to be\npoorly trained and is lacking in polish, especially if the service of\nthe king\u2019s apartments is not performed in a comely and proper manner,\nthen the king himself is pronounced unfit; for it will be held that if\nhe himself were polite and perfect in manners, all would acquire good\nbreeding from him. Consequently it is possible for a courtly chief to\nsuffer great shame from a vulgar and indecent man; wherefore it is very\nimportant that those who wish to bear a comely and honorable title in\nthe royal presence should be well informed as to what is becoming or\nunbecoming. For one cannot hope for great honors from a king, if he has\nat any time disgraced him where many honorable men were assembled and\nwhere it seemed very important to maintain the king\u2019s honor, which is\neverywhere, for a king must nowhere suffer shame. Heedlessness and evil\nconduct are therefore ill becoming to a man, if they bring him shame and\nenmity and cause him to lose his honorable name, his good repute, and\nhis fair service, even though life and limb be spared. And he can even\nbring such deep dishonor upon his king that with many of his kindred he\nwill be made to suffer a well deserved but ignominious death. Such\ngrades there are both in the duties and in the titles at the royal court\nas you have now heard described. But if it seems to you that everything\nhas not yet been thoroughly examined, you may inquire further, if you\nlike.\n\nFootnote 244:\n\n  Such meetings of two or three of the kings of the North were\n  occasionally held all through the later middle ages. The conferences\n  were often held at some point near the mouth of the G\u00f6ta River, on the\n  southwest coast of modern Sweden. See above, p. 30.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  XXX\n\n             HOW A MAN WHO WISHES TO APPLY FOR ADMISSION TO\n                      THE ROYAL HOUSEHOLD SERVICE\n                        SHOULD APPROACH THE KING\n\n\n_Son._ It seems to me that we should not fail to continue this\ndiscussion and I shall now direct my remarks and questions toward some\ntheme that may help me to see more clearly how one, who comes to seek\nhonors, should appear in the king\u2019s presence and how he must afterwards\ndemean himself in order to attain all those distinctions of which you\nhave just told. Now it may happen that I shall want to fare to court and\njoin the king\u2019s service; for since my father and my kinsmen served the\nking before me and gained honor and high esteem for their service, it is\nlikely that I shall wish to do what my kinsmen achieved before me. Now\ninasmuch as that is likely, I want to ask you to tell me how I ought to\nbegin my speech when I come to seek audience with a king. State it as\nclearly as if you were to accompany me to the royal presence, and inform\nme as to my gestures, my dress, my manner of speech and all matters of\ndeportment that are becoming in the king\u2019s company. Now this time I have\nasked as I thought best; but even though I have inquired less wisely\nthan I ought, kindly do as before, giving thought to the questions on my\npart and to the replies from your side.\n\n_Father._ Your questions on this subject are not so unwise that one may\nnot very well answer them; for many have need to make such inquiries, if\nthey mean to have their suits brought up before lords and to have them\nplanned as carefully as need be. Now I shall try to clear up these\nmatters that you have asked about, stating what seems most truthful and\nadvisable. When you come, then, to where the king resides, intending to\nbecome his man, you should inquire carefully who the men are in the\nking\u2019s company that are best able to present men\u2019s business to the king\nin such a way that their speeches please him the most. As soon as you\nhave learned who they are, you must first make their acquaintance and\ncultivate their friendship; after that make your errand known and ask\nthem to undertake your suit. If they undertake your business, they can\nbest find time and occasion for audience and speech with the king, as\nthey often have speech with him. If you are to present your request at a\ntime when the king is at the table, get sure information whether he is\nin good spirits and pleasant humor. If you should observe that his\ndisposition is somewhat irritable, or that he is displeased about\nsomething, or that he has such important affairs to consider that you\nthink your business for that reason cannot be taken up, then let your\nsuit rest for the time being and seek to find the king in better humor\nsome other day. But if you find that he is in merry mood and has no\nbusiness to take up of such importance that you may not very well state\nyour errand, wait, nevertheless, till he has nearly finished his meal.\n\nYour costume you should plan beforehand in such a way that you come\nfully dressed in good apparel, the smartest that you have, and wearing\nfine trousers and shoes. You must not come without your coat; and also\nwear a mantle, the best that you have. For trousers always select cloth\nof a brown dye. It seems quite proper also to wear trousers of black\nfur, but not of any other sort of cloth, unless it be scarlet. Your coat\nshould be of brown color or green or red, and all such clothes are good\nand proper. Your linen should be made of good linen stuff, but with\nlittle cloth used; your shirt should be short, and all your linen rather\nlight. Your shirt should be cut somewhat shorter than your coat; for no\nman of taste can deck himself out in flax or hemp. Before you enter the\nroyal presence be sure to have your hair and beard carefully trimmed\naccording to the fashions of the court when you join the same. When I\nwas at court it was fashionable to have the hair trimmed short just\nabove the earlaps and then combed down as each hair would naturally lie;\nbut later it was cut shorter in front above the eyebrows. It was the\nstyle at that time to wear a short beard and a small moustache; but\nlater the cheeks were shaved according to the German mode;[245] and I\ndoubt that any style will ever come which is more becoming or more\nsuitable in warfare.\n\nFootnote 245:\n\n  It is impossible to determine what style of beard this _ja\u00f0arskegg_\n  was; if we may judge from contemporary German illustrations, the\n  German mode was a smooth-shaven face. See also Weiss, _Kostumekunde_,\n  II, 581.\n\nNow when you seem to be in proper state to appear before the king both\nas to dress and other matters, and if you come at a suitable time and\nhave permission from the doorkeeper to enter, you must have your coming\nplanned in such a way that some capable servant can accompany you. But\nthough you are both allowed to enter, do not let him follow you farther\nthan inside the door or, at the farthest, up to the staller\u2019s seat, and\nleave him there to keep your mantle. Leave your mantle behind when you\ngo before the king and be careful to have your hair brushed smooth, and\nyour beard combed with care. You must have neither hat nor cap nor other\ncovering on your head; for one must appear before lords with uncovered\nhead and ungloved hands, with a blithe face and with limbs and body\nthoroughly bathed. You should also have the men with you who are to\npresent your suit. Form the habit of holding your head up and your whole\nbody erect when walking; strike a dignified gait, but do not walk too\nslowly.\n\nWhen you come into the king\u2019s presence, bow humbly before him and\naddress him in these words: \u201cGod give you a good day, my lord king!\u201d If\nthe king is at the table when you appear before him, be careful not to\nlean against the king\u2019s board, as so many a simpleton does; and above\nall do not lean forward across it as unmannerly churls do, but remain\nstanding far enough away from it so that the service belonging to the\nroyal table may have sufficient space to pass between the table and\nyourself. But if the king is not at the table, approach his seat only so\nnear as to leave abundant space for all the service between yourself and\nthe footstools that are before the king\u2019s seat. When standing before the\nking, you should dispose of your hands in such a way that the thumb and\nforefinger of the right will grasp the left wrist; and then let your\nhands drop slowly before you as seems most comfortable. Thereupon the\nmen chosen for that purpose shall present your errand to the king. And\nif fortune allows your suit to prosper immediately according to your\nwishes, you shall go to the king\u2019s hand and thereafter enter the\nfellowship of the hird according to the customs which those who plead\nyour case will teach you. But if the king makes promise and fixes a day\nwhen you are to appear and the matter is to be settled, it must rest\ntill that time. If the king postpones the decision, saying as is not\nunlikely: \u201cI know nothing about this man, either as to repute or\nmanners, and cannot reply at once to his request but must first observe\nclearly his ways of thinking and doing;\u201d then the matter is closed for\nthe time being. But you may, if you are so disposed, continue your suit\nand try to find a more convenient time, when your affairs may have a\nmore favorable outcome. However, while you are seeking to gain the\nking\u2019s favor, you will need above all to keep close to the best and most\ndiscreet men, and you should often be seen in the company of those who\nare dearest to the king. But pay all the necessary outlay out of your\nown means, however long this probation may last, unless you should\nsometime be invited by the king\u2019s order to his tables. And let it not be\ntrue in your case as is true in the case of many an unwise man, that the\nmore often you find yourself invited, the more you begin to long for\nanother\u2019s fare, lest upright men come to regard you as selfish and\nimpertinent, and those become hostile who were formerly your friends and\ncomrades. Walk uprightly, therefore, and be heedful in all such matters,\nlest evil befall you through lack of foresight.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  XXXI\n\n         WHY ONE SHOULD NOT WEAR A MANTLE IN THE ROYAL PRESENCE\n\n\n_Son._ If you permit, I will ask to be allowed a few words in this\ndiscussion. On what do you base your statement that it is considered\ngood deportment among princes for a man to come bareheaded and without a\nmantle when he comes to seek audience with them. If anyone did thus in\nthe country, the mob would say that the man was a fool to run about in\nthat way without a cloak like a ninny.\n\n_Father._ I told you a little earlier in our conversation that many a\nman goes about in ignorance as to what is fitting in a king\u2019s house,\nbecause many things look stupid to the multitude which are considered\nproper in the presence of kings and other great men. Now you shall know\nof a truth, not only that it is fitting to come without a mantle when\none appears for the first time before a king, but also that in many\nplaces it is as proper to wear one\u2019s mantle in the royal presence as to\nleave it off. But since you have asked the reason why it should seem\nmore decorous to appear before princes without one\u2019s mantle than to wear\nit, it might be a more than sufficient answer to say that it is the\ncustom wherever well-bred men appear in the presence of mighty lords to\ncome without a mantle, and that whoever is ignorant of that custom is\nthere called a churl.\n\nBut these facts may serve as an additional answer: if a man appears\nbefore magnates wrapped in his cloak, he shows in that way that he\nregards himself as an equal to them in whose presence he is; for he\ncomes clad in all his finery like a lord, and acts as if he need not\nserve any one. But if he lays aside his cloak, he shows that he is ready\nfor service, if the one who is entitled to receive rather than to do\nservice is willing to accept it. Likewise there are instances of this\nother fact, which often necessitates caution, that many are envious of a\nking; and if his enemy is rash and bold, he can indeed come before the\nking with hidden perils and murderous weapons, if he is allowed to wear\nhis mantle; but he cannot easily accomplish this if he comes without his\ncloak. It is therefore evident that he was a wise man who first ordained\nthe formality that a man should appear without a mantle before great\nlords and especially before kings. For that custom has since led to\ngreater security against secret treason which could easily be hidden\nunder the cloak, if it were worn. The custom has also promoted fair\ndealing and concord among men, for in this matter they all enjoy the\nsame rights; and this being the accepted custom, one is not suspected or\nsearched more than others.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                 XXXII\n\n          RULES OF SPEECH AND CONVERSATION IN THE KING\u2019S HALL\n\n\n_Son._ Although this custom seemed strange to me before I heard your\ncomment, it now looks as if it were founded on good sense and is not to\nbe dispensed with; and therefore it will be well if you will continue to\nrecount and point out to me all the forms of speech and conduct which\none needs to observe in the presence of kings and other great men.\n\n_Father._ Keep carefully in mind, while in the king\u2019s presence, that you\nought not to engage in conversation with other men and thus fail to pay\nheed to everything that the king says, lest it happen, if he addresses a\nremark to you, that you have to ask what he said. For it always looks\nill for one to be so inattentive that the words spoken to him must be\nrepeated before he can hear; and it looks particularly bad in the\npresence of important men. Still, it can very often come to pass, when\none is in a lord\u2019s presence, that other men crowd about him and ask\nquestions of many sorts; sometimes this is due to the stupidity of those\nwho do thus, but often the reason may be that he who acts in this way\nwould not be displeased if something should be found to be censured in\nhim who has a plea to make.\n\nNow if it should happen while you are standing before a king that some\none in the meantime should try to address a question or other remark to\nyou, have friendly words ready on your lips and reply in this wise:\n\u201cWait a moment, my good man, while I listen a while to what the king\nsays; later I shall be pleased to talk with you as long as you wish.\u201d If\nhe still tries to have further words with you, speak no more to him then\nuntil the king has finished his remarks. If it now should happen that\nthe king has a few words to say to you, be very careful in your answer\nnot to use plural terms in phrases that refer to yourself, though you do\nuse the plural, as is proper, in all phrases referring to the king. But\neven more you need to beware of what fools frequently do, namely using\nthe plural in phrases referring to yourself, while you employ the\nsingular in those that refer to the king. And if the king should happen\nto speak a few words to you which you did not catch, and you have to ask\nwhat he said, do not say \u201cEh?\u201d or \u201cWhat?\u201d or make a fuss about it, but\nuse only the word \u201cSire;\u201d or if you prefer to ask in more words: \u201cMy\nlord, be not offended if I ask what you said to me, but I did not quite\ncatch it.\u201d But see to it that it happens in rare cases only that the\nking need to repeat his remarks to you more than once before you grasp\nthem.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                 XXXIII\n\n                  THE PROPER USES OF \u201cYOU\u201d AND \u201cTHOU\u201d\n\n\n_Son._ On what ground is it thought better to phrase all remarks\naddressed to lords in the plural than in the singular? When one directs\na prayer to God, Who is higher and more excellent than all others, the\nexpressions that refer to Him are all phrased in the singular; for\neveryone who makes his prayer to God speaks in this wise: \u201cAlmighty God,\nmy Lord, hear Thou my prayer and be Thou more merciful toward me than I\ndeserve.\u201d But I hear no one form his words in this wise: \u201cMy Lord, hear\nmy prayer and deal better with me because of Your mercy than I deserve.\u201d\nNow I am not sure that my question is a very wise one; still, since you\nhave allowed me to ask whatever I desire to know, I shall look for an\ninforming reply as before, even though I ask like a child.\n\n_Father._ I shall indeed be glad to explain everything to you as far as\nI am able; but I do not see why you are searching into this matter so\nclosely that one shall even have to give reasons for the choice of terms\nin holy prayer. For the teachers of the church are far better able to\ninterpret matters that belong to divinity than I. But since every\nquestion looks toward a reply, I shall explain this to you in a few\nwords, as it seems most reasonable to me; and I shall take up first what\nseems to me the most important. Now I believe the terms used in sacred\nprayers are chosen so that we call upon the divine name in the singular\nrather than in the plural, in order that all who believe in God may\nclearly understand that we believe in one true God and not in numerous\nidols like the heathen who formerly called upon seven gods. For they\nheld that one god ruled the heavens; another, the heavenly bodies; a\nthird, the earth and its fruits; a fourth, the sea and its waters; a\nfifth, the air and the winds; a sixth, learning and eloquence; a\nseventh, death and hell. Now we should honor the one true God Whom all\ncreation serves and call upon Him in singular terms, lest false gods\nobtain our worship, if when calling upon the divine name we use plural\nterms, as if there were more than one God. There is this added reason,\nthat simple-minded folk may conclude that there are more gods than one\nif His name be invoked in plural terms. Thus it is rightfully and wisely\nordered, so that a simple and holy faith shall have no cause to stray\naway from the true highway. Now if you do not fully grasp this speech,\nwe shall find more to say; but if it has led you to clearer insight, we\nmay as well direct our thoughts to the other matters that you have asked\nabout.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                 XXXIV\n\n                       THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED\n\n\n_Son._ These things seem very clear to me and it appears both reasonable\nand necessary that one should use the singular rather than the plural in\naddressing God, lest the true faith be debased by the use of plural\nexpressions and the cunning adversaries obtain the worship that a simple\nand true faith refuses them. But now I wish to have you turn to what I\nasked about the mighty men of this world, and explain why it seems\nbetter to address them in plural than in singular terms.\n\n_Father._ It might be a sufficient answer to state that it seems better\nto address princes in plural than in singular terms for the reason that\nwell-bred people have found it so from the beginning; and it has since\nbecome a custom among all discreet and courteous men, and is done in\nhonor of those who are addressed and are entitled to a deferential mode\nof address. But this is the thought which they had in mind who\noriginated these expressions, that men of power are not like all others\nwho have only themselves and their households to care for and are\nresponsible for a few men only. For chieftains are responsible for all\nthose who are subject to them in service or authority, and they have not\nonly one man\u2019s answer on the tongue but have indeed to answer for many.\nAnd when a good chief departs this life, it is not as if one man is\nlost, but it is a great loss to all those who received support and\nhonors from him; and they seem to be of less consequence after they have\nlost their chief than before while he was living, unless one shall come\ninto his stead who will be as gracious to them as the departed one was.\nNow since great lords both maintain the honor of many and have great\ncares and liabilities on their account, it is surely proper to honor\nthem by using the plural forms of address in all speech that those who\nare humbler and of less consequence may have to address to them. But\nthere remain those things which were learned or thought of when this\ncustom was first ordained: that kings and other powerful men are not\nalone in their deliberations but are associated with many other wise and\ndistinguished men; and therefore, when a chief is addressed in plural\nterms, it may be thought that the words are not addressed to the king\nalone, but also to all those who sit in his councils as his advisers.\n\nIn my last speech I also mentioned that you must have care never to use\nthe plural in expressions referring to yourself, lest you seem to regard\nyourself as on an equality with the one to whom you are speaking, if he\nis of higher rank than you are. And even when you talk with an equal or\nwith a humbler man than you are, it is not fitting for you to honor\nyourself with plural terms. You must also beware when in the presence of\nprinces, lest you become too verbose in your talk; for great lords and\nall discreet men are displeased with prolixity and regard it as tedious\nand worthless folly. Further, if you have a matter to present, whether\nit concerns yourself or others, present it clearly but with quick\nutterance and in the fewest possible words; for constantly there comes\nbefore kings and other lords such a great mass of business respecting\nthe manifold needs of their subjects, that they have neither time nor\ninclination to hear a case discussed in a long, detailed speech. And it\nis very evident that, if a man is clever and fluent in speech, he will\nfind it easy to state his case in a few rapidly spoken words, so that\nthe one who is to reply will grasp it readily. Then, too, if one is not\nan orator and, even more, is awkward in speech, the briefer the errand\non his tongue, the better it is; for a man can somehow manage to get\nthrough with a few words and thus conceal his awkwardness from those to\nwhom it is unknown. But when a man makes an elaborate effort, he will\nsurely seem the more unskilful the longer he talks.\n\nNow such things there are and others like them into which a man, if he\nwishes to be called well-bred, must get some insight and which he ought\nto learn at home before he goes very often to have conversation with\ngreat lords. And from all this you will see how courtly and cultured\nthey ought to be in their manners and conduct who are constantly to be\nnear a king in all manner of honorable intercourse, since it has\nappeared to knowing men as if one is scarcely prepared to come into the\nking\u2019s presence to converse with him unless he has mastered all these\nthings that we have now talked about, except he should be a perfect\nboor, and not to be reckoned or classed among well-bred people but among\nthe very churls. Still, you must know this, too, that there are many who\nhave spent a long time at court, and know but little or nothing about\nthese things. And this is true of those who bear the hirdman\u2019s name and\nshould be very close to the king, as well as of those who have lesser\ntitles and rarely see the king. It must have been of such as these last\nmentioned that you spoke earlier in our conversation when you remarked\nthat those who came from the court seemed no more polished or cultured,\nor even less, than those who had never been at court. To that I replied,\nand with truth, that everyone who wishes to be proper in his conduct\nneeds to guard against such ignorance as they are guilty of, who know\nnot the meaning of shame or honor or courtesy, and learn nothing from\nthe conduct of good and courtly men, even though they see it daily\nbefore their eyes.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  XXXV\n\n    CONCERNING FAILURE OF CROPS AND DEARTH IN MORALS AND GOVERNMENT\n\n\n_Son._ It is a fact that I have met some who, though they came from\ncourt, either concealed the sort of manners that you have now discussed,\nif they knew them, or had, as I remarked, never gained insight into such\nmatters. Now it is not strange that those who remain at home in\nignorance or are not of an inquiring mind know little or nothing about\nsuch things; but it is more to be wondered at, as you have just said,\nthat many remain a long time with the king and close to him in service,\nand still do not learn either what courtesy means or what courtly\nmanners are. Therefore, since you have warned me to beware of such\nignorance, I want to ask you how this can be and how a king who is\nwell-bred and courteous can be willing to keep men about his person to\nserve him, who refuse to live according to good manners. For I have\nthought that, if a king is courteous and refined, all would imitate him\nin decorum, and that he would not care much for churlish men.\n\n_Father._ It may happen sometimes that a husbandman who is accustomed to\neat good bread and clean food has to mix chaff or bran with his flour so\nas to make his bread and that of his household last longer than common;\nand at such times he must, though reluctant, partake of such food as is\nset before him in the same thankful spirit as earlier, when he was given\ngood and clean food; and such cases result from grinding necessity, that\nis, from crop failures. But scarcity arises in many ways. Sometimes\nthere is dearth of grain, even when the earth continues to yield grass\nand straw, though at times it gives neither. There are times, too, when\nthe earth gives good and sufficient fruitage, and yet no one is\nprofited, for dearth is in the air, and bad weather ruins the crops at\nharvest time. Sometimes smut[246] causes trouble, though the crop is\nplentiful and the weather good. It can also happen at times that all\nvegetation flourishes at its best, and there is no dearth; and yet there\nmay be great scarcity on some man\u2019s farm or among his cattle, or in the\nocean, or in the fresh waters, or in the hunting forests. Sometimes when\neverything goes wrong, it may even come to pass that all these failures\noccur together; and then bran will be as dear among men as clean flour\nwas earlier, when times were good, or even dearer than that. All these\nforms of dearth which I have now recounted must be regarded as great\ncalamities in every land where they occur; and it would mean almost\ncomplete ruin if they should all appear at the same time and continue\nfor a period of three years.\n\nFootnote 246:\n\n  _Skja\u00f0ak._ The translation is uncertain; possibly some sort of weed is\n  meant.\n\nThere remains another kind of dearth which alone is more distressing\nthan all those which I have enumerated: dearth may come upon the people\nwho inhabit the land, or, what is worse, there may come failure in the\nmorals, the intelligence, or the counsels of those who are to govern the\nland. For something can be done to help a country where there is famine,\nif capable men are in control and there is prosperity in the neighboring\nlands. But if dearth comes upon the people or the morals of the nation,\nfar greater misfortunes will arise. For one cannot buy from other\ncountries with money either morals or insight, if what was formerly in\nthe land should be lost or destroyed. But even though there be failure\nof harvest on a peasant\u2019s farm, which has always been good and which he\nand his kinsmen before him have owned a long time, he will not take such\nan angry dislike to it that, caring no longer what becomes of it, he\nwill proceed forthwith to dispose of it; much rather will he plan to\ngarner and store grass and chaff as carefully as he once garnered good\nand clean grain, or even more so, and in this way provide for his\nhousehold as best he can, until God wills that times shall improve. In\nthis way, too, a king must act, if he should suffer the misfortune of\ndearth upon the morals or the intelligence of his realm: he must not\nrenounce the kingdom, but necessity may force him to rate the men of\nlittle wit as high as the wise were rated earlier while the kingdom\nstood highest in prosperity and morals. Sometimes punishment will serve\nand sometimes prayer; something may also be gained through instruction;\nbut the land must be maintained in every way possible until God wills\nthat times shall improve.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                 XXXVI\n\nTHE CAUSES OF SUCH PERIODS OF DEARTH AND WHAT FORMS THE DEARTH MAY TAKE\n\n\n_Son._ I see clearly now that troubles may befall men in many ways, the\nmighty as well as the humble, kings as well as cotters. But as you have\ngiven me this freedom and have allowed me to question you in our\nconversation, I shall ask you to enlarge somewhat fully upon this speech\nbefore we take up another. What is your opinion as to the causes of such\na severe dearth as may come upon the minds of men, so that all is ruined\nat the same time, insight and national morals? And do you think such\nlosses should be traced to the people who inhabit the realm or to the\nking and the men who manage the state with him?\n\n_Father._ What you have now asked about has its origin in various facts\nand occurrences of a harmful character. I believe, however, that such\nmisfortunes would rarely appear among the people who inhabit and till\nthe land, if the men who govern the realm were discreet and the king\nhimself were wise. But when God, because of the sins of the people,\ndetermines to visit a land with a punishment that means destruction to\nmorals and intellect, He will carry out His decision promptly, though in\nvarious ways, as soon as He wills it. Instances of this have occurred\nfrequently and in various places, where trouble has come when a\nchieftain, who possessed both wealth and wisdom and who had been highly\nhonored by the king, having sat in his council and shared largely with\nhim in the government, departed this life leaving four or five sons in\nhis place, all in their early youth or childhood. Then the king and the\nwhole realm have suffered immediate injury: the king has lost a good\nfriend, an excellent adviser, and a strong bulwark. Next the man\u2019s\npossessions are divided into five parts, and all his projects are\ndisturbed. His household sinks in importance, since each of the sons has\nbut a fifth of all the power that the father derived from his means\nwhile he was living, and has even less of his insight and knowledge of\nmanners, being a mere child. Greater still will the change be if he\nleaves no son at his decease but as many daughters as I have now counted\nsons; but the very greatest change will come if neither sons nor\ndaughters survive him; for then it is likely that his possessions will\nbe split up among distant relatives, unless a near kinsman be found.\n\nNow if many such events should occur at one time in a kingdom, vigor\nwould disappear from the king\u2019s council, though he himself be very\ncapable. And if it should happen (for there are cases of such events as\nwell as of the others) that a king depart this life and leave a young\nson who succeeds to the paternal kingdom, though a mere child, and young\ncounsellors come into the places of the old and wise advisers who were\nbefore,\u2014if all these things that we have now recounted should happen at\none time, then it is highly probable that all the government of the\nrealm would be stricken with dearth, and that, when the government goes\nto ruin, the morals of the nation would also fail to some extent.\n\nThere still remains the one contingency which is most likely to bring on\nsuch years of dearth as produce the greatest evils; and unfortunately\nthere are no fewer instances of such issues than of those that we have\njust mentioned. If a king who has governed a kingdom should happen to\ndie, and leave behind three or four sons, and the men who are likely to\nbe made counsellors be all young and full of temerity, though wealthy\nand of good ancestry, since they have sprung from families that formerly\nconducted the government with the king,\u2014now if a kingdom should come\ninto such unfortunate circumstances as have been described, with several\nheirs at the same time, and the evil counsel is furthermore taken to\ngive them all the royal title and dignity, then that realm must be\ncalled a rudderless ship or a decayed estate; it may be regarded almost\nas a ruined kingdom, for it is sown with the worst seeds of famine and\nthe grains of unpeace. For the petty kings, having rent the realm\nasunder, will quickly divide the loyalty of the people who inhabit the\nland, both of the rich and of the poor; and each of these lords will\nthen try to draw friends about him, as many as he can. Thereupon each\nwill begin to survey his realm as to population and wealth; and when he\nrecalls what his predecessor possessed, each will feel that he has too\nlittle. Then the friends, too, of each one will remind him of and tell\nabout how much the king who ruled before him possessed in wealth and\nnumbers and what great undertakings he set out upon; and it seems as if\nin every suggestion each one tries to urge his lord to seize upon more\nthan he already has. After that these lords begin to treasure those\nriches that are of the least profit to the kingdom, namely envy: trivial\nmatters are carefully garnered and great wrath is blown out of them.\nSoon the love of kinship begins to decay; he who was earlier called\nfriend and relative is now looked upon as an evil-doer, for soon each\none begins to be suspicious of the others. But when suspicion and evil\nrumors begin to appear, wicked men think that good times are at hand,\nand they all bring out their plows. Before long the seeds of hostility\nbegin to sprout, avarice and iniquity flourish, and men grow bold in\nmanslaying, high-handed robbery, and theft.\n\nNow if it happens that one of these princes should wish to punish the\naforesaid vices in his kingdom, the wicked take refuge in the service of\nsome other master; and, though they have been driven from home because\nof their misdeeds, they pretend to have come in innocence to escape the\ncruel wrath of their lord. The one to whom they have fled gives\nprotection in temerity rather than in mercy; for he wishes to acquire\nfriends in the other\u2019s realm, who may prove useful to himself and\nhostile to the other in case they should come to disagreement. But those\nwho had to flee because of their evil conduct and law-breaking soon\nbegin to show hostility toward the lord whose subjects they formerly\nwere and to rouse as much enmity as they can between him and the one to\nwhom they have come. They take revenge for their exile by carrying\nmurder, rapine, and plundering into the kingdom, as if they were\nguiltless and all the blame lay with the lord. Soon immorality begins to\nmultiply, for God shows His wrath in this way, that where the four\nboundaries of the territories of these chiefs touch, he places a moving\nwheel which turns on a restless axle. After that each one forgets all\nbrotherly love, and kinship is wrecked. Nothing is now spared, for\nwhenever the people are divided into many factions through loyalty to\ndifferent chiefs, and these fall out, the masses will rashly pursue\ntheir desires, and the morals of the nation go to ruin. For then\neveryone makes his own moral code according to his own way of thinking;\nand no one fears punishment any longer when the rulers fall out and are\nweakened thereby.\n\nWhen each one looks only to his own tricks and wiles, great misfortunes\nof all kinds will come upon the land. Murder and quarrels will multiply;\nmany women will be carried off as captives of war and violated, while\nothers will be ensnared and seduced into fornication; children will be\nbegotten in adultery and unlawful co-habitation. Some take their\nkinswomen or sisters-in-law, while others seduce wives away from their\nhusbands; and thus all forms of whoredom are committed and degeneracy\nwill come to light in all the generations that are begotten in such\nimmorality. Every form of crime will be committed. Peasants and subjects\nbecome defiant and disobedient; they are not careful to avoid crimes,\nand though they commit many, they atone for few only. Trusting in their\nown strength and numbers, they attend seditious meetings; and they\nchoose as their part what is likely to bring a dangerous outcome, for\nthey place all men on the same level, the discreet and decent ones with\nthe coarse and stupid, and they screen foolish and iniquitous men from\npunishment, though these deserve it every day. And this they do either\nby swearing falsely and giving false witness in their behalf, or by\nmaking a foolhardy and crafty defence at the court of trial, so that the\nguilty have to answer for nothing before the kingsmen who assist the\nking in carrying out the law. For the unthinking mob seem to imagine\nthat the king was appointed to be their opponent; and a foolish man\nregards himself fortunate and highly favored in the eyes of thoughtless\npeople, if he can maintain himself for some time in opposition to royal\nauthority and the prescriptions of law. And if such men have disputes to\nsettle anywhere, the wicked will support the foolish one, so that he may\nprevail in the controversy; thus the upright and the peaceful are robbed\nof their dues. If the greedy or the quarrelsome is slain because of his\navarice, his stupid kinsmen who survive him will feel that their family\nhas been greatly injured and impaired thereby; and if at some earlier\ntime there was slain one of their family who was both wise and peaceful,\nand whose wisdom and even temper proved useful to many, and if this one\nwas atoned for with a payment to the kindred, they will now ask as large\na fine for the unwise as what was formerly taken for the prudent one;\notherwise there will be revenge by manslaying.\n\nBut when God sees that such misjudgments, born of perversity and\nunwisdom, are decreed, He turns the injustice back upon those who first\nbegan to pass unfair and unfounded judgments. For as soon as the foolish\nor the avaricious sees that he is held in high regard, even more than\nthe wise with his even temper, and that his avarice and folly are turned\nto honor and advancement, he will do according to his nature and the\ncustom of all foolish men: he will become more grasping and will operate\nmore widely in his greed. And when the mob begins to regard that as\nworthy of praise and renown which is evil and should be hated by all,\nthe second and the third will learn it and the one after the other,\nuntil it becomes common custom; and he alone will be counted a worthy\nman who is grasping and knows how to detract unjustly from another\u2019s\nhonor to his own profit. After that the one deals greedily with the\nother, till misfortune turns against the very ones whose folly and\nwickedness originally began these evil practices. For one will finally\nbring evil upon another, wounds or other afflictions, and thus all old\nand lawful ordinances must decay. Now everyone holds that the king and\nother great lords should temper the severity of the laws with mercy; but\nnone of the commoners seems willing to deal justly with another; indeed,\neach would rather demand more than what he was entitled to from the\nbeginning. But when all lawful ordinances and right punishments are\nignored and unlaw and malice take their place, and this condition\nbecomes so general that God is wearied, He applies the punishment that\nis able to reach all, since the guilt has touched all. He throws hatred\nand enmity down among the chiefs who are placed in control of the realm;\nwhen things go ill there may also come failure of crops; and the chiefs\nsoon begin to quarrel, for each finds complaints in the other\u2019s kingdom,\nwhich are finally settled with slaughter and strife.\n\nBut whenever famine, murder, and warfare begin to arrive together and\nvisit all those who inhabit the realm, the kingdom will be brought near\nto utter weakness and ruin, if the period should continue any length of\ntime. Though laws and useful customs may have been observed and\nmaintained to some extent in the times mentioned earlier, they will be\nwholly forgotten whenever such times appear as those that we have just\nnow described; for in warfare the best men and those of the noblest\nkinship are destroyed. But failure of crops, rapine, and unpeace of\nevery sort that may then appear will rob those of wealth who are in\npossession of it and have acquired it honestly, while he gets it who can\nmost readily deprive others by theft and plunder. And when such a time\ncomes upon a nation, it will suffer loss in good morals and capable men,\nwealth and security, and every blessing as long as God permits the\nplague to continue. But He metes out according to His mercy, for He is\nable to save such a country, when He finds that the people have been\nsufficiently chastised for their sins. Now you can imagine how highly\nmoral the people will become, if such a nation is saved by God\u2019s grace\nand again brought under the rule of a single monarch, and how prosperous\nthe realm may become in the period immediately following such an unrest\nas I have just described. For then the kingdom was rent, the morals of\nthe people were confused, and their loyalty was divided among a number\nof lords, each one of whom was striving to contrive and employ against\nthe others cunning, deception, disloyalty, and evil in every form.[247]\n\nFootnote 247:\n\n  In this chapter the author has summed up the history of Norwegian\n  kingship in the twelfth century, when minorities were frequent and\n  joint kingships almost the rule. Three boys were proclaimed kings in\n  1103; two kings shared the power in 1130; the royal title fell to\n  three children in 1136. At no time was the realm actually divided, the\n  theory being that the administration and the revenues might be\n  divided, while the monarchy remained a unit. The century was a period\n  of great calamities; pretenders were numerous; and civil war raged at\n  intervals. For a fuller discussion of the theory of Norwegian kingship\n  in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, see above, pp. 35 ff.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                 XXXVII\n\n     THE DUTIES, ACTIVITIES, AND AMUSEMENTS OF THE ROYAL GUARDSMEN\n\n\n_Son._ It is perfectly evident that if all these misfortunes should\nbefall a kingdom and the period of trouble were to continue for some\ntime, the realm would decline. There surely must be instances of such an\nissue, and we may safely conclude that wherever such events come to\npass, there will be much evil and manifold misfortunes before they\ncease. I also see clearly that if the morals or laws of a kingdom are\nundermined by such troubles as you have described, even though God\nshould purpose to rescue it finally from distress and unpeace and bring\nit again under one ruler after such troublous times, the people who\nsurvive are likely to be both wicked and vicious; and there will surely\nbe need, as you have said, of good instruction and at times even of very\nsevere punishment. Furthermore, even if the kingdom did possess\ntolerable morals for a time before the unpeace came, he who is to\nundertake the government, though he be very wise, will need to use great\ndetermination and severity for a long period, if the realm is to be\nreplaced on its earlier footing.\n\nI have been deeply interested in your discussion of what may bring the\ngreatest damage to a kingdom (and it may be rendered worthless through\nloss of morals, population, and wealth, if such conditions should\narise); and I have now been sufficiently informed as to how matters may\nshape themselves, if misfortune means to come; and I see clearly what\ngreat losses and damage may follow such events. Now it seems to me that\nwe have dwelt rather long upon facts which must bring distress to\neveryone who wishes to be reputed a moral man (wherefore all, both rich\nand poor, should implore the Lord to let no such times come in their\ndays), and I will therefore return to what I began with and ask you to\npoint out the manners and customs which you think would be becoming to\nme, if I were employed in the royal service, no matter what times might\ncome, though I will pray the Lord that as long as I live there may be\npeace and quiet and prosperous times.\n\n_Father._ No one knows how God will order such things during the days of\nany man\u2019s lifetime. But if a man determines to be a kingsman and there\nhappens to be much distress and many disasters at the time because of\ntoo many rulers or unpeace in some form, he must be careful to join the\nservice of the one who has obtained the power in the most legal manner\nand is most likely to observe the customs that rightful and well-bred\nkings have observed before his day. He is then least likely to incur\ndanger in accounting for his service, whether he be called to account in\nthis world or in the next. But you have asked what customs you should\nobserve if you were bound to a royal service, and on that point I can\nvery well inform you.\n\nThis should be the first principle of all your conduct, never to let\nyour heart be wanting in reverence and fear of God, to love him above\neverything else, and next to him to love righteousness. Train yourself\nto be fair, upright, and temperate in all things. Always keep in mind\nthe day of death and guard carefully against vices. Remember that many a\nman lives but a brief time, while his deeds live long after him; and it\nis of great importance what is remembered about him. Some have reached\nfame through good deeds, and these always live after them, for one\u2019s\nhonor lives forever, though the man himself be dead. Some win fame by\nevil deeds and these men, though they be dead, bear a burden of lasting\ndisgrace when their deeds are recalled; their kinsmen, too, and all\ntheir descendants after their days have to bear the same dishonor.\nThose, however, are most numerous who drop away like cattle and are\nremembered neither for good nor for evil; but you shall know of a truth\nthat such is surely not the purpose of mankind; for all other creatures\nwere made for the pleasure and subsistence of man, while man was created\nto enjoy the glories of both this and the other world, if he is to\nrealize the purpose of his creation. Every one, therefore, while he\nstill lives, should strive to leave a few such deeds after him as will\ncause him to be remembered with favor after he has departed this life.\nBut this is above all the duty of kings and other mighty chiefs and of\nall those who seek their society and enter their service; for after that\na man is no longer looked upon as a churl, but is honored as a governor\nor a chief; and thus he ought to be honored, if he strives to observe\nthe customs that are becoming to himself and his dignity.\n\nTake heed lest you vacillate in friendship among several chiefs, as\nfickle men do; for no one who acts thus can be firm in purpose. Love\nyour lord highly and without guile as long as you stay in his service,\nand never seek the society or the confidence of his enemies, if you wish\nto remain a man of honor. Above your lord you must love God alone, but\nno other man. These are the things that you must especially avoid, lest\nthey bring you an evil name: perjury and false testimony, brothels,\ndrinking bouts, except in the king\u2019s house or in decent gatherings,\ncasting dice for silver, lust after bribes, and all other evil\ncovetousness; for these things are a great disgrace to every kingsman in\nthis world and his soul will be in peril in the other world, if he is\nfound guilty of such vices. Never get drunk, wherever you are; for it\nmay fall out at any time that you will be summoned to hear a dispute or\nto supervise something, or that you will have important business of your\nown to look after. Now if such demands should come to a man while he is\ndrunk, he will be found wholly incompetent; wherefore drunkenness should\nbe avoided by everyone, and most of all by kingsmen and others who wish\nto be reputed as worthy men, for such are most frequently called to hear\nsuits at law and to other important duties. Moreover, they ought to set\ngood examples for all, as some may wish to learn decorum from their\nbehavior.\n\nIf you are a kingsman you must observe the same prudence in your address\nand habits, and do not forget this. You should frequently be seen in\nyour lord\u2019s presence. Early in the morning you must escort him to\nchurch, if he observes that custom, as by right he ought to do; listen\nattentively to the service while you are in the church, and call\ndevoutly upon God for mercy. When the king leaves the church, join him\nat once and keep sufficiently near him to be in sight, so that he may be\nable to call you for any purpose, if he should wish to do so. But do not\nkeep so close to him as to make him feel annoyed by your presence, when\nhe wishes to speak with men whom he has called to converse with him, or\nto discuss such matters as he wishes to keep secret. Never show an\ninterest in those affairs which you see that your lord wishes to keep to\nhimself, unless he summons you to share knowledge with him. But if\nanything should come up that your lord confides to you but wishes to\nhave kept secret, keep it carefully in discreet silence; do not babble\nabout such affairs as should be hidden in your fidelity.\n\nYou must also make a habit of going to the royal apartments early in the\nmorning before the king has arisen; but be sure to come carefully washed\nand bathed and wearing your best raiment; and wait near the king\u2019s\nchamber until he has arisen. Go into the king\u2019s chamber if he calls you,\nbut at no other time; but wherever it is that the king summons you, you\nmust come into his presence without your mantle. If it is early in the\nmorning and you have not seen him before, wish him a good day in the\nwords that I have already taught you; but approach only so near as to\nleave him sufficient room to confer with the men who are nearest to him,\nand remain standing there. But if he calls you to come nearer, wishing\nto speak with you in private, then kneel before him but only so near\nthat you can readily hear his words; and come without your mantle.\nHowever, if he invites you to be seated, you may put on your cloak, if\nyou like, and be seated where he indicates.\n\nNow when it happens that the king goes out to seek diversion, whether it\nbe in town or in the country, or wherever he is sojourning, and you and\nyour comrades accompany him, the retinue looks best, whether you are\narmed or not, if you walk in equal numbers on either side of the king,\nthough never in compact groups. Wherever you go he should walk in your\nmidst, and you and your companions should be arranged in equal numbers\nbefore and behind him and on either side. But none of you must walk so\nnear the king that he has not sufficient space to converse with those\nwhom he summons to him, whether he wishes to speak with them openly or\nin private. And even though he call no one to have speech with him, keep\nthe order such that there is plenty of space around him on all sides.\nBut when the king rides out for amusement and you and your comrades\naccompany him, arrange the order of riding in the way that I have\nsuggested about your walking; only keep at a greater distance, so that\nno dirt can splash from your horses upon the king, even though you ride\nquite rapidly.\n\nIf the king should call you by name, be careful not to answer by \u201cEh?\u201d\nor \u201cHm?\u201d or \u201cWhat?\u201d but rather speak in this wise: \u201cYes, my lord, I am\nglad to listen!\u201d Also take good heed not to rush away early in the\nmorning to eat and drink with greedy and unmannerly men. Wait, as custom\ndemands, till the king\u2019s meal time, and take your seat at the royal\ntables, whenever you are present at court. But when the king sits down\nto eat with his hirdmen, these ought all to observe good manners and\ndecent order, and the one should never run in ahead of the other like an\nill-bred man; but each ought to know his right place and table\ncompanion; and the men should sit at the table in the same order as when\nthey are out walking. The men should go by twos, those who sit together,\nto lave their hands, whether the washing is done within the hall or\nwithout, and then to the table, each in the order and to the seat that\nhe knows was assigned to him in the beginning. The hirdmen ought to\nspeak in a low tone at the table so that not a single word will be heard\nby those who sit on either side of the two who wish to converse; let\neach one speak to his partner so softly that none shall hear but those\nwho are conversing; then there will be good deportment and quiet in the\nking\u2019s hall. You may, however, partake freely and quickly of both the\nfood and the drink on the table according to your needs without\nsuffering any discredit to your manners; but always take good heed not\nto get drunk. You should cast frequent glances toward the king\u2019s seat to\nsee how his service is going forward, and always note carefully when the\nking raises the beaker to his lips, for you must not eat while he is\ndrinking. If you have a cup in your hand, set it down and do not drink\njust then. You must show the queen everywhere the same honor as you show\nthe king according as I have told you. And if the king has a guest at\nhis table who ought to be shown the same deference, whether he be a\nking, an earl, an archbishop, or a bishop, you should observe these same\ncustoms which I have just taught you. However, if the number of\ndistinguished people at the royal table should be large, you need not\nobserve this custom as to drinking unless you wish, except when the king\nor the queen drinks, or when there is another king at the table with\nthem.\n\nNow if the king\u2019s hirdmen happen to be seated together in the royal hall\nbut with no tables before them and certain lords come in whom the king\nis pleased to receive with honor, it is the duty of all men to rise\nbefore them just as before their own lords and to give them such cordial\ngreetings as they know that the king desires. But this is an honor which\nevery kingsman owes to his fellows: when one who has been absent comes\nin and walks toward the seat where he has his proper place and position,\nthe two who sit nearest to him on either side should rise, receive him\nin a friendly manner, and bid him welcome among them. Wherever the\nkingsmen are much in the eyes of other men, whether they sit together at\na feast, or walk in the king\u2019s escort, or go out together to make merry,\nthey ought always to speak in rather low tones, to be proper in their\nactions and elegant in their speech, and to avoid all indecent talk. All\nthese rules which I have now recounted must be learned and observed by\nall kingsmen who wish to be known for good breeding. But no matter how\nothers behave, be sure that you observe carefully all that I have taught\nyou, and be willing to teach others who may wish to learn from you.\n\nNow if your comrades are planning to go from the king\u2019s apartments to\nsome drinking bout or other merrymaking, and you, too, have the king\u2019s\npermission to seek diversion, you should prefer the forms of amusement\nwhich I shall now point out to you. If you are sojourning where horses\nmay be ridden and you have your own horse, put on heavy armor and,\nmounting your horse, train yourself in the art of sitting on horseback\nin the firmest and most handsome manner. Train yourself to press the\nfoot firmly into the stirrup; keep your leg stiff and the heel a little\nlower than the toes, except when you have to guard against thrusts from\nthe front; and practice sitting firmly with the thighs pressed close.\nCover your breast and limbs carefully with a curved shield. Train your\nleft hand to grasp firmly the bridle and the grip of the shield, and\nyour right hand to direct the spear-thrust so that all your bodily\nstrength will support it. Train your good steed to veer about when in\nfull gallop; keep him clean and in good condition; keep him shod firmly\nand well, and provide him with a strong and handsome harness.\n\nBut if you are in a borough or some such place where horses cannot be\nused for recreation, you should take up this form of amusement: go to\nyour chambers and put on heavy armor; next look up some fellow henchman\n(he may be a native or an alien) who likes to drill with you and whom\nyou know to be well trained to fight behind a shield or a buckler.\nAlways bring heavy armor to this exercise, either chain mail or a thick\ngambison,[248] and carry a heavy sword and a weighty shield or buckler\nin your hand. In this game you should strive to learn suitable thrusts\nand such counterstrokes as are good, necessary, and convenient. Learn\nprecisely how to cover yourself with the shield, so that you may be able\nto guard well when you have to deal with a foeman. If you feel that it\nis important to be well trained in these activities, go through the\nexercise twice a day, if it is convenient; but let no day pass, except\nholidays, without practicing this drill at least once; for it is counted\nproper for all kingsmen to master this art and, moreover, it must be\nmastered if it is to be of service. If the drill tires you and makes you\nthirsty, drink a little now and then, enough to quench your thirst; but\nwhile the game is on, be careful not to drink till you are drunk or even\nmerry.\n\nFootnote 248:\n\n  The gambison (_panzari_) was a form of defensive armor made of cloth\n  padded and quilted. It is described on page 217 as being made \u201cof soft\n  linen thoroughly blackened.\u201d Usually it was worn under the coat of\n  mail, but it could also be worn outside. See _Annaler for nordisk\n  Oldkyndighed_, 1867, 74 ff. (Blom.); Falk, _Altnordische Waffenkunde_,\n  181-182.\n\nIf you should like to try a variety of drills and pastimes, there are\ncertain sports that one can take up out of doors, if that is thought\nmore diverting. For one thing, you may have a pole prepared, somewhat\nheavier than a spear shaft, and put up a mark some distance away for a\ntarget; with these you can determine how far and how accurately you can\nthrow a spear and do it effectively. It is also counted rare sport and\npastime to take one\u2019s bow and go with other men to practice archery.\nAnother pleasant and useful diversion is to practice throwing with a\nsling both for distance and for accuracy, and with a staff sling[249] as\nwell as with a hand sling, and to practice throwing stone missiles.\nFormerly the custom was for all who wished to become expert in such arts\nand thoroughly proficient in war and chivalry to train both hands alike\nto the use of weapons. Strive after the same skill, if you find yourself\ngifted for it, inasmuch as those who are trained in that way are the\nmost perfect in these activities and the most dangerous to their\nenemies.\n\nFootnote 249:\n\n  The staff sling was a sling fastened to the end of a stick; it was an\n  earlier form which was not used much in the thirteenth century.\n\nYou should abhor and avoid manslaying in every form except as a lawful\npunishment or in common warfare. But in ordinary warfare on the lawful\ncommand of your chief, you need to shun manslaying no more than any\nother deed which you know to be right and good. Show courage and bravery\nin battle; fight with proper and effective blows, such as you have\nalready learned, as if in the best of humor, though filled with noble\nwrath. Never fight with feigned strokes, needless thrusts, or uncertain\nshots like a frightened man. Heed these things well that you may be able\nto match your opponent\u2019s skill in fighting. Be resolute in combat but\nnot hot-headed and least of all boastful. Always remember that there may\nbe those who can give good testimony in your behalf; but never praise\nyour own deeds, lest after a time it should come to pass that you are\npursued for the slaughter of men whose death is rated a great loss and\nthe revenge is directed toward you by your own words.\n\nIf you are fighting on foot in a land battle and are placed at the point\nof a wedge-shaped column,[250] it is very important to watch the closed\nshield line in the first onset, lest it become disarranged or broken.\nTake heed never to bind the front edge of your shield under that of\nanother.[251] You must also be specially careful, when in the battle\nline, never to throw your spear, unless you have two, for in battle\narray on land one spear is more effective than two swords. But if the\nfight is on shipboard, select two spears which are not to be thrown, one\nwith a shaft long enough to reach easily from ship to ship and one with\na shorter shaft, which you will find particularly serviceable when you\ntry to board the enemy\u2019s ship. Various kinds of darts should be kept on\nships, both heavy javelins and lighter ones. Try to strike your\nopponent\u2019s shield with a heavy javelin, and if the shield glides aside,\nattack him with a light javelin, unless you are able to reach him with a\nlong-shafted spear. Fight on sea as on land with an even temper and with\nproper strokes only; and never waste your weapons by hurling them to no\npurpose.\n\nFootnote 250:\n\n  The wedge-shaped column (_sv\u00ednfylking_, perhaps so named from a\n  fancied resemblance to a boar\u2019s head) was a common form of battle\n  array among the Northern peoples as well as among the early Germans\n  generally.\n\nFootnote 251:\n\n  As the shield was born on the left arm, the front edge would be the\n  right edge.\n\nWeapons of many sorts may be used to advantage on shipboard, which one\nhas no occasion to use on land, except in a fortress or castle.\nLonghandled scythes[252] and long-shafted broadaxes,[253] \u201cwar-beams\u201d\nand staff slings, darts,[254] and missiles of every sort are serviceable\non ships. Crossbows and longbows are useful as well as all other forms\nof shooting weapons; but coal and sulphur[255] are, however, the most\neffective munitions of all that I have named. Caltrops[256] cast in lead\nand good halberds[257] are also effective weapons on shipboard. A tower\njoined to the mast[258] will be serviceable along with these and many\nother defenses, as is also a beam cloven into four parts and set with\nprongs of hard steel,[259] which is drawn up against the mast. A\n\u201cprow-boar\u201d[260] with an ironclad snout is also useful in naval battles.\nBut it is well for men to be carefully trained in handling these before\nthey have to use them; for one knows neither the time nor the hour when\nhe shall have to make use of any particular kind of weapons. But take\ngood heed to collect as many types of weapons as possible, while you\nstill have no need of them; for it is always a distinction to have good\nweapons, and, furthermore, they are a good possession in times of\nnecessity when one has to use them. For a ship\u2019s defense the following\narrangement is necessary: it should be fortified strongly with beams and\nlogs built up into a high rampart, through which there should be four\nopenings, each so large and wide that one or two men in full armor can\nleap through them; but outside and along the rampart on both sides of\nthe ship there should be laid a level walk of planks to stand upon.[261]\nThis breastwork must be firmly and carefully braced so that it cannot be\nshaken though one leaps violently upon it. Wide shields and chain mail\nof every sort are good defensive weapons on shipboard; the chief\nprotection, however, is the gambison made of soft linen thoroughly\nblackened, good helmets, and low caps of steel. There are many other\nweapons that can be used in naval fights, but it seems needless to\ndiscuss more than those which I have now enumerated.\n\nFootnote 252:\n\n  These scythes were apparently used to catch and hold the hostile ships\n  and perhaps also to cut the ropes on the ship. See the Sor\u00f6 edition,\n  388.\n\nFootnote 253:\n\n  The broadax (_skegg\u00f6x_) had the blade extended backward somewhat like\n  that of a halberd, though in the latter case the extension was usually\n  forward. See Falk, _Altnordische Waffenkunde_, 108-110.\n\nFootnote 254:\n\n  _Skeptifletta_: a dart of some sort with a cord attached.\n\nFootnote 255:\n\n  Coal and sulphur seem to have been used chiefly to fire the enemy\u2019s\n  ship.\n\nFootnote 256:\n\n  Caltrops were instruments provided with iron prongs and were usually\n  scattered where the enemy\u2019s horsemen were likely to pass, in the hope\n  of maiming the horses. It is evident that they were also used in naval\n  warfare, the purpose being to maim the men on the enemy\u2019s deck. See\n  the Sor\u00f6 edition, 392.\n\nFootnote 257:\n\n  _Atgeirr._ The translation is doubtful, but it seems clear that some\n  kind of spear useful for striking as well as for thrusting is meant.\n  See Falk, _Altnordische Waffenkunde_, 81-82.\n\nFootnote 258:\n\n  Probably some sort of a cage placed at the top or near the top of the\n  mast from which men with bows and slings could fight to better\n  advantage. See _Aarb\u00f6ger for nordisk Oldkyndighed_, 1872, 242; Falk,\n  _Altnordische Waffenkunde_, 197.\n\nFootnote 259:\n\n  Only one end of the beam was cloven in this way. See the Sor\u00f6 edition,\n  394-395. The beam was apparently fastened to the mast and used to\n  crush the sides of the enemy\u2019s ship in much the same way as the ram\n  was used against a castle wall. See Falk, _Altnordische Waffenkunde_,\n  199.\n\nFootnote 260:\n\n  The prow-boar (_r\u00f4\u00f0rgoltr_) was not a beak but apparently some device\n  fastened to the prow which served much the same purpose, namely to run\n  down and sink an opposing ship. See the Sor\u00f6 edition, 395-396; Falk,\n  _Altnordische Waffenkunde_, 198-199.\n\nFootnote 261:\n\n  See the Sor\u00f6 edition, 397-399; Falk, _Altnordische Waffenkunde_, 196.\n  This rampart was built of logs and planks and raised on the gunwales.\n  Sometimes it seems to have been placed along the entire length of the\n  ship, but often, perhaps, only where the ship was lowest. Inside it\n  was braced with strong beams. The plank walk on the outside projected\n  over the edge of the ship and was no doubt in part intended to make it\n  difficult for the enemy to board it.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                XXXVIII\n\n                    WEAPONS FOR OFFENSE AND DEFENSE\n\n\n_Son._ Since we now have before us a discussion which teaches chiefly\nhow a man must prepare himself to meet his enemies in attack and\ndefense, it seems to me that it would be well to say something about how\none has to fight on land, on horse or on foot, and in attacking and\ndefending castles. Therefore, if you feel disposed to say anything about\nsuch matters, I shall be glad to listen.\n\n_Father._ The man who is to fight on horseback needs to make sure, as we\nhave already stated, that he is thoroughly trained in all the arts of\nmounted warfare. For his horse he will need to provide this\nequipment:[262] he must keep him carefully and firmly shod; he must also\nmake sure that the saddle is strong, made with high bows, and provided\nwith strong girths and other saddlegear, including a durable surcingle\nacross the middle and a breast strap in front.[263] The horse should be\nprotected in such a way both in front of the saddle and behind it that\nhe will not be exposed to weapons, spear-thrust or stroke, or any other\nform of attack. He should also have a good shabrack[264] made like a\ngambison of soft and thoroughly blackened linen cloth, for this is a\ngood protection against all kinds of weapons. It may be decorated as one\nlikes, and over the shabrack there should be a good harness of mail.\nWith this equipment every part of the horse should be covered, head,\nloins, breast, belly, and the entire beast, so that no man, even if on\nfoot, shall be able to reach him with deadly weapons. The horse should\nhave a strong bridle, one that can be gripped firmly and used to rein\nhim in or throw him when necessary. Over the bridle and about the entire\nhead of the horse and around the neck back to the saddle, there should\nbe a harness made like a gambison of firm linen cloth, so that no man\nshall be able to take away the bridle or the horse by stealth.[265]\n\nFootnote 262:\n\n  On the equipment of the horse in medieval warfare, see _Aarb\u00f6ger for\n  nordisk Oldkyndighed_, 1867, 90-97.\n\nFootnote 263:\n\n  In the thirteenth century the saddle was made with high bows before\n  and behind so as to provide a firmer seat for the rider. The surcingle\n  was a girth drawn over the saddle; the breast strap served to keep the\n  saddle from slipping backwards. _Aarb\u00f6ger for nordisk Oldkyndighed_,\n  91.\n\nFootnote 264:\n\n  _Kovertur_, from medieval French _couverture_. But the _couverture_\n  was not a covering worn underneath the mail; it was probably the mail\n  itself or an outer covering for the horse. See Falk, _Altnordische\n  Waffenkunde_, 191.\n\nFootnote 265:\n\n  Falk believes that this description is in some respects inaccurate. No\n  such elaborate equipment could have been used in the North where\n  cavalry was not an important part of the host in the thirteenth\n  century. He also doubts that an equipment just like the one described\n  was in use anywhere in Europe at the time. _Ibid._, 190-191. The\n  medieval _couverture_ was not placed beneath the covering of mail as\n  the _Speculum Regale_ states; and Falk can see no reason why a\n  gambison placed beneath the mail should be ornamented. It seems clear\n  that the author is somewhat confused as to these various coverings.\n\nThe rider himself should be equipped in this wise: he should wear good\nsoft breeches made of soft and thoroughly blackened linen cloth, which\nshould reach up to the belt; outside these, good mail hose[266] which\nshould come up high enough to be girded on with a double strap; over\nthese he must have good trousers made of linen cloth of the sort that I\nhave already described; finally, over these he should have good\nkneepieces made of thick iron and rivets hard as steel.[267] Above and\nnext to the body he should wear a soft gambison, which need not come\nlower than to the middle of the thigh. Over this he must have a strong\nbreastplate[268] made of good iron covering the body from the nipples to\nthe trousers belt; outside this, a well-made hauberk and over the\nhauberk a firm gambison made in the manner which I have already\ndescribed but without sleeves. He must have a dirk[269] and two swords,\none girded on and another hanging from the pommel of the saddle. On his\nhead he must have a dependable helmet made of good steel and provided\nwith a visor.[270] He must also have a strong, thick shield fastened to\na durable shoulder belt and, in addition, a good sharp spear with a firm\nshaft and pointed with fine steel. Now it seems needless to speak\nfurther about the equipment of men who fight on horseback; there are,\nhowever, other weapons which a mounted warrior may use, if he wishes;\namong these are the \u201chorn bow\u201d[271] and the weaker crossbow, which a man\ncan easily draw even when on horseback, and certain other weapons, too,\nif he should want them.\n\nFootnote 266:\n\n  The mail hose were made of chain mail. _Aarb\u00f6ger for nordisk\n  Oldkyndighed_, 1867, 73-74.\n\nFootnote 267:\n\n  The kneepieces, or _genouill\u00e8res_ were pieces of armor worn to protect\n  the knees.\n\nFootnote 268:\n\n  Blom thinks that the breastplate was a new thing in the thirteenth\n  century (_ibid._, 76), but Falk believes that it was used quite\n  generally (_Altnordische Waffenkunde_, 182).\n\nFootnote 269:\n\n  The dirk (_brynknifr_) was probably a poniard-like weapon used to\n  pierce the chain mail at the joints. Falk, _Altnordische Waffenkunde_,\n  124.\n\nFootnote 270:\n\n  The helmet with the visor appears in the illustrations of the closing\n  years of the twelfth century; the earlier helmet was a steel cap with\n  a nose guard. _Aarb\u00f6ger for nordisk Oldkyndighed_, 83-84.\n\nFootnote 271:\n\n  Little seems to be known about the hornbow. Captain Blom finds it\n  mentioned in the Latin sources as _balista cornea_ or _balista cum\n  cornu_. _Aarb\u00f6ger for nordisk Oldkyndighed_, 1867, 100-101. Falk\n  believes that it was a bow which was reinforced on the inner side with\n  horn. _Altnordische Waffenkunde_, 91-92.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                 XXXIX\n\n                            MILITARY ENGINES\n\n\n_Son._ Inasmuch as you seem to think that you have described most of the\nweapons which are convenient to have in naval warfare or in fighting on\nhorseback, I will now ask you to say something about those which you\nthink are most effective in besieging or defending castles.\n\n_Father._ All the weapons that we have just discussed as useful on ships\nor on horseback can also be used in attacking and defending castles; but\nthere are many other kinds. If one is to attack a castle with the\nweapons which I have enumerated, he will also have need of\ntrebuckets:[272] a few powerful ones with which to throw large rocks\nagainst stone walls to determine whether they are able to resist such\nviolent blows, and weaker trebuckets for throwing missiles over the\nwalls to demolish the houses within the castle. But if one is unable to\nbreak down or shatter a stone wall with trebuckets, he will have to try\nanother engine, namely the iron-headed ram,[273] for very few stone\nwalls can withstand its attack. If this engine fails to batter down or\nshake the wall, it may be advisable to set the cat[274] to work. A tower\nraised on wheels[275] is useful in besieging castles, if it is\nconstructed so that it rises above the wall which is to be stormed, even\nthough the difference in height be only seven ells; but the higher it\nis, the more effective it will be in attacking another tower. Scaling\nladders on wheels which may be moved backward and forward are also\nuseful for this purpose, if they are boarded up underneath and have good\nropes on both sides. And we may say briefly about this craft, that in\nbesieging castles use will be found for all sorts of military engines.\nBut whoever wishes to join in this must be sure that he knows precisely\neven to the very hour when he shall have need for each device.\n\nFootnote 272:\n\n  The trebucket (French _tr\u00e9buchet_) was a siege engine which came into\n  use in the twelfth century; it was worked by counterpoises. For a\n  description see Oman, _Art of War_, 143-144; _Aarb\u00f6ger for nordisk\n  Oldkyndighed_, 1867, 103-104; Falk, _Altnordische Waffenkunde_,\n  193-194.\n\nFootnote 273:\n\n  The ram was a massive beam used to batter down walls; it was an\n  inheritance from antiquity and was much in use. See Oman, _Art of\n  War_, 132; _Aarb\u00f6ger for nordisk Oldkyndighed_, 1867, 104; Falk,\n  _Altnordische Waffenkunde_, 198.\n\nFootnote 274:\n\n  _Grafsvin._ Falk translates this with \u201cbadger\u201d and seems to believe\n  that it was a shelter on wheels under which the attackers might work\n  in comparative safety. _Altnordische Waffenkunde_, 196. It is more\n  likely, however, that a \u201ccat\u201d is meant. The cat was a long pointed\n  pole used to loosen the stones in a wall and thus to make a breach. It\n  is also called a \u201csow\u201d and the Old Norse term _grafsvin_, \u201cdigging\n  boar,\u201d was evidently an attempt to translate the Latin term _scrofa_\n  or _sus_, \u201chog\u201d or \u201csow.\u201d For a description of the cat, see Oman, _Art\n  of War_, 132.\n\nFootnote 275:\n\n  On the subject of the movable tower see Oman, _Art of War_, 134-135,\n  549.\n\nThose who have to defend a castle may also make use of these weapons\nwhich I have now enumerated and many more: trebuckets both large and\nsmall, hand slings and staff slings. They will find crossbows and other\nbows, too, very effective, as well as every other type of shooting\nweapons, such as spears and javelins both light and heavy. But to resist\nthe trebuckets, the cat, and the engine called the ram, it is well to\nstrengthen the entire stone wall on the inside with large oaken timbers;\nthough if earth and clay are plentiful, these materials had better be\nused. Those who have to defend castles are also in the habit of making\ncurtains of large oak boughs, three or even five deep, to cover the\nentire wall;[276] and the curtain should be thoroughly plastered with\ngood sticky clay. To defeat the attacks of the ram, men have sometimes\nfilled large bags with hay or straw and lowered them with light iron\nchains in front of the ram where it sought to pierce the wall. It\nsometimes happens that the shots fall so rapidly upon a fortress that\nthe defenders are unable to remain at the battlements; it is then\nadvisable to hang out brattices made of light planks and built high\nenough to reach two ells above the openings in the parapet and three\nells below them. They should be wide enough to enable the men to fight\nwith any sort of weapons between the parapet and the brattice wall, and\nthey should be hung from slender beams in such a way that they may be\nreadily drawn in and hung out again later, as one may wish.[277]\n\nFootnote 276:\n\n  These curtains were evidently placed on the outer side of the wall.\n\nFootnote 277:\n\n  This translation of _hengivigskar\u00f0_ is based on Blom\u2019s interpretation\n  (_Aarb\u00f6ger for nordisk Oldkyndighed_, 1867, 105-106, note). The\n  brattices were projecting galleries built along the top of the wall\n  and were in use before it became customary to build stone parapets.\n  Cf. Oman, _Art of War_, 534.\n\nThe \u201chedgehog\u201d[278] will be found an effective device in defending a\ncastle. It is made of large, heavy beams armed along the ridge with a\nbrush of pointed oak nails; it is hung outside the parapet to be dropped\non anyone who comes too near the wall. Turnpikes made of large heavy\nlogs armed with sharp teeth of hard oak may be raised on end near the\nbattlements and kept ready to be dropped upon those who approach the\ncastle. Another good device is the \u201cbriar,\u201d[279] which is made of good\niron and has curved thorns as hard as steel with a barb on every thorn;\nand the chain, from which it hangs, as high up as a man can reach must\nbe made of spiked links, so that it can be neither held nor hewn; higher\nup any kind of rope that seems suitable may be used, only, it must be\nfirm and strong. This briar is thrown down among the enemy in the hope\nof catching one or more of them and then it is pulled up again. A\n\u201crunning wheel\u201d[280] is also a good weapon for those who defend castles:\nit is made of two millstones with an axle of tough oak joining them.\nPlanks sloping downward are laid out through the openings in the wall;\nthe wheel is rolled out upon these and then down upon the enemy.\n\nFootnote 278:\n\n  The hedgehog (_ericius_) in common use was a form of the _cheval de\n  frise_ and was laid on the earth to impede a hostile advance. I know\n  of no other mention of the device (_igelk\u01ebttr_) described above.\n\nFootnote 279:\n\n  Captain Blom is disposed to look on the _brynklungr_ as an imaginary\n  device (_Aarb\u00f6ger for nordisk Oldkyndighed_, 1867, 106) but Falk finds\n  that some such instrument was in use in Italy as early as the tenth\n  century (_Altnordische Waffenkunde_, 199-200).\n\nFootnote 280:\n\n  Devices somewhat similar to the \u201crunning wheel\u201d seem to have been used\n  in medieval warfare, but of this particular form no other mention has\n  been found. See Falk, _Altnordische Waffenkunde_, 200.\n\nA \u201cshot wagon\u201d[281] is also a good device. This is made like any other\nwagon with two or four wheels as one likes and is intended to carry a\nload of stones, hot or cold as one may prefer. It must also be provided\nwith two firm and strong chains, one on each side, which can be depended\non to check the wagon even where it has a long track to run upon. It is\nmeant to run on planks set with a downward slope, but one must be\ncareful to keep the wheels from skidding off the planks. When the chains\ncheck the speed, the wagon shoots its load out upon the men below. The\nmore uneven the stones are, some large and some small, the more\neffective the load will be. Canny men, who are set to defend a wall and\nwish to throw rocks down upon the attacking line or upon the penthouse,\nmake these rocks of clay with pebbles, slingstones, and other hard\nstones placed inside. The clay is burned hard enough on the outside to\nendure the flight while the load is being thrown; but as soon as the\nrocks fall they break into fragments and consequently cannot be hurled\nback again. To break down stone walls, however, large, hard rocks are\nrequired. Similarly, when one hurls missiles from a stone fortress\nagainst an opposing wooden tower or upon the axletrees which support\nsiege engines, towers, scaling ladders, cats, or any other engine on\nwheels, the larger and harder the rocks that are used, the more\neffective they will be.\n\nFootnote 281:\n\n  _Ibid._ The \u201cshot wagon\u201d is not mentioned elsewhere.\n\nBoiling water, molten glass, and molten lead are also useful in\ndefending walls.[282] But if a cat or any other covered engine which\ncannot be damaged by hot water is being pushed toward a castle, it is a\ngood plan, if the engine is lower than the walls, to provide beams\ncarefully shod with iron underneath and in addition armed with large,\nsharp, red-hot plowshares. These are to be thrown down upon the wooden\nengine in which the plowshares are likely to stick fast, while the beams\nmay be hoisted up again. This attack should be followed up with pitch,\nsulphur, or boiling tar.[283]\n\nFootnote 282:\n\n  See the Sor\u00f6 edition, 424-425, where the editor cites a number of\n  references to the use of fire in defensive warfare; these are nearly\n  all drawn from the sagas.\n\nFootnote 283:\n\n  Evidently the purpose would be to crush the engine with the beam, to\n  set it on fire with the hot plowshares, and to put the assailants to\n  flight with the pitch, sulphur, or tar; these would also feed the\n  flames.\n\nMines dug in the neighborhood of a castle are also an excellent\nprotection; the deeper and narrower they are, the better it is; and\nwhere men are shoving mounted engines toward the walls, it were well if\nthere were many mines. All mines should have a number of small openings,\nwhich must be covered so as not to be visible on the surface. They\nshould be filled with fuel of the most inflammable sort, peat or\nanything else that burns readily. When a castle is attacked at night\neither from wooden towers or with scaling ladders or any other engine on\nwheels, the defenders should steal out and fire the mines.[284]\n\nFootnote 284:\n\n  On the subject of mines see Oman, _Art of War_, 549-550.\n\nNow if it should happen that the enemy\u2019s stones come over the\nbattlements with such violence that the men cannot remain in the open to\ndefend the wall, it is a good plan to set up strong posts cut from thick\noak and to lay large and tough cross beams upon these, then to roof the\nwhole over with firm oak timbers, and finally to cover the roofing with\na layer of earth not less than three or four ells in depth, upon which\nthe rocks may be allowed to drop.[285] In like manner the attack of a\nwooden tower that is moving toward a castle may be foiled by setting up\nstrong, firm posts rising considerably higher than the attacking tower.\nBut a more effective contrivance than all the engines that I have now\ndescribed is a stooping shield-giant which breathes forth flame and\nfire.[286] And now we shall close our account of the engines that are\nuseful in defending castle walls with the reminder that every sort of\nweapon with which one can shoot, hurl, hew, or thrust, and every kind\nthat can be used in attack or defense may be brought into service.\n\nFootnote 285:\n\n  The posts were apparently placed on top of the wall, the purpose being\n  to raise the wall to a greater height as well as to furnish shelter\n  for the defenders.\n\nFootnote 286:\n\n  The shield-giant was probably a mythical device; but it is possible as\n  has been suggested that its fiery breath may refer to the use of Greek\n  fire, with which the Norwegians became acquainted during the crusades,\n  or even to early experiments with gunpowder. Falk, _Altnordische\n  Waffenkunde_, 200-201. It is not known when gunpowder was invented,\n  but the earliest known formula for making it is found in the writings\n  of Roger Bacon, who was a contemporary of the author of the _King\u2019s\n  Mirror_.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                   XL\n\n            THE PROPER MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF A ROYAL COURT\n\n\n_Son._ Since you seem to think that sufficient has been said about\nweapons both for attack and defense, how they should be made or built,\nand on what occasion each kind should be used (and after your comments\nthese things are very clear to me), I now wish to ask whether there may\nnot be other subjects which you think ought to be discussed, such as\npertain to customs that one must observe in the presence of great men or\nat royal courts.\n\n_Father._ There still remain a number of things which a man should not\nfail to hear discussed and to reflect upon, if he is to attend on kings\nor other magnates and wishes to be ranked among them as a worthy man.\nBut there are three things (which are, however, almost the same in\nreality) which one must observe with care: they are wisdom, good\nbreeding, and courtesy. It is courtesy to be friendly, humble, ready to\nserve, and elegant in speech; to know how to behave properly while\nconversing or making merry with other men; to know precisely, when a man\nis conversing with women, whether they be young or older in years, of\ngentle or humble estate, how to select such expressions as are suited to\ntheir rank and are as proper for them to hear as for him to use. In like\nmanner when one speaks with men, whether they be young or old, gentle or\nhumble, it is well to know how to employ fitting words and how to\ndetermine what expressions are proper for each one to take note of. Even\nwhen mere pleasantry is intended, it is well to choose fair and decent\nwords. It is also courtesy to know how to discriminate in language, when\nto use plural and when to use singular forms in addressing the men with\nwhom one is conversing; to know how to select one\u2019s clothes both as to\ncolor and other considerations; and to know when to stand or sit, when\nto rise or kneel. It is also courtesy to know when a man ought to let\nhis hands drop gently and to keep them quiet, or when he ought to move\nthem about in service for himself or for others; to know in what\ndirection to turn his face and breast, and how to turn his back and\nshoulders. It is courtesy to know precisely when he is free to wear his\ncloak, hat, or coif, if he has one, and when these are not to be worn;\nalso to know, when at the table, whether good breeding demands that one\nmust watch the great men partake of food, or whether one may eat and\ndrink freely in any way that seems convenient and proper. It is also\ncourtesy to refrain from sneers and contemptuous jests, to know clearly\nwhat churlishness is and to avoid it carefully.\n\nIt is good breeding to be agreeable and never obstinate when one is with\nother men, and to be modest in demeanor; to walk a proper gait when on\nfoot and to watch one\u2019s limbs carefully wherever one goes to make sure\nthat each will move correctly and yet in a natural way. It is good\nbreeding, too, when one strolls about in a city among strangers, to keep\nsilence and use few words, to shun turmoil and disgraceful tippling, to\npunish theft and robbery and all other foolish rioting. It is also good\nbreeding to avoid profanity, cursing, scolding, and all other pernicious\ntalk. Be careful also never to appear as the advocate of stupid and\ndishonest men and especially not to support them in their impudence, but\nrather to show hatred for wickedness in every form. It is good breeding\nto shun chess and dice, brothels and perjury, false testimony, and other\nlasciviousness or filthy behavior. It shows good breeding to be cleanly\nin food and clothes; to take good care of the ships, horses, weapons,\nand buildings that one may possess; to be cautious and never rash and to\nbe undismayed in times of stress; never to be ostentatious, domineering,\nor envious; and to shun arrogance and affectation in every form. But the\nchief point in all conduct is to love God and holy church, to hear mass\nregularly, to be diligent in divine service, and to implore mercy for\noneself and all other Christian people.\n\nNo one can attain to all these virtues which we have now enumerated as\nbelonging to courtesy and good breeding, unless he is also endowed with\nwisdom. These gifts will accompany wisdom: elegance in speech,\neloquence, insight into proper conduct, and ability to discriminate\nbetween good manners and what passes for such in the sayings of foolish\nmen, though they are in fact bad manners. It is also wisdom, when one is\npresent at the law court, or some other place where men congregate, and\nhears the speeches and the suits of men, to be able to discern clearly\nwhat suits or what speeches delivered there are based on reason and\nwhich ones are merely glib palaver and senseless verbosity. It is also\nwisdom to have a clear appreciation, when decrees are rendered in the\ndisputes of men, of how these are stated, so that not a word will be\nadded or taken away, if one should need to know them at some later time.\nIt is also wisdom to keep faithfully in mind what facts were discussed\nand what agreements were reached. It is wisdom to know the law\nthoroughly, to have clear perceptions of what is actual law and what is\nmerely called law, being nothing but quibble and subterfuge. It is also\nwisdom, if one has a request to make, to be able to determine what he\nmay ask for that will prove serviceable and is proper for the other to\ngrant; also, if one meets a request, to know precisely what he may grant\nwith propriety and in what matters he must be careful not to bind\nhimself or those who come after him, such things, namely, as may prove a\ndisgrace to him rather than a distinction. Finally, it is wisdom not to\nbe strait-handed about things which one may just as well dispose of,\nlest such stint or stinginess bring shame upon him.\n\nThere is also great wisdom in moderation and righteousness. All forms of\nlearning, insight, and good foresight which is necessary to courtesy and\ngood breeding, to stewardship, government and the enforcement of\nlaw,\u2014these, too, are akin to wisdom. And you will need to learn all this\nthoroughly, if you wish to be known among kings and chieftains as an\nestimable man, for all who know these things are received with favor\namong the great. Furthermore, the lives of men who have mastered this\nknowledge may bring great honor to themselves and profit to many others.\nBut wisdom has many forms, for it springs from roots which have many\nbranches. And from these roots of wisdom rises the mightiest of all\nstems, which again divides into large boughs, many branches, and a\nmultitude of twigs of different sizes, some small and some large. These\nare later distributed among men in such a way that some obtain the\nlarger and some the smaller ones, and these riches have their value\naccording as they are loved. He who is sure to appreciate this wealth\nand share it freely receives a large amount; for the nature of this\npossession is such that it is most attracted to him who loves it most\nand uses it most liberally. And if men knew how to value and appreciate\nthese riches properly, gold and silver would seem to them like rust,\nclay, or ashes, when compared with these treasures. But he who wishes to\nsecure this wealth must begin in this way: he must fear Almighty God and\nlove Him above all things.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  XLI\n\n                       THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED\n\n\n_Son._ It was clearly well-advised to continue this inquiry, for now I\nhave gotten both useful and precise information; and this speech will\nsurely help every man who is at least somewhat intelligent to more\ndefinite ideas than he had before. Moreover, those who have received\nonly slender wands from the boughs of wisdom are more numerous than\nthose who have received large branches, some getting but the tiniest\ntwigs, and some a mere leaf, while those who get nothing must indeed be\nfew. Therefore I wish to ask you to instruct me further in the art of\nchoosing and laying hold on those branches which may prove useful to\nmyself and others.\n\n_Father._ The virtues that I have just enumerated grow especially on the\nboughs of wisdom, but they ramify into a great many good branches and\ntwigs. Now these are the branches which are most useful: a rational\noutlook, a temperate mind, and the capacity to determine judiciously\nwhat one owes to every other man. If you are angry with any man because\nof a law suit or some evil deed, take careful thought before seeking\nrevenge, as to how important the matter really is and how great a\nretribution it is worth. When you hear things in the speech of other men\nwhich offend you much, be sure to investigate with reasonable care\nwhether the tales be true or false; but if they prove to be true and it\nis proper for you to seek revenge, take it with reason and moderation\nand never when heated or irritated. Even though you hear tidings which\nseem damaging to yourself or your business, such as loss of property or\nmen, always bear it with a calm and undaunted temper. Let the loss of\nwealth seem least to you, for you must bear in mind that it is sinful to\nworship wealth or to love it too highly, even though it returns a man\u2019s\nlove and comes abundantly into his keeping. And to love wealth much,\nwhen it seems inclined to turn away from a man and does not return his\nlove, is surely sinful and will lead to grief. Remember, too, that all\ncome destitute into the world; and our mode of departure from this life\nis such that wealth cannot follow us out of the world. Nevertheless, you\nmust take heed that nothing is lost through your neglect or\nindifference. And never grieve so deeply over a loss that you cannot be\nhopeful and cheerful as before.\n\nIf you suffer loss of men, bear that loss, too, with a calm spirit; for\nremember that every man in departing this life fulfils a law in human\nnature, inasmuch as no one is created to live forever in this world. Let\nit grieve you more, if an acquaintance of yours who has not lived as he\nought here on earth, should die in that state and leave the world in\ndisgrace; but most of all if you fear that his soul is in peril; for\nsuch things are rather to be lamented than that in dying he pays a debt\nto nature. But if he lived uprightly while on earth and made proper\nprovision for his soul before he died, then you may take comfort in the\ngood repute that lives after him, and even more in the blissful\nhappiness which you believe he will enjoy with God in the other world.\nIn the same way you must keep your spirit calm and in good control when\nsuch events come to pass as may seem profitable to you and stir your\nheart to joy and gladness, whether it be the death of men whom you have\nhated, or other happenings in which you might seem to find pleasure. But\nif you should happen to hear of the death of a man whom you counted an\nenemy and to whom you had planned to do evil, if opportunity should be\nfound, rejoice much more in that God has saved you from a threefold sin\nthan in the death of him who has departed. For you should be glad that\nGod has prevented your hands from committing the sinful deed that was in\nyour purpose, and has relieved your mind of the long-continued wrath and\nbitterness which you cherished against your enemy while he lived.\n\nLikewise, if high honors and dignities should come to you from a king or\nfrom other magnates, it is important that you should know how to receive\nthem with modesty, lest what befalls so many an indiscreet man should\nalso happen to you. For it is often the case that when one who is\nlacking in good sense receives any preferment from great men, he will\nrate himself so high in his pride and avarice that he counts no other\nman his equal. But such pretension leads to the downfall of everyone who\nbehaves in this way; inasmuch as it is God\u2019s purpose to strike down\nimmoderate pride with sacred humility; and everyone who is too proud and\ngreedy in his behavior will surely find God a constant opponent. Now if\nyou should be so fortunate as to receive preferments from a king or\nother princes, remember it is God\u2019s method and purpose, by prompting\nthem (for He holds the minds and hearts of chiefs in His hand), to\nelevate such men as He wishes to honor and dignity. On the other hand,\nit is also the duty of every man to assist all those who have less\nstrength than he. Keep in mind, then, if God should raise you up to any\nplace of honor, that it must be to the profit of all who are less\ncapable than yourself, except such as hate morality and right counsel;\nto them it should be a hindrance for a just man to be given power and\nauthority. If God gives you wisdom and clear insight and you have also\nthe good fortune to be awarded honors by great men, there are certain\nvices which you need especially to guard against: arrogant self-esteem,\navarice that yearns for bribes, and forgetful neglect of the needs of\nmen who are less capable than yourself. Keep constantly before your eyes\nas a warning the misfortunes of those who have fallen into disgrace\nbecause of immoderate pride. Also keep in mind, as a comforting hope,\nthe careers of men who have received constant honors because of their\nsteadfast justice and humility.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  XLII\n\n             A DISCUSSION OF HOW GOD REWARDS RIGHTEOUSNESS,\n            HUMILITY, AND FIDELITY, ILLUSTRATED BY EXAMPLES\n                 DRAWN FROM SACRED AND PROFANE HISTORY\n\n\n_Son._ I see clearly that God creates men unequal in power and wisdom\nbecause He wishes to see how each one is going to use what He has\nendowed him with, whether in high living for the glorification of self,\nor in bountiful kindness toward those who have need of him and have not\nreceived such gifts from God. And now I want to ask you to cite a few\nexamples both of men whose good sense and humility have brought them\nhonor and of such as have suffered destruction through vain pride.\n\n_Father._ There have been so many cases of that sort, that we should\nhave to extend our talk to a great length, if we were to mention all\nthose of either class which we know could serve as examples to show how\nthese things have worked out. I shall therefore name a few only, though\nsome of each kind, for in that way a long discourse may be the sooner\nfinished. The following instances are ancient and easily remembered.\nWhen Joseph was sold into Egypt,[287] a mighty lord bought him; but\nafter he had purchased him he found that Joseph was a discreet man, and\nhe preferred and honored him above all his other servants, not only\nabove those whom he kept in bondage, but even above his freeborn\nkinsmen; and he gave into his hands the oversight of his wealth and\nproperty, house and home, and all his welfare. But because Joseph was a\nhandsome man, kind and courteous in behavior, and sensible in speech, he\nwon the love and friendship of all who knew him and were subject to the\nsame lord who was Joseph\u2019s master.\n\nFootnote 287:\n\n  _Genesis_, cc. xxxix-xli. The author treats the Biblical narratives\n  with great freedom.\n\nThe wife of this mighty man loved Joseph more than was proper, and\nimpelled by evil desire, she sought to commit a vile sin against her\nhusband, because of the love that she bore for Joseph; and she was not\nashamed in her bold passion to intimate to him what she had in mind. But\nwhen he learned her purpose, he replied in this wise: \u201cWe cannot deal\nwith each other as equals, for you are my lady and I am your thrall; and\nit would be a very great disgrace for you to submit yourself to me and\ntoo bold and rash in me to bring such dishonor upon you. But even worse\nis the unfaithfulness toward my lord which I should be guilty of, if I\nwere to reward his kindness in this way like a treacherous thrall. For\nhe has trusted me, his servant, so far as to give all his wealth and\nriches into my hands and keeping, and I must not deceive my lawful\nmaster with shameful treachery, unless I should wish to prove the saying\nin daily use that it is ill to have a thrall as a chosen friend.\u201d But\nwhen the woman saw that Joseph was a good man and wished to be faithful,\nshe thought it a shame that he should know her faithlessness, and,\nprompted by enmity and not by justice, she became anxious to work his\nruin, if possible. So she told her husband that Joseph had made an\nunseemly request and added that it showed great audacity in a thrall to\nmake such bold remarks to his lady. She was believed as a good wife, and\nJoseph was cast into prison strongly fettered and heavily chained, the\npurpose being to let him end his days by rotting alive because of his\npride and faithlessness. But when God, Who always loves justice and\nhumility, saw the faithfulness of Joseph whom He knew to be innocent, He\nshaped the outcome so that Joseph profited by the condemnation that he\nhad suffered though innocent. For God saved him from prison under such\ncircumstances that he was elevated to far greater prominence than\nbefore; and God prompted King Pharaoh to make Joseph master and judge of\nall Egypt next to the king himself; and this office he held into his old\nage and as long as he lived.\n\nLong after this and in another place, a somewhat similar experience came\nto a famous king, who ruled over many realms. He was called by three\nnames, because the languages differed in the lands that he ruled over:\nin one place he was called Artaxerxes; in another place, Cyrus; and some\ntell us that to him God spoke these kind words by the mouth of his\nprophet: \u201cTo mine anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden to\nsubdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings,\u201d\netc.[288] Others, however, maintain that it was another Cyrus who is\nreferred to in this scripture; but we shall not discuss this any longer,\nsince we cannot be sure whether it was written about this Cyrus or\nanother. But in a third place the king was called Ahasuerus. And whereas\nhe himself was mighty and excellent, he also had a wealthy wife named\nVashti, who was his queen. Once when the king was absent in distant\nwarfare to extend his dominion, he had appointed Queen Vashti to govern\nthat part of his kingdom where his court resided. On his return home\nwith a wealth of spoils, he made a great feast to gladden all those\namong his lords who had accompanied him on the campaign; and Queen\nVashti made another feast for her own lords, who had remained at home to\nassist her in the government. Then the king commanded Vashti to appear\nbefore him in his hall in all her regalia and arrayed in all the beauty\nof queenly raiment and thus to show her joy in his home-coming and do\nhonor to his feast. But Queen Vashti refused to obey the king\u2019s command,\nsaying that she could not leave her own feast, having invited many good\nchiefs. When the king saw her arrogance and pride, he concluded that she\nesteemed him no more highly for the perilous toil that he had endured\nwhile extending his frontiers than she esteemed herself for having\nremained quietly at home with the regency, which he had left in her\nhands. Because of this presumption the king became so wrathful, that he\ndecreed that Vashti had forfeited the office of queen and all the\nauthority which she possessed. And he found a captive maiden of the\npeople of Israel, whose name was Esther, who was then in bondage in his\nkingdom, though she had sprung from a prominent family in her native\nland, and this maiden the king placed in Vashti\u2019s seat, endowing her\nwith all the power that Vashti had once possessed; and he made Esther\nqueen of all his kingdom.\n\nFootnote 288:\n\n  _Isaiah_, xlv, 1. In this case the author quotes directly from the\n  _Vulgate_: \u201cChristo meo Sciro, cujus apprehendi dexteram, ut subjiciam\n  ante faciem ejus gentes et dorsa regum vertam.\u201d\n\nA few days later another event occurred at this same court. There was a\nfamous and powerful chief named Haman and he was with King Ahasuerus. So\nhighly did the king esteem Haman that all the people were ordered to\nobey him and bow down before him as before the king himself. Now there\nwas also a man named Mordecai, a captive of the people of Israel, who\nwas Queen Esther\u2019s uncle; but inasmuch as he was both poor and in\nbondage, he dared not make known his kinship to the queen; nor dared the\nqueen show greater deference to him than to any other in the royal\nservice. Then it happened one day, when Haman the prince came to see the\nking, that on his return home his way passed near where Mordecai sat.\nBut Mordecai was brooding over the bondage in which he had been placed\nalong with the people who had been taken captive out of Israel; and\nbeing in deep thought he failed to notice that Haman was passing so\nnear, and consequently did not rise to bow before him. But when Haman\nsaw that an alien thrall neglected to bow the knee before him, he became\nso wrathful that as soon as he came home he ordered a high gallows to be\nraised near his house, on which he intended to hang Mordecai. He also\ncaused letters to be sent throughout the realm permitting every man to\ndeal with the people of Israel as he liked: whoever wished to do so\nmight plunder them, or force them into bondage and servitude, or even\nslay them.\n\nWhen the news of this came to Mordecai, necessity compelled him to deal\nmore boldly with the queen than before: he came to wait upon her, and,\nthrowing himself at her feet, he told these tidings with much sorrow.\nWhen the queen heard that the entire nation from which she had sprung\nwas condemned, she called upon God with all her soul; next she sought\nthe king\u2019s presence, robed in the stately apparel of a queen, and fell\nhumbly at his feet. But when the queen had entered and the king saw that\nshe came in such deep humility and with troubled countenance, he\nperceived that she had a matter of such great importance to bring before\nhim that she would have to find the courage in his favor to state what\nconcerned her. Taking her hand he raised her up, spoke gently to her,\nseated her beside him, and bade her state clearly all the details of her\nerrand. Queen Esther did as the king commanded and related the whole\nevent just as it had occurred; and then she begged him to take action\naccording to royal mercy rather than according to Haman\u2019s excessive\nanger. When the king saw Haman\u2019s boundless ambition and arrogant wrath,\nhe caused Haman himself to be hanged upon the gallows which he had\nintended for Mordecai, and sent orders throughout the entire realm that\nthe people of Israel be allowed to live in complete freedom according to\nthe ordinances of their sacred laws; and he gave to Mordecai all the\nauthority that Haman had once possessed.[289]\n\nFootnote 289:\n\n  See _Esther_, cc. i-viii.\n\nFrom this you will observe that God demands moderation and fairness,\nhumility, justice, and fidelity as a duty from those whom he raises to\nhonor. For Joseph, as we said before, was rewarded with splendid honors\nand great advancement because of his faithfulness and humility, although\nhe had been sold for money like a thrall into a strange land; but God\nsoon raised him by the king\u2019s command to be a lord and the highest judge\nin all Egypt next to the king himself. One may also observe from this\nhow much it is contrary to God\u2019s will to exalt oneself through vain\nconceit; for Queen Vashti lost her queenship and all her power in a\nsingle day because of her pride, while a captive maiden of a strange\npeople was appointed in her stead; and Haman lost all his authority in a\nsingle day because of his excessive vanity, while his dignities were\ngiven to a stranger, a captive thrall. Now if you should win honors from\ngreat lords, beware of an outcome like those in the stories which you\nhave just heard, and there are many such; but make good use of the story\nthat I told you earlier about Joseph.\n\nThere are still other examples which go far back into the days of\nEmperor Constantine: for God had appointed him ruler of all the world,\nand he turned to righteousness and Christianity as soon as he came to\nunderstand the holy faith. He gave his mother, Queen Helena, a kingdom\neast of the sea in the land of the Jews. But because her realm and\ndominion were there, she came to be persuaded that no faith concerning\nGod could be correct but that held by the Jews; and as letters passed\nbetween them, the queen and her son the emperor, they began to realize\nthat they differed somewhat in the beliefs which each of them held\nconcerning God. Then the emperor commanded the queen to come over the\nsea from the east with her wise and learned men and many other lords to\na meeting in Rome, where the verities of the holy faith should be\nexamined. But when the queen arrived with her company, the emperor had\ncalled together many bishops including Pope Sylvester and many wise men,\nboth Christians and heathen. When the conference had begun and a court\nhad been appointed to decide between the emperor and the queen, it\nbecame evident to both that there was likely to be a violent dispute\nbetween the Christian bishops and the learned Jews and other wise men\nwho had come with the queen from the east, in view of the fact that each\nside would produce weighty arguments from its books against the other to\nprove and confirm its own learning and holy faith. They saw clearly,\ntherefore, that it would be necessary for the assembly to appoint\nupright judges, who could weigh in a tolerant and rational spirit all\nthe arguments that might be offered on either side.\n\nBut whereas the emperor with the pope and the Christian bishops was the\ndefender of holy Christianity and the queen the protecting shield of the\nJewish faith, it was clear to both that it would be improper for them to\nsubject themselves to temptation by acting as judges in this dispute. So\nthey ordered a careful search to be made among the wise men to find\nwhether there might be some in all their number who were so reliable in\nwisdom, judgment, and rightmindedness, that all those present could\ntrust them to judge rightly in their contest. But when the entire\nmultitude had been examined, only two men were found whom the people\ndared choose to be judges in these important matters; and both of these\nmen were heathen and bound neither to the law of the Christians nor to\nthe Jewish faith. One of them was named Craton: he was a great\nphilosopher and thoroughly versed in all learning; he was a friend of\nmighty men and enjoyed their favor; but never had he cared for more of\nthis world\u2019s riches than what he needed for clothes and food. And when\ngreat men sometimes gave him more than he required, he would give away\nwhat he did not consume to such as were needy. It was also in his nature\nto speak little but truthfully, and no man knew that falsehood had ever\nbeen found on his lips; wherefore all felt that the merits of wisdom and\ngood character which he possessed would surely make him worthy to judge\nin these important matters. The other who was chosen judge was named\nZenophilus; he was a famous and powerful prince, and where he directed\nthe government it was not known that he had ever swerved from justice.\nHe was a great master of eloquence and learned in all science, friendly\nin speech and affable, though a man of authority. Nor could anyone\nrecall that falsehood had ever been found on his lips. These having been\nchosen to act as judges in behalf of all present, the Christians and the\nJews held a court; and these two decided all the disputes, as they were\nchosen to do, and it was found as before that in no wise did they\ndeviate from justice.[290]\n\nFootnote 290:\n\n  The author\u2019s source for his account of the council where Craton and\n  Zenophilus served as judges is the legend of Pope Silvester, probably\n  the Old Norse version of the legend, _Silvesters Saga_, published by\n  Unger in _Heilagra Manna S\u00f6gur_, II, 245-286.\n\nI have cited these instances that you might appreciate the humility and\nrightmindedness of both the emperor and the queen; for though they were\nlords of the entire world, they regarded it as proper to sit in\nobedience to chosen judges who were much inferior to themselves in both\npower and wealth and every other respect. Likewise you are to appreciate\nwhat great honor these men gained through their wisdom and uprightness;\nfor though they were both heathen, they were superior to all others as\nto insight into the holy faith and the world\u2019s welfare. And now you will\nappreciate what I told you earlier in our conversation, namely, that\nmuch depends on the example that a man leaves after him. Joseph lived\nbefore the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ; he was sold for money into\nEgypt as an alien thrall; but his faithfulness and humility pleased God\nso highly that he was made ruler next to the king of all those who were\nnative to the land and had wealth and kinsmen there, whether they were\nrich or poor. It is many hundred winters since Joseph died, but his\nglory still lives and is daily recalled among all thoughtful people\nthroughout the world. Queen Vashti died long before the birth of Christ,\nas did Haman the prince; but the disgrace that came upon them because of\ntheir pride and folly still lives. Queen Esther bears even to this day\nthe living honor which she gained through her humility; though she was\nbrought to India[291] as a captive bondmaiden, she was later made queen\nover many large kingdoms and seated upon the throne from which Queen\nVashti was banished.\n\nFootnote 291:\n\n  Not India but Persia in the Biblical story; but the Northmen in the\n  middle ages used the term India very much as we use the term Orient\n  to-day.\n\nAlthough the events that we last related in speaking of Emperor\nConstantine and his mother Queen Helena happened after the birth of\nChrist, it was still so long ago that no man can recall them because of\ntheir antiquity; yet they are bright with honor even to this day. Craton\nand Zenophilus, though they are dead, are celebrated for their wisdom\nand righteousness. Though both were heathen men, they were chosen to be\njudges over nearly all the people who were in the world, and were even\ntrusted in behalf of all men, both Christians and Jews, to pass judgment\non those laws which neither of them kept, but upon which the welfare of\nthe world nevertheless depended. From such occurrences you will realize\nthat God holds in His hand the tiller with which He turns and moves the\nhearts of great lords whenever He wishes, and controls all their\nthoughts according to His will. For King Pharaoh raised up Joseph to a\ndominion above that of all the other princes who were in the kingdom\nbefore him. Ahasuerus deprived Vashti of her queenship, though she was\nboth wealthy and high-born, and appointed Esther queen in her stead. He\nalso hanged Haman, the renowned prince, and gave all his power to\nMordecai, who was once a bondman brought captive from a strange land.\nEmperor Constantine placed Craton and Zenophilus, two heathen men, in\nthe judgment seat and trusted them to pass judgment on the verities and\nthe interpretation of the holy faith. Now you shall know of a truth that\nall these events have come to pass through God\u2019s providence and secret\ncommands; and all these things are noted down for the memory of men in\nthe future, so that all may learn and derive profit from the good\nexamples, but shun the evil ones. And if it should be your fortune to\nbecome a kingsman, remember these examples that I have now shown you\n(and there are a great many others like them which we have not mentioned\nin this speech); and be sure to follow all those which you see are\nlikely to profit you.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                 XLIII\n\n            THE DUTIES AND THE EXALTED POSITION OF THE KING\n\n\n_Son._ God reward you, sire, for taking so much time to hear all my\nquestions and for giving such very patient and useful answers: for these\ntalks will surely lead me to think and observe more accurately than I\ndid before. It may also be that others will study these learned\ndiscourses in the future and derive knowledge, good insight, and\nprofitable manners from them. There are, however, several other things\nwhich I have in mind to investigate and wish very much to ask about. And\ntherefore I beg you not yet to grow weary of teaching me; for your\npermission gives me courage to confide so fully in you that I am not\nlikely to overlook anything that my mind is eager to know. Indeed, it\nseems to me that this subject opens up such a wide field, that there\nmust be many things left which one needs to know and discern fully, if\none wishes to be rated a worthy man by kings or other great lords; and I\nam eager to hear you talk further about these matters.\n\nBut for this once I wish to inquire about men of greater importance than\nthose who have to serve the mighty. I see clearly that those who serve\nare in duty bound to strive after the best manners, knowledge, wisdom,\nand righteousness; but it would seem that those, who are chiefs and\nrulers and whom all others must serve, owe an even greater duty to seek\nboth knowledge and insight; above all it must be their duty to love\nevery form of righteousness, since they have authority to punish all\nothers who are not righteous. Therefore I wish to ask with your\npermission what customs the king himself should observe which would\naccord with his regal dignity. Tell me clearly so that I can understand\nwhat business or conduct is demanded of him early in the morning and\nwhat affairs he is later occupied with throughout the day; for he is so\nhighly honored and exalted upon earth that all must bend and bow before\nhim as before God. So great is his power that he may dispose as he likes\nof the lives of all who live in his kingdom: he lets him live whom he\nwills and causes him to be slain whom he wills. But I have observed\nthis, that if a man becomes another\u2019s banesman, all upright men from\nthat time on have an aversion for him as for a heathen; since to slay a\nman is counted a great sin for which the one who commits it must suffer\ngreat penance and much trouble before Christian people will again admit\nhim to fellowship. And again, you told me in an earlier speech to shun\nmanslaughter; but you added that all manslaughter committed by royal\ncommand or in battle I need shun no more than any other deed which is\ncounted good. Now if the king has received such great authority from God\nthat all slaughter done by his command is without guilt, I should\nimagine that he must need to be very wise, cautious, and upright in all\nhis doings; and therefore I wish to have you explain fully the things\nthat I have now asked about, unless you feel that my questions are\nstupid, or that I am presuming too much in showing curiosity about the\ndoings of such great men.\n\n_Father._ Your questions are not stupid, for we may just as well talk\nabout how the king has to order his government or his conduct as about\nother men. It surely is his bounden duty to seek knowledge and\nunderstanding, and he ought indeed to be well informed as to what has\noccurred in the past, for in that way he will gain insight for all the\nbusiness that pertains to his kingship. You have stated that he is\nhighly honored and exalted on earth and that all bow before him as\nbefore God; and the reason for this is that the king represents divine\nlordship: for he bears God\u2019s own name and sits upon the highest judgment\nseat upon earth, wherefore it should be regarded as giving honor to God\nHimself, when one honors the king, because of the name which he has from\nGod. The son of God himself, when he was on earth, taught by his own\nexample that all should honor the king and show him due obedience; for\nhe commanded his apostle Peter to draw fishes up from the depth of the\nsea and to open the mouth of the fish that he caught first, and said\nthat he would find a penny there, which he ordered him to pay to Caesar\nas tribute money for them both. From this you are to conclude that it is\nthe duty of every one upon earth to respect and honor the royal title\nwhich an earthly man holds from God; for the very son of God thought it\nproper to honor the royal dignity so highly that he, to the glory of\nkingship, made himself subject to tribute along with that one of his\ndisciples whom he made chief of all his apostles and gave all priestly\nhonors.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  XLIV\n\n                       THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED\n\n\n_Son._ There remains one thing, which, as usual, I shall need to have\nexplained further, as it is not very clear to me. You stated, and it\nseems reasonable, that the king holds a title of high honor and dignity\nfrom God Himself; but I do not see clearly why God made Himself subject\nto the tribute of an earthly king; since He must, it seems to me, be\nabove all kings, seeing that He rules the earthly as well as the\nheavenly kingdom.\n\n_Father._ That God Himself has honored earthly kings you will observe\nfrom the fact that, when He came down to earth from the loftiest\npinnacles of heaven, He regarded Himself as having come among men as a\nguest and did not wish to claim a share in the earthly kingship, though\nhe might have done so. But He fulfilled the words that David had spoken:\n\u201cThe Lord ruleth in the heavens, but verily he hath given an earthly\nkingdom to the sons of men.\u201d[292] Now God, while He was on earth, wished\nto honor earthly kings and kingdoms rather than disparage them in any\nway; for He would not deprive the earthly kingship of what He had\nformerly given into the control of earthly lords; but God showed a\nperfect obedience to Caesar. You should also observe that, just as God\ncommanded His apostle Peter to examine the first fish that he drew and\ntake a penny from its mouth (and God did not want him to examine the\nsecond fish or the third, but the first only), similarly every man\nshould in all things first honor the king and the royal dignity. For God\nHimself calls the king His anointed, and every king who possesses the\nfull honors of royalty is rightly called the Lord\u2019s anointed. In like\nmanner one of God\u2019s apostles said in a sermon while instructing the\npeople in the true faith: \u201cFear God and honor your king,\u201d[293]\u2014which is\nalmost as if he had literally said that he who does not show perfect\nhonor to the king does not fear God.\n\nFootnote 292:\n\n  The reference is evidently to _Psalms_, cxv, 16: \u201cThe heavens, even\n  the heavens, are the Lord\u2019s: but the earth hath he given to the\n  children of men\u201d (King James\u2019 version). The _Vulgate_ reads (cxiii,\n  16), \u201cCaelum caeli Domino; terram autem dedit filiis hominum.\u201d In\n  neither case is the idea of an earthly kingship implied. It is evident\n  that the author is quoting and translating from memory.\n\nFootnote 293:\n\n  _I Peter_, ii, 17.\n\nEvery king, as you have said, ought, indeed, to be wise, well-informed,\nand above everything upright, that he may be able to realize fully that\nhe is after all merely a servant of God, though he is honored and\nexalted so highly in the supreme service of God, that all bow down\nbefore him as before God; for in so doing they worship God and the holy\nname which the king bears but not the king himself. It is, therefore, in\nthe very nature of kingship to inspire all with a great awe and fear of\nthe king, wherefore every one trembles who hears him named. But he ought\nalso to appear gracious and friendly toward all good men, lest any one\nshould fear him so much as to be deterred from presenting any important\nrequest to him because of his severity.\n\nIn the night, as soon as the king is sated with sleep, it should be his\nduty and business to center his thoughts upon the kingdom as a whole and\nto consider how his plans may be formed and carried out in such a way\nthat God will be well pleased with the care that he gives to the realm;\nalso how it may be made most profitable and obedient to himself; further\nwhat measure of firmness he must use in restraining the rich lest they\nbecome too arrogant toward the poor, and what caution in uplifting the\npoor, lest they grow too defiant toward the wealthy; wherefore he needs\nto ponder and plan judiciously how to hold everyone to moderation in the\nestate in which he is placed. This, too, the king must be sure to keep\nin his thoughts, that when it becomes necessary to chastise those who\nare not satisfied with what God has planned for them, he must not be so\nlenient in his punishment, that this excessive indulgence should lead\nanyone to consider it safe to transgress what ought to stand as\nrightfully ordained. Nor must he be so severe in his penalties that God\nand rightminded men will regard him as punishing more from a cruel\ndisposition than from a sense of justice. These things and many more a\nking ought to reflect upon at night when he is done with sleep, for then\nfewer matters will come upon him unawares during the day, when the needs\nof the land are presented to him.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  XLV\n\n          CONCERNING THE MODERATION WHICH A KING MUST OBSERVE\n                IN HIS JUDICIAL SENTENCES AND PENALTIES,\n               WITH ILLUSTRATIONS DRAWN FROM THE STORY OF\n                 GOD\u2019S JUDGMENT IN THE CASE OF ADAM AND\n                  EVE, IN WHICH CASE TRUTH AND JUSTICE\n                  WERE ASSOCIATED WITH PEACE AND MERCY\n\n\n_Son._ It is evident that a king must possess great constraint and an\neven greater sense of justice, as you remarked earlier, if he is to find\nthe true mean in meting out punishment so as to be neither too lenient\nnor too severe. And now I wish to ask whether there are any examples\nwhich may guide him toward this moderation, inasmuch as you have stated\nthat every king should have knowledge of all the examples that are to be\nfound.\n\n_Father._ I repeat what I said then that no man needs to be more learned\nor better informed in all subjects than a king, for both he and his\nsubjects have great need of this. But one who has a thorough knowledge\nof past events will meet but few contingencies that are really\nunexampled. Now the following examples are very ancient, and every king\nshould keep them frequently before his eyes and seek guidance from them\nfor the government of his kingdom.\n\nWhen God had created the entire world and had beautified it with grass\nand other herbage, as well as with birds and beasts, He appointed two\nhuman beings, a man and a woman, to have dominion over everything. He\nled the two, Adam and Eve, to the highest point of Paradise and showed\nthem all the birds and beasts and all the flowers and glories of\nParadise. Then God said to Adam and Eve: \u201cAll these things that you now\nsee I give to you for your maintenance and dominion, if you will keep\nthe covenant which I now establish between ourselves. But these are the\nlaws which you must carefully observe, if you wish to keep the gifts\nwhich I have now given you: that beautiful tree which you see standing\nwith lovely apples in the midst of Paradise is called the tree of\nknowledge, and the fruit which the tree bears is called the apples of\nknowledge. This tree you must not touch nor may you eat of the apples\nwhich it bears, for as soon as you eat of them you shall die; but of\neverything else that you now see you may freely eat according to\ndesire.\u201d Four sisters were called to witness this covenant, divine\nvirgins, who should hear the laws decreed and learn all the terms of the\nagreement: the first was named Truth, the second, Peace, the third,\nJustice, and the fourth, Mercy. And God spoke thus to these virgins: \u201cI\ncommand you to see to it that Adam does not break this covenant which\nhas been made between Me and him: follow him carefully and protect him\nas long as he observes these things that are now decreed; but if he\ntransgresses, you shall sit in judgment with your Father, for you are\nthe daughters of the very Judge.\u201d\n\nWhen the speech was ended, God vanished from Adam\u2019s sight; and Adam went\nforth to view the glories of Paradise. But at that time the serpent,\nwhich was more subtle and crafty than any other beast, came in the guise\nof a maiden[294] to Eve, Adam\u2019s wife, and addressed her in great\nfriendliness: \u201cBlessed is your husband and you with him, since God has\ngiven all things into your power; for it is now the duty of every beast\nto obey your commands, seeing that Adam is our lord and you are our\nlady. But now I want to ask you whether God has withheld anything upon\nearth from your dominion, or whether you may enjoy all things as you\nwish without hesitation.\u201d Eve replied: \u201cGod has given us dominion over\nall things that he has created upon earth except the tree that stands in\nthe midst of Paradise; of this He has forbidden us to eat, having said\nthat we shall die, if we eat thereof.\u201d The serpent said to Eve: \u201cOho, my\nlady! He does not wish you to become so wise that you know both good and\nevil; for He knows the difference between good and evil things, while\nyou know good things only. But when you have eaten of the apples of\nknowledge, you will become like God and will have knowledge of evil\nthings as well as of good.\u201d As soon as the serpent had disappeared from\nEve\u2019s sight, she called Adam her husband and told him all this speech.\nThen she took two of the apples of knowledge, ate one herself, and gave\nthe other to Adam. But when they had eaten these apples, their knowledge\nwas extended to evil things, as the serpent had said; and they began to\nobserve the shapes of beasts and birds and trees, and finally how they\nthemselves were formed. Then said Adam: \u201cWe are shamefully naked, we\ntwo, for there is nothing to hide our limbs; beasts are covered with\nhair and tail, birds with feathers, and trees with branches and leaves;\nwe two alone have shamefully naked limbs.\u201d Thereupon they took broad\nleaves from the trees and covered those of their members which they were\nmost ashamed to have naked. Then Peace came forth and spoke to Adam and\nEve: \u201cNow you have broken the law and your covenant with God, and I will\nno longer give you the security in the open fields that you have thus\nfar enjoyed; but I will keep you safe in a secret hiding place until\njudgment is pronounced in your case; and I give you this safety that you\nmay have opportunity to present your defense. But you must take good\ncare to make a plea which may profit you, and prove a defense rather\nthan a detriment.\u201d Truth came forth and spoke to Adam: \u201cTake heed, when\nyou come to plead your case, that you do not lie, for then I shall\ntestify with you; tell everything just as it happened, for if you lie\nabout anything, I shall testify against you at once.\u201d Justice came forth\nand said: \u201cIt is my duty and office to make sure that you are not\nunjustly condemned; but the more you are found guilty of lies and\nwrongdoing, the more shall I oppose you.\u201d Mercy came forth and said to\nAdam: \u201cI shall add assistance and mercy to your plea, if you heed\ncarefully all that my sisters have taught.\u201d But fear had come upon Adam\nand he went away to hide among the trees, lest he should be seen naked.\n\nFootnote 294:\n\n  The compiler of _Stj\u00f3rn_, an Old Norse paraphrase of the larger part\n  of the Old Testament, following Petrus Comestor\u2019s _Historia\n  Scholastica_, attributes to Bede the statement that the serpent in\n  those days bore the face of a maiden (p. 34). The author of the\n  _King\u2019s Mirror_ cannot have used _Stj\u00f3rn_, as it seems to be a\n  production of the fourteenth century, nor is there any evidence that\n  he knew the _Historia Scholastica_.\n\nAt midday God went forth to view the beauties of Paradise and Adam\u2019s\nstewardship; but as He did not see Adam in the wide fields, He called\nhim, asking where he was. Adam replied: \u201cI hid myself, Lord, because I\nwas ashamed to show myself naked before Thy face.\u201d God answered, saying:\n\u201cWhy shouldst thou be more ashamed of thy nakedness now than at our\nformer meeting, unless it be that thou hast broken the law and hast\neaten of the apples of knowledge, which I forbade thee to eat.\u201d Adam\nreplied as if defending himself: \u201cThe woman that Thou gavest me led me\ninto this fault; if I had been alone about my affairs and if Thou hadst\nnot given me this wife to advise with me, I should have kept the\nappointed law and should not have transgressed Thy command.\u201d Then God\nsaid to Eve: \u201cWhy didst thou give thy husband this evil counsel to break\nthe law?\u201d Eve replied as if defending her case: \u201cThe crafty serpent gave\nme that evil advice; had he not been created or appeared before me, I\nshould not have come upon this evil design.\u201d Then God said: \u201cSince the\nlaw has now been broken, I want those virgins whom I appointed keepers\nof our covenant to sit in judgment with us.\u201d Then Truth spoke: \u201cIt is my\nduty and business to show Adam\u2019s guilt, inasmuch as he has concealed\nwith a lie what most of all led him to transgress. For this was the\nchief motive in your case, that the apples were fair and pleasant and\nsweet to taste, and that you desired greatly to be wiser than was\npromised you. You committed a theft in planning to take them secretly,\ncovetous robbery in taking them without permission, and an act of\ninsolent pride in wishing to become like unto God in wisdom beyond what\nwas promised you.\u201d Then God said to Peace that she should give a brief\nopinion in the case. Peace answered in this wise: \u201cWhereas Thou didst\nappoint me to watch over Adam\u2019s safety as long as there was no\ntransgression, I now offer to bring him an even greater insecurity,\nbecause he did not know how to keep the great freedom which he enjoyed\nbefore.\u201d Then God said to Justice that she should give judgment; and she\nanswered in this wise: \u201cSince Adam was unable to keep the freedom that\nPeace had secured for him, let him now suffer misery and distress\ninstead; and because he coveted knowledge of evil things, let him\nexperience evil in place of good; and because he wished to make himself\nlike God in knowledge beyond what was permitted, and blamed God for his\ntransgression with lying excuses, let him suffer the death of which he\nwas warned before he transgressed.\u201d Then God said to Mercy that she\nshould pass judgment on this transgression. Mercy replied in these\nwords: \u201cAs it is my nature to urge forbearance and clemency to some\ndegree in every case, I request that Adam be not destroyed through a\nmerciless death; but since he now must repent of his error as long as he\nlives, let him have hope of mercy and help in his death, as long as he\ndoes not despair.\u201d\n\nThen it was discussed whether, in case he had sons, they should suffer\nfor his sin, or be allowed to enjoy the gifts and the riches that God\nhad given him at the beginning, but from which he had been ousted like\nan outlaw. Justice said: \u201cHow can his sons, who will be begotten in\nexile, enjoy those gifts that he forfeited as an outlaw because of\ntransgression? Let his sons follow him to the death. But whereas he\nshall have hope of mercy and leniency and of a return to the possessions\nwhich he has now forfeited, let his sons be recalled with him through a\nnew covenant.\u201d And when sentence had been passed in Adam\u2019s case, the\nsisters all came to a friendly agreement; Mercy and Truth embraced while\nJustice and Peace kissed each other with loving gestures.[295]\n\nFootnote 295:\n\n  The story of the court proceedings in Paradise after the fall of man\n  and the discussion between Mercy and Peace on the one side and Truth\n  and Justice on the other was widely current in the thirteenth century.\n  It made an important scene in certain types of mystery plays, and it\n  seems quite likely that the source of the version given in the _King\u2019s\n  Mirror_ must be sought in some dramatic representation of the creation\n  story. The account of the trial was made the theme of two poems in Old\n  French which have been attributed to the English ecclesiastics\n  Archbishop Langton and Bishop Grosseteste, both of whom were\n  contemporaries of our Norwegian author.\n\n  Homilies were written on this theme in the twelfth century by St.\n  Bernard of Clairvaux (Migne, _Patrologia Latina_, CLXXXIII, 770) and\n  by Hugh of St. Victor (_ibid._, CLXXVII, 623-626). There is a still\n  earlier version of the story in a homily attributed, though for no\n  good reason, to the Venerable Bede. According to this story a man has\n  a son and four daughters named Mercy, Truth, Peace, and Justice. He\n  also has a servant whom he wishes to try by giving him an easy task.\n  The servant fails and is handed over to the executioner. The daughters\n  now come into violent disagreement, but the son finds a way out of the\n  difficulty: he saves the servant and succeeds in bringing the sisters\n  into agreement. _Ibid._, XCIV, 505-507.\n\n  W. Scherer, in _Zeitschrift f\u00fcr deutsche Altertumskunde_, N. F., IX,\n  414-416, finds traces of the legend in Talmudic sources. In the Hebrew\n  story, however, the disagreement is over the expediency of creating\n  man, Mercy favoring and Truth opposing the project. The ultimate\n  source appears to be _Psalms_, lxxxv, 10: \u201cMercy and truth are met\n  together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.\u201d\n\n  For bibliographical information see L. Petit du Juleville, _Les\n  Myst\u00e8res_, II, 359.\n\nNow every king ought to have these two things frequently in mind: how\nGod appeased His anger toward the man and the woman for breaking the\nlaw, and what judges He called in, lest His punishment should be too\nsevere and merciless. Moreover, a king does justice to all men when he\ndoes justice to any man or woman; but all decisions which imply\npunishment he must always consider in the presence of these four\nsisters; and it must be such as will bring them into agreement, so that\nthey can kiss and embrace each other, in which case the judgment will be\nneither too lenient nor too severe. A king ought to consider very\ncarefully how to bring the minds of the sisters into agreement; for in\nall trials they are arranged and seated apart in groups; Truth and\nJustice on one side of the court and Mercy and Peace on the other. They\nshould be agreed and unanimous in every case; but it frequently occurs\nthat Peace and Mercy give the whole suit over to Truth and Justice,\nthough all unite in the verdict none the less. Sometimes it happens that\neach of the sisters has a full voice in the decision according to right\nreckoning; but at other times it may be that the larger share falls to\nPeace and Mercy; but the sisters are unanimous in the verdict none the\nless. It has also happened at times that, after a verdict has been\nreached and confirmed, Mercy and Peace have exercised leniency because\nof the prayers and repentance of him who was in need of it.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  XLVI\n\n              AN EXAMPLE OF RIGHTEOUS SEVERITY IN JUDGMENT\n                     DRAWN FROM THE STORY OF GOD\u2019S\n                        CONDEMNATION OF LUCIFER\n\n\n_Son._ It looks to me now as if this is a more intricate matter than I\nthought earlier; for it must require great understanding and insight to\nharmonize the opinions of these sisters so that they will always be\nunanimous, seeing that the verdict sometimes leans more to one side than\nto the other. For you remarked that at times the whole verdict falls to\nTruth and Justice and no leniency is shown, while at other times the\nlarger share may fall to Peace and Mercy; and you also stated that\nsometimes a sentence has been modified after it was agreed to and\nconfirmed. Now you have stated that one can find examples of most\nthings, if one looks for them; and if there are any instances of such\nproceedings, I should like to hear about them, so that the subject may\nlook clearer to me and also to others who may hear about it. And it must\nsurely be the highest duty of kings to be well informed on such things,\nas on all other subjects, since they will need them very frequently.\n\n_Father._ The world is now so ancient that, no matter what comes to\npass, one is likely to find that similar events have occurred before;\nand nothing is likely to happen of which a learned man can find no\nexamples. But of the fact that the entire judgment may fall to Truth and\nJustice, no mercy being shown, there are cases which occurred so early\nthat I know of none before them. When Lucifer, an angel in heaven,\nturned traitor and committed a base crime against his Lord, Truth and\nJustice condemned him to swift downfall without hope of pardon. Into\nthis condemnation all his comrades and counsellors fell with him. And\nthese were the crimes which God punished with a merciless doom.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                 XLVII\n\n             A FURTHER DISCUSSION OF VERDICTS AND PENALTIES\n                  WITH ILLUSTRATIONS FROM THE STORY OF\n                    LUCIFER\u2019S REBELLION AND DOWNFALL\n                     AND OF THE SIN AND PUNISHMENT\n                       OF THE FIRST MAN AND WOMAN\n\n\n_Son._ I must ask you not to take offence if the questions which I wish\nto bring up should seem childish and ill advised; but since I do not\nfully understand the subject that I intend to ask about next, it may\nalso be that there are others who do not understand it any better than\nI. And it is that matter about the serpent, which, you said, came to\nEve, and speaking to her like a man egged her on to transgress the law.\nNow I wish to ask whether the serpent, unlike other beasts, was created\nwith power of speech; or whether other animals could speak in those\ndays, though now they are all dumb; and for what reason the serpent\nwished to lead the woman into transgression.\n\n_Father._ We have had a very lengthy speech before us, and if we were to\ncomment on the whole, it would lengthen very much a discussion that is\nalready long; but certain it is, we have spoken very few words which\nwould not be in need of comment, if a well informed man, who thoroughly\nunderstands all these speeches, should come to the task. But I believe\nit is more advisable for us to continue as we have been doing since we\nbegan our conversation, and leave the task of glossing our remarks to\nothers who may hear them later and are willing to do the work with\nfaithful care. Still, inasmuch as every question looks toward some reply\nor solution, it is proper that I should enlarge somewhat on this speech,\nso as to make the subject a little clearer to you and to others who do\nnot understand it better than you do. I shall, however, run over it in a\nfew words only, for I do not care much to comment on my own remarks.\n\nYou have asked whether serpents and other beasts were created with the\npower of speech in the days when Adam was appointed keeper of Paradise,\nand you shall know of a truth that the gift of speech was not given to\nany bodily creature but man. And since you wish to know why speech was\ngiven to the serpent and why it wished to lead the woman into\ntransgression, I shall now proceed to explain. The explanation begins\nwith the fact that God created angels before men. The angels were\nimmortal spirits, free from all corporal weakness, and endowed with\ngreat beauty. But though created with perfect beauty, they were held\nsubject to this law, that they must show love and obedience toward their\nCreator in humility and without deceit. It was promised them that they\nshould keep their beauty and all the other honors that God had given\nthem, as long as they kept this law; at the same time God gave them full\nfreedom to violate the law, if they wished; for He spoke to them in this\nwise: \u201cSince you were all created at the same moment and none was\nbegotten by another, each one of you shall decide for himself and none\nfor another whether these laws that I have now ordained shall be kept or\nbroken. And if there are those who transgress them, they shall be driven\nout of this life of bliss; while those who observe the laws shall\ncontinue to enjoy unceasing happiness and unending life in my noble\nservice. And I give you all a free choice to keep these laws or to break\nthem as you may prefer, in order that those who observe them may be set\napart as my chosen jewels, while those who violate them shall suffer\nhatred and be driven into cruel thralldom and wretched service.\u201d\n\nThese angels were all fair, but one was more handsome than all the rest,\nwherefore he was called Lucifer; he was appointed chief of many angels\nand a great multitude made obeisance to him in service and friendship.\nBut God having finished His speech, Lucifer turned away from God with\nall his following as if toward the north and spoke thus: \u201cWhy should we\nsuffer threats from God in return for our service, seeing that we have\npower, beauty and numbers in full measure to maintain our prestige? Now\nI intend, like God, to set up a high-seat in the northern part of\nheaven[296] and to extend a wise control over half of heaven or even\nmore.\u201d Then God answered and said to Lucifer: \u201cSince thou hast broken\nthe law by treacherous rebellion, thou canst no longer have habitation\nwith us; and whereas thou wouldst enjoy dominion, depart to the kingdom\nthat is prepared for thee, where thou shalt have suffering instead of\nfreedom, misery instead of bliss, sorrows of every kind but no joy. Let\nall those go with thee who did not oppose thy design.\u201d And as God looked\nupon them in His wrath, all the heavens trembled before His countenance;\nand His enemies fled with a terrible downfall, and they suffered a\nhorrible change of countenance in the loss of their beauty. Thereupon\nthey sought out the places that were assigned to them and were scattered\nabout in all the caves of hell, each appointed to a separate service. In\nthis way darkness was separated from light.\n\nFootnote 296:\n\n  The statement that Lucifer planned to set up a rival throne in the\n  northern regions of heaven also appears in the _Michaels Saga_\n  (_Heilagra Manna S\u00f6gur_, I, 677). It was apparently a common belief in\n  medieval Christendom and was based on _Isaiah_, xiv, 13.\n\nBut when God had made man and had given him a blissful life in Paradise,\nLucifer said to his companions: \u201cIt is evidently God\u2019s intention to give\nthis one the dominion from which He drove me out, unless he shall act\ncounter to God\u2019s will. Even if God should appoint other angels in our\nstead, we could never allow it, if we could do anything to prevent it;\nbut our disgrace would be too great, if a man formed of clay or the\nfilthy dust of the earth were to enter into the eternal happiness from\nwhich we were expelled. Therefore we must fight incessantly against\neveryone who has such ambitions and revenge our injuries with fierce\nhatred upon all those whom we can overcome. Now I shall try to gain a\nvictory over the first man that God has created, so that my companions\nmay be able to overcome those who come later.\u201d Then he armed himself\nwith seven wiles from which he expected great aid: the first was\nvenomous envy; the second, burning hatred; the third, false cunning; the\nfourth, specious deception; the fifth, haughty arrogance; the sixth,\ncovetous self-seeking; the seventh, lustful desire. Then he said to\nhimself: \u201cInasmuch as I am now an invisible spirit, I cannot visibly\ncome to have speech with physical man, unless I adorn my ugly\ncountenance with a certain corporeal beauty. I shall therefore enter\nthis serpent which God has created with the face of a maiden and which\nmost resembles man in beauty; and I shall speak with his tongue to Eve,\nAdam\u2019s wife, and learn from her whether they are created to full freedom\nwithout obedience to law, or whether God has given them laws to keep,\nthrough which I may be able to ruin their covenant with Him.\u201d\n\nThereupon this envious spirit sought the serpent that is now called the\nasp, which in those days walked with upright form on two feet like man\nand had a face like a maiden\u2019s, as we have just said. And when the evil\nminded spirit came to Eve concealed in the body of this serpent, he made\nuse of the artifice that is called specious deception, for he spoke to\nEve with seductive sweetness using these words: \u201cBlessed is thy husband\nand thou likewise.\u201d This praise he did not give them out of good will;\nrather did he praise their happiness in order to drag them into misery\nthrough hatred and envy, and he used false cunning when he asked Eve to\ntell him whether God had given everything to Adam to control and to\nenjoy without restriction. But when Eve in return for his sweet words\nhad given the desired information, and he heard that death was to be\ntheir part if they transgressed, he was glad, and then made use of\nhaughty arrogance in suggesting to Eve that they could become like God\nin knowledge in this respect, that they might be able to know good from\nevil. But he used lustful desire when he bade her try how sweet and\nfragrant was the apple of knowledge which was forbidden her. And he\nemployed covetous self-seeking when he caused Eve to take for her own\nwhat God had earlier forbidden her; for God had given everything into\nthe power of Adam and Eve, except this tree; but they longed to have\nthis even without permission, though everything else was in their power.\nThey knew this one difference between good and evil, that good was\nbetter than evil; wherefore they feared the death that was assured them.\nBut having never tasted the bitterness of evil, they could not know what\ngreat misery they would suffer for transgression; but they thought it\nwould be a great distinction to be like God in knowledge, and to know\nthe difference between good and evil things. But when the serpent urged\nEve to eat of the apples of knowledge, she began to fear death, and\nreplied thus to the serpent: \u201cI fear that, if I eat, I shall die, for\nsuch is God\u2019s threat. Now do you eat first while I look, and if you do\nnot die, I will eat, for if this fruit really does possess death dealing\npowers, it will surely prove baneful to other living beings besides me.\u201d\nThen the spirit that was concealed in the serpent said to himself: \u201cI\nmay indeed eat the apple, for it will make me no more guilty or mortal,\ninasmuch as I am already in the full wrath of God.\u201d But these words the\nwoman did not hear. Then Eve took an apple and placed it in the\nserpent\u2019s mouth and he ate forthwith. And when she saw that it did him\nno harm, she immediately picked another apple and ate; and she found it\nvery sweet, just as the serpent had told her.\n\nThereupon the serpent vanished from Eve\u2019s sight; but she called Adam her\nhusband and told him these things. But because he, too, feared the death\nthat God had threatened, he would not eat, unless he should see Eve eat\nfirst. So Eve took two more apples and boldly ate the one forthwith, for\nshe had already tasted the sweetness of the fruit, and instead of\nfeeling shame for what she had already done, she longed to taste it\noftener. When Adam saw that it did her no harm (and he even observed a\npleasurable sweetness upon her lips), he took the apple that she had\noffered him and ate just as she had done. But when they had eaten the\napple, their eyes were opened to a greater knowledge than they had had\nbefore, just as the serpent had predicted: for immediately they were\nashamed of their naked limbs, since they saw that the bodies of the\nbirds were covered with feathers and those of the beasts with hair,\nwhile their own bodies were naked, and they were much ashamed of that.\nBut most of all did it shame them to know that their transgression had\nmade them guilty before God; and they bore their bodies in fear and were\nashamed of their naked limbs. Soon they went to hide among the trees,\nthus giving proof of their shortsightedness, for they did not realize\nthat God had such knowledge of His handiwork and all the things that He\nhad made, that neither bushes nor forests could hide them from His\nsight, since even the secret hiding places in the caverns of hell lie\nbare and visible before His eyes at all times.\n\nBut while Adam was in hiding, God spoke to the spirit that was concealed\nin the serpent: \u201cThrough pride and evil intent thou didst raise the\nfirst rebellion, there being none to ensnare thee, only thine own pride\nand envy; wherefore Mine anger rages against thee without mercy, and\nthou has forfeited eternal happiness and all hope of returning to it.\nThou hast now a second time stirred My heart to anger because of the sin\nthat has just been committed. Adam will have to suffer punishment for\nhis transgression, but he shall still have hope of return and mercy,\nbecause he came into My wrath on account of thy wickedness and seductive\nguile. And as thou overcamest Adam\u2019s wife while she was yet a virgin, so\nshall one of her daughters, also a virgin, win a triumph over thee. And\njust as thou seemest now to have led Adam with all his possessions and\nkinship as spoils into thy dominion, so shall one of his sons search all\nthy garners and carry all thy treasures away as spoils; and leading\nforth Adam and all his faithful kinsmen out of thy power in a glorious\ntriumph, he shall appoint him to an honored place among his sons in the\nkingdom which thou wert fittingly deprived of. And as a green tree bore\nthe fruit through which thou hast now won thy victory, so shall a dry\ntree bear the fruit through which thy victory shall be brought to\nnaught.\u201d Then God spoke to the serpent in which the spirit had concealed\nhimself: \u201cCursed art thou before all the beasts upon earth; because thou\nhast received Mine enemy and concealed him from the eyes of Eve to the\nend that, hidden in thee, he might win a victory over mankind. Therefore\nshalt thou lose the likeness to a maiden\u2019s face which thy countenance\nhas borne and shalt henceforth bear a grim and ugly face hateful to\nmankind; thou shalt lose the feet that bore thy body upright and\nhenceforth crawl upon breast and belly. Bitter and unclean dust shall be\nthy food, because thou atest of the apple which thou tookest from the\nhand of Eve. Thou shalt be a self-chosen vessel of venom and death as\nevidence that thou didst hide venomous envy in thy body. I declare the\ncovenant sundered between thee and all mankind; thy head and neck shall\nbe crushed under the heel and the tread of men in revenge for the\ntreachery which mankind has suffered through thy slippery cunning. And\nsince thou didst cause man to break the law with his mouth and in\neating, the spittle that comes forth from the mouth of a fasting man\nshall prove as dangerous a venom to thy life, if thou taste it, as thy\nvenom is to man, if he taste it.\u201d\n\nThen God, calling Adam and Eve, asked where they were. And Adam replied:\n\u201cWe hid ourselves, Lord, being ashamed to appear naked before Thy face.\u201d\nIn the first word that Adam answered God, he lied to Him; for they knew\nthemselves guilty of violating the law and hid for that reason; but Adam\nconcealed this in the answer that he gave to God. Then God said to him:\n\u201cWhy should you be more ashamed of your nakedness now than when we last\ntalked together, unless it be that you have increased in knowledge from\neating the apples that I forbade you?\u201d But when Adam saw that he could\nnot conceal how they had broken the law, he sought to escape by placing\nthe blame for the act on another rather than on himself, for he answered\nin these words: \u201cIf I had been alone about my affairs and if Thou hadst\nnot given me this woman to advise with me, I should have kept the\nappointed law and would not have broken Thy commands.\u201d These words added\ngreatly to Adam\u2019s guilt in God\u2019s eyes, for he sought defense rather than\nmercy. But if he had spoken in this wise: \u201cRemember now, O Lord, that I\nam formed of fragile stuff like a pot of brittle clay, and am in greater\nneed of Thy forbearance and mercy than the merits of my case can demand,\nfor in my weakness I have fallen into great guilt against Thee, O Lord,\nbecause of my transgression,\u201d\u2014then his guilt would at once have been\nlessened in the sight of God, inasmuch as he would be seeking mercy but\nnot defense. But when God heard Adam replying as if excusing himself, He\nsaid as if in wrath: \u201cThou shalt put no blame upon Me for creating the\nwoman; for I gave her to thee to be a delight and a companion, not that\nthou shouldst commit law-breaking by her counsel. I even warned thee not\nto transgress and told thee what guilt threatened if thou didst break\nthe law. Why then didst thou follow thy wife\u2019s miserable advice rather\nthan My saving counsel, if thou didst not do it through pride and\navarice, wishing to equal Me in knowledge and therefore eager to know\nwhat was not promised thee?\u201d\n\nAfter that God spoke to Eve: \u201cWhy didst thou egg thy husband on to\ntransgress?\u201d And Eve was anxious that another should bear the blame for\nher guilt rather than herself, for she spoke in this wise: \u201cThis crafty\nserpent gave me that evil advice; had he not been created or appeared\nbefore me, I should not have transgressed or egged on my husband to\ntransgress.\u201d When God heard Eve\u2019s excuse, He spoke in His wrath: \u201cIt\nlooks to Me as if you both wish to blame Me for your law-breaking: Adam\nblamed Me for having created thee to advise with him, and now thou\nfindest fault with Me for having created the serpent. I created the\nserpent as I created all the other beasts of the earth, but I did not\ngive him to you as a counsellor; on the contrary, I made him subject to\nyour dominion like all the other beasts of the earth. I warned you both\nto commit no sin and told you to look for death, if you did. Now your\ndeed appears no better in your defense than before in the transgression;\nwherefore you shall suffer the death with which I threatened you. Though\nyou may not immediately fall down dead, you shall, nevertheless, in your\ndeath suffer a long punishment for your offence, and all your offspring\nshall be responsible with you for this transgression. And the while that\nyou live upon earth you shall suffer sorrowful distress instead of\nenjoying the blissful freedom which you knew not how to keep. And\nwhereas thou didst transgress before Adam, I will increase thy troubles\nbeyond what you are both to suffer: thou shalt be subject to the control\nof thy husband and to all his commands, and shalt therefore seem of\nlesser importance and lower in the sight of thy sons. The children that\nthou shalt conceive in lustful passion thou shalt bring forth in pain\nand imminent peril; it shall also be thy duty to give thy children all\nforms of service in toil and troublesome care while bringing them up.\u201d\n\nThen God said: \u201cAdam has now become as wise as any one of us, knowing\ngood and evil. Have care that he does not eat from the tree of life\nwithout permission, as he did of the apples of knowledge, lest he live\neternally in his guilt.\u201d Thereupon God appointed Cherubim to guard the\npath leading to the tree of life with a flaming sword which constantly\nturned its fiery edge in every direction so that none could pass forward\nwithout permission. Then God said to Adam: \u201cBecause thou didst hearken\nto thy wife\u2019s evil advice rather than to my good counsel and hast eaten\nof the forbidden fruit, the earth, which gave thee all manner of\ndesirable fruit in her motherly kindness, shall be cursed through thy\ndeed. As if in sorrowful wrath, she shall refuse thee such herbs as thou\nmayest think suitable for food: thistles and weeds shall she give thee\nfor herbs, unless thou till her soil with labor and drench it with thy\nsweat; for henceforth thou shalt gain thy food upon earth with toil.\u201d\nThereafter God gave Adam and Eve coats of skin and said to them: \u201cSince\nyou are ashamed of your naked limbs, cover yourselves now with the\ngarments of travail and sorrow and fare forth into the wide fields to\nfind your food with irksome toil. And finally you shall rest in the\ndeathlike embraces of earth and be changed again naturally into the\nmortal materials from which you were made in the beginning.\u201d Then said\nAdam: \u201cFor justice and mercy I thank Thee, O Lord, for I see clearly how\ngreatly I have sinned; likewise do I own Thy grace in that I am not to\nsuffer merciless destruction like Lucifer. Sorrowing shall I descend\ninto the deathlike shadows of hell; yet I shall ever rejoice in the hope\nof returning; for in this I trust to Thee, O Lord, that Thou wilt show\nme the light of life even in the darkness of death. And I shall ever\nlook forward to the day when he, who is now rejoicing in my misfortune\nas in a victory won, shall be afflicted by our returning as one who is\novercome and deprived of victory.\u201d Then Eve said: \u201cThough we now depart\nin sorrow, Lord, because of our great misdoing, we shall take joy in Thy\nmerciful lenience in our distress.\u201d Then God disappeared from their\nsight; and they began to till the earth as God had commanded.\n\nNow I have done as you requested, having explained briefly why the\nserpent sought speech with the woman and what caused him to egg the\nwoman on to violate the law. Still, I have taken up only what is most\neasily grasped in this speech; for the task of glossing our discourse\nafter deep meditation I prefer to leave to others. But let us continue\nstraight ahead in the discussion as we have begun, since we do not have\ntime to do both.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                 XLVIII\n\n                  A COMMENTARY ON THE STORY OF LUCIFER\n\n\n_Son._ I now see clearly why you regard the answers to my last questions\nas glosses and interpretations of the speeches which you gave earlier\nrather than a continuation of our original plan; and I fear that, if I\nshould ask you to enlarge further upon this subject, you will consider\nmy questions unwise. But having been granted freedom to ask about\nwhatever I have the curiosity to know, I shall venture another question:\nand I shall continue to look for good answers as before, even though my\nquestions be childish. Now you have brought out that, when the serpent\nspoke to the woman as he did, it was the spirit speaking with the\nserpent\u2019s tongue. You have likewise shown me why the woman was led into\nsin; that Lucifer was inspired by malicious envy to hinder man from\ncoming into the dominion from which he himself had been expelled. And in\nyour discussion of the judgments of God you had something to say both\nabout Lucifer and about Adam, which I am not sure has often been heard\nbefore. Now if I should on occasion recall these remarks and repeat them\nas I have heard you state them, it may be that some one hearing me will\nsay that he has never heard this account before; and therefore I want to\nask you to tell me what facts I could state in my reply, so that I shall\nnot seem to withdraw my statements on account of ignorance but rather\nfind such means to support them, that all will think them true rather\nthan false.\n\n_Father._ The glosses to a speech are like the boughs and branches of a\ntree. First the roots send up a stem which again branches out into many\nlimbs and boughs. And whatever limb you take, if you examine it with\nproper care, you will find it joined to the stem which originally sprang\nup from the roots; and all the boughs and branches draw nourishment from\nthe roots from which the stem grows. But if you hew off a limb and cast\nit far away from the tree, and one should find it who knows not where it\ngrew, it will look to him like every other branch which he finds on his\nway, seeing that he does not know where it has grown. But if he carries\nit back to the stem from which it was cut and fits it there, the branch\nitself will testify as to what roots it sprang from. It is the same with\nthe interpretation of a sermon; if a man knows how to present a speech\nproperly, he will also know how to interpret it correctly. But as I hear\nthat some things have been introduced into this discussion which have\nnot often been heard, I will now do the questioning for a while, since I\nhave answered more than I have asked. And first I wish to ask whether\nthis speech included anything that you already knew.\n\n_Son._ There were a few things but not many. I have heard it quoted from\nLucifer\u2019s words that he intended to set his throne as high as that of\nGod; but the answer that God gave to this I had never heard interpreted\nbefore, but now you have explained it.\n\n_Father._ Let me ask again: who do you suppose it was that, standing by,\nheard Lucifer\u2019s boastful and treacherous words and quoted them\nafterwards?\n\n_Son._ I have never heard his name spoken and I am not sure that they\nwere told by any one who heard them at the beginning.\n\n_Father._ But this you shall know of a surety, that if Lucifer\u2019s words\nhave been quoted by one who heard them in the beginning, he surely must\nhave heard those replies of God also, which I have just given; and he\ncould have reported both speeches, had he wished, since he heard either\nboth or neither. But if he reported Lucifer\u2019s treacherous boasting as he\ndivined it, he surely could have thought out God\u2019s truthful statement of\nhis vengeance in the same way; for either both or neither would be true.\nFor at the very moment when Lucifer transgressed, whether in thought or\nin words, God had already purposed all the vengeance that was to befall\nhim from the first hour to the last. So great and all-sufficient are\nGod\u2019s thoughts and wisdom, that the vision of the divine foresight sees\nin the twinkling of an eye all the events that shall come to pass from\nthe first hour to the very last. But He withholds in divine patience all\nthe things that He intends shall come to pass, until suitable times\nappear; and He will let everything happen as He has purposed it\nheretofore. Now if God should have endowed any one with such great\ninsight and wisdom that he could know all the thoughts of God and should\nreport them as if God had disclosed them in word or speech, he would by\nno means be telling falsehoods; for all that God has purposed has been\ntold him in his thoughts, whether his lips have spoken about them or\nnot. The apostle Paul tells us that God has given men his Holy Spirit\nwith a definite office and activity: some receive a spirit of prophecy,\nsome a spirit of knowledge and wisdom, some a spirit of eloquence, some\na spirit of understanding, and some a spirit of skill;[297] some have\nthese gifts in large measure, others in less; some enjoy one of these\ngifts, others two, still others three, while some have all, each one as\nGod wills to endow him.\n\nFootnote 297:\n\n  _I Corinthians_, xii, 4-10.\n\nBut those who, like King David, have received both the spirit of\nunderstanding and of eloquence, have ventured to compose speeches and\nwrite books in order that the speeches shall not perish. In some places\nDavid has told of God\u2019s purposes, in other places of His deeds, and in\nstill other places he has reported His words; and those who in times\npast have written glosses to the psalms which David composed have had\nmore to say about what was in David\u2019s mind than about the words that he\nwrote. For to every word they have added long comments of what David had\nin thought when he spoke this word; and in these comments they point out\nthe meaning which he had in his thoughts at every word that he wrote in\nthe Psalter. In like manner they have proceeded, who have interpreted\nthe words of the Evangelists, and they have brought out much that the\nEvangelists have left unsaid. Thus they have shown that their comments\nare on the words of thought which the lips had left unspoken. And if one\nhas received the God-given spirit of a perfect understanding, he has a\ngift of such a nature that, when he hears a few spoken words, he\nperceives many words of thought. But David did not himself gloss the\nPsalter for the reason that he wished to leave to others the task of\nexpressing all those thoughts which came up in his mind, while he\ncontinued writing the Psalms as originally planned. Thus all do who have\na speech on the tongue which ought to be interpreted: they proceed with\nthe discourse as planned and begun, and leave to others the task of\nexpressing in words what is in their thoughts. Still, you should know\nthat no one has glossed the sayings of David who sat by him, while he\nwas composing the Psalter, and asked what was in his mind at the time.\nAnd from this you will perceive that it is the grace of the spirit of\ninsight which guides such men to examine the foundations of the sermons\nthat they hear. Next they investigate how widely the roots ramify which\nlie beneath the speech; they consider carefully how many limbs grow out\nof it; and finally they make a count of the branches that sprout from\neach limb. They also note precisely what bough they take for themselves,\nthat they may be able to trace it correctly back to the roots from which\nit originally grew. Now if you understand this thoroughly and if you\ninvestigate with care and precision everything that you hear told, you\nwill not fall into error, no matter whether the comments that you hear\nbe right or wrong, if God has given you the spirit that leads to a right\nunderstanding. For every man who is gifted with proper insight and gets\ninto the right path at the beginning will be able to find the highways\nof reason and to determine what expressions are suitable and will best\nfit the circumstances. Now gather from these things whatever you can\nthat may give insight; but it does not seem necessary to discuss them\nfurther.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  XLIX\n\n            INSTANCES IN WHICH GOD HAS ALLOWED THE DECISION\n                  TO BE FRAMED ACCORDING TO THE STERN\n                      DEMANDS OF TRUTH AND JUSTICE\n\n\n_Son._ God reward you, sire, for being so patient in answering all the\nquestions that I am asking. I find, however, that you think my queries\nwander about in a childish way, but as I cannot keep to the subject of\nthe conversation that we have begun, my questions will come down here\nand there, as one might expect of youthful ignorance. Still, it seems\nthat it is better to have asked than not about the matter that I brought\nup last, namely, how one is to determine whether the glosses are correct\nor not. Now I understand perfectly your statement that a man does not\ntell a lie about God, if he tells God\u2019s purposes as if they were His own\nwords; for whatever God has determined in His own soul, He has already\nspoken to Himself in His thoughts, whether He has uttered them with His\nlips or not; wherefore those things may be interpreted as if spoken,\nbecause in His mind He has spoken all that to Himself. This, too, is\nclear to me, that, although no one is able to divine what God had in\nmind at the beginning, He has Himself revealed it in letting those\nthings come to pass which He had thought and purposed; for it seems very\nevident that all those things which God has allowed to occur, He had\nthought upon and wisely planned in his own mind, before they came to\npass. It is also quite clear to me that those who have added explanatory\nglosses to the writings of David, or other men who have written sermons\nand set them in books, have developed their interpretations by studying\nout what fundamental thought or purpose had since the beginning lain\nunderneath the words. Afterwards they wisely considered this, too, with\nwhat truth probability might be able to account for every branch and\ntwig of that discourse, so that the contents might be revealed. Now\nsince these things begin to look somewhat clearer to me, it may be that\nI shall continue to reflect upon them, if God gives me the necessary\ninsight. But since I realize that you feel it would be a large and\ntedious task both to continue the discourse already begun and to make\nsuitable comments, I will now ask you to return to the subject before us\nand to continue setting forth the judgment of God, giving cases in which\nHe allowed the sentence to be carried out with severity according to the\nverdict of Justice and Truth, and others in which He showed greater\nleniency.\n\n_Father._ The following instances occurred long after the fall but had a\nsimilar outcome. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, suffered a merciless doom\nby the judgment of Truth and Justice.[298] Dathan and Abiram were justly\ndoomed and destroyed.[299] When Joshua led the people of Israel into the\nland that God had promised them God ordered him to punish the people who\ndwelt in the city called Jericho with such severity that whatever was\nliving should perish.[300] Long after that, when King Saul led an\ninvasion into Amalek, God commanded him to slay everything that was\nliving; but Saul incurred the anger of God because he did not carry out\nwhat was commanded.[301] The case of Judas, one of the apostles of God,\nis among the examples that belong to a much later date: for Truth and\nJustice condemned him without mercy for dastardly treachery toward his\nLord. There are many similar cases, though we have given these only;\nand, inasmuch as our speech would get too long, we cannot include in a\nsingle discourse all the examples that we know resemble these. But when\nGod decreed all these punishments which we have now recounted, the\nsisters were all on the judgment seat with Him, Truth and Justice, Mercy\nand Peace, and they all agreed with Him and kissed and embraced each\nother.\n\nFootnote 298:\n\n  _Exodus_, xiv.\n\nFootnote 299:\n\n  _Numbers_, xvi.\n\nFootnote 300:\n\n  _Joshua_, vi.\n\nFootnote 301:\n\n  _I Samuel_, xv.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                   L\n\n            OTHER INSTANCES IN WHICH THE ARGUMENTS OF PEACE\n                   AND MERCY HAVE HAD GREATER WEIGHT\n\n\n_Son._ It is quite evident that in the cases which you have now\nrecounted, Truth and Justice had a larger part in the verdict than Peace\nand Mercy. But no one can doubt that the sisters were all agreed in\nthese decisions, for we may be sure that God never passes a merciless\njudgment. One will consequently need to ponder these things with careful\nattention and close thinking; for the judgments of God are largely\nconcealed from men. Therefore I wish to ask you to point out those cases\nin which Mercy and Peace have chiefly dictated the verdict, so that I\nmay get insight into dooms of both kinds, seeing that examples of both\nare to be found.\n\n_Father._ There are so many cases of either class, that we cannot\ninclude all the verdicts in one discussion; still, we can point out a\nfew of them, in order that both your questions may be answered. The\nfollowing are events which occurred long ago, when Aaron and Ur, the\nbishops,[302] committed a great sin against God in that they gave His\npeople two calves made of molten gold, through which the entire nation\nwas led astray from the faith; for the people called these calves the\ngods of Israel and brought sacrifices to them as to God. But when Moses\ncame down to the people (he had been up on the mountain where he had\nspoken to God Himself), the bishops ran to meet him, deeply repenting\ntheir sins; and, falling at Moses\u2019 feet, they begged him to intercede\nfor them with God, lest He be angered with them according to their\ndeserts. But when God saw how deeply the bishops repented, He heard\nMoses\u2019 prayer, and the bishops retained the dignities which they had\nbefore, and they did penance for their sin. The instance that I have now\nrelated is one of those in which the greater share in the decision was\nassigned to Peace and Mercy, though Truth and Justice also consented to\nthe doom; for the bishops would have suffered death for this offence, if\nMercy had not been more lenient with them than they deserved. The\nfollowing event is like this but happened much later: King David fell\ninto this great sin, that he committed adultery with Uriah\u2019s wife and\nafterwards brought about the death of Uriah himself. After Uriah\u2019s death\nDavid took his wife and had her for his own, and surely he deserved\ndeath for these sins. But he repented his misdeeds so deeply before God\nand begged forgiveness so humbly for the sins confessed, that God heard\nhis prayer and did not take away his kingship, but even confirmed him in\nit, though he had committed these crimes.[303]\n\nFootnote 302:\n\n  _Exodus_, xxxii. No high priest by the name of Ur is mentioned in this\n  connection; but Hur, the son of Caleb, is associated with Aaron on two\n  earlier occasions. See _ibid._, xvii, 10; xxiv, 14. There was a legend\n  that Ur refused to make the golden calf and that the people spitting\n  into his face suffocated him with the spittle. Petrus Comestor,\n  _Historia Scholastica_, c. 73: Migne, _Patrologia Latina_, CXCVIII,\n  1189.\n\nFootnote 303:\n\n  _II Samuel_, xii.\n\nThe following events occurred much later at the time when our Lord Jesus\nChrist was on earth among men. The bishops of the Jews and all their\nother learned men became very hostile toward him and were constantly\nstriving to find something for which they might reproach him. So they\ntook a woman who had openly committed adultery and was worthy of death\naccording to the law of Moses; this woman they brought before Jesus and\ntold him of her crimes. They also said that the law condemned her to die\nand asked what sentence he would pass in this case. Jesus replied that\nhe who had never committed a sin should cast the first stone upon her.\nThen they turned away quickly, not daring to question him further, for\nthey all knew themselves to have sinned. But Jesus said to the woman:\n\u201cWoman, since none of those who accused thee has passed judgment in thy\ncase, neither will I condemn thee to die; go in peace, but henceforth\nbeware of sin.\u201d There is another instance which is like those that I\nrelated earlier, and which happened in the night when Jesus was seized.\nHis apostle Peter had boastfully protested that he would never forsake\nhim, though all others should leave him, and that he would suffer death\nwith Jesus before he would desert him like a coward. But in the same\nnight when Jesus was seized, Peter denied three times that he had been\nwith him, and the third time he confirmed the statement with an oath\nthat he had not been Jesus\u2019 man. Then he went away out of the hall where\nJesus was held and immediately began to repent his sin and all his words\nand wept bitterly. Nevertheless, after Jesus had risen, Peter\u2019s sins\nwere forgiven, and he retained all the honors that had been promised him\nbefore. There is still another event which came to pass a few days later\nwhen our Lord was crucified. Two thieves were crucified with him, one on\neither side; both had been guilty of the same crimes, murder and\nrobbery. But while they hung on the cross, one of them took thought to\nrepent and implored mercy of Jesus, though he, too, like the thieves,\nhung on a cross. His sins were pardoned and he was given sure promise of\nparadise on that very day; but his companion was condemned according to\nhis deeds.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                   LI\n\n         THE REASONS FOR THIS DIVERSITY IN THE VERDICTS OF GOD\n\n\n_Son._ If earthly kings and other chiefs, who are appointed to act as\njudges, are to adapt their decisions to the examples that you have now\ngiven, they must find it very important to learn precisely what each\nsuit is based upon; for in many of these instances, it looks as if the\ncases were somewhat alike in appearance. Still, all the decisions in the\nearlier examples led to severe punishments, while in the later ones they\nall led to mercy and forgiveness. Therefore I now wish to ask you why\nPharaoh, Dathan, and Abiram, the people who dwelt in Jericho, and those\nof Amalek, who were punished by King Saul, were all destroyed without\nmercy.\n\n_Father._ These things were all done at the command of Justice and\nTruth, though Peace and Mercy consented. For Moses daily performed many\nmiracles before King Pharaoh and commanded him to release God\u2019s people;\nand he might have released them, had he wished, without suffering any\ninjury thereby. He made constant promises that it should be done, but he\nnever kept either word or promise. Now it was right that he should\nperish in his stubborn wickedness and evil-doing, since he would accept\nneither mercy nor pardon, though he had the opportunity. Dathan and\nAbiram, when Moses told them that they had done evil, became angry and\nrefused to repent; and they perished without mercy because they sought\nno mercy. Those who dwelt in Jericho and Amalek had heard for many days\nthat they had done evil both to God\u2019s people and against His will but\nthey offered no atonement; on the contrary, they proposed to take up\narms in their defense, wherefore they were overcome by a merciless\nrevenge. But those whom I pointed out to you in the later accounts,\nAaron, Ur, David, and the others who were mentioned in those examples,\ndid not conceal their wickedness, but confessed their misdeeds as they\nwere; hoping for pardon, they begged mercy and clemency, and offered to\natone, as He should determine, Who, they knew, had the decision in His\npower. And they promised that nevermore would they fall into such guilt,\nif they might become fully reconciled.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  LII\n\n                       THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED\n\n\n_Son._ I now wish to ask you why such a great distinction was made in\nthe cases of Peter and Judas, though their offences appear similar.\nJudas returned the money that he had received and repented his evil\ndeed; he confessed that he had sold his innocent Lord, and threw away\nthe silver, saying that he would not keep what had come to him so\nwrongfully. Now he was destroyed, though he repented; while Peter was\nforgiven at once, because he repented.\n\n_Father._ Judas fell in the beginning into sin through avarice and love\nof wealth and took a bribe to betray his Lord. His repentance was such\nthat he could not hope for pardon, and he asked for no mercy but\npunished himself with a sudden death. But Peter wept bitterly in his\nrepentance, and, hoping for mercy, implored forgiveness. Furthermore,\nJudas had the greater guilt, for he sold his Lord; and though he\nrepented, he craved no pardon; and he did not abide the judgment of God,\nbut condemned himself forthwith. But Peter denied his Lord through\nsudden fear and repented immediately in great sorrow; he submitted to\nthe judgment of God and abided it, and did not condemn himself as Judas\ndid. There was a similar outcome in the case of the crucified thieves.\nThough both acknowledged the sins that they had committed, one prayed\nfor mercy and pardon, while the other asked no mercy but spoke in\ncontempt and derision rather than in prayer or serious thought.\nTherefore these whom we have now named were saved through the merciful\njudgments of Mercy and Peace, though Truth and Justice agreed to the\nverdicts.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  LIII\n\n           INSTANCES IN WHICH GOD HAS MODIFIED HIS SENTENCES\n                 AND THE REASONS FOR SUCH MODIFICATIONS\n\n\n_Son._ I am beginning to see these things more clearly now and to\nunderstand why it is that the larger share in a verdict is sometimes\nassigned to Justice and Truth and at other times to Peace and Mercy. And\nnow I want to ask you to discuss those cases which you mentioned earlier\nin which God modified the sentence agreed upon, and to state the causes\nthat led to this.\n\n_Father._ To this class belong certain events which occurred a long time\nago in the days when Moses was upon the mountain called Sinai. In those\ndays the great mass of the people sinned grievously and even fell into\nwhoredom, cohabiting with women of the heathen race. But so strictly had\nGod forbidden this, that everyone who fell into that sin was held worthy\nof death. Then God said to Moses: \u201cNow shalt thou cease speaking with Me\nthat My wrath may have time to wax hot against this people which I gave\ninto thy charge. For they have fallen into such grievous sins against My\ncommandments that I intend to consume them all in My fierce wrath; and I\nwill give thee another people, far better and stronger and more numerous\nthan this one.\u201d At this point it would almost seem as if a definite\nsentence had been passed in the case of this nation. Moses, however,\nasked permission to intercede briefly in behalf of the people of Israel\nand, this being granted, he spoke these words. \u201cI pray Thee, O Lord, to\nturn from Thy wrath and do not destroy Thy people, though they have done\nill. Let not the Egyptians have this to say, that Thou didst lead Thy\npeople out of Egypt and out of their dominion to consume them in the\nmountains and the desert; or that Thou wert unable to lead Thy people\ninto the land which Thou hadst promised them from the beginning.\nRemember, O Lord, Thy servants Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and do not\ndestroy the generations that have sprung from Israel\u2019s kin which Thou\nhast Thyself promised to multiply upon earth and to lead securely into\nthe land that is now controlled by Thine enemies.\u201d[304] God heard the\nprayer of Moses; His wrath was appeased, and He did not slay the people\nas He had threatened; but He gave their punishment into the hands of\nMoses, instructing him that they must not wholly escape chastisement,\nthough it should not be so severe as God had threatened earlier. Moses\nreturned hastily to the camp and coming upon the people in a tempestuous\nspirit and in fierce wrath, he slew many thousand men in that day, and\nin this way pacified the wrath of God. Now this example shows how God\nlessened a penalty imposed, in that He appeased His wrath before Moses\u2019\nprayer. And it shows that neither of the sisters, Truth or Justice,\nsuffered in her rights by this judgment, inasmuch as Moses slew a great\nhost to pacify the wrath of God. But Peace and Mercy also had their\nrights, seeing that less was done than had been decreed at first.\n\nFootnote 304:\n\n  _Exodus_, xxxii, 7-14.\n\nThis is another instance that shows how God has modified a judgment\nalready passed. He sent Jonah the prophet to Niniveh with orders to tell\nthe king and all the people of the city that within thirty days Niniveh\nshould be destroyed with all that was therein. Jonah did as God\ncommanded and told these things as true tidings. But when the king\nunderstood that the people were of a truth in danger of divine wrath\n(for the nation was full of whoredoms and wickedness of every form) he\ndescended from his throne, laid aside his royal robes, and did penance\nand fasted; and he bade all men in the city do likewise, both young and\nold. And when God saw that they repented of their wickedness with sorrow\nand penance in many forms, He extended mercy and destroyed neither the\ncity nor the people within it.[305]\n\nFootnote 305:\n\n  _Jonah_, iii.\n\nHere is still another instance that points to the same result. Hezekiah\nwas the name of a good king in the land of Israel; he fell ill and\nmeditated deeply about his case, whether God intended to bring him\nthrough this illness or to let him die. Then God sent Isaiah His prophet\nto him; and God said to the prophet that Hezekiah should die of this\nmalady. Isaiah went to the king and said to him: \u201cTake good heed and set\nyour house in order and all your affairs, for God has said that you\nshall die of this illness and not live.\u201d As soon as Isaiah had spoken\nthese words to the king, he departed; but the king turned his face to\nthe wall and prayed for deliverance in these words: \u201cRemember, O Lord,\nhow steadfast I have been in Thy service, for I have always opposed\nThine enemies, and this people that Thou hast given into my keeping have\nI turned from much wickedness which many of them practiced before I came\nto the kingship. And there are three reasons why I am loath to die so\nsuddenly now of this illness. The first, which I fear the most, is that\nI may not have kept Thy commandments fully, and if I die in a state of\nsin I may look for Thy vengeance in my death. The second is that I have\nnot yet turned all Thy people wholly away from their evil ways; and I\nfear, if I die suddenly now, that they will soon return to their old\nabominations. The third, which I fear much, is the victory of Thine\nenemies over Thy people, seeing that my son is a child; and his power to\ndefend the people against Thine enemies may prove less than is required.\nBut if Thou wilt hear my prayer, O Lord, and add a few days to my life,\nall these things may be brought into a better state than they are at\npresent.\u201d God heard Hezekiah\u2019s prayer and said to Isaiah the prophet:\n\u201cReturn quickly to King Hezekiah and tell him different tidings now from\nwhat thou toldest before; for I have heard his prayer, and I will add\nunto the days of his life fifteen years beyond what I had intended for\nhim, and I will deliver all his realm from the attack of his\nadversaries.\u201d[306]\n\nFootnote 306:\n\n  _II Kings_, xx; _Isaiah_, xxxviii. The prayer is imaginary.\n\nHere is another instance which belongs to a much later time. In the days\nwhen Jesus Christ was here upon earth among men, one of his friends,\nLazarus by name, fell ill and died of the illness. Bethany was the name\nof the town where Lazarus was buried. But when he had lain four days in\nthe grave, Jesus came to Bethany. Now it would seem in Lazarus\u2019 case, as\nin that of all others who have departed from this world, that an\nirrevocable sentence had been passed, seeing that he had lain four days\na dead man in the earth, death having even appointed him a place in his\nkingdom. Jesus ordered Lazarus\u2019 grave to be opened, and calling him he\ncommanded him to tear himself away from the hands of his dead\ncompanions. Thereupon Lazarus rose from the dead, and he lived many days\nafter that. There are many other examples of this kind, but these are\nthe ones which we have preferred to bring to light; and since our talk\nhas been quite long, it seems unnecessary to recount others, though they\nare plentiful.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  LIV\n\n                           THE KING\u2019S PRAYER\n\n\n_Son._ The more examples I hear, the more evident is the truth of what\nyou stated earlier in your remarks, namely that it is very necessary for\nkings and other rulers who are in charge of justice to be widely\ninformed, if they are to adapt their verdicts to the examples that we\nhave now heard.\n\n_Father._ You should understand this clearly that, since the king holds\nhis title from God, it is surely his duty to suit his decisions to\ndivine examples; and the same is true of all who are appointed to pass\njudgment, both clerks and laymen. For we no longer have opportunity to\nask counsel on any point from God\u2019s own lips, as Moses could; wherefore\nmen should live according to the examples that were set in those days\nwhen it was possible to inquire of God Himself what His will was on any\nmatter. Therefore, a king ought to keep these examples frequently upon\nhis lips and before his eyes, and such other examples, too, as may give\ninsight for his own decisions. The most favorable time for such\nmeditation is at night or in the early morning when he is sated with\nsleep. But when the hour to rise comes and it is time for the king to\nhear the hours, it is his duty to go to church and listen attentively to\nthe mass and to join in the prayers and in chanting the psalms if he\nknows them. Like every other Christian man who is at prayers, the king\nought to attend with as much devotion as if he stood in the presence of\nGod and spoke to God Himself. He should call to mind the words that\nDavid uttered when he spoke in this wise: \u201cI shall ever see the Lord\nbefore my face, for He is always at my right hand.\u201d[307]\n\nFootnote 307:\n\n  Probably from _Psalms_, xvi, 8 (_Vulgate_, xv, 8): \u201cI have set the\n  Lord always before me, because He is at my right hand....\u201d\n\nA king should begin his prayer by showing God that he holds the true\nfaith. Next he should make clear that he gives thought to his earthly\ndominion and the divine power of God. Thereupon he must confess his sins\nand misdeeds to God, making clear to Him that he does not consider\nhimself as having come without guilt or as if defending his cause. Next\nhe must beg mercy and forgiveness for the transgressions that he has\nconfessed. He must also show God humbly that he regards himself as\ncoming before His knees as a thrall or a servant, though God has exalted\nhim to power among men. He must not fail to remember others besides\nhimself in prayer: his queen, if he has one, who is appointed to rule\nand defend the land with him; his bishops and all other learned men who\nare to aid him in maintaining Christianity, and, therefore, owe the duty\nto offer prayers for him and for all the other people of the kingdom. He\nought also to remember all his other lords and knights in his prayer and\nall the warriors who assist him in the government. Likewise he must\nremember the husbandmen, the householders, and all his other subjects\nwho maintain his kingdom by labor or other gainful effort. He should,\ntherefore, remember all, men and women, for it is their duty to offer up\nholy prayers for him every day. And, if he likes, he may use daily the\nfollowing prayer, which is in the form that I have given, but he must\npray as devoutly as if he were speaking to God Himself; and these are\nthe words of the prayer.\n\n\u201cO Thou most merciful God, eternal Father! O Thou most honored\nConqueror, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God! O Thou most\ngentle Comforter, Holy Spirit! O Thou perpetual fount of wisdom and\ncomplete and unshaken faith, Holy Trinity! O Thou indivisible Unity, one\nomnipotent, unchangeable God: Thou Who sittest above the highest summits\nof heaven and lookest into the hidden depths below! For no creature can\nescape Thy dominion, though it should wish to flee from Thy wrath. Even\nthough I should mount to heaven, Thou art there before me; and though I\ncrawl down into the lowest hiding places of hell, Thy spiritual dominion\nis there; and though I were to fly upon the wings of the winds and hide\nbeyond the uttermost boundaries of the ocean solitudes, even there Thy\nright hand would seize me and lead me back into Thy control. For Thy\nmind has numbered the sands driven by the winds and by the power of the\nocean about all the earth, and Thine eye knows all the drops of the dewy\nrain. Therefore, I implore Thee, O my Lord, do not enter into the seat\nof judgment with me, Thy servant, to search out my righteousness; and do\nnot number the multitude of my sins, but turn Thy face away from mine\niniquities and cleanse me from my secret faults and wash away all my\nguilt. For my sins are great and lie heavy upon my head; they are so\nmany that they seem numberless to me in their multitude,\u2014sins that I\nhave committed in vain thinking, in foolish words, in neglecting Thy\ncommandments and forgetting Thy holy law in every way, in indiscreet\ntestimony and thoughtless oaths, in judging unjustly between men, in\nexcessive avarice, and in all manner of useless and evil works. I\nacknowledge and confess to Thee, O Lord, calling all Thy saints to\nwitness, that I am so guilty of misdeeds and evil works, that I am\nalready condemned by the multitude of my transgressions, unless I may\nshare in the benefits of the exceeding abundance of Thy mercy and of the\ngood and meritorious intercessions of my Lady, the holy Virgin Mary, and\nof all the saints in whom Thou hast been well pleased since the world\nbegan. For the misdeeds and all the iniquity that I have committed from\nmy childhood to this day are uncovered and revealed unto Thee, even\nthough I might wish to conceal and not confess them; for short-sighted\nfrailty was not ashamed to pursue its evil desires before Thy face. But,\nO Lord, inasmuch as Thou dost not delight in them who are destroyed in\nsin, but wouldst rather that they should live and be led aright, and\nbecause Thou knowest that man is frail and without strength like the\ndust of the earth or the crumbling leaf, unless Thou strengthen him with\nthe power of Thy mercy, therefore, I implore Thee, do not punish me with\nthe swift judgment of Thy wrath; but let Thy divine patience give me\ntime and will to repent and ability to do penance. Take away from me, O\nLord, envy and pride, despair and stubbornness, injustice and violence,\nand detestable gluttony; cleanse me from the seven cardinal sins and the\ncursed vices which spring from them. Give me, O Lord, love and constant\nhope, true faith and humility, wisdom and justice, and ample strength to\ndo Thy will at all times. Give me the seven cardinal gifts of the Holy\nSpirit with all the blessed fruitage that grows out of these; for I am\nThy handiwork, created in Thine image, Thy thrall begotten in sin by Thy\nservant, the son of Thy handmaiden. But Thy mercy has appointed me to\nThine office and has exalted me, though unworthy, to the royal dignity\nand the sacred chieftainship; and Thou hast appointed me to judge and to\ngovern Thy holy people. Therefore, I pray Thee, give more heed to the\nneeds of Thy holy people, which Thou hast appointed me to rule over,\nthan to my merits; but give me the right understanding, self-control and\nsense of justice, eloquence, purpose, and good intentions, so that I may\nbe able to judge and determine the causes of rich and poor in such a way\nthat Thou wilt be pleased, while they rejoice that justice is done among\nthem. And I pray Thee, O Lord! to pour out Thy spirit of upright\nunderstanding upon all my councillors and helpers who assist me in\nmaintaining the government. To my queen, whom Thou hast joined to me\nwith the bonds of marriage, and above all to the hallowed stewards and\nservants of holy church, the most eminent priest, the bishop of Rome,\nand all our bishops, abbots, and rulers, to our priests and to all the\nlearned men who are in their charge,\u2014to all these, O Lord, give a chaste\nand upright spirit, so that they may show their good works and set Thy\npeople good examples and give them right instruction. To the governors\nand to all those who assist me in guiding and defending the realm, give\nrightmindedness, abhorrence of evil ways, and the appreciation and love\nof good morals. Make mine enemies truly repentant of their evil and\nwickedness, cause them to desist from their ferocity, and turn them to a\ntrue friendship. To Thy people and all the commonalty give knowledge and\na will to love Thee, the true God, a right obedience to their superiors,\ngood peace and rich harvests, and security from enemies. Remember, O\nLord, in Thy holy mercy, all the races of mankind for whom our Lord\nJesus Christ, Thine only begotten son, shed his blood in redemption,\nwhether they be still living in this world or called home in holy\npatience by Thy commands. To those, O Lord, who are blinded by error and\nignorance and therefore cannot discern Thy Holy Trinity, send Thy spirit\nof insight, that they may know and understand that Thou art the true God\nand none other; for no one may approach Thee except Thy holy compassion\ndraws him to Thy love. And be not wroth with me, Thy servant, O Lord,\nbecause I have dared to speak with Thee at this time, even though I\ncontinue in prayer, but incline Thy compassionate ear and hear and grant\nwhat I pray for in Thine abundant kindness. I pray Thee, O Lord, never\nto give me into the hands of mine enemies because of my misdeeds, or to\nlet me become their victim or captive, and never to let mine enemies\nrejoice in my misfortunes, whether in body or in spirit, visible or\ninvisible; but if I do aught against Thy holy will and commandments,\ntake me in Thy right hand and chastise me, though not according to my\ndeserts but according to the lenient judgment of Thy mercy; and give me\nabundant power and resolute strength to oppose all antagonism and all\ndeception. Let me suffer no greater temptations than my weakness can\nresist; let me not end my days in a sudden death; and do not call me out\nof this world before I shall have repented and rightly atoned for all my\nsins; and when the strivings of this world have ceased, let me rest\neternally with Thee and Thy saints. And from my heart I pray Thee, O\nLord, to give me a lawful heir begotten of my loins, whom it may please\nThee in Thy mercy to set after my time in the seat of honor where Thou\nhast placed me; and let my high-seat never pass into the power of other\ndynasties, but only to such as shall spring from me, the son inheriting\nfrom the father in every case. And grant, O Lord, I pray Thee, that no\nbranches that have sprung from me shall wither or decay; and let them\nnot follow after foolish men into error and neglect, but give them\ninsight and wisdom to understand and to know Thy sacred law, and power\nand a good purpose to love Thee and Thy commands. For Thou only art the\ntrue God, Who liveth and reigneth forever, world without end.\nAmen.\u201d[308]\n\nFootnote 308:\n\n  This prayer is a translation of a Latin original which the author has\n  incorporated and given in full. Both the original and the author\u2019s\n  translation are given in the manuscripts.\n\nNow this prayer that you have just heard is one which the king may offer\nup, if he wishes, with such other psalms and prayers as he knows. And\nthough he may not always repeat this prayer, he should, nevertheless,\npray according to the plan that is outlined in this prayer. And this I\nverily believe to be his duty every day, until he has heard the hours\nand the mass, if he means to observe what belongs to his dignity and to\nhis official duties.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                   LV\n\n  A FURTHER DISCUSSION OF THE KING\u2019S BUSINESS ESPECIALLY HIS JUDICIAL\n                                 DUTIES\n\n\n_Son._ I believe you have now cleared up for me what you think ought to\nbe a king\u2019s business, at night after the season for sleep is past while\nhe is meditating upon the needs of his realm and subjects, and in the\nmorning when he goes to church or to devotional services; and it seems\nto me that these occupations are both useful and important, so much so\nthat they are indispensable. Now that you have shown me what he should\nbe employed with in the night and early in the morning, I wish to ask\nyou to continue and to point out what he should be occupied with during\nthe day: whether it is your opinion that he should ponder the needs of\nhis kingdom while awake at night in order that he may be able to spend\nthe day with greater freedom, after the custom which I hear that kings\nnow follow in most places, either in riding out with hawks or in joining\nthe chase with dogs, or in some other form of diversion, as I hear that\nkings are in the habit of doing in most countries; or whether you think\nthat he should be otherwise employed, if he does as he ought to do, and\nthat kings seek these diversions more for the sake of recreation than\nbecause their rank demand it.\n\n_Father._ I surely do believe, with respect to what you have just asked\nabout, that kingship was established and appointed to look after the\nneeds of the whole realm and people rather than for sport and vain\namusements. Nevertheless, a king must be allowed to seek diversion now\nand then, either with hawks, hounds, horses, or weapons, so that his\nhealth and agility at arms or in any form of warfare may be preserved.\nHis chief business, however, is to maintain an intelligent government\nand to seek good solutions for all the difficult problems and demands\nwhich come before him. And you shall know of a truth that it is just as\nmuch the king\u2019s duty to observe daily the rules of the sacred law and to\npreserve justice in holy judgments as it is the bishop\u2019s duty to\npreserve the order of the sacred mass and all the canonical hours.\n\n_Son._ I am inquiring so closely into these things for the reason that\nmany believe the royal dignity to have been founded for such\npleasure-giving splendor and unrestrained amusement as kings may desire.\nBut now I see clearly from your remarks that a king ought constantly to\nlabor in the yoke of God; wherefore it seems to me that he must have a\ngreat burden to support every day in the serious interest that he must\nshow when the needs of his subjects are presented to him. Therefore I\nwish to ask you once more to show me clearly what should be a king\u2019s\nduty after the hours have been observed.\n\n_Father._ It was the custom of old at the time when the royal office was\nestablished and enjoyed its greatest splendor, that, when a king no\nlonger stood in fear of his enemies but sat in complete security among\nhis henchmen, he selected a splendid house where he could set up his\nhigh-seat, which was also to serve as his judgment seat; and this throne\nhe adorned with every form of royal decoration. Then the king sat down\nupon it and observed in what glory and splendor he sat. Next he began to\nponder in what way he must occupy this glorious high-seat, so as not to\nbe driven from it with dishonor in spite of his exalted position either\nbecause of injustice or malice, indiscretion or folly, inordinate\nambition, arrogance, or excessive timidity. Now it looks most reasonable\nto me that, whereas kingship was originally established in this way as\nwe have just pointed out, a king should continue to maintain the\narrangement which was made in the beginning. And as soon as the king\ncomes into this seat which we have just mentioned and has reflected upon\nall those things which we have just told about, it becomes his duty to\npass judgment in the suits and on the needs of his people, if they are\npresented to him. But when there is no official business brought before\nhim, he should meditate on the source of holy wisdom and study with\nattentive care all its ways and paths.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  LVI\n\n                          THE SPEECH OF WISDOM\n\n\n_Son._ I beg you, sire, not to be displeased with me, though I ask\nthoughtless and stupid questions; but it looks to me like a difficult\ntask to search out the very sources of wisdom and learn its ways and\npaths. And therefore I wish to ask you to tell me something about this\nform of study, so that I may, if possible, derive some insight from it.\n\n_Father._ It ought not to cause displeasure to have one inquire closely\ninto subjects which one is not likely to understand without some\ndirection. But God\u2019s mercy reveals and makes known many things to\nmankind which would be largely hidden from them, if He were unwilling to\nhave them revealed. And many things which were formerly concealed in His\nown knowledge He has made known to us, because He wishes man to take a\nprofitable interest in the wealth of knowledge which he draws from the\ndivine treasures. But as a guide toward this interest which we have just\nmentioned one should take special note of the words that Wisdom used\nconcerning herself when she spoke in these terms:\n\n\u201cI am begotten of God\u2019s own heart; I have proceeded from the mouth of\nthe Highest; and I have ordered all things.[309] The spirit of God moved\nover empty space, and we separated light from darkness; we appointed\nhours and times, days and nights, years and winters and everlasting\nsummer. We built a star-lit throne for the King of heaven; yea, God did\nnothing except in my far-seeing presence. Together we weighed the\nlightness of the air and the gravity of the earth; we hung the ponderous\nsphere of earth in the thin air and strengthened the firmament of heaven\nwith mighty forces. We commanded the blazing sun to adorn the brow of\nday with shining beams; but the inconstant moon we bade illumine the\ndarkness of night with its pale sheen. We created a comely man in our\nimage. God also beautified the face of the earth with trees and herbs\nyielding manifold fruits; He called forth the beauties of the sky in the\nform of birds of many kinds; and he concealed multitudes of fishes of\nmany sorts in the depths of the waters. He also commanded the\nfour-footed beasts to multiply upon earth into many and divers species.\nHe girded the entire circle of the earth with a roaring ocean and briny\nstreams. He commanded fresh waters to flow forth in steep cascades over\nthe face of the land, and built the foundations of the earth with\nnumerous passages, that the flowing waters might always be able to\nfulfil the duties assigned them; and He commanded the light vapors to\ncarry heavy waters through the heights of the air by means of enticing\nwarmth. Further He bade the wind-swollen clouds pour forth cool showers\nover the face of the earth. And the Maker of all things bade me oversee\nthe whole artifice of the divine handiwork. Then I moved briskly with\ntreading foot over the mountain top; I fared lightly over smooth vales\nand level fields; I strode with toilsome and heavy step over the rough\nbillows; and I measured the width of the level ocean with gentle tread.\nPressing forward with stiffened knee, I walked upon the wings of the\nstormy winds. With gentle speech I taught the silent calm its pleasing\nmanner. I traced my path through the heights of heaven and the expanse\nof the air; I scanned the curved circle of the restless ocean; and I\npaced and measured the entire globe of the sphere-shaped earth. I\ntraveled over hills and mountains; I ran over fields and meadows and\nlevel valleys; and I gave honey-like dew to all the blossoming herbs. I\npassed among thorns and bushes and through forests of every kind and\ngave sweet blossoms to the fruit-bearing trees. I pitched my tent in a\nshadowless beam of light and went forth from this fair shelter arrayed\nlike a bridegroom and glad like a mighty giant rejoicing in the\nrace.[310] But mortal idols envied me, found me guilty, and condemned me\nto die. In wrath I descended to the lowest valleys and overturned the\nstrongholds of the mighty ones in mine anger. With violence I shattered\nthe metal gates of the strong castles and broke the firm iron pillars\nand the thick bars of iron. I took gold and gems and jewels, the plunder\nof warfare, and then journeyed gladly to the higher abodes with\npriceless booty. I traveled through farms and villages and parishes\noffering the poor a share in my wealth. I offered the husbandman\nfruitful corn and partnership with me. I comfort the sorrowing; I give\nrest to the weary, drink to the thirsty, and food to the hungry. Happy\nis he who drinks from my cup, for my beverage has an unfailing\nsweetness. I journey through castles and cities and marts; I run over\nhouses, markets, and streets; I call with a clear and friendly voice,\noffering food, entertainment, and harmless amusement. Happy is he who\ngoes to my table, for my meat has a more pleasing savour than the\nsweetest perfume; my drink is sweeter than honey and clearer than any\nwine; tuneful music is heard at my table in sweet and beautiful melody;\nthere are songs and poems such as rarely are heard, merriment and\ngladness, and pure joy unmixed with grief. Happy is he who shall live in\nmy house, for in my house are seven great pillars which join together\nthe entire vault under a good roof; they stand upon a floor placed on\nimmovable foundations and they fortify all the walls with great\nstrength. In each of these pillars may be found the seven liberal arts\nof study. Furthermore, my house is strewn with fragrant grasses and\nlovely herbs; it is hung with beauty and elegance, and splendor in every\nform. Among the humble I am a pleasant companion, but toward the proud I\nam stern and haughty. In every school I am the principal teacher and I\nam the highest form of eloquence in every law court. I am the wisest\namong lawyers and the chief justice on every bench. Happy is he who is\nfound to be a sincere companion of mine; for I am constantly with my\ncompanions guarding them from all perils. Happy is he who suffers no\ndisgrace from me, for my wrath kindles a fire in its passion which burns\neven to the lowest depths; some day it will consume the foundations of\nthe hills and swallow up the earth with its teeming life. Where can he\nhide who seeks to escape from me? The spirit of God fills the entire\nhome-circle and searches out the meaning and the interpretation of all\nknowledge.\u201d\n\nFootnote 309:\n\n  Cf. _Proverbs_, viii, 22 ff.; see also, among the \u201cApochrypha,\u201d\n  _Ecclesiasticus_ (_The Wisdom of Jesus the son of Sirach_), xxiv, 5\n  ff.\n\nFootnote 310:\n\n  An echo of _Psalms_, xix, 5.\n\nThe speech that you have now heard is one which Wisdom has spoken about\nherself; there are others like it, but loftier, which are not repeated\nhere. For King Solomon and Jesus the son of Sirach have written with\nmuch skill a great many sermons of the kind that Wisdom has spoken about\nherself in divers ways. But if we were to mention all the speeches that\ncan be found in their writings, our conversation would suffer a great\ndelay; and it seems unnecessary at this time to bring into our talk any\nlengthy discussion of those things that Wisdom has said about herself.\nHowever, it is the duty of every king to know thoroughly all the\naccounts that Wisdom has given of herself or wise men like those just\nmentioned have written, and each day to ponder some part of those\nspeeches, if the duties of his office leave him any time for that.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  LVII\n\n   DIFFICULT DUTIES OF THE KING\u2019S JUDICIAL OFFICE WITH ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n_Son._ Since it clearly is the official duty of a king to be well\ninformed in all science, it is quite evident that to acquire the\nknowledge which you have just now discussed must be of the highest\nimportance; for it seems likely that he will be able to gather much\ninsight from it, whether he wishes to meditate on the greatness of\ndivine power or on the needs of men. Now since you do not care to\ndiscuss these matters further, I will ask you to continue your remarks\nwith a few words about what a king ought to consider before passing\njudgments, when he comes into the judgment seat to determine the causes\nof men.\n\n_Father._ It is indeed his duty, as you have remarked, to look carefully\ninto all those speeches that we have now spoken and to study them\nthoroughly, for this reason, that if he unravels them with care in his\nthoughts, he will surely find in them, if he has understanding, nearly\nall those things which pertain to divine power and which show how God\nhas distributed his gifts among men and other created beings. For every\nking and every other discreet man can learn in this way what he actually\nis, and what he ought to be, if he wishes to achieve what God has\nintended for him. You also ask how a king should weigh the judgments\nthat he renders in the disputes of men; but I have given a brief reply\nto that question in an earlier talk, when I told how God passed judgment\nafter His covenant with Adam was broken, and what judges He brought with\nHim to the judgment seat. I also gave many examples to show how God\nordered His verdicts in certain cases of a later time, those of King\nPharaoh and all the others who were named later in that conversation;\nand every king ought surely to weigh what is found in those examples. He\nmust also consider with care whether a case calls for severity and\npunishment or whether the doom should be tempered; for the judgments\nought not to be equally severe in all cases. And every sentence should\nbe kept within the bounds of justice and fairness; and here I may cite\nanother example, if you like.\n\nThere is something told of a certain king, which I find most fitting to\nillustrate this point. This king was a man of fame and power, thoroughly\nlearned in all knowledge and just in all his decisions. Every day there\ncame before him a large number of men whose difficulties he had to\nsettle; and every day he sat a long time on the judgment seat to\ndetermine the suits of his people, and with him sat the wise men, whom\nhe had found to be the most discreet and best prepared for such duties.\nBut whenever the king sat in this assembly with the wise men whom he had\nsummoned to serve with him, armed knights stood about the house to make\nsure that he could sit in perfect security. The king had many sons, one\nof whom, however, was the dearest of all; for this son loved especially\nto be near his father whenever possible, and he frequently sat on the\njudgment seat with him. It was in the king\u2019s nature to be slow in\nreaching decisions; and it was said among men of quick minds that he\nwould surely be able to settle the law suits and speak his verdicts more\npromptly, if he were truly wise. This remark was approved by the king\u2019s\nson and by many others among the wise men; and so often was the saying\nrepeated that the king himself got news of it. Now it happened at one\ntime that the king was indisposed after a bleeding; and just then a\nnumber of men came to bring their disputes before the king. He then sent\nfor his son, the one who was in the habit of sitting in judgment with\nhim, and said to him: \u201cSummon the wise men who are accustomed to sit in\njudgment with me and go into my judgment hall and take my seat for\nto-day, and determine as many of the law suits as you possibly can get\nover.\u201d It was done as the king commanded. And when the cases were\npresented to those men, it looked to them as if they could decide the\nsuits in a hurry. But when the king\u2019s son was ready to determine the\ndisputes which had been brought before him, he thought he saw three\nyoung men coming forward, handsome yet terrible in appearance. Two of\nthem sat down at his feet, one on either side. One was occupied with a\nset of writings in which were written out all the cases that were to be\nsettled that day, one case in each document. The other was busy with\nbalances; and these appeared so delicate that, if a little hair was laid\nupon them, they would be disturbed. The one who had the balances held\nthem up, while the other, who had the documents, laid the writings which\nfavored him who had brought the suit into one scale and the writing in\nhis behalf who was to reply in the other; but it looked as if the scales\nwould never balance. Then the king\u2019s son thought he saw that certain\ndocuments were brought out in which the decisions and formal verdicts\nwere drawn up, just as he had intended to render judgment and all the\nwise men had advised. But even after these writings had been laid in the\nscales, they were as far from balancing as before. When the king\u2019s son\nsaw these things, he looked to see what the third young man was doing,\nand saw that he stood near with a drawn sword as if ready to strike. The\nsword was keen-edged and terrible, and the edges looked to him as if\nthey were both on fire. Then he saw clearly that, if he passed judgment\nbefore the scales balanced, the sword of the young man would immediately\nsmite his neck. Just then he glanced down before his feet, and there he\nsaw the earth open downwards; underneath he saw the gaping jaws of hell,\nas if waiting for him to come there. But when he saw these things, he\nceased speaking and rendering judgments. When the wise men reminded him\nthat there were suits to be settled, he called them to him, and everyone\nwho came saw all these things that we have now described. After that\nnone dared to pronounce judgment, for the scales of the young man never\nbalanced, and no suit was settled on that day. But thereafter no man\nthought it strange if the king was slow in pronouncing his decisions.\n\nAnother and similar example is found in what I told you earlier in our\nconversation, when we spoke about a city in Ireland called Themar;[311]\nand I shall repeat that story in part, if you wish. This was the leading\ncity in Ireland and the king had his chief residence there; and no one\nknew of a finer city on earth. Though the inhabitants were heathen at\nthat time and did not know the true faith about God, they were firm in\nthe belief that there could be no deviation from righteousness in\njudgment on the part of the king who dwelt in Themar; for no decision\nwas pronounced in Ireland which they could consider just before the king\nat Themar had passed upon it. Now at one time it came to pass that a\ncase was brought before the king who sat in Themar in which his friends\nand kinsmen were interested on the one side, while men whom the king\ndisliked had a part on the other side; and the king shaped the verdict\nmore according to his own will than to justice. And this soon became\nevident, for three days later the royal hall and all the other houses\nthat the king occupied were overturned, so that the foundations pointed\nupward, while the walls and the battlements pointed down into the earth;\nand the inhabitants immediately began to desert the city and it was\nnever occupied after that. Now from these accounts you are to conclude\nthat God permits such things to be revealed to men, because He wishes\nthem to understand that such an outcome is daily prepared in a spiritual\nand invisible manner for men who refuse to render just and right\njudgments, if they are appointed to determine the suits of men.\n\nFootnote 311:\n\n  C. xi.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                 LVIII\n\n                       THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED\n\n\n_Son._ These examples apply very well to such men as are avaricious or\nobstinate or both.\n\n_Father._ You shall know of a truth, that wherever justice is sold for\nmoney or is stricken down by arrogance, divine revenge and punishment,\nphysical or spiritual, will surely come; and an instance of this can be\ncited, if it is desired. There was a prominent citizen in Athens named\nStephen; he was judge in all those cases that arose within the city; he\nwas not known as an unjust man. Now it came to pass that Stephen\ndeparted this life, and two groups of angels came to meet him, the one\nwishing to support his cause, the other charging him with much and heavy\nguilt and wishing to lead him with them to death. But whereas a dispute\narose between them and neither side would yield, one of the angels\nproposed that they should lead Stephen before the Judge and let the\ndispute be settled by His judgment. When they came into court, the\naccusing lawyers cried out saying that they had a grave charge against\nStephen, namely, that he had taken a plot of ground from the church of\nSaint Lawrence by an unjust decree. But the judge said that the saint\nshould decide that case, seeing that he was the one robbed. Now just as\nSaint Lawrence came up to hear how the suit was going forward, one of\nthe angels said to Stephen: \u201cWhy do you not call the holy priest Justin,\nwhom you honored so highly as to have a chapel built for him near your\nhall and whom you have served in many things? He surely will be able to\nassist you somewhat in these your troubles.\u201d[312] Justin came at the\nmoment when the suit was being brought up before Saint Lawrence; and\nafter the case had been stated, the saint asked why Stephen had\nplundered him and deprived his church of land. Stephen replied that he\ndid not render that unjust decision purposely, but really thought it was\na just decision. Then Saint Lawrence gripped Stephen in the side and\npinched him very hard. But Justin interceded for him, begging the saint\nto show mercy in this cause, both because of his intercession and\nbecause Stephen did not know that he had given an unjust decision. While\nSaint Lawrence was pinching his side, Stephen had a feeling that even if\nhe were to suffer torture for a similar space of time in hell, he would\nfind it no more painful than the clutching of Saint Lawrence. But as\nsoon as Justin interceded for Stephen, the saint released him and\nforgave the offence.[313]\n\nFootnote 312:\n\n  According to the legend the priest Justin assisted at the funeral of\n  St. Lawrence. _Heilagra Manna S\u00f6gur_, I, 430.\n\nFootnote 313:\n\n  A somewhat different version of this story is given in the _Legenda\n  Aurea_ of Jacques de Voragine, who quotes the \u201cMiracles of the Virgin\n  Mary.\u201d\n\nWhen the prosecutors heard that this indictment had failed, they shouted\neven more loudly, saying that they had still greater charges against\nStephen. So they set forth that a Roman whose name was Tarquin had come\nto Athens, and since he was an alien and had no kindred there, he\nthought that he might need help from Stephen in his important affairs,\nseeing that Stephen was judge and ruler over the whole city; and he gave\nStephen a fine horse on condition that he was to have justice and\nequity. Then the Judge decreed that, if Stephen had sold justice for\nmoney, he should follow that profit to destruction. But when Stephen was\nquestioned whether this charge was true or not, he denied the accusation\nand declared that he could not remember ever having taken fee or gift\nfor justice. Now since Stephen had denied the charge, it was ordered\nthat Tarquin himself should be called to straighten the matter. When\nTarquin came, he declared that this was not a true charge against\nStephen; for he asserted that Stephen had never taken fees for justice\nso far as he knew. \u201cBut having come there a stranger,\u201d said Tarquin, \u201cI\nthought that I might need the good will of such a man and gave him the\nhorse on my own volition and not at his request.\u201d When the accusers\nheard that they would surely fail in this indictment too, they cried\neven more loudly, saying that they had a new charge against Stephen,\nmuch greater than either of the others. They asserted that he had\narbitrarily and illegally saved three men from the death penalty, whom\nboth law and equity and a just sentence would have condemned. When\nStephen was asked whether he was guilty of this charge, he admitted that\nhe had saved the men from death, but declared that he had always\nregretted having saved them by arbitrary and illegal means. Then the\nJudge decreed that, if he had rescued men from death by violence whom\njustice had condemned to die, he must suffer death for it, unless he\nwould do penance where the offence was committed. Then the priest Justin\nasked Saint Lawrence to help in Stephen\u2019s defense, seeing that he had\nforgiven him the matter that he had against him and no indictment had\nbeen found true except the one that was now being considered. So\nLawrence and Justin went in haste to the queen and, falling at her feet,\nbegged her to request this favor, that the verdict be modified so that\nStephen might be allowed to do penance in the place where he had\noffended. When the queen interceded for Stephen, her request was\ngranted. Thereupon he was brought back to Athens, and he arose at the\nmoment when his body was to be carried to the grave. He lived three\nwinters after that and did penance for his guilt according to the\ninstruction of the bishop who was in charge of that city.\n\nThere are many such examples that could be brought up in this talk, if\nit were thought necessary; and you should now conclude from what I set\nforth in my last speech that the judgments passed here must be carefully\nscrutinized, and that it is very important for those who are appointed\nto be judges to make sure whether the decisions are properly stated and\nthe findings correct. For you heard how precisely the decrees were\nweighed before the king\u2019s son, when the scales were held up before him\nbut would never balance; and how he was threatened with death, if he\nshould pronounce a different judgment from the one that would balance\nthe scales. You also heard how God punished the king and the city of\nThemar, because the king had distorted a just decision. Though the\npeople did not hold the true faith about God, He punished the deed\nnevertheless, because they believed that a wrong decision could never\ncome from Themar. And in the last example you heard how Stephen was held\nto account for all the dooms that he had pronounced, and suffered a\nreprimand for having taken a gift from a friend; and he was condemned to\ndie for having saved men from death, though many would regard that as a\ngood rather than an evil deed.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  LIX\n\n    WHEN JUDGMENTS SHOULD BE SEVERE AND WHEN THEY SHOULD BE MERCIFUL\n\n\n_Son._ The more examples of this sort I hear, the more difficult seems\nthe position of those who are appointed to judge. I will ask you,\ntherefore, to indicate some test by which I can know when the judgments\nought to be severe and when they should be more lenient.\n\n_Father._ It is difficult to state that in definite terms: still, all\ncauses that are brought before the men who have authority to judge will\nbe decided in some way. But I believe that a purpose to judge as they\nthink is right will do the most to keep them from falling into guilt\nbefore God. For Stephen was acquitted of the charge that he had caused\nthe church of Saint Lawrence to forfeit land by the fact that he did not\nknow that his decision was wrong; and yet he did not wholly escape\npunishment, though in some respects he was punished less than he would\nhave been, if he had known that his verdict was wrong. Now there are\nfour things which he who goes into the judgment hall must leave outside\nand never allow to come into the judgment seat with him or even inside\nthe door. The first is avarice; the second, enmity; the third,\nobstinacy; the fourth, friendship. For you heard that Stephen was\nordered to disclose whether he had accepted a gift from Tarquin and had\npromised to secure justice for him in return for the fee. And the\njudgment was, that if he had sold justice for money, he should follow\nthe fee to destruction. You heard this, too, that he was condemned to\ndie for having saved men from death by force and in defiance of law. You\nalso heard in the earlier account how the king and the city of Themar\nperished because the king, being friendly to one side and very hostile\nto the other, had distorted a just decision. Now for such reasons those\nfour things must be excluded, lest any one of them should cause a\nrighteous doom to be distorted.\n\nYou have also asked when the sentence should be lenient and when severe,\nand that question can now be answered in a few words. Careful account\nshould be taken of the circumstances of the man\u2019s case who is accused.\nIf a charge is brought against one who is anxious to keep the peace but\nis driven to violence by the selfishness and arrogance of another, and,\nregretting his guilt, is anxious to atone for it,\u2014if such are the\ncircumstances, there should be lenient judgment in his case. Likewise,\nif a man breaks the law who is ignorant and does not know that he is\ntransgressing, and would not have done the deed had he known it to be\ncontrary to law, his case, too, calls for a lenient sentence. Even when\nthe ugliest cases that are known among men, such as theft and robbery,\ncome up, one should investigate how the crime came about. If a man is so\nhard bestead that he can get no food either by begging or buying and\ncannot get work, while hunger and his physical nature drive him beyond\nendurance, the judge should be lenient with him, even though he be taken\nin guilt; and whenever necessity drives a man into crime and\nlaw-breaking, the judgment should be tempered.\n\nHowever, if the accused are men who have been led into crime by\ninsolence, ambition, avarice, or selfishness, the dooms ought to be\nsevere, though justice and the law of the land must be observed in every\ninstance. And in cases like those to which we have just referred the\nsentence should be as severe as the law permits; while in the cases\nmentioned earlier the law should be applied with due allowance for the\ndifficulties that were at hand. If the distress that led to the trouble\nis considered great, the judgment should be tempered accordingly. But if\na king or any ruler who is a judge and has power to punish, takes life\nas a punishment, he should always do it with great reluctance, in his\nheart lamenting the death and ill-fortune of the offender. He must take\nheed, however, lest he slay out of his own cruelty or in anger and\nhatred for the one who is to die. Let him slay him in just punishment\nand out of love for those who live after; because he believes that they\nwill live in greater security and lead better lives after having seen\nthe death and troubles of such a one; and because he intends that the\nfear and terror which the misfortunes of another have brought upon him\nshall guide those to rectitude and good morals, whom nature is unable to\nguide because of their excessive ambition or stupidity. A famous man, an\nupright and excellent emperor, once ordained respecting the decrees of\nkings, that if a king should become so angry with any one that he\nplanned his death, and if his guilt were not so evident that he could\nwith justice be condemned at once to an immediate death, that man should\nbe kept in the king\u2019s garth or in custody forty days before his case\nshould be finally determined.[314] And it would be well if every king\nwould observe this enactment, in order that he might frame his decisions\nwith regard for reason and justice and not in sudden anger. If a man is\nconvicted of an offence for which law and justice impose a fine but not\ndeath, the king, or the lord who governs the land, shall seize his\nwealth, not because he loves and covets the money, but because a just\npenalty and the laws of the land demand it. If all these things which we\nhave now set forth are carefully observed, I believe that those who are\nappointed to be judges will suffer no great reproaches from God.\n\nFootnote 314:\n\n  This is probably an allusion to the edict of Theodosius II \u201cwhich\n  interposes a salutary interval of thirty days between the sentence and\n  the execution.\u201d Gibbon, _Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire_, III,\n  176; Mommsen and Meyer (editors), _Theodosiani Libri_ XVI, I, part 2,\n  503 (viii, 40:13). The edict was probably a part of the penance\n  exacted from the Emperor after his massacre of the Thessalonians. See\n  _Ambrosius Saga_ in _Heilagra Manna S\u00f6gur_, I, 40.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                   LX\n\n                       THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED\n\n\n_Son._ It seems reasonable that a land, which is placed in charge of a\nruler who attends carefully to these things, will be well governed; and\nthe people ought to show proper appreciation of his government. Still\nwith your permission I shall now ask about certain matters that interest\nme concerning rightful verdicts. You referred to an order given by an\nemperor as to punishments decreed by a king (which looks to me like good\nlaw), that a man who had incurred the king\u2019s wrath should be given a\nreprieve of forty days in the king\u2019s custody, lest a verdict be rendered\ntoo quickly in his case and in violent anger; and it seems to me that a\nking will need to possess much good nature, if he is to spare a man in\nhis anger. But even so righteous and holy a man as Moses was could not\ncontrol his wrath on that day, when he came in anger to the people of\nIsrael; for I am told that his wrath rose to such violence that he\ndashed the two tables of stone, which he bore in his arms and upon which\nGod Himself had written the ten commandments of His law with His own\nfingers, against a rock and broke them into fragments in his fury; and\nrushing at once to arms, he and the men who were with him slew many\nhundred persons that day.[315] I have also heard that David in sudden\nwrath ordered the man, who came from the battle in which Saul fell,\nbringing the tidings that Saul was dead, to be slain immediately;[316]\nand he did not order him to be kept for further inquiry.\n\nFootnote 315:\n\n  _Exodus_, xxxii.\n\nFootnote 316:\n\n  _II Samuel_, i.\n\n_Father._ Remember what I called to your attention in an earlier remark,\nnamely, that these laws are intended for men who do not fall into such\nevident transgressions that a rightful verdict can condemn them to\nimmediate death. But when Moses came away from God, he knew God\u2019s wrath\ntoward all the people of Israel, and consequently did a deed of kindness\nand not of hatred when by this chastisement he turned them from error\nand evil ways; just as I have told you that a king in punishing should\nbe moved by kindness and not by hatred. For all penalties that are\ninflicted because of hatred are murder; while punishment inflicted for\nthe sake of love and justice is a holy deed and not murder.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  LXI\n\n                     CONCERNING CAPITAL PUNISHMENT\n\n\n_Son._ Now, if you permit, I wish to ask more fully about penalties; for\nfew men, indeed, are able to comprehend how it can be a good, holy, and\nloving deed to take a man\u2019s life; wherefore I with many others on the\noutside should like to have you explain briefly how it can be a good and\nproper deed to slay men in righteous punishment; inasmuch as all gentle\nand peaceful persons have a great aversion to manslaughter, regarding it\nas evil and sinful.\n\n_Father._ The subjects that we are now discussing are clearly\nillustrated in the case of Moses. Holy man as he was and meek and\nright-minded in every way, had he known that his act of punishment was\nsinful like any other slaughter, he would not have ordered it. But if he\nhad been so zealous in his obstinate wrath that he had done this deed in\nanger rather than for the sake of justice, God\u2019s righteousness would\nsurely have punished him with a severe chastisement and stern revenge\nfor the great slaughter that he committed. For Moses commanded every man\nwho took up arms with him to spare none, neither father nor brother nor\nother kinsmen, if they had been guilty of the deed that had called God\u2019s\nanger down upon them. Moses showed a threefold righteousness in this\nchastisement: for those who were with him in the slaughter sanctified\ntheir hands in the blood of those whom they slew, since in their deed\nthey rendered obedience to their leader and fulfilled the sacred laws.\nThose who survived regretted their sins and turned their hearts to\npenitence for having broken the law, while those who were slain were\ncleansed in their penance and in the pangs which they suffered when they\ndied. And it was much better for them to suffer a brief pain in death\nthan a long torture in hell. Of the same character are the penalties\nthat kings impose; for a king cleanses himself in the blood of the\nunjust, if he slays them as a rightful punishment to fulfil the sacred\nlaws. Moreover, there are many capable men who fear punishment alone,\nand would commit crimes if they were not in terror of the king\u2019s\nrevenge. But one who is to suffer punishment will confess his sins and\nrepent of his misdeeds; though if he did not see a sudden death prepared\nfor him, he would show no repentance. He is, therefore, saved by his\nrepentance and the pangs which he suffers in his death. And it is better\nfor him to suffer a brief punishment here than endless agony and\ntorture; for God never punishes the same sin twice. Consequently the\nking\u2019s punishment becomes a good and kind deed toward all those who are\nsubject to him, for he would rather have the one who is to be punished\nsuffer a brief pain here for his wickedness than to be lost forever, in\nthe world to come. Through this kindness he also saves the righteous and\npeaceable from the avarice and the wickedness of the violent. We may,\ntherefore, conclude that punishment is a good deed, if it is exacted\naccording to a righteous verdict; for King Saul was deposed from his\nkingship because he failed to punish according to God\u2019s orders at the\ntime when he invaded the kingdoms of Amalek and the Amorites.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  LXII\n\n                       THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED\n\n\n_Son._ Now I wish to ask you why David slew the man of whom we spoke\nearlier, him who brought the tidings that Saul had fallen, and whether\nhe slew him justly or did it from sudden anger.\n\n_Father._ When the man had told these tidings, David asked how he knew\nthem. And he said that he had lifted up weapons against Saul at the\nking\u2019s own request. When David heard this, he spoke thus: \u201cA wretched\ncreature you are, who dared to lay hands on the Lord\u2019s anointed; and it\nis better for you to suffer a swift punishment here than to have this\ncrime pursue you into everlasting hell.\u201d Thereupon David ordered him to\nbe slain. But when he who had hoped to receive a joyous welcome and good\ngifts for his tidings, saw that death was to be his reward, he repented\nthat he had falsely imputed this crime to himself and would gladly have\nwithdrawn his words, if he had been permitted to do so. But David spoke\nthus: \u201cYour own testimony condemns you and not I; for you have charged\nyourself with this murder of the Lord\u2019s anointed.\u201d We have other and\nsimilar instances in the case of the men who slew Ishbosheth, the son of\nSaul, hoping thereby to win David\u2019s friendship; and they fared to David\nwith the news that they had slain his enemy who had planned to rise up\nagainst him and his kingship. But when David heard these tidings he\nanswered in this wise; \u201cWretches you are for this deed, having slain\nyour lord, though you were Ishbosheth\u2019s own men; you have committed a\nvile and treacherous crime in laying hands upon your lord, and you have\nnot acted as if you were my men and did this out of loyalty to me. Now\nit will be necessary for you to suffer a swift revenge and a prompt\npunishment, lest this deed draw you into everlasting torment.\u201d Then\nDavid ordered his men to cut off their hands and feet and afterwards to\nhang them beside a pool in a city called Hebron.[317]\n\nFootnote 317:\n\n  _II Samuel_, iv.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                 LXIII\n\n    THE JUDGMENTS OF GOD ILLUSTRATED BY THE STORY OF DAVID AND SAUL\n\n\n_Son._ I will venture to ask one more question about those cases in\nwhich it seems to me that God has passed rather strange sentences. I am\nasking chiefly because I find it hard to understand what reason or\ncircumstance can have caused the difference in these decrees which I now\nintend to bring up. You stated earlier in your speech that God deprived\nSaul of his kingdom because he was too lenient in cases of homicide,\nthough a man will think that this was no great offence, as it is easy\nenough to slay multitudes if that be regarded a better deed than to let\nthem live. Still, this leniency proved such a grievous fault that God\nsaid He regretted having chosen Saul king over his people, and\nimmediately threatened\u2014what He later carried out\u2014that the kingship\nshould never be transmitted to his descendants; and immediately, though\nSaul was still living, He appointed another to be king after his days.\nBut after David had become king, he committed a crime which will\nscarcely seem less when reflected upon; for he committed adultery with\nthe wife of Uriah his knight, a good and faithful man, and afterwards\ncontrived his death, not as a just penalty but because he wanted his\nwife. But later, when Nathan the prophet pointed out the sin to David\nand he confessed, he was forgiven at once; indeed, it seemed as if his\nkingship was more stable after that time than before. Now I do not know\nwhich is the worse crime, to kill an innocent man and violate his wife,\nor to let the guilty have their lives. Many a man, who is ignorant as to\nthe reason why, may indeed imagine that God loved David more than Saul,\nand that David\u2019s crime was counted less for that reason. But inasmuch as\nGod always judges according to justice and without regard to persons, it\nwould be sinful to hold wrong ideas about this; and it would be well if\nyou could add a few words in explanation, unless you think that my\nquestions are stupid. It may also be that great lords who are chosen to\nbe judges will get a better insight into these things, if they are\nclearly expressed.\n\n_Father._ This question is of such a character that it will demand an\nextended answer, if it is to be fully understood. But since it has been\nbrought up, I shall be glad to answer it as far as I can and as briefly\nas I can. First it is necessary to recall what I said in an earlier\nspeech when we talked about dooms,\u2014when they should be severe and when\nlenient: I then brought out the fact that if a good and peace-loving man\nshould fall into sin and his deed should seem evil to him and he were\nanxious to do penance, then the judgment ought to be merciful in his\ncase on account of human nature; for human nature is so frail that no\none can be so careful as never to fall into sin. But some add to their\noffence by taking pride in it, and they are not careful to avoid falling\ninto another sin. Now David was of all men the most adroit in the use of\nweapons in warfare and he was by nature quite severe in righteous\nchastisement; but he was a kind-hearted man, friendly toward everyone,\nand sympathetic toward all who suffered misfortunes. He was also\ntrustworthy in every respect, honest and faithful in friendship and in\nall his promises, and so virtuous that he would allow nothing vicious\nabout his person,\u2014indeed his like was not found among all the people of\nIsrael; for when God chose David to be king, He testified in these\nwords, saying that He had found a man after His own heart. But human\nfrailty caused him to fall in the matter that we mentioned earlier: he\nviolated Uriah\u2019s wife. But after he had fallen into this transgression\nand when he was once more alone, he repented deeply, sighing and\nweeping. Inasmuch as the rules of the law would condemn this crime as a\nshameful reproach, if it were rumored among the people, David planned to\nkeep the matter quiet, letting God see his repentance but keeping the\npeople in ignorance of his offence, lest they should take his misdeed as\nan example and regard it as less serious to fall into sin and\ntransgression if they knew of his guilt. So David sought to hide his\nguilt by a crafty design: for as soon as he learned that Bathsheba,\nUriah\u2019s wife, was pregnant, he sent for Uriah, and hoping to avoid\ntaking his life, he ordered him to lie with his wife so that the\noffspring might be known as his, while David would atone in secret for\nthe sin of his whoredom and never afterward come near Uriah\u2019s wife. But\nwhen he found that Uriah happened to be unwilling to lie with his wife,\nhe contrived to conceal his sin from men, though he increased it in the\nsight of God. Later, when Nathan the prophet charged David with all this\nguilt, he answered as if condemning himself, speaking these words: \u201cSo\nheavy and evil is my transgression that I am worthy of death because of\nthis thing; a wretch am I to have set such an example before God\u2019s\npeople, over whom He has appointed me ruler and judge; rather would I\nnow suffer a speedy death than have this misdeed pursue me to hell. Now\nsince I have set an evil example before the people of God by my sin, I\nam ready to suffer punishment according to the Lord\u2019s will as a warning\nto the people not to fall into such transgression.\u201d But when Truth and\nJustice saw David\u2019s penitence, they permitted Mercy to pass the\njudgment; for the prophet Nathan replied in this wise: \u201cGod sees your\nrepentance, and He does not desire you to suffer death for your sin, but\nHe will punish you with an endurable chastisement for this deed before\nyou die.\u201d Now you must know that God did not forgive David\u2019s crime so\ncompletely as to excuse him from just punishment; for this was the first\npenalty that the king suffered from God: the child which he had begotten\nwith Bathsheba was a man child and very lovely, wherefore David much\ndesired that it might live; but it did not please God to let him enjoy\nthe child which he had begotten in such a sinful way. Nevertheless,\nDavid lay seven days upon the earth in the raiment of mourning, fasting\nand imploring God to let the child live. But God would not hear his\nprayer, and the child expired on the seventh day.[318] And this was the\nsecond punishment, that God refused to let David build him a\ntemple;[319] God even called him a murderer, because he had deprived\nUriah of life. But for the adultery which he had committed with Uriah\u2019s\nwife, he had to suffer this disgrace, that his son Absalom, in the sight\nof all the people, went in unto David\u2019s concubines and thus dishonored\nhis father before all the people.[320]\n\nFootnote 318:\n\n  The story of David\u2019s great sin concerning Bathsheba and Uriah and its\n  consequences is told in _II Samuel_, xi-xii, but it is probable that\n  the author\u2019s source is some Biblical paraphrase rather than the\n  Vulgate itself.\n\nFootnote 319:\n\n  _I Chronicles_, xxii, 8.\n\nFootnote 320:\n\n  _II Samuel_, xvi, 21-22.\n\nYou have also asked which crime was the worse, that David caused Uriah\nto be slain without guilt and seduced his wife, or that Saul refused to\nkill so many people of Amalek; and you shall know of a truth that Saul\u2019s\ncrime was the greater; for no offence is graver than to be disobedient\ntoward one\u2019s superiors, as Saul was. And you may observe even at this\nday among cloister folk, that if a monk is disobedient toward his abbot,\nwhere an abbot rules the cloister, or toward the prior, where such a one\ncontrols, he is forthwith expelled from the holy order and from the\nmonastery and is thenceforth regarded as a layman. Likewise, if a priest\nrefuses to obey his superior the bishop, he is at once deprived of\nclerical honors, and the right to say mass is taken from him as well as\nall other official duties. In the same way, if a bishop, be he humble or\npowerful, refuses to obey his superior, he is immediately shorn of his\ndignity and all his office; and after that he is regarded among learned\nmen as any other layman unworthy of any distinction. And it ought to be\neven more evident that it could not prosper Saul to be disobedient to\nsuch a lord as God Himself, when he was ordered to invade Amalek and the\nland of the Amorites and to slay all that was living. God took His rod\nof punishment and placed it in Saul\u2019s hands, bidding him execute His\nwrath and spare nothing that was living; to burn fortified cities,\nfarmsteads, clothing, and whatever else there was; to lay the entire\nland in ruins and thus cleanse it with sword and ax and fire. Saul,\nhowever, carried out the vengeance that he was charged with in another\nway, by destroying everything that was lacking in beauty or value; but\nwhatever seemed to him to be beautiful, valuable, and worth possessing\nhe spared, brought home to his country, and distributed among his men.\nBut when Samuel came to Saul and showed him the wrath of God, Saul spoke\nas if excusing himself: \u201cPraise be to God, for I have fulfilled His\ncommand: I invaded Amalek and visited the entire kingdom with fire and\nsword; but King Agag I have brought with me, wishing to honor God\u2019s\ncommand by slaying him here, if He wills that he die. Fat oxen and fine\nsheep I have brought hither to sacrifice such to God as are acceptable\nto Him; and the children of the chief men I have brought hither to be\nkept in bondage and distress, doing fitting service for ourselves.\u201d\n\nThen Samuel replied: \u201cHow can God now accept that as a sacrifice which\nHe has Himself cursed in His anger? For God demands a blessed and not an\naccursed sacrifice; and you shall know of a surety that obedience is\nmore pleasing to God than any sacrifice.\u201d Truth stood by and said: \u201cWhat\nneed is there to conceal the motive that induced Saul to neglect doing\nas God commanded him? Saul imagined himself so firmly established in his\nkingship that he could order these things more according to his own\nliking than to God\u2019s command; he showed excessive pride in failing to\nremember who had given him the power. And this is the reason why he took\ngood horses, oxen, sheep, and much else of value, that he might satisfy\nthe greed of his knights and the rapacity of his other warriors rather\nthan carry out the commands of God. And he spoke falsely when he said\nthat he had brought horses and sheep and other things of value into his\nkingdom to sacrifice them to God; for he knew that a cursed sacrifice\nwas not acceptable to God.\u201d Then the decision was left to Justice and\nshe decreed in this wise: \u201cWhereas God took His rod of punishment, and\nplacing it in Saul\u2019s hands bade him execute the divine wrath upon a\ncursed people, let that punishment now come upon Saul and his family\nwhich he failed to visit upon those whom God had commanded him to carry\nit out upon. But the same rod of punishment that was given to Saul to\nshake over others, another shall now hold and shake over Saul and all\nhis kin. And because he wished in his avarice to possess the riches that\nwere forbidden him, let him now forfeit those riches that were given to\nhim before.\u201d[321] But the reason why Justice passed such a severe\njudgment upon Saul was that God knew his disposition thoroughly. For it\nwas in Saul\u2019s nature to be proud and stubborn in the face of God; and as\nsoon as he thought himself firmly established in his kingdom, he became\ngreedy and avaricious, as is evident from this account.\n\nFootnote 321:\n\n  On this episode see _I Samuel_, xv.\n\nNow there was this difference between the tempers of David and Saul:\nwhen Nathan the prophet charged David with sin, he spoke reproachfully\nof his fault, almost as if condemning himself, and implored mercy,\nthough willing to suffer punishment, as if prepared to accept with\ngratitude any terms which God might impose for his misdeed; therefore he\nwon favor through the lenient judgment of Mercy. Yet, his son died\nbecause of Uriah\u2019s death, though David himself did not die; and for\nviolating Uriah\u2019s wife he suffered a great disgrace in that his son\ndishonored him in the sight of all the people.\n\nBut when Samuel accused Saul of his crime, he replied as if defending\nhis cause and praised himself for having done so well and spoke in this\nwise: \u201cPraise be to God, for I have done what He commanded;\u201d though he\nknew in his own mind that anything else was nearer the truth. Therefore\nhe was stricken by the sentence of Justice, God seeing his arrogant\nboasting and lying excuses. But his arrogance and envy became even more\nevident after he discovered that God was angry with him; for Saul fell\nill; and now and then madness came upon him, so that he had to be\nwatched when the malady troubled him. Then it was learned that if a man\ncould be found who could play the harp well before him, he would find\nrelief and the illness would afflict him less. So they found a lovely\nyouth whose name was David, the son of Jesse in Bethlehem, who knew how\nto strike the harp skilfully; he came to the king, and whenever the\nmalady came upon Saul, David, standing before him, struck the harp and\nthe illness departed immediately. But when Saul discovered that the\nmalady was less severe, he loved David highly and made him his shield\nbearer.[322] Samuel, however, had already anointed him king in secret,\nno one knowing it but his father and his brothers. David remained with\nSaul many days and served him faithfully; and all men perceived that God\nwas with him in all his doings. Saul, too, was well disposed toward him\nat first: he gave him his daughter and assigned him a troop to\ncommand.[323] But after Saul had won his great victory over the\nPhilistines and David had slain the giant Goliath and they were\nreturning from the warfare, women came forth from cities and fortresses,\ndancing toward them and singing praises to them for their victory. And\nthe burden of their song was this, that Saul had conquered a thousand\nbut David ten thousand.[324] When Saul heard this he was seized with\nwrath and envy toward David and said in his own thoughts: \u201cNow I\nperceive that God has chosen this man to take the kingdom after me\ninstead of my sons; but I shall try to upset this plan if I can, though\nso cleverly that no one shall perceive that I kill him intentionally.\u201d A\nfew days later Saul\u2019s habitual illness came upon him; but David took his\nharp and, standing before him, played as was his wont to relieve the\nking\u2019s illness. Saul had a javelin in his hand which he threw at David,\naiming to drive it through him and pin him to the wall of the room. Thus\nhe had planned to avoid responsibility for the murder by leading the\npeople to think he had done it in frenzy and not with evil intent. David\nescaped and found security from that peril. But when Saul saw that David\nhad escaped and he had not caught him, he sent him on frequent forays\namong heathen people in the hope that he would be slain in warfare. But\nthe more frequently David went out into battle, the more frequent\nvictories and the greater honors did he win; and God magnified him\nbefore the eyes of all the people. And the more Saul saw him prosper,\nthe more he envied him.[325]\n\nFootnote 322:\n\n  _I Samuel_, xvi, 14-23.\n\nFootnote 323:\n\n  _Ibid._, xviii, 12-21.\n\nFootnote 324:\n\n  _Ibid._, xviii, 6-9.\n\nFootnote 325:\n\n  Cf. _I Samuel_, xix, 8-11.\n\nNow you can imagine the state of King Saul\u2019s mind: he could say nothing\nagainst David, only what was good. But since he perceived that God loved\nDavid much because of his humility and loyalty, he envied him as Cain\nenvied his brother Abel because God loved him. Indeed, Saul\u2019s enmity\ntoward David became so evident that he could not conceal his intentions\nto kill him. Then Jonathan, Saul\u2019s son, reminded the king that it would\nbe a sin to slay an innocent man, speaking in this wise: \u201cMy lord, why\nare you angry with your servant David? If there is any guilt on his part\nthat may be injurious to your kingdom or dignity, every man who is with\nyou here will seek his life; and we can seize him whenever we like, for\nhe is not on his guard against us, knowing himself to be guiltless. He\nhas served you long and has been faithful in all things; he fought\nagainst great odds when he slew Goliath, and God rescued your entire\nkingdom through David\u2019s wonderful victory, which he won fighting unarmed\nagainst a giant. He has waited upon you in your distressing illness; and\nwherever you have placed him at the head of the host, he has brought a\nvigorous defense to your kingdom, and no one knows that he has been\nanything but loyal. Therefore conquer your wrath, sire, and do not fall\ninto such an evident sin of murder before God as to slay an innocent\nman.\u201d[326] Saul, however, became only the more wrathful and charged with\ntreason his son and everyone else who spoke a good word for David.\n\nFootnote 326:\n\n  Cf. _I Samuel_, xix, 4-7.\n\nDavid fled from King Saul\u2019s wrath with a few men, but provided with\nneither clothes nor weapons. He came to the city called Nob, the bishop\nof which was Ahimelech, a son of Ahitub the bishop; but Ahitub was the\nson of Ichabod, the son of Phineas, the son of Eli the bishop. When\nDavid came to the bishop Ahimelech, he pretended to be traveling on an\nimportant mission for King Saul, and asked him to give him and his men\nsomething to eat and to furnish him with weapons. The bishop Ahimelech\ngave him such victuals as he had, but weapons he had none to give him\nexcept the sword that had belonged to Goliath; and this he gave him, for\nhe did not know that he was a fugitive, but believed he was traveling on\nthe king\u2019s errand, as he had said. But so fierce was Saul\u2019s hatred\ntoward David, that as soon as he learned that the bishop Ahimelech had\ngiven him food, he seized the bishop and all his kinsmen and charged\nthem with treason. The bishop replied to the charge in this wise: \u201cMy\nlord, I confess that I gave David what food I had and the weapon that I\nhad, for he said he was traveling on an important errand on your behalf.\nWhy should I not give hospitality to a man like David, who is the best\nand the most highly esteemed of all the men that you have about you\nexcept your sons, and who is furthermore your own son-in-law and has\nbeen faithful to you in all things? Never have I had any design against\nyou or your honor. Do not think, my lord, that I, your servant, have\nplotted with David against your will; I could not know why David\ntraveled in such distress, for he told me that you had sent him with\nimportant errands; nor did I know that he had fallen into any guilt\nagainst you.\u201d Then Saul replied in fierce anger: \u201cThis I swear that you\nshall perish to-day, you and all your kin.\u201d Thereupon he caused the\nbishop to be slain along with eighty-five other men, all of whom were\nrobed in the priestly dignity. After that he ordered all who dwelt in\nthe city of Nob to be slain, even women and children, and had the city\nburned.[327]\n\nFootnote 327:\n\n  On the fate of Ahimelech and the inhabitants of Nob, cf. _I Samuel_,\n  xxi, 1-9; xxii, 9-19.\n\nNow I have revealed to you the ferocity which God found in Saul\u2019s heart\nwhen he removed him from the kingship, and which later became evident in\nwhat you have now heard and in much else of like import, though I have\ntold this only. The displeasure which the king incurred from God fell so\nheavily upon him, for the reason that God saw in his heart the fierce\navarice which later began to appear. Now he wanted to kill David, though\ninnocent, because he found that God loved him; and he slew the bishop,\nthough guiltless, and so fierce was he that he slew everything in the\ncity that had life and afterward burned the city. But where God had\ncommanded him to use severity of this sort, there he had spared; here,\nhowever, he slew God\u2019s servants in defiance of God\u2019s command. But in\nDavid\u2019s case God passed a more lenient judgment for the reason that,\njust as he perceived the ferocity in Saul\u2019s heart, he found true\nrepentance and clemency in David\u2019s heart, as I shall now show you.\n\nThere was a son of the bishop Ahimelech, Abiathar by name, who was hid\nin a cave when all those were slain of whom I have just spoken. Abiathar\nfled to David and told him all these happenings. But when David heard\nthese tidings, he sighed and spoke thus in deep sorrow: \u201cMay God in His\nmercy forgive me for this slaughter, for I have too great a share in it,\nhaving eaten your father\u2019s bread. And now since you have come hither,\nabide with me; and if God permits me to live, He will also protect you\nwith me, and let whatever God wishes happen to us both.\u201d Thereupon David\nelevated him to the bishop\u2019s office which his father had held. But when\nDavid\u2019s kinsmen learned that he was abiding in the forest, they joined\nhim with a large force counting not fewer than four hundred men; and\nfrom that time on David grew in strength as God willed.[328] He camped\namong the hills with this force and made repeated attacks on Saul\u2019s\nenemies, but never on the king himself or his men. But whenever Saul\nlearned where David lay concealed, he marched out to seek him, intending\nto slay him.\n\nFootnote 328:\n\n  _I Samuel_, xxii, 1-2, 20-23.\n\nThen it happened once, when David and his men were hiding in a large\ncave, that Saul entered this alone on a necessary errand. Then said\nDavid\u2019s companions: \u201cNow God has fulfilled what He has promised you and\nhas delivered your enemy into your hands; be sure to secure this\nquarry.\u201d David stole up and cut a piece off Saul\u2019s mantle, though the\nking was not aware of it, and returned to his comrades. Then David\u2019s\ncompanions said to him: \u201cIf you are unwilling to lay your own hand upon\nhim, let us kill him.\u201d David replied: \u201cMy crime would be as great before\nGod, whether I do it myself or bid others do it. God keep me and all our\ncompanions from such a sin as to lay hands upon the Lord\u2019s anointed. He\nis my master and I served him long; he is also the Lord\u2019s anointed and\nit would be a great crime, if I were to lay hands upon him, for I have\nno revenge to take either for father or brother or any other kinsman;\nnor is it as if he had taken the throne which he sits upon from my\nkinsmen with violence or deceit; but God chose him to it and sanctified\nhim to His service, honoring him with His own name. Wherefore it is\nright that He Who appointed him to the kingship should deprive him of it\naccording to His will, but not I in vengeful audacity. And I swear this\nday that God alone shall call him, whether by demanding his soul or by\ncausing him to fall in battle before his enemies; but as for my hands,\nthey shall let him live many days. But I regret deeply that I injured\nhis garment if he shall feel hurt or dishonored because of it.\u201d\n\nWhen Saul had departed and returned to his host, David ran up on a hill\nand cried: \u201cMy lord, King Saul! can you hear?\u201d But when Saul turned to\nhear what this man said, David bent both knees to the earth and bowing\nbefore the king said to him: \u201cThose men do ill who tell you, my lord,\nthat I mean to be your enemy; for now I have evidence here in my hand\nthat your life was in my power to-day, when you left all your host and\nentered the cave alone; and it was no less in my power to injure your\nlife than your clothes, for here I have in my hand a large piece of the\nskirt of your mantle. Now let God judge between us. You see how they\nhave told lying tales, who say that I have striven after your life.\u201d\nSaul appreciated these facts fully, for David spoke the truth; and he\npromised that he would nevermore hate David.[329] But not many days\npassed before Saul went out again to seek David, as he did constantly\nafter that. Now it came to pass another time, when Saul had made a\nwearisome journey in search of David, that sleep came upon the king and\nall his host. And David went into the camp where Saul lay, but none was\naware of it. The man who accompanied him was named Abishai and he said\nto David: \u201cNow you can see that God surely intends to deliver your enemy\ninto your hands, and it is not advisable to refuse what God Himself\noffers you. I will thrust my spear through him, if you will permit me,\nand then we shall return to our men.\u201d David answered: \u201cGod has done this\nto tempt me and to see whether I would lay my hands on His anointed. Now\nI must answer as before, that God shall tear the kingship from him,\neither by demanding his soul or by causing him to fall before his\nenemies; but as for my hands, they shall let him live many days; for I\nhave no revenge to cherish against him, either for plunder or for the\nloss of kinsmen, except such as was incurred while he was cleansing the\nland with righteous punishment; and it is neither my proper business nor\nthat of anyone else to take revenge for such; for it is a more serious\nmatter than even a wise man can conceive to lay hands on the Lord\u2019s\nanointed, who is dedicated and hallowed to God. Let us take his\nsaddle-cup and his spear for a proof, and then let us return to our\nforces.\u201d[330]\n\nFootnote 329:\n\n  The story of David and Saul at En-gedi is told in _I Samuel_, xxiv.\n\nFootnote 330:\n\n  Cf. _I Samuel_, xxvi.\n\nNow you will understand the character of both King Saul and David from\nwhat I have just told you. David knew that he was chosen of God to\ngovern, that he was the Lord\u2019s anointed, consecrated and hallowed to God\nno less than Saul was. He also knew that God had rejected Saul. And God\ndelivered Saul into David\u2019s hands, so that he could have taken Saul\u2019s\nlife at any time, if he had wished. David showed great faithfulness and\nhumility in this, that every time he saw Saul, he bowed before him and\nsaluted him as any other unhallowed layman would, who had not been set\napart for chieftainship. Although Saul lay in wait for his life, David\ncontinued to serve him, and worried the king\u2019s enemies as much as he\ncould. On the other hand, Saul had nothing against David except that he\nknew God had chosen him to be king; and he showed great wickedness and\nfierce hatred in striving to slay an innocent man, one who served him\nfaithfully. He likewise displayed an inordinate vanity in wishing to\nmake away with a man whom God Himself had chosen to rule after him. For\nthese reasons God passed a severe judgment in Saul\u2019s case; for He saw in\nSaul\u2019s heart what men could not perceive, though subsequently God made\nthis fact evident to the sight of men. But in David\u2019s case God was more\nlenient, for the reason that He found him always humble and faithful in\neverything, as He made clear to men later on. There is further evidence\nof this in the fact, that as soon as David learned that Saul and his son\nJonathan had fallen, he and all his host lamented in great sorrow, and\nDavid spoke these words: \u201cBe ye cursed, ye mountains of Gilboa! May God\nnevermore send rain or dew or growing grass upon you, for you led King\nSaul and his son Jonathan along treacherous paths in their flight across\nyour summits and refused to show them serviceable highways, whereby they\ncould save their lives from the hands of the foeman; nor did you provide\nthem with sheltering ramparts upon your heights. It is a bitter sorrow\nfor all the people of Israel, that splendid chieftains like Saul and\nJonathan should pass away from council and government. Great strength\nand power have perished this day, when such excellent princes are fallen\nas Saul and Jonathan were, and the many good knights with many good\nweapons and much good armor who have perished with them. Let the lesser\nmen beware of God\u2019s wrath, since He has allowed the heathen to lay hands\non His anointed. Let the multitude bewail a loss like this, that such\nexcellent rulers should fall before the heathen.\u201d[331] Such words and\nmany more like them David spoke that day, and thus he lamented their\ndeath rather than rejoiced in the fact that the realm had fallen to him\nand into his keeping. From this you will observe how upright he was, how\nhonest and free from faults. But whenever human nature caused him to\nfall into sin, he forthwith showed keen repentance, imploring God\u2019s\nmercy and compassion; and God gave heed at once to his honest regret.\n\nFootnote 331:\n\n  Cf. David\u2019s lament in _II Samuel_, i: 17-27. The author has made but\n  slight use of David\u2019s own language.\n\nEarlier in our conversation we have told how Absalom, King David\u2019s son,\nraised the whole land in revolt against his father. But when David\u2019s\ncaptains happened to meet Absalom in battle and David learned of his\ndeath, he cried out in these words: \u201cWhat shall it profit me to live, an\naged man who grows weaker day by day, now that you, my son Absalom, are\ndead in the flowertime of youth? Would to God that I could die now and\nthat you my son might live!\u201d[332] David was never so bitter against\nother men but that he would rather suffer death himself than see\nanother\u2019s death, except where he saw that punishment was inflicted on\nthe demand of justice. This was shown again at one time when David\u2019s\nentire kingdom incurred the wrath of God, and a pestilence came upon the\nrealm, so violent that people perished by thousands. When the plague\napproached the city of Jerusalem, David beheld the angel, who was\nsmiting the people, standing between heaven and earth with a blazing\nsword. And when he saw the angel with the sword lifted as if ready to\nstrike, he placed his neck under the edge and said: \u201cI beg thee, O Lord,\nthat this sword be rather turned against my neck than that more of God\u2019s\npeople shall now be slain, and that my Lord\u2019s wrath may fall upon me,\nwho am guilty and worthy of punishment, and upon my family rather than\nthat God\u2019s people shall be rooted out on my account.\u201d As soon as God saw\nDavid\u2019s regret and heard his very acceptable prayer, He commanded the\nangel to desist from slaying the people, and forthwith the plague ceased\neverywhere in the kingdom.[333]\n\nFootnote 332:\n\n  Cf. _II Samuel_, xviii, 33.\n\nFootnote 333:\n\n  Cf. _II Samuel_, xxiv.\n\nFrom these and many other similar instances you will now observe how\nfull of grace and goodness David was toward all men. And just as God saw\nkindliness, mercy, and humility in his heart, He saw avarice, ferocity,\nand unmeasured pride in Saul\u2019s heart; consequently every fault was\ngraver before God in Saul\u2019s case than in David\u2019s; for the men were\nunlike. David was the meekest and the most merciful of men, and whenever\nhe fell into any fault he implored God to spare him; but Saul grew\nfiercer and more envious the more sins he fell into and the nearer he\nsaw God\u2019s wrath approaching. Now if you think that these answers have\nled you to a clearer understanding of the matters that you have asked\nabout, I believe it will not be necessary to discuss these subjects any\nfurther.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  LXIV\n\n              ILLUSTRATIONS FROM THE JUDGMENTS OF SOLOMON\n\n\n_Son._ I see clearly now from what you told in your last speech that the\njudgments were lenient in David\u2019s case, because he regretted the sins\ninto which he fell, but more severe in Saul\u2019s case, because he was less\ndisposed to do penance for his misdeeds. Now there are certain other\nmatters which I am much interested in and which I shall ask about with\nyour permission, namely those events that occurred after David\u2019s death.\nOnce when two women came before King Solomon, quarreling about a child,\nthe king ordered the child to be hewn in pieces and half given to each\nof them:[334] now I wish to ask whether, if neither of the women had\nspoken up, the king would have hewn the child asunder or not.\n\nFootnote 334:\n\n  See _I Kings_, iii, 16-28.\n\n_Father._ The king ordered the child to be divided because he knew of a\nsurety that the one who was the mother would not be willing to have the\nchild divided.\n\n_Son._ I asked whether the king would have divided the child if the\nmother had kept silence.\n\n_Father._ If the mother had been so void of mercy that she would not ask\nhim to spare the child, the king would have divided it between them.\n\n_Son._ Would it not look to you like plain murder, if he had slain an\ninnocent child, seeing that it was not for punishment?\n\n_Father._ It would indeed have been murder if he had killed the child;\nstill, the guilt would not have been with the king but with the mother,\nif she had failed to beg mercy for her child, when she heard the king\nrender a fair judgment in their case, which she realized would mean the\nchild\u2019s death; therefore the guilt would be hers if she withheld the\nmotherly pity which could save the child.\n\n_Son._ What do you think about the death of Joab and Adonijah, whom King\nSolomon slew? Was that a righteous judgment or not? And why did King\nSolomon cause Shimei to be slain for cursing his father David, seeing\nthat David had already forgiven Shimei this offence?\n\n_Father._ If King Solomon had done this except as lawful punishment, God\nwould have visited him with a worthy penalty as for murder. But after he\nhad done all this, God revealed Himself to him in a dream and bade him\nchoose whatever gift he might wish. But Solomon asked God to give him\nwisdom and insight into righteous judgments. Then God answered him in\nthis wise: \u201cIf this choice were given to the multitude, there would be\nmany who would choose riches and power, or a long life, or peace, or\nsuccess in warfare. But because thou hast chosen this thing, thou shalt\nreceive what thou hast chosen and likewise all the other gifts that I\nhave enumerated.\u201d From this you will observe how well God is pleased\nwith righteousness in judgments; for God gave Solomon all the supreme\ngifts, because he chose equity as his part. And you will understand\nthat, if he had slain those others unjustly, God would not have given\nhim such excellent gifts as He did give him.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  LXV\n\n                SOLOMON\u2019S DECISION IN THE CASE OF SHIMEI\n\n\n_Son._ What you have just said does indeed seem reasonable. If Solomon\nhad been led to execute these men through selfishness and injustice, he\nwould not have received such excellent gifts from God, as were given to\nhim after that deed was done. Still, if I may, I should like to ask you\nto point out how righteous dooms are worked out, in order that I may\nunderstand more clearly, and others too who may hear it, how Solomon\ncould execute Shimei by righteous decree, when his father David had\nalready forgiven him the offence.[335]\n\nFootnote 335:\n\n  The story of Shimei is told in _II Samuel_, xvi, 5-8; xix, 16-23; _I\n  Kings_, ii, 8-9, 36-46.\n\n_Father._ Solomon did this out of regard for justice rather than from\ncruelty, and for the following reasons. When Shimei cursed David, he did\nit out of impudence and malice, and for no just cause; but when he\nbegged David for mercy, he asked it more because of fear than of\nrepentance, for he was afraid that David would take his life as the\nsacred law demanded. But when he implored mercy David replied in these\nwords: \u201cI shall not slay you this time, since you implore my grace; but\nkeep in mind that you will be punished for this deed, unless you atone\nin true repentance.\u201d In these words David pointed out to Shimei that he\nought to atone with loving friendship for the words that he had spoken\nin sheer hatred. Shimei, however, lived the rest of his days in such a\nmanner that, while no one found him to cherish enmity toward David, it\nnever appeared that he made returns in friendship for David\u2019s mercy in\npermitting him to live when the law demanded his death. But when he came\nbefore Solomon after David\u2019s death, the king said to him: \u201cRemember,\nShimei, that you cursed the Lord\u2019s anointed; and it has not appeared\nthat you have truly regretted it since. But this shall be a covenant\nbetween us as a reminder to repentance on your part, that you shall not\nenjoy such complete freedom as one who has never fallen into this sin.\nNow you have large and beautiful dwellings and many houses here in\nJerusalem and you may live in peace within the city, enjoying all your\npossessions according to your desire; but if you ever go outside the\ncity, the punishment of the law shall come upon your head, since you did\nnot take thought to repent before I reminded you.\u201d When the king had\nceased speaking, Shimei expressed himself as thankful for this agreement\nand said that he should find but little inconvenience in being forbidden\nto leave the city, if he might remain secure in the king\u2019s friendship\nwithin the city and enjoy all his possessions. Three years later,\nhowever, Shimei forgot this agreement and went outside the city to seek\ndiversion,[336] as if proud of his audacity in violating the covenant.\nBut as soon as these tidings were told to the king, he ordered Shimei to\nbe seized and brought before him, and he said to him: \u201cYou have\nforgotten to be ashamed of having broken the agreement which we two made\nas a reminder that you owe repentance for having cursed the Lord\u2019s\nanointed. There is, therefore, a double guilt upon your head now; and it\nwill be better for you to suffer a brief punishment here, so that others\nmay be warned by your misfortune, than that this crime should follow you\ninto eternal death, and others become bolder in such evil, if you die\nunpunished.\u201d Then the king ordered him to be killed and buried outside\nthe city as a reminder and warning to others never to break a covenant.\n\nFootnote 336:\n\n  According to the Scriptural story Shimei left Jerusalem to bring back\n  two runaway servants. _I Kings_, ii, 39-40.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  LXVI\n\n      SOLOMON\u2019S JUDGMENT IN THE CASE OF ADONIJAH AND HIS FOLLOWERS\n\n\n_Son._ Now I wish to ask you why Solomon caused his brother Adonijah to\nbe put to death for requesting Abishag to be his wife.\n\n_Father._ Adonijah had earlier, as you may have heard, led an uprising\nagainst his father. When David had become an aged man and was very\ndecrepit because of his many years, Adonijah appointed himself to be\nking without his father\u2019s knowledge, and made a festive banquet as newly\nconsecrated king. He sent heralds running through the streets with pipes\nand drums to proclaim throughout the city that Adonijah was now the\nking. The chief men who were with him in this plot were Joab, David\u2019s\nchief captain and his kinsman, and Abiathar the bishop, and many other\nlords. But when Zadoc the bishop, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the\ncaptain, and Bathsheba the queen came as if in deep sorrow to tell David\nwhat great undertakings were hidden from him, he remained silent for\nsome time but sighed heavily. At last he spoke as from a heart full of\ngrief and said: \u201cMy sons are not minded like me, for I served King Saul\nmany days, though he sought after my life. And yet God had chosen me to\nbe king, for He was angry with King Saul; but I awaited the judgment of\nGod by which he would be deprived of his kingdom; but I would not\ncondemn him, though he was mine adversary. Now my son has done that to\nme which I would not do to mine enemy. But because Adonijah has taken\nthe kingship to which God Himself appointed me, even before I had\nrenounced it or He Who had chosen me had removed me, he shall fall in\ndisgrace from this dignity, as that one fell who in arrogant pride\nraised the first rebellion against his Lord.\u201d\n\nThen David said to Zadoc the bishop: \u201cTake my mule and harness him with\nall the accoutrements with which he was arrayed when I rode him in all\nmy glory and set my son Solomon upon him; and taking Nathan the prophet\nwith you and Benaiah the captain and all my most loyal chiefs and\nknights, ride to the tabernacle of the Lord in Zion[337] and there\nanoint my son Solomon king. Then take my own trumpet and let it be\nsounded throughout the city with a festive sound to proclaim that\nSolomon is king by the will of God and David\u2019s choice. After that you\nshall bring my son Solomon to me that I may welcome the newly appointed\nking to my throne.\u201d When David had ceased speaking, Zadoc the bishop did\nall those things that the king had commanded. And when Solomon returned\narrayed in all the tokens of royalty, David rose to receive him, bowed\nbefore him, and blessed him in these words: \u201cPraise be to Thee, O God,\nthat Thou wert pleased to exalt me from my low estate to such high\nhonors as I now enjoy, and hast helped me in many perils, and now after\nmuch trouble and long toil hast brought me the consolation that mine\neyes should behold the one sprung from my loins whom Thou hast Thyself\nchosen to sit in the seat of honor to which Thou didst formerly appoint\nme, according to Thy promises, O Lord. Now I pray Thee, O Lord, give\nthis young man David\u2019s glory and understanding in double and threefold\nmeasure, make him a perfect ruler to govern Thy holy people according to\nThy will.\u201d Then David kissed Solomon and said to him: \u201cThe God Who rules\nthe heavens multiply peace to you above all the kings upon earth and\ngive you blessings and the fruits of earth and perfect happiness.\u201d[338]\nWhen he had ended this speech and benediction, David said to Solomon:\n\u201cBecause I find that God has given you wisdom and understanding, I\ncharge you to govern wisely and justly, though somewhat severely, lest\nthe kingdom should seem to be lacking in government because of your\nfaint-heartedness. But temper the severity of punishment, lest you be\nthought too stern and merciless. Remember your kinsman Joab, however,\nwho has served me long and with much labor; but it is not fitting that\nthe sinful deeds which he has committed should follow him to hell: for\nhe slew two excellent captains who were in my peace, Abner and Amasa,\nwho had served King Saul with great fidelity. And there are many others\nwhom he slew in his overweening pride, but not in lawful chastisement.\nAnd it is better to let him suffer a brief punishment here than that he\nshould be lost eternally because of these crimes. Keep also my promise\nto Shimei, though he cursed me when I fled from the violence of your\nbrother Absalom; but keep it in such a way that he will be reminded to\ndo penance for his misdeeds, lest the curse be forever upon his head\nwhich he incurred when he cursed me an innocent man. Let kinship temper\nyour wrath against your brother Adonijah, if you see that he regrets his\ntreasonable uprising against his father. Remember that the bishop\nAbiathar lost his father and all his kinsmen, because he gave me food,\nwhen I came to Nob a fugitive from the face of King Saul. Abiathar\ndeserves well for this, too, that he followed me and bore the ark of God\nbefore me, when I fled from the face of your brother Absalom. But do not\nforget to give him a reminder to repentance for joining your brother\nAdonijah in treasonable designs against me, lest this offence should\nfollow him to his death. Be manly, strong, and severe, but with\nmoderation. Do the will of God in all things, and both temporal and\neternal joys shall be added to you.\u201d[339]\n\nFootnote 337:\n\n  Error for Gihon.\n\nFootnote 338:\n\n  On the subject of Adonijah\u2019s rebellion and Solomon\u2019s triumphant\n  accession see _I Kings_, i. The author has used little more than the\n  outline of the story as given in the Bible.\n\nFootnote 339:\n\n  Cf. _I Kings_, ii, 1-11. In the Biblical story David\u2019s charge to\n  Solomon comes after the day of Solomon\u2019s accession, and not, as the\n  author has it, during the day.\n\nThen said David to Zadoc the bishop and Nathan the prophet: \u201cGo now and\nprepare a banquet and lead King Solomon into my hall and let him sit in\nmy high-seat amid festive joys.\u201d And they did everything as David bade\nthem. But when Adonijah\u2019s feast was ended, the guests heard singing and\npiping and all forms of merriment, as if a new joy had come into the\ncity. When Adonijah asked what the merry-making signified, whether the\nrejoicing was in his honor or new tidings had come, it was told him that\nDavid had himself given Solomon his title and all the royal honors and\nhad chosen him to be king; and that Solomon was already hallowed as king\nand sitting upon David\u2019s throne in festive raiment; and that all the\npeople rejoiced in the news as on a merry holiday. When Adonijah heard\nthis report, great terror came upon him and all those who were with him\nin this conspiracy, and they fled every man to his house. But Adonijah\nfled to the tabernacle of the Lord and laid his hand upon the sacred\naltar, as if taking vows of chastity and service in God\u2019s holy\ntabernacle. Thereupon he sent a man to the king, saying: \u201cHere shall I\ndie, unless my lord King Solomon will promise and assure me that he will\nnot slay me, his servant, for the evil that I have done.\u201d Then King\nSolomon replied: \u201cAdonijah is my brother by kinship; therefore I will\ngladly spare him, if he will show true repentance for stirring up\ntreason and rebellion against his father David; and I will bear this\nburden with him before God on the condition that he must always continue\nloyal, humble, and free from deceit. But if any treasonable ambitions be\nfound in him, he may expect a swift revenge to come upon his head. Let\nhim now go home to his possessions and enjoy them as long as he keeps\nwhat is now decreed.\u201d[340]\n\nFootnote 340:\n\n  Cf. _I Kings_, i, 41-53.\n\nWhen the hour of David\u2019s death was approaching, Solomon frequently\nvisited his father; and when the king had departed this life, he mourned\nfor him many days, he and all the lords in the kingdom; and he buried\nhim with every form of royal pomp and at a vast outlay. But after\nDavid\u2019s death, Adonijah begged Bathsheba the queen to ask King Solomon\nto give him Abishag to wife. The facts respecting Abishag were these:\nwhen King David grew old, chills entered into his flesh, so that clothes\nwere not sufficient to keep him warm; Abishag was a young virgin, the\nfairest maid in the kingdom and of the best and noblest family; she was\nbrought to King David\u2019s bed to lie close to him and warm him and cherish\nhim, in the hope that the king might draw warmth from her soft and\nblossoming form and from his desire for the fair virgin. David loved her\nhighly with a perfect affection, but as a foster-mother, not as a wife.\nAnd for this reason Abishag won such great honor that she came to be\nregarded as the first queen and she ranked above all the other queens in\nthe eyes of the people; and thus her dignity was sanctified by David\u2019s\nembraces. But Adonijah had a purpose in seeking this marriage after\nDavid\u2019s decease, for he hoped in this way to obtain the kingship by\ndeceitful intrigue; inasmuch as all the people would say, if he married\nAbishag, that he was most worthy to sit on David\u2019s throne who was most\nworthy to mount his bed and lie in the arms which David had hallowed\nwith his very self. He also presumed, as seemed reasonable, that the\nbrothers and all the kinsmen of Abishag would rather have him as king,\nif she were his, than a man who was not bound to them in this way. Queen\nBathsheba undertook Adonijah\u2019s errand and afterwards went to seek an\ninterview with her son King Solomon. As soon as she had entered the\nroyal hall, the king rose to meet his mother and led her to a seat at\nhis side. Then the queen revealed her errand, speaking thus: \u201cI have a\nlittle favor to ask of you, but I will not reveal the request before you\npromise to grant it.\u201d The king replied: \u201cYou are my mother, and I cannot\nrefuse what you wish to ask; and I surely intend that you shall have\nwhat you have come to ask for. But it surely behooves you to keep in\nmind that you should ask only for what I may freely grant.\u201d Then said\nBathsheba the queen to the king: \u201cI have come to ask you to give your\nbrother Adonijah Abishag to wife.\u201d\n\nThen King Solomon replied in great wrath: \u201cWhat is at the bottom of this\nrequest that Abishag be given to Adonijah? If you prefer that he should\nhave the kingship rather than I, then ask the kingdom for him; for you\nknow that my brother Adonijah is older than I and once assumed the royal\ntitle, being chosen by the chief lords before my father had appointed me\nto be ruler in obedience to the will of God. Joab the most powerful of\nthe lords and captains and Abiathar the bishop have evidently continued\nplotting with him even to this day. Abishag is of the noblest kinship in\nthe city and the whole realm; furthermore, she is honored by all as the\nfirst queen because of the care that she gave my father in his old age.\nIf she is given to Adonijah to be his wife, the people will regard him\nas most worthy to sit in David\u2019s seat, since he is thought worthy to lie\nin the bed and in the arms in which David himself lay. Now when Adonijah\nhad committed treason against his father, I offered to share the\nresponsibility for his sin before God because of our kinship. But now he\nhas repeated and trebled the treason against me, his brother, which he\nfirst committed against his father. Therefore I swear by the God Who has\nplaced me on David\u2019s throne that Adonijah shall suffer for his guilt, as\nshall every one of the others who are with him in this traitorous\nproject.\u201d Then King Solomon said to Benaiah the captain: \u201cGo and slay my\nbrother Adonijah, for I would rather have him suffer a swift penalty\nhere, such as the rules of the holy law provide for treason against\none\u2019s lord, than to have him carry a traitor\u2019s guilt to hell. Slay also\nJoab my kinsman, for twice he committed vile offences against King\nDavid, when he slew Abner and Amasa, two renowned captains, though they\nwere in David\u2019s peace and protection. But his third and greatest crime\nis this, that he was traitor to David when he gave Adonijah the royal\ntitle; surely he will be lost forever in the world to come, unless he\nshall do penance in this world by suffering a lawful punishment.\u201d[341]\n\nFootnote 341:\n\n  Cf. _I Kings_, ii, 13 ff.\n\nIn this case King Solomon gives clear proof that it is quite permissible\nto break vows and promises, if what has been asked or granted is\ncontrary to what is right. He granted what his mother Bathsheba the\nqueen had come to request before he knew what it was; but as soon as he\nwas aware that the prayer was a perilous one, he slew the man who had\noriginally made the request. Benaiah did as King Solomon commanded and\nslew Adonijah. But just as Joab the captain and Abiathar the bishop had\nshared in the plans to give Adonijah the royal title, they also had a\nshare in his plan to ask for Abishag to wife; and when they heard of\nAdonijah\u2019s death, they foresaw their own destruction. Benaiah seized\nAbiathar the bishop and led him before King Solomon; but Joab fled to\nGod\u2019s tabernacle and laid his hand upon the sacred horn of the altar, as\nif taking vows of chastity and service in God\u2019s holy tabernacle. Benaiah\ncame to God\u2019s sanctuary and said: \u201cCome forth, Joab, the king commands\nyou to come forth out of God\u2019s tabernacle.\u201d But Joab replied: \u201cI have\ncome hither into God\u2019s protection, and I will suffer death here, if I\ncannot remain in security.\u201d Then Benaiah reported his answer to the king\nthrough his messenger; and when the messenger came before the king\nbringing the bishop Abiathar and related all these things, King Solomon\nsaid to him: \u201cGive my command to Benaiah to slay Joab wherever he be\nfound, for his deeds and the decrees of the sacred law slay him and not\nwe.\u201d Benaiah did as King Solomon commanded and slew Joab where he then\nstood.[342]\n\nFootnote 342:\n\n  Cf. _I Kings_, ii, 28-34.\n\nBut the king spoke in this wise to the bishop Abiathar: \u201cYou know that\nyou have deserved death according to the rules of the holy law; but\nwhereas you lost your father and all your kinsmen in Nob in a single\nday, because your father had given my father David food, and whereas you\nalso bore the ark of God before my father when he fled before the face\nof my brother Absalom, therefore it is right that for once you should\nprofit from this and not suffer a sudden death. And for this once you\nshall purchase your life on the following terms, which you must keep as\na constant reminder that you owe penance for the treason which you\ncommitted against David: go now to your own fields and abide there as a\nhusbandman and enjoy all your possessions, on the condition, however,\nthat you remain a tiller of the soil. But if you ever stretch forth your\nhand to perform any priestly service or office, the righteous penalty of\nthe sacred law shall surely come upon your head.\u201d[343] Abiathar went\nhome and did as the king commanded and lived many days; but Shimei died\nthree years later, because he failed to keep what had been commanded, as\nwe have already told.\n\nFootnote 343:\n\n  Cf. _I Kings_, ii, 26-27.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                 LXVII\n\n                 WHY SOLOMON BROKE HIS PROMISE OF PEACE\n                          AND SECURITY TO JOAB\n\n\n_Son._ There are still a few points which, it seems to me, I have not\nexamined sufficiently. How did it occur to Solomon to break peace with\nJoab, seeing that he had fled into God\u2019s protection and into the house,\nthe only one in all the world, that was dedicated to God? Churches have\nnow been built in almost every part of the world, and it is considered\nan evil deed to slay a man who has sought sanctuary. But I have thought\nthat the honor of God\u2019s holy house would be the more zealously guarded\nthe fewer such houses were. Another matter which I wish to ask about is\nthis: how did it occur to Solomon to promise what his mother might\nrequest and then to break his promise? I should have thought that a wise\nman like Solomon would have ascertained what the request was likely to\nbe before he gave his promise, and thus avoid recalling his promise, if\nthe request were not to his liking.\n\n_Father._ I stated in an earlier speech that he who makes a request\nshould be discreet and ask such things only as are proper and may be\nfreely granted; and all those favors that are wisely asked and granted\nin like manner ought to remain valid and undisturbed. But Solomon set a\ngood and profitable example in this case, when he wisely withdrew the\ngift that his mother had indiscreetly requested, though he had already\ngranted it. The following example which is evil and belongs to a much\nlater date was set by Herod: once when he was feasting in Galilee he\npromised to give his step-daughter whatever she might ask; and on her\nmother\u2019s advice she demanded the head of John the Baptist.[344] Herod\nknew that John was an innocent and holy man and deeply regretted that he\nhad made this promise. But his repentance bore no fruit, inasmuch as he\nwas not careful to withdraw the gift wisely which she had requested\nfoolishly; nay more, he did the evil deed that she had suggested.\nConsequently all were destroyed, the women because of their request and\nHerod because of his gift. King Solomon, however, thought it better to\nface his mother\u2019s wrathful temper for refusing wisely what he had\npromised hastily, than to suffer the injury that follows the great crime\nof allowing foolish and sinful petitions. On the other hand, you should\nunderstand clearly that it is never proper for a man to be fickle in\npromises, and the greater the man, the less fitting it is. But no man is\nallowed to grant anything that may give rise to crime and sin, even\nthough he has already promised to do so.\n\nFootnote 344:\n\n  Cf. _Matthew_ xiv, 1-12; _Mark_, vi, 16-29.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                 LXVIII\n\n            A DISCUSSION OF PROMISES: WHEN THEY MUST BE KEPT\n                   AND WHEN THEY SHOULD BE WITHDRAWN\n\n\n_Son._ Now I wish to ask you to tell me somewhat more clearly how far\none should keep what he has pledged and how far he may refuse to carry\nout what he has promised.\n\n_Father._ When a lord is asked to grant a favor and the meaning of the\nrequest is made clear to him, he ought to ponder carefully what it is\nthat he is asked to do and whether it will bring him injury or honor. If\nhe sees that he can grant it without damage to himself, he ought next to\nconsider the person to whom he is to give what has been asked, and how\nmuch may be given in each case, lest he should have an experience like\nthat of Herod, which has already been related. For Herod did not\nconsider fully the merits of the one who made the request, or the\noccasion, or how much he ought to give. There was this difficulty, too,\nin Herod\u2019s case, that he was drunk when he made the promise; he had made\na great banquet for all his lords, and he failed to consider the\noccasion; for it was not proper for him to make gifts while drunk, since\none who is drunk will rarely be moderate in making gifts. He also failed\nto observe moderation in this, that he gave such an unusual gift to his\nstep-daughter, a woman who was not of his kin, for he spoke in these\nterms: \u201cWhatsoever you ask I will give you, though you ask half of my\nkingdom.\u201d You will observe from this that he was half-mad from drink\nwhen he spoke, for his step-daughter had honored him merely by beating\nthe drum before him, and her music was entitled to a much smaller reward\nthan the one promised. Nor was it fitting for him to leave the form of\nthe request as well as of the gift to the tongues of others, as he did\nwhen he spoke as follows: \u201cWhatsoever you ask you shall have, though you\nask half of my kingdom.\u201d But if he had spoken in this wise: \u201cWhatever\nyou ask with discretion and in moderation you shall receive, if I can\ngive it,\u201d then he would have spoken wisely and well, and it would have\nremained with him whether to grant or to refuse.\n\nIt now remains to point out what sort of gifts a ruler may properly\ngive, when he is asked to do so. Any request may be granted which will\nbring honor and help to him who asks and will bring no damage to the\nlord who gives or to any one else. Thus if a lord is asked to give\nassistance or money, he may well give it, unless his honor should be\ndiscredited by the gift; and he may properly give both the labor and the\nmoney so long as he gives them to such as are worthy of great honors.\nBut when one is asked to grant a request that would debase or dishonor\nhim, he must refuse it; and even though he should make a promise\nthoughtlessly, it is to be wisely withdrawn. And if a man bestows a\ngenerous gift on one who shows little appreciation of it and is in no\nwise worthy to have a long and continued possession of an important\ngift, inasmuch as he does not show proper appreciation, this gift, too,\nshould be withdrawn; for in this case the man\u2019s own thoughtlessness and\nlack of discernment take the gift from him and not the fickleness of him\nwho gave. And if one who desired a gift has obtained it through\nfalsehood and deceitful pretence, that gift is also to be withdrawn,\neven though it has been granted; and in this case the man\u2019s own fraud\nand deceit take the gift from him and not the fickleness of him who\npromised and gave it. But a prince who means to be cautious in making\ngifts must consider carefully what is requested, and what sort of man\nhas made the request. And since all do not deserve equally great gifts,\none must consider how great a gift each one deserves and on what\noccasion a gift may be given. Then it shall be said but very seldom that\nhe who gave has withdrawn his gift or that he has been found to be\nfickle-minded.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  LXIX\n\n               CONCERNING THE KINGSHIP AND THE CHURCH AND\n                    THE KING\u2019S RESPONSIBILITY TO GOD\n\n\n_Son._ Now I wish to ask what good reasons there are which would justify\nKing Solomon\u2019s act in causing Joab to be slain in God\u2019s holy tabernacle\nwhile he was clinging to God\u2019s sacred altar. Why did he not order him to\nbe brought away first and slain afterwards?\n\n_Father._ The matter about which you have now inquired cannot be made\nclear without a lengthy explanation, which will seem more like a comment\nthan a proper continuation of the conversation in which we are now\nengaged. When Solomon concluded that it was better to slay Joab where he\nthen was than to bring him away, he was not without good grounds for his\ndecision; for he did not wish to fall into such a sin as King Saul fell\ninto when he brought sacrifices to God\u2019s holy altar. Now Solomon did not\nwish to make this a pretext that he intended to bring gifts or\nsacrifices to God\u2019s holy altar, as if he were carrying out episcopal\nfunctions; nor did he wish to take away by force or violence anything\nthat had come so near God\u2019s holy altar as Joab then was, inasmuch as he\nwas clinging to the sacred altar. But Solomon pondered the whole matter\nin his own mind: \u201cIt is my duty to carry out the provisions of the\nsacred law, no matter where the man happens to be whose case is to be\ndetermined; but it is not my duty to remove a man by force or violence\nwho has fled to the holy place; for all just decisions are in truth\nGod\u2019s decisions and not mine. And I know of a surety that God\u2019s holy\naltar will not be defiled or desecrated by Joab\u2019s blood, for it will be\nshed in righteous punishment and as a penance for him, but not in hatred\nas in the case of an unjust verdict.\u201d In this decision King Solomon\nillustrated the division of duties that God made between Moses and\nAaron; and he did not wish to disturb this arrangement, lest he should\nfall into disfavor with God. For God had marked out their duties in such\na way that Moses was to watch over the rules of the holy law, while\nAaron was to care for the sacrifices that might come to the sacred\naltar.[345] And you shall know of a truth that this arrangement ought by\nright to stand even at this day; and you may be able to see this more\nclearly, if I add a few words in explanation. For the reason is this,\nthat God has established two houses upon earth, each chosen for a\ndefinite service. The one is the church; in fact we may give this name\nto both, if we like, for the word church means the same as judgment\nhall, because there the people meet and assemble. These two houses are\nthe halls of God, and He has appointed two men to keep watch over them.\nIn one of these halls He has placed His table, and this is called the\nhouse of bread; for there God\u2019s people gather to receive spiritual food.\nBut in the other hall He has placed His holy judgment seat; and there\nthe people assemble to hear the interpretation of God\u2019s holy verdicts.\nAnd God has appointed two keepers to guard these houses: the one is the\nking, the other the bishop.\n\nFootnote 345:\n\n  See _Exodus_, xxviii.\n\nNow the king is appointed to keep watch over the sacred house in which\nthe holy seat is placed and to keep the holy verdicts of God. In\ntemporal matters he is to judge between men and in such a way that the\nreward of eternal salvation may be given to him and to all others who\nafter his day uphold the decisions that have been justly rendered. Into\nhis hands God has also committed the sword of punishment with which to\nstrike when the need arises, just as King Solomon did when he laid Joab\nunder the sword of chastisement, with many others whom he subjected to\nrighteous penalties, as we have already told. The king, then, must\nalways strike, not in hatred but for righteous punishment. But if he\nslay any one out of hatred, it is murder, and he will have to answer for\nit as murder before God. You shall also know of a truth that no one is\nallowed to pluck away any of those things that God from the beginning\nhas assigned to His hall and high-seat; for that would be to rob God\nHimself and His holy judgment seat and to disturb arrogantly the\narrangement which God has made. And every one who is assigned to this\nseat should ponder in deep thought what plea he shall have to present\nwhen he comes before his own Judge; for every man who comes in his turn\nbefore the Highest Judge, having been steward in His hall, may\nconfidently expect Him to employ some mode of address like the\nfollowing: \u201cThou bearest Mine own name, for thou art both king and judge\nas I am; therefore I demand that thou render account for thy\nstewardship, inasmuch as thou art the appointed judge and leader of My\npeople.\u201d Wherefore each one will need to prepare after long reflection\nand with great care what he is to reply when he comes before the Judge.\nIf the archangel, in whom there is no sign of weakness, gives his answer\nwith fear and trembling, when he is called upon to render account for\nhis services to our Lord and King, one can imagine what fear and\ntrembling will come upon a frail and sinful man, when he is asked to\nrender account for his stewardship in the presence of God. But he who\nhas had this hall in his keeping will first of all be asked how he has\ndealt out justice among men; and if he is unable to give a satisfactory\naccount, he may expect to hear this sentence: \u201cThou wicked thrall, since\nthou hast not observed justice in thy verdicts, thou shalt fare thither\nwhere all verdicts are evil; for thine own mouth has assigned thee to\nthis place, inasmuch as it was not ashamed to deliver dishonest\njudgments.\u201d But if he can defend the justice of his decisions with good\nreasons, he shall find joy in his stewardship and hear these words:\n\u201cInasmuch as thou hast always observed equity as a judge, it is fitting\nthat thou shouldst enjoy a righteous verdict on every count.\u201d He will\nthen be asked further on what some of his actions were based; and after\nthat he will have to show how discreetly and carefully he has kept all\nthose things which God in the beginning committed to this judgment seat.\nBut if he has not kept all those things which God in the beginning\nassigned to the holy seat of judgment, he will be brought face to face\nwith those who have done their duty well, such as Melchisedek or Moses\nor David or others who have observed these things as faithfully as those\nnamed. Then he will hear these words spoken: \u201cIf thou hadst been as\nthoughtful and solicitous as these were in maintaining the honors which\nI joined in the beginning to My holy judgment seat, thou wouldst have\nreceived the same rewards as these enjoy. But now thou shalt be deprived\nof an honor here as great as the honor which thou didst take without\nright from My judgment seat; and to that degree shalt thou be regarded\nless in worth and merit than those who have kept these honors unimpaired\nwhich I entrusted to them. When thou wert given charge of My judgment\nseat, it was not intended that thou shouldst have power to dispose of\nservices, honors, and holy dignities in a manner different from the one\nthat I established in the beginning. For this office was not given thee\nas an everlasting inheritance, but it was committed to thee for a time\nonly, that thou mightest obtain an eternal reward, if thou didst guard\nit faithfully. Thou wert given power to distribute worldly riches, gold\nand silver, though with discretion, but not to dispose of the honors and\nglories of My holy judgment seat.\u201d\n\nBut if it is found that he has been discreet in his charge, he shall\nhave cause to rejoice in his stewardship; he will, however, be examined\nin various lines. He will be asked how he has used the rod of punishment\nwhich was given into his hands; and it is very important that justice\nshall have been strictly observed in penalties, lest it go so ill with\nhim as with King Saul, who failed to inflict a just penalty which God\nhad commanded him to execute on the people who dwelt in Amalek, but slew\nunjustly the bishop Ahimelech and all the priests in Nob. But if it\nshould go so ill with him who is thus called to account for penalties\ninflicted, that he is found to have stumbled in matters like those just\nmentioned and in which King Saul fell, he will soon hear these words:\n\u201cLead him yonder where King Saul and Herod and Nero and others like them\nabide, and let him dwell there with them, seeing that he wished to be\nlike them in cruelty.\u201d Still, if in some cases he has been merciful in\nsentence and punishment and if there is good reason why he should escape\nthe reproaches that we have just mentioned, those facts will not be\nforgotten. For then he shall find happiness in all his stewardship and\nvery soon shall hear this greeting: \u201cThou art welcome, thou faithful\nservant and good friend, for thou hast loyally kept a slight temporal\ndignity; now thou shalt come into joyful possession of a great honor,\nconstant and everlasting, wholly free from sorrow and danger.\u201d Happy is\nhe who is permitted to hear these words; but wretched is he who shall\nhear those words of wrath which we quoted earlier. But no one needs to\ndoubt that everyone who shall be called to account for his office and\nstewardship will be addressed in one of these two ways.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                  LXX\n\n                  THE AUTHORITY OF KINGS AND BISHOPS.\n                         END OF THE SECOND PART\n\n\n_Son._ I see clearly that one who is to watch over the rules of the\nsacred law and deal out justice in all cases is surely assigned a very\ndifficult task. It is also evident that King Solomon could not be called\nto account for having Joab slain in God\u2019s tabernacle, inasmuch as he\nslew him for a just punishment, not out of enmity or in hatred, as Cain\nslew his brother Abel. God\u2019s tabernacle was not defiled by Joab\u2019s blood,\nseeing that it was not shed in hatred; but the earth was defiled by\nAbel\u2019s blood, because it was shed in hatred. And I understand fully that\nthe sin and the desecration are caused by the hatred and not by the\npunishment. But now you have spoken of two halls which God has dedicated\nto His service upon earth, and there are certain things that concern\nthese about which I wish to inquire. You have stated that in one of them\nGod has placed His judgment seat; you have discussed that and also the\noffice of him who is in charge of it. You have also said that in the\nother hall is God\u2019s table, from which all God\u2019s people shall take\nspiritual food; and you added that the bishop has been appointed keeper\nof this hall. Now I wish to ask you why King Solomon removed Abiathar\nthe bishop from the office that had been assigned to him, namely that of\nkeeper of the hall to which I have just referred, and removed him so\ncompletely that he was never afterwards allowed to put forth his hand to\nthe episcopal office, but was to live from that time on as a churl or a\nplowboy. But I have thought that neither of these two keepers can have\nauthority to remove the other from the office which has been committed\nto him. Therefore I should like to have you point out a few\nconsiderations which will make clear how King Solomon could remove the\nbishop Abiathar from his office without incurring reproof from God.\n\n_Father._ I called your attention to these facts to remind you that both\nthese halls are God\u2019s houses and both king and bishop the servants of\nGod and keepers of these houses; but they do not own them in the sense\nthat they can take anything away from them that was assigned to them in\nthe beginning. Therefore the king must not pluck anything away from the\nhouse which the bishop has in his keeping, for neither should rob the\nother. And there should be no plundering of one by the other, but each\nought to support the other for the same One owns both houses, namely\nGod. I have also told you that God has given the rod of punishment into\nthe hands of both the king and the bishop. The rod of punishment that\nhas been committed to the king is a two-edged sword: with this sword it\nis his duty to smite to the death everyone who tries to take anything\naway from the sacred hall of which he is the guardian. But the king\u2019s\nsword is two-edged for the reason that it is also his duty to guard the\nhouse which is in the bishop\u2019s keeping, if the bishop is unable to\ndefend it with his own rod of punishment. The bishop shall have his rod\nof punishment in his mouth, and he shall smite with words but not with\nhands like the king. And the bishop shall strike his blow in the\nfollowing manner: if any one attempt to dishonor the sacred hall that is\nin his care, he shall refuse him the table which is placed in this holy\nhouse and the holy sustenance which is taken from this table. But when\nKing Solomon deprived Abiathar the bishop of the episcopal office and\ndignity, he said that Abiathar\u2019s own guilt deprived him and not he.\nSince he had decreed that David should forfeit his throne before God had\nordered it, and had chosen another king to replace David, while he was\nstill living, it was right to deprive him of the episcopal office,\nseeing that he wanted to rob David of the royal office. Saul\u2019s guilt, on\nthe other hand, when he had slain the bishop Ahimelech and all the\npriests in the city of Nob, was a grievous burden, because he had done\nthis without just cause. But even if King Solomon should have killed the\nbishop Abiathar, he would have been without guilt; for the bishop had\ndeprived the house of God of the lord whom God Himself had appointed\nkeeper of the holy judgment seat. The bishop Abiathar had no right\neither to appoint or to remove any one, as was later made evident; for\nDavid chose the one whom he wished to be king in his stead, and the\nchoice which Abiathar had made was of no effect. Abiathar the bishop\nobtained the episcopal office through the will of David who appointed\nhim to it. Now you are to understand that there is this difference\nbetween the business of a king and the duties of a bishop: the bishop is\nappointed to be the king\u2019s teacher, counsellor, and guide, while the\nking is appointed to be a judge and a man of severity in matters of\npunishment, to the great terror of all who are subject to him.\nNevertheless, the bishop wields a rod of punishment as well as the king.\nThere is this difference, however, between the king\u2019s sword and that of\nthe bishop, that the king\u2019s sword always bites when one strikes with it,\nand bites to great injury when it is used without right, while it serves\nhim well whom it may strike when it is rightfully used. But the bishop\u2019s\nsword bites only when it is used rightfully; when it is wrongfully used,\nit injures him who smites with it, not him who is stricken. When the\nbishop strikes rightfully, however, his sword wounds even more deeply\nthan the king\u2019s. But this subject we shall discuss more fully at some\nother time, if it is thought advisable.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                              BIBLIOGRAPHY\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                              BIBLIOGRAPHY\n\n\nADAM OF BREMEN: _Gesta Hammenburgensis Ecclesias Pontificum_, ed. J. M.\n  Lappenberg (Mon. Ger. Hist. Scriptures, VII), Hanover, 1846.\n\n_Adventures of Suibhne Geilt_, translated by J. G. O\u2019Keefe (Irish Text\n  Society, XII), London, 1913.\n\nALEXANDER NECKAM: _De Naturis Rerum Libri Duo_, ed. Thomas Wright (Rolls\n  Series, No. 34), London, 1863.\n\nASHER, G. M.: _Henry Hudson the Navigator_ (Hakluyt Society), London,\n  1860.\n\nBEDE: _Opera Omnia_ (Migne, Patrologia Latina, XC-XCV), Paris, 1850-51.\n\nBERNARD (Saint): _Opera Omnia_ (Migne, Patrologia Latina,\n  CLXXXII-CLXXXV), Paris, 1854.\n\nBLOM, OTTO: _Bem\u00e6rkninger om Kongespeilets Affattelsestid_ (Aarb\u00f6ger for\n  Nordisk Oldkyndighed og Historie), Copenhagen, 1867.\n\nBLOM, OTTO: _Lodb\u00f6ssen fra Vedelspang_ (Aarb\u00f6ger for Nordisk\n  Oldkyndighed og Historie), Copenhagen, 1872.\n\nBULL, EDVARD: _Interdiktet mot Sverre_ (Historisk Tidsskrift, Femte\n  R\u00e6kke, III), Christiania, 1915.\n\nCAPELLA, see Martianus Capella.\n\nCLAUSS\u00d6N, PEDER: _Norrigis Bescriffuelse_, Copenhagen, 1633.\n\n_Corpus Poeticum Boreale_, ed. Gudbrand Vigfusson and F. York Powell,\n  Oxford, 1883, 2 vols.\n\nCOSMAS: _The Christian Topography of Cosmas, an Egyptian Monk_,\n  translated by J. W. McCrindle, London, 1897.\n\nDAAE, LUDVIG: _Studier angaaende Kongespeilet_ (Aarb\u00f6ger for Nordisk\n  Oldkyndighed og Historie), Copenhagen, 1896.\n\n_Elucidarium_, see Honorius of Autun.\n\n_Elucidarius_ (Annaler for Nordisk Oldkyndighed og Historie),\n  Copenhagen, 1852 (Danish translation), 1853 (Icelandic text).\n\nFALK, HJALMAR: _Altnordische Waffenkunde_ (Skrifter utgit af\n  Videnskapsselskapet, II, Historisk-filosofisk Klasse), Christiania,\n  1915.\n\nFIGGIS, JOHN NEVILLE: _The Theory of the Divine Right of Kings_,\n  Cambridge, 1896.\n\nGIRALDUS CAMBRENSIS: _Opera_, ed. J. S. Brewer, James F. Dimock, and G.\n  F. Warner (Rolls Series, No. 21), London, 1861-91, 8 vols.\n\nGEELMUYDEN, HANS: _Om Stedet for Kongespeilets Forfattelse_ (Arkiv for\n  Nordisk Filologi, I), Christiania, 1883.\n\nGIBBON, EDWARD: _The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire_, ed. J. B.\n  Bury, London, 1912.\n\nGJERSET, KNUT: _History of the Norwegian People_, New York, 1915, 2\n  vols.\n\n_H\u00e1konar Saga_, ed. Gudbrand Vigfusson and G. W. Dasent, Icelandic\n  Sagas, II, IV (Rolls Series, No. 88), London, 1887-94, 2 vols.\n\nHEFFERMEHL, A. V.: _Presten Ivar Bodde_ (Historiske Skrifter Tilegnede\n  og Overleverede Professor Dr. Ludvig Daae), Christiania, 1904.\n\n_Heilagra Manna S\u00f6gur_, ed. C. R. Unger, Christiania, 1877, 2 vols.\n\nHEINZEL, RICHARD: _Excurs \u00fcber den Mythus von den vier T\u00f6chtern Gottes_\n  (Zeitschrift f\u00fcr deutsches Alterthum, Neue Folge, V), Berlin, 1874.\n\nHERRMANN, PAUL: _Island in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart_, Leipzig, 1907,\n  2 vols.\n\nHERTZBERG, EBBE: _Den f\u00f6rste norske Kongekroning_ (Historisk Tidsskrift,\n  Fjerde R\u00e6kke, III), Christiania, 1905.\n\nHONORIUS OF AUTUN: _Opera Omnia_ (Migne, Patrologia Latina, CLXXII),\n  Paris, 1854.\n\nHOVGAARD, WILLIAM: _The Voyages of the Norsemen to America_, New York,\n  1914.\n\nHUDSON, HENRY, see ASHER.\n\nHUGH OF SAINT VICTOR: _Opera Omnia_ (Migne, Patrologia Latina,\n  CLXXV-CLXXVII), Paris, 1854.\n\nISIDORE (Saint) of Seville: _Opera Omnia_ (Migne, Patrologia Latina,\n  LXXXI-LXXXIV), Paris, 1850.\n\nJACOBUS DE VORAGINE: _The Golden Legend_, ed. George V. O\u2019Neill,\n  Cambridge, 1914.\n\n_Kongespegelen_, translated by K. Audne, Oslo [Christiania], 1909-13.\n\n_Kongespeilet i Uddrag_, translated by Chr. Dorph, Copenhagen, 1892.\n\n_Kongespeilet_, ed. R. Keyser, P. A. Munch, and C. R. Unger,\n  Christiania, 1848.\n\n_Kongs-skuggsio_, _Det Kongelige Speil_, _Speculum Regale_, ed. Halfdan\n  Einersen, Sor\u00f6e, 1768.\n\n_Konungs Skuggsj\u00e1_, ed. George T. Flom (Published by the University of\n  Illinois), Urbana, 1915.\n\nLARSON, LAURENCE M.: _The Household of the Norwegian Kings in the\n  Thirteenth Century_ (American Historical Review, XIII), 1908.\n\nLARSON, LAURENCE M.: _Scientific Knowledge in the North in the\n  Thirteenth Century_ (Publications of the Society for the Advancement\n  of Scandinavian Study, I, No. 4), 1913.\n\n_Macrobius_, ed. F. Eyssenhardt, Leipzig, 1893.\n\n_Martianus Capella_, ed. F. Eyssenhardt, Leipzig, 1866.\n\n_Meregarto_, Denkm\u00e4ler deutscher Poesie und Prosa, ed. K. M\u00fcllenhoff and\n  W. Scherer, Berlin, 1892.\n\nMETER, KUNO: _Irish Memorabilia in the Speculum Regale_ (\u00c9riu, IV),\n  1910.\n\nMUNCH, PETER ANDREAS: _Det norske Folks Historie_, Christiania, 1852-63,\n  8 vols.\n\nNANSEN, FRIDTJOF: _In Northern Mists_, London, 1911, 2 vols.\n\nNENNIUS: _The Irish Version of the Historia Britonum of Nennius_, ed.\n  James Henthorn Todd and Algernon Herbert (Irish Archeological\n  Society), Dublin, 1848.\n\n_Norges gamle Love indtil 1387_, ed. R. Keyser, P. A. Munch, Gustav\n  Storm, and Ebbe Hertzberg, Christiania, 1846-95, 5 parts.\n\nOLAFSEN, O.: _Falkefangsten i Norge_ (Historisk Tidsskrift, Femte R\u00e6kke,\n  III), Christiania, 1915.\n\nOLSON, JULIUS E. and E. G. BOURNE (editors): _The Northmen, Columbus,\n  and Cabot_ (Original Narratives of Early American History), New York,\n  1906.\n\nOMAN, CHARLES: _A History of the Art of War in the Middle Ages_, London,\n  1905.\n\nPARIS, MATTHEW: _Chronica Majora_, ed. H. R. Luard (Rolls Series, No.\n  57), London, 1872-84, 7 vols.\n\nPETIT DE JULEVILLE, L.: _Les Myst\u00e8res_, Paris, 1880, 2 vols.\n\nPETRUS ALFONSUS: _Discipline Clericalis_ (Migne, Patrologia Latina,\n  CLCVII), Paris, 1854.\n\nPETRUS COMESTOR: _Historia Scholastica_ (Migne, Patrologia Latina,\n  CXCVIII), Paris, 1855.\n\nPLINY, C.: _Plinii Secundi Naturalis Historiae Libri XXXVII_, ed. Julius\n  Sillig, Hamburg, 1851-58.\n\nRABANUS MAURUS: _Opera Omnia_, (Migne, Patrologia Latina, CVII-CXII),\n  Paris, 1851-52.\n\n_Reliquiae Antiquae_, ed. Thomas Wright and James Orchard Halliwell,\n  1841-43, 2 vols.\n\nRIANT, PAUL: _Exp\u00e9ditions et P\u00e8lerinages des Scandinaves en Terre\n  Sainte_, Paris, 1865.\n\n_Rotuli Litterarum Clausarum_, ed. T. Hardy (Record Commission\n  Publications), London, 1833, 2 vols.\n\nRUGE, SOPHUS: _Geschichte des Zeitalters der Entdeckungen_, Berlin,\n  1881.\n\nSCHERER, W.: _Die vier T\u00f6chter Gottes_ (Zeitschrift f\u00fcr deutsches\n  Alterthum, Neue Folge, IX), Berlin, 1877.\n\nSOLINUS: _Collectanea Rerum Memorabilium_, ed. Th. Mommsen, Berlin,\n  1895.\n\n_Speculum Regale_, ed. Oscar Brenner, Munich, 1888.\n\nSTEENSTRUP, I. JAPETUS S.: _Hvad er Kongespeilets_ \u201c_Havgjerdinger?_\u201d\n  (Aarb\u00f6ger for nordisk Oldkyndighed og Historie), Copenhagen, 1871.\n\n_Stj\u00f3rn, Gammelnorsk Bibelhistorie_, ed. C. R. Unger, Christiania, 1862.\n\nSTORM, GUSTAV: _Brudstykke af en latinsk Overs\u00e6ttelse af Kongespeilet\n  fra det 14de Aarhundrede_ (Arkiv for Nordisk Filologi, I),\n  Christiania, 1883.\n\nSTORM, GUSTAV (editor): _En Tale mod Biskopperne_, Christiania, 1885.\n\nSTORM, GUSTAV: _Om Tidsforholdet mellem Kongespeilet og Stj\u00f3rn samt\n  Barlaams Saga_ (Arkiv for Nordisk Filologi, III), Christiania, 1886.\n\n_Theodosiani Libri xvi_..., ed. Th. Mommsen et Paulus M. Meyer, Berlin,\n  1905, 3 parts.\n\n_Vulgate: Biblia Sacra_..., ed. P. Michael Hetzenauer, Oeniponte\n  [Innsbruck], 1906.\n\nWEISS, H. J. K.: _Kost\u00fcmekunde_, Stuttgart, 1860-72, 5 vols.\n\nZARNCKE, FRIEDRICH: _Der Priester Johannes_, Leipzig, 1879.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                 INDEX\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                 INDEX\n\n\n Aaron, high priest in Israel, 280, 284, 358.\n\n Abbot, 294, 325.\n\n Abel, 330, 363.\n\n Abiathar, Hebrew priest, 46, 47, 333, 344, 347, 351\u2013353, 363\u2013365.\n\n Abiram, Hebrew rebel, 279, 283.\n\n Abishag, David\u2019s wife, 344, 348\u2013351.\n\n Abishai, David\u2019s companion, 335.\n\n Abner, Hebrew captain, 346, 351.\n\n Absalom, David\u2019s son, 325, 338, 346, 347.\n\n _Acrifolium_ (_aquifolium_), 107.\n\n Adam, 252\u2013257, 261, 266\u2013273.\n\n Adam von Bremen, 19 note.\n\n \u201cAddress to the Norwegian People,\u201d King Sverre\u2019s, 39\u201346, 49, 58, 59.\n\n Adonijah, David\u2019s son, 46, 64, 341, 344, 345, 347\u2013351.\n\n Agag, king of Amalek, 326.\n\n Ahasuerus, Persian king, 237\u2013240, 244.\n\n Ahimelech, Hebrew priest, 331\u2013333, 362, 365.\n\n Albertus Magnus, medieval schoolman, 2.\n\n Ale-springs, 134.\n\n Alexander Neckam, medieval scientist, 12, 18.\n\n Alfonso the Wise, Spanish king, 31.\n\n Amalek, Amalekites, 52, 279, 283, 319, 325, 326, 362.\n\n Amasa, Hebrew captain, 346, 351.\n\n Amorites, 319, 326.\n\n Andenes, headland in Lofoten, 98.\n\n Angels, 261\u2013263, 309, 338, 360.\n\n Ant, Habits of the, 92.\n\n Apples, St. Kevin\u2019s, 113;\n   of knowledge, 252, 253, 255, 264\u2013266.\n\n Apulia, Southern Italy, 96, 97.\n\n Arctic, Marvels of the, 21, 105, 119\u2013126, 135\u2013141.\n\n Armor, 217\u2013220.\n\n Arnamagnean collection, 65, 68.\n\n Artaxerxes, Persian king, 237.\n\n Arthurian legends, 2, 3.\n\n Asp, serpent in Paradise, 264.\n\n Athens, 309, 310, 312.\n\n Augustine, Saint, 40.\n\n _Aura_, 172.\n\n\n Bacon, Roger, medieval scientist, 2.\n\n Balances of justice, The, 306, 307.\n\n Baleen whale, 120.\n\n Basking sharks, 122 note.\n\n Bathsheba, Uriah\u2019s wife, 323\u2013325, 344, 348\u2013351;\n   _see_ Uriah.\n\n Beaked whale, 120, 123.\n\n Beams used in warfare, 216, 224, 225.\n\n Beard, how trimmed and worn at court, 182.\n\n Bearded seal, 140.\n\n Bears in Greenland, 143.\n\n Beasts, Instincts of, 91, 92, 111, 112.\n\n Bede, medieval writer, 5, 16 note, 18, 20, 147 note, 257 note.\n\n Beluga, a sort of whale, 120 note.\n\n Benaiah, Hebrew captain, 344, 345, 351, 352.\n\n Bengjerd (Berengaria), Danish queen, 31.\n\n Bergen, 26, 46.\n\n Bernard, Saint, 257 note.\n\n Bethany, Hebrew town, 289.\n\n Bethlehem, Hebrew town, 329.\n\n Birchshanks, anti-clerical faction in Norway, 37, 52, 61, 63, 64.\n\n Birds, Joy of, at coming of spring, 90, 91.\n\n Birger, Swedish earl, 4, 30.\n\n Birka, old Swedish town, 82 note.\n\n Bishops, Political claims of, 36\u201338, 55;\n   hostile to the monarchy, 40, 47, 54;\n   subordinate to the king, 174, 175, 352, 353, 364\u2013366;\n   authority of, 358, 359, 363\u2013366;\n   mention of, 117, 178, 241, 280, 281, 291, 294, 325, 326, 331, 344,\n      345.\n\n Bjarkey code, a municipal law, 81.\n\n Bjarkudal bog, Norwegian marvel, 104.\n\n Blandina (Slieve Bloom mountains in Iceland), 107.\n\n Blom, Otto, Captain in Danish artillery, 32, 62, 63.\n\n Blood fine, 61.\n\n Blubber-cutters, 119.\n\n \u201cBluemen\u201d (negroes), 30.\n\n B\u00f6rnhoved, Battle of, 3.\n\n Brattices, 222.\n\n Breastplate, 219.\n\n Breeches for mounted warriors, 219.\n\n Breeding, Good, 227\u2013229.\n\n Brendan, Irish saint, 125 note.\n\n Brenner, Otto, editor of _Speculum Regale_, 69.\n\n \u201cBriar,\u201d weapon for defense, 223.\n\n British Isles, 29.\n\n Broadax, 215.\n\n\n Caaing whale, 119.\n\n Caesar, Christ\u2019s submission to, 43, 248, 249.\n\n Cain, 330, 363.\n\n Caltrop, device used in warfare, 215.\n\n Cap, hat, or coif, When not to wear a, 182, 184, 227.\n\n Capella, Martianus, encyclopedist, 5, 147 note.\n\n Cassiodorus, encyclopedist, 5.\n\n Castles, Weapons for attacking or defending, 220\u2013226.\n\n Cat, siege engine, 221, 222.\n\n _Chansons de geste_, 2.\n\n Cherubim, 270.\n\n Chess, 83, 228.\n\n Christiania, 68.\n\n Christiania edition of the _King\u2019s Mirror_, 62, 68, 69, 71.\n\n Christina, Norwegian princess, 31.\n\n Christopher, Danish king, 30.\n\n Church, The, relation of, to the monarchy, 35\u201338, 55, 357\u2013366;\n   ambitions of, 36, 37;\n   opposed by King Sverre, 40.\n\n Clauss\u00f6n, Peder, Norwegian writer, 65.\n\n Climate of Iceland and Greenland, 15, 96, 143, 148, 149, 153;\n   of Ireland, 23, 24, 105, 106;\n   affected by changes in the sun\u2019s course, 96\u201399.\n\n Cloena (Clonmacnois), Irish borough, 116, 117.\n\n Clothes, 181, 182, 219, 227, 254, 271.\n\n Coal, Use of, in warfare, 215.\n\n Cologne, 28.\n\n Conduct, Rules of, 80\u201383, 85, 182\u2013189, 205\u2013211, 227, 228.\n\n Constantine, 240\u2013244.\n\n Conversation, Rules governing, 186\u2013191, 209, 210, 227.\n\n Copenhagen, 66, 67, 68.\n\n \u201cCorse seal,\u201d 139.\n\n Cosmas, Egyptian monk and writer, 18 note.\n\n Court, The royal, customs of, 73, 173, 176\u2013179, 183, 208\u2013211;\n   promotion at, 169;\n   fashions at, 181\u2013186;\n   speech and conversation at, 186, 187;\n   habits suitable to life at, 208\u2013210.\n\n Courtesy, Rules of, 11, 227, 228;\n   _see_ Court.\n\n Crafts and professions, 73, 78.\n\n Craton, Roman philosopher, 242\u2013245.\n\n Crossbow, 215, 220.\n\n Croziermen, clerical faction in Norway, 37, 38, 54, 56.\n\n Crusades, Importance of, for the spread of culture, 27, 32, 33.\n\n Culture in the medieval North, 26\u201331.\n\n Curtain, a type of fortification, 222.\n\n Cyrus, 237.\n\n\n Daae, Ludvig, Norwegian historian, 44, 57, 62.\n\n Dagmar (Dragomir), Danish queen, 31.\n\n Dante, 49.\n\n Dart, 215.\n\n Dathan, Hebrew rebel, 279, 283.\n\n David, king of Israel, 42, 46, 52, 249, 275, 276, 278, 281, 284, 290,\n    291, 317, 320\u2013342, 344\u2013352, 361, 365.\n\n Dearth and failure of crops and morals, 33, 193\u2013204.\n\n Death penalty, 318\u2013321.\n\n _Defensor Pacis_, 49.\n\n _De Monarchia_, 49.\n\n Denmark, 3, 30, 38, 67.\n\n _Dialogs_ of Gregory the Great, 127, 130.\n\n Dice, Warning against, 83, 228.\n\n Diermicius, Irish saint, 111.\n\n Dirk, 219.\n\n _Disciplina Clericalis_, 9, 10, 26.\n\n Disobedience, Sin of, 52, 53, 325, 326.\n\n Divine right of kings, 41\u201345, 49, 59, 246\u2013250, 357, 358, 360, 364\u2013366.\n\n Dooms, _see_ Judgments and Penalties.\n\n Dorph, Chr., translator of the _King\u2019s Mirror_, 70 note.\n\n Dragons, 103.\n\n Drunkenness, Warning against, 83, 207, 210.\n\n\n Earth, Shape and constitution of the, 12\u201315, 97, 128, 148, 300.\n\n Earthquakes, 17, 18, 20, 21, 126, 129.\n\n Egypt, 235, 236, 240, 243, 279, 286.\n\n Einersen, Halfdan, editor of the _King\u2019s Mirror_, 66, 67.\n\n Elges\u00e6ter, Monastery of, 48, 52, 64.\n\n Elks, 29.\n\n Ell, 119 note.\n\n _Elucidarium_, 10, 75 note, 131 note.\n\n Embassies, 29\u201331, 172, 177, 178.\n\n Emmanuel, _see_ Manuel.\n\n Encyclopedists, 5, 6.\n\n England, 2, 29, 58.\n\n Erichsen, Jon, Icelandic scholar, 61, 67, 70.\n\n Erik, Swedish duke, 65 note.\n\n \u201cErken-seal,\u201d 139.\n\n Erling Skakke, Norwegian magnate, 36.\n\n Esquimaux, 79 note.\n\n Esther, queen of Persia, 238, 239, 244.\n\n Ethical ideas of the _King\u2019s Mirror_, 11, 77, 78, 80\u201383, 85, 205\u2013207,\n    213, 214, 228\u2013234.\n\n Etna, Mount, 17.\n\n Eve, the first woman, 252\u2013255, 264\u2013271.\n\n Excommunication, 38, 40, 365, 366.\n\n Eystein, Norwegian archbishop, 36, 38, 46.\n\n\n Falcons, 31, 144.\n\n Faroes, 4, 37.\n\n Finns, 79 note, 173 note.\n\n Finsen, Hans, Icelandic bishop, 61, 66, 67.\n\n Fire, Source of, 129.\n\n \u201cFish driver,\u201d a sort of whale, 120, 121.\n\n Fishes, Instincts of, 90.\n\n Flemish towns, 2.\n\n \u201cFlett seal,\u201d 139.\n\n Flom, G. T., editor of the _King\u2019s Mirror_, 25 note, 69, 70.\n\n France (and French), 26, 28, 39, 54, 81.\n\n Frederick II, emperor, 30, 44.\n\n\n Galilee, 354.\n\n Gambison, defensive covering, 212, 217\u2013219.\n\n Gardar, diocese in Greenland, 145 note.\n\n Garth, King\u2019s, 167.\n\n Geelmuyden, Hans, Norwegian astronomer, 59.\n\n \u201cGelts,\u201d 116.\n\n Geography of the _King\u2019s Mirror_, 11\u201317, 20.\n\n Germany, 27, 28, 33, 182.\n\n Gests, a higher class in the king\u2019s guard, 170, 171.\n\n Geysers, 21, 128, 130, 131.\n\n Giraldus Cambrensis, medieval writer, 22\u201324, 104 note, 106\u2013110 notes.\n\n Gjerset, Knut, historian, 168 note.\n\n Glaciers, 21, 130, 131, 151.\n\n Glass, molten, for defensive warfare, 224.\n\n Glosses, 272\u2013278.\n\n Glumelaga (Glendalough), Irish abbey, 112.\n\n Goliath, 329.\n\n G\u00f6ta River, 30.\n\n Grampus, 119, 120.\n\n Greenland, Geography and climate of, 4, 15, 16, 138, 139, 141\u2013150, 152,\n    153, 155;\n   northern lights in, 18, 146, 149\u2013152;\n   whales in the waters of, 18, 139, 140, 145;\n   marvels of, 21, 101, 105, 135\u2013141;\n   products and resources of, 142\u2013145, 149.\n\n Greenland sharks, 122.\n\n Greenland whale, 123, 124.\n\n Gregory the Great, 17, 40, 127, 130.\n\n Gregory VII, 36.\n\n Grosseteste, English bishop, 257 note.\n\n Guardsmen, King\u2019s, 6, 26, 176;\n   _see_ Kingsmen, Hirdmen, and Housecarles.\n\n\n Hair, how trimmed and worn at court, 182.\n\n Hakon IV, Norwegian king, 4, 6, 22, 29\u201335, 48, 57, 58, 60, 64, 65.\n\n Hakon V, Norwegian king, 65 note.\n\n _Hakon\u2019s Saga_, 30.\n\n Halberd, 215.\n\n Halogaland, district in northern Norway, 59, 98, 99.\n\n Haman, magnate at the Persian court, 238\u2013240, 245.\n\n Hamburg, 36.\n\n Hand sling, 213, 221.\n\n Hansa, the German, 2, 27.\n\n Hares in Greenland, 143.\n\n Harold Gilchrist (Gille), 34, 37.\n\n Hauberk, 219.\n\n Hawks, 29, 297, 298;\n   _see_ Falcons.\n\n Headward, 171.\n\n Heavenly bodies, Course of the, 11, 83, 86;\n   _see_ Sun and Moon.\n\n Hebrides, 4.\n\n Hebron, 321.\n\n \u201cHedgehog,\u201d defensive weapon, 222, 223.\n\n Heffermehl, A. V., Norwegian writer, 39 note, 57, 62.\n\n Helena, mother of Constantine, 241, 244.\n\n Hell, place of cold and heat, 131.\n\n Helmet, 219.\n\n Henry III, English king, 29, 58.\n\n Herod, Jewish king, 354\u2013356, 362.\n\n Hertzberg, Ebbe, Norwegian historian, 36 note.\n\n Hezekiah, king of Juda, 288, 289.\n\n Hirdmen, Honored position of, 171, 174\u2013176;\n   duties of, 177;\n   habits and diversions of, 207\u2013213.\n\n _Historia Scholastica_, 6, 10.\n\n Hiterdale, place in Iceland, 134.\n\n \u201cHog whale,\u201d 120, 123.\n\n Holar, town in Iceland, 66.\n\n Holly, holm, 107.\n\n Holstein, 27.\n\n Holy Spirit, Office and gifts of the, 275, 292, 294.\n\n Honorius of Autun, medieval theologian, 10, 75 note, 131 note, 147\n    note.\n\n Horn bow, 220.\n\n Horse, Equipment of the, in war, 217, 218.\n\n \u201cHorse whale,\u201d 122, 123.\n\n Housecarle fine, 169, 171.\n\n Housecarles, King\u2019s, 167, 170\u2013175.\n\n Household, The king\u2019s, organization and customs of, 11, 26, 29, 165,\n    166, 178;\n   how to gain admission to, 179\u2013184.\n\n Houses, God\u2019s two, on earth, 358\u2013360, 363, 364.\n\n Hudson, Henry, 136 note.\n\n Hugh of St. Victor, medieval theologian, 257 note.\n\n Humpback, a sort of whale, 123.\n\n Hundred, The two reckonings of, 94.\n\n Hungary, 33.\n\n Husbandmen, 6, 73, 92, 291.\n\n\n Icebergs, ice floes, 101, 126, 138, 139.\n\n Iceland, Norwegian colony, 4;\n   climate of, 15, 96, 126;\n   marvels of, 21, 101, 126\u2013134;\n   volcanic fires in, 17, 126\u2013131;\n   geysers in, 128;\n   mineral springs in, 134.\n\n Idols, Worship of, 189.\n\n Illinois, University of, 69.\n\n India, 11, 101, 102, 244.\n\n Inge, Norwegian king, 46, 58.\n\n Ingeborg, Swedish duchess, 65 note.\n\n Inhisgluer (Inishglory), island in Ireland, 108.\n\n Inisclodran, island in Ireland, 111.\n\n Innocent III, 38, 45.\n\n Interdict, 38.\n\n \u201cInvisible Society,\u201d The, 66.\n\n Ireland, Norwegian colony in, 4, 22;\n   marvels of, 11, 23, 101, 106\u2013118;\n   climate and inhabitants of, 105, 106.\n\n _Irish Nennius_, 24.\n\n Iron ore found in Iceland, 134.\n\n Isaiah, Hebrew prophet, 288, 289.\n\n Ishbosheth, king of Israel, 320, 321.\n\n Isidore of Seville, encyclopedist, 5, 13, 15 note, 18, 147.\n\n Island, Floating, 107, 108;\n   where bodies cannot decay, 108, 109;\n   where none can die, 109;\n   occupied by demons, 109, 110;\n   where no female is allowed, 111, 112.\n\n Israel, Land and people of, 46, 238, 239, 279, 280, 286, 317.\n\n Italian cities, 2.\n\n Ivar Bodde, Norwegian priest, 57\u201359, 62.\n\n\n Javelins, 215.\n\n Jericho, 279, 283.\n\n Jerome, Saint, 40.\n\n Jerusalem, 96, 97, 166, 338.\n\n Jesse, father of King David, 329.\n\n Jesus Christ recognized kingship, 42, 43, 247\u2013249;\n   showed mercy to the woman taken in adultery, 281, 282;\n   forgave Peter and the thief on the cross, 282;\n   raised Lazarus, 289.\n\n Jesus, son of Sirach, Hebrew writer, 303.\n\n Joab, Hebrew captain, 47, 48, 64, 341, 344, 346, 350\u2013353, 357\u2013359, 363.\n\n Job, 132, 133.\n\n John, Norwegian archbishop, 46.\n\n John the Baptist, 354.\n\n John, English king, 29, 58.\n\n John of Paris, medieval writer, 49.\n\n Joint kingship, Theory and evils of, 33\u201335, 60, 63, 198\u2013201, 203 note.\n\n Jonah, Hebrew prophet, 287.\n\n Jonathan, Saul\u2019s son, 330.\n\n Joseph, 235, 236, 240, 243, 244.\n\n Joshua, Hebrew chieftain, 279.\n\n Judas, 279, 284, 285.\n\n Judgments of God to serve as examples, 251\u2013258, 277\u2013289;\n   of a king at times to be lenient and at times severe, 251, 259, 278,\n      279, 313\u2013321;\n   diverse character of, 283\u2013285;\n   reasons for modifying, 285\u2013289;\n   of a king to be carefully thought out, 304\u2013313;\n   king\u2019s responsibility for, 363\u2013366;\n   of the bishops, 364\u2013366.\n\n Justice, divine virgin, 252, 254, 256\u2013259, 278, 279, 281, 283, 285,\n    287, 324, 328.\n\n Justin, priest, 309\u2013312.\n\n\n Kertinagh, island in Ireland, 109, 110.\n\n Kevinus, Irish saint, 112, 113.\n\n Keyser, Rudolf, Norwegian historian, 6 note, 68.\n\n King, The, authority and power of, 35, 40\u201345, 52, 75, 174, 175, 246,\n    247, 298, 299;\n   relation of, to the church, 35, 36, 46\u201348, 363\u2013366;\n   holds his title from God, 40\u201343, 49, 246\u2013251, 290;\n   judicial duties of, 114, 115, 251, 290, 304\u2013308, 314, 358\u2013360;\n   customs to be observed in presence of, 179\u2013192, 227, 228;\n   cap and mantle not to be worn in presence of, 182, 184\u2013186;\n   rules of speech in presence of, 183, 186\u2013191;\n   if unwise or young may bring ruin upon the land, 197\u2013203;\n   diversions of, 208, 209, 297, 298;\n   business of, during the day, 246, 250, 298;\n   to give thought to the realm at night, 250;\n   needs to be well informed, 251;\n   prayer of, 290\u2013296;\n   should attend the services of the church, 290, 297;\n   should meditate on the source of wisdom, 299.\n\n King\u2019s Crag, Norwegian borough, 30.\n\n Kingship, Joint, _see_ Joint kingship.\n\n Kingship, Norwegian theory of, 33\u201335, 39\u201344.\n\n Kingsmen, 78, 79, 85, 164;\n   advantages of being, 167\u2013172, 175;\n   classes of, 170\u2013173, 176;\n   how to become, 179\u2013184.\n   duties of, 207\u2013213.\n\n _King\u2019s Mirror_, The, plan and purpose of, 6\u20138, 72\u201376;\n   author of, 8, 9, 54\u201360, 77, 79;\n   relation of, to other works, 8\u201310, 19, 20, 22\u201326;\n   scientific notions of, 11\u201321, 83, 87, 91\u201399, 126\u2013132, 145, 146;\n   date of composition of, 32, 35, 55, 60\u201364;\n   political theories of, 39\u201348;\n   ethical and theological ideas of, 49\u201352;\n   modern characteristics of, 53, 54;\n   place of composition of, 59, 60;\n   manuscripts of, 65, 66, 68\u201370;\n   editions and translations of, 66\u201371;\n   mention of, 39, 44, 46\u201349, 52\u201354, 61, 68, 71, 74;\n   _see Speculum Regale_.\n\n Kiranus, Irish saint, 117.\n\n Klefsan, Irish clown, 118.\n\n Knee pieces, 219.\n\n Knights, 178, 322.\n\n Knowledge, Tree of, 252, 253, 255, 264, 265.\n\n _Kongespegelen_, 70.\n\n Kraken, The, 22, 125.\n\n\n Ladders, Scaling, 221, 225.\n\n Lakes, Miracle working, 106\u2013110.\n\n Landedmen, holders of fiefs in Norway, 172, 175.\n\n Langton, Stephen, English archbishop, 257 note.\n\n Languages, Study of, encouraged, 81.\n\n Latin language, Importance of the, 39, 54, 81.\n\n Law, Study of, 81.\n\n Lawrence, Saint, 309\u2013313.\n\n Lazarus, 289.\n\n Lead, Molten, useful in defensive warfare, 224.\n\n Leap year, 94.\n\n Levites, 51.\n\n Liberal arts, The seven, 303.\n\n Licentiousness, to be avoided, 83, 206, 228.\n\n Lightning, Source of, 129.\n\n Lofoten, 59, 98 note.\n\n Logechag (Lough Neagh?), lake in Ireland, 106, 107.\n\n Logherne (Lough Erne or Lough Owel), lake in Ireland, 109, 110.\n\n Logri (Loch Cr\u00e9 or Loch Ree), lake in Ireland, 109, 111.\n\n Longbow, 215.\n\n Louis IX, French king, 31.\n\n Low Countries, 28.\n\n Loycha, lake in Ireland, 107, 108.\n\n Lucifer, 259, 262\u2013268, 271.\n\n Lund, Swedish cathedral town, 36.\n\n\n Macrobius, 15, 147 note, 154 note.\n\n Magnus Bareleg, Norwegian king, 34.\n\n Magnus the Blind, Norwegian king, 34.\n\n Magnus Erlingsson, Norwegian king, 36, 37, 55.\n\n Magnus Lawmender, Norwegian king, 44, 61.\n\n Magnussen, Arne, antiquarian, 65.\n\n Mail hose, 219.\n\n Mainz, 28.\n\n Man, Isle of, 4, 22.\n\n Manners, Personal, 32, 164\u2013166, 169, 173, 176\u2013187, 192, 193, 227, 228;\n   _see also_ Court, Household, and King.\n\n Mantle, When not to wear a, 181, 182, 184\u2013186, 227.\n\n Manuel Comnenus, Byzantine emperor, 60, 101 note.\n\n Marble in Greenland, 144.\n\n Mark, measure of value, 168 note, 172.\n\n Marsiglio of Padua, medieval political theorist, 49.\n\n Martianus Capella, _see_ Capella.\n\n Marvels, _see_ Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, India, Ireland, and Norway.\n\n Mary, The Virgin, 85.\n\n Matthew, an envoy from the imperial court, 30.\n\n Matthew Paris, English monk and historian, 31.\n\n Melchisedek, 361.\n\n Merchants and the mercantile profession, 6, 11, 28, 73, 78, 79\u201386,\n    92\u201394, 163, 164, 173.\n\n Mercy, divine virgin, 252, 254, 256\u2013259, 279\u2013281, 283, 285, 287, 324,\n    328.\n\n _Meregarto_, German poem, 19 note.\n\n Mermaid, 22, 136, 137.\n\n Merman, 22, 135, 136.\n\n Meyer, Kuno, 25, 109 note, 116 note, 117 note.\n\n Military art and engines, 11, 32, 62, 63, 211\u2013226.\n\n Mineral springs in Iceland, 21, 134, 135.\n\n Mines in warfare, 225.\n\n Minorities, 35, 60, 197, 203 note.\n\n \u201cMirrors of Princes,\u201d 7 note.\n\n Missiles used in warfare, 224, 225.\n\n Monsters, 101, 105, 110, 115, 125, 135\u2013137.\n\n Moon, The, and its influence on the ocean, 92\u201394, 300.\n\n Mordecai, Hebrew magnate at the Persian court, 238\u2013240, 245.\n\n M\u00f6re, Norwegian shire, 104.\n\n Moses, 51, 52, 280, 281, 283, 285\u2013287, 290, 317, 318, 358, 361.\n\n Munch, Peter Andreas, Norwegian historian, 68.\n\n Munster, 107 note.\n\n\n Namdalen, district in Norway, 9 note, 59, 60.\n\n Nansen, Fridtjof, 20, 21.\n\n Narwhal, 122, 123.\n\n Nathan, Hebrew prophet, 322, 324, 328, 344, 345, 347.\n\n _Natural History_ of the Elder Pliny, 18.\n\n Navigation, Rules and information relating to, 83\u201385, 90, 100, 156\u2013162.\n\n Nero, 362.\n\n Nibelungs, Tales of the, 3.\n\n Nicholas Petersson, Norwegian bishop, 46.\n\n Nicholas S\u00e6mundarson, Norwegian abbot, 28 note.\n\n Nidaros, 9 note, 36, 48;\n   _see_ Trondhjem.\n\n Night and day, Changes of, 94, 98, 104.\n\n Nineveh, 287.\n\n Nob, city in Israel, 331, 332, 347, 352, 362, 365.\n\n Nordland, northern Norway, 98 note.\n\n Northern lights, 18, 19, 101, 146, 149\u2013152.\n\n Norway, Colonies of, 4;\n   literature of, in the middle ages, 4\u20136;\n   marvels of, 18, 19, 21, 99\u2013101, 103\u2013105;\n   trade of, 29;\n   factional warfare in, 35, 52;\n   mention of, 28, 59, 65, 68, 138 note.\n\n\n Occam, William, medieval schoolman, 49.\n\n Olaf, Norwegian saint and king, 36.\n\n Ordeal, Harold Gilchrist\u2019s, 34.\n\n \u201cOre-marvel\u201d in Iceland, 134.\n\n Orkneys, 4.\n\n _Ostenta_, _ostensa_, minutes of time, 16, 20, 95.\n\n\n Paradise, 252, 255, 261, 263.\n\n Parmenides of Ela, 15 note.\n\n Patrick, Saint, 110 note, 115.\n\n Paul, Norwegian bishop, 46.\n\n Paul, Saint, 275.\n\n Peace, divine virgin, 252, 254, 256\u2013259, 279\u2013281, 283, 285, 287.\n\n Peasants, yeomen, 73, 78, 172, 174;\n   _see_ Husbandmen.\n\n Penalties, 318\u2013322, 324, 325, 327, 328.\n\n Penance, Theory of, 51, 52, 318, 319, 321, 343, 346.\n\n Pens, S\u00f6ren, Icelandic merchant, 66.\n\n Persia, 244 note.\n\n Peter, Saint, 42, 248, 249, 282, 284, 285.\n\n Peter, Skule\u2019s son, 48.\n\n Petrifying waters, 104, 105, 107, 128.\n\n Petrus Alfonsus, 9, 26.\n\n Petrus Comestor, 6, 10.\n\n Pharaoh, 236, 244, 278, 283, 305.\n\n Philistines, 329.\n\n Pilgrims and pilgrimages, 3, 19, 27, 28.\n\n Pitch, Use of, in defensive warfare, 225.\n\n Pliny the Elder, 18.\n\n Plural and singular terms, Proper use of, 187\u2013190.\n\n Polo, Marco, 2.\n\n Pope, 175, 241, 294.\n\n Porpoise, 119.\n\n Portugal, 31.\n\n \u201cPraise of Divine Wisdom,\u201d Alexander Neckam\u2019s, 12.\n\n Prester John, 11, 101 note.\n\n Pretenders to the Norwegian throne, 34, 35, 48.\n\n Promises, _see_ Vows.\n\n Proper names, Irish, 25.\n\n \u201cProw-boar,\u201d device used in naval warfare, 216.\n\n Psalter, 276.\n\n Ptolemaic theory of the universe, 12\u201314.\n\n Purgatory of Saint Patrick, 110 note.\n\n\n Rabanus, Maurus, medieval scholar and writer, 20, 95 note, 147 note.\n\n Ram, siege engine, 221, 222.\n\n \u201cRaven whale,\u201d 120.\n\n \u201cRed comb,\u201d a sort of whale, 122, 123.\n\n Reindeer in Greenland, 145.\n\n Rhine River, 27, 28.\n\n Riant, Count, 19.\n\n Right whale, 121, 123 note.\n\n Rome, 27, 28, 241.\n\n Rorqual, 124.\n\n \u201cRunning wheel,\u201d device used in defending castles, 223.\n\n\n _Sachsenspiegel_, 8.\n\n Saddle for use in warfare, 218, 219.\n\n Saddleback, a sort of seal, 140.\n\n Saint Edmundsbury, 38.\n\n Salmon, 109.\n\n Samuel, Hebrew prophet, 326, 328, 329.\n\n Sanctuary, Right of, 48, 64, 348, 351\u2013353, 357, 358, 363.\n\n Satan, 132, 133.\n\n Saul, king of Israel, 42, 52, 53, 279, 283, 317, 319\u2013322, 325\u2013337,\n 339, 340, 344, 347, 357, 362.\n\n Saxon lands, 27, 28.\n\n Scarlet, 181.\n\n Scherer, W., 257 note.\n\n Sch\u00f6ning, Gerhard, Norwegian scholar, 66, 67.\n\n Scythes for use in warfare, 215.\n\n \u201cSea hedges,\u201d sea quakes, 21, 101, 137, 138.\n\n Seals, 21, 139, 140, 142, 145.\n\n Self-control, The virtue of, 231\u2013233.\n\n Serpent, The, in Paradise, 252, 253, 255, 261, 266\u2013270, 272.\n\n Shabrack, covering for war horse, 218.\n\n Shetlands, 4.\n\n Shield-giant, military contrivance, 226.\n\n \u201cShield whale,\u201d 120.\n\n Shimei, Biblical character, 341\u2013343, 346, 353.\n\n Ships, Care of, 83\u201385;\n   defense of, 215\u2013217.\n\n \u201cShort seal,\u201d 140.\n\n \u201cShot wagon,\u201d device for defending castles, 223, 224.\n\n Sicily, 17, 30, 127, 130.\n\n Siege warfare, 220\u2013226.\n\n Sigurd Jerusalemfarer, Norwegian king, 28 note, 34.\n\n Sinai, Mount, 285.\n\n Skis, Running on, 103, 104.\n\n Skule, Norwegian earl and duke, 31, 35, 48, 52, 63, 64.\n\n Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study, The, 70.\n\n Solinus, 19 note.\n\n Solomon, Hebrew king, 46, 47, 64, 303, 340\u2013354, 357, 358, 363\u2013365.\n\n \u201cSong of the High One,\u201d Eddic poem, 50.\n\n Sor\u00f6, Danish city, 66, 67.\n\n Sor\u00f6 edition of the _King\u2019s Mirror_, 61, 65\u201368, 70, 120 note.\n\n Spain, 31.\n\n \u201cSpear whale,\u201d 120.\n\n _Speculum Ecclesiae_, 7.\n\n _Speculum Majus_, 6.\n\n _Speculum Naturale_, 7.\n\n _Speculum Perfectionis_, 7.\n\n _Speculum Regale_, 6\u20139, 17, 19, 22, 25, 43, 45, 49, 50, 56, 59, 61, 66,\n    68\u201370, 74, 101 note;\n   _see King\u2019s Mirror_.\n\n _Speculum Regis_, 8.\n\n _Speculum Regum_, 8.\n\n _Speculum Stultorum_, 7.\n\n Sperm, 124.\n\n Sperm whale, 121.\n\n Springs, Marvelous, 107.\n\n Staff slings, 213, 215, 221.\n\n Steenstrup, I. Japetus S., Danish scientist, 137 note.\n\n Stephen, Athenian judge, 309\u2013313.\n\n Stockholm, 82 note.\n\n Storm, Gustav, Norwegian historian, 62.\n\n Strindsea, Battle of, 58.\n\n Suibhne Geilt, Irish legendary character, 116 note.\n\n Sulphur, Use of, in warfare, 215, 225.\n\n Sun, The, office of, 87, 300;\n   effect of, on the winds, 87\u201389, 158\u2013160;\n   changes in the course of, 92\u201399, 104, 149, 155, 156;\n   influence of, on climate, 96\u201399.\n\n Surcingle, 218.\n\n Sverre, Norwegian king, 34, 37\u201339, 47, 54\u201361.\n\n Sweden, 3, 4, 30, 65.\n\n Swords of kings and bishops, 364\u2013366.\n\n Sylvester, pope and saint, 241.\n\n\n Table service and manners, 80, 210, 211, 227, 228.\n\n Tar, Use of, in warfare, 225\n\n Tara, 113 note;\n   _see_ Themar.\n\n Tarquin, Roman citizen, 310, 311, 313, 314.\n\n Thegn, King\u2019s, 61.\n\n Thegn money, 168, 171.\n\n Themar, Irish borough, 113\u2013115, 308, 312, 314.\n\n Theodoric, 3.\n\n Theodosius II, Roman emperor, 316 note.\n\n Thieves, The two, at the crucifixion, 282, 285.\n\n Thomas Aquinas, medieval philosopher and theologian, 2.\n\n Tides, 12, 16, 17, 83, 86, 92\u201394.\n\n Time, Divisions of, 11, 16, 93\u201395.\n\n Tools for ship repairs, 84.\n\n _Topographia Hibernica_ of Giraldus Cambrensis, 22, 23.\n\n Torment, Places of, in Sicily and Iceland, 130, 131.\n\n Towers for siege warfare, 215, 216, 221, 225.\n\n Trebuckets, siege engines, 220, 222.\n\n Trondhjem, 26, 46, 59, 64, 66;\n   _see_ Nidaros.\n\n Truth, divine virgin, 252, 254, 255, 257\u2013259, 278, 279, 281, 283, 285,\n    287, 324.\n\n Tunis, 31.\n\n Turnpikes for use in defensive warfare, 223.\n\n\n Ulster, 107 note.\n\n Unas, a Faroese, 37.\n\n Unger, Carl R., editor of the _King\u2019s Mirror_, 68.\n\n Ur, Hebrew high priest, 280, 284.\n\n Uriah, Hebrew warrior, 53, 281, 322\u2013325, 328.\n\n Utrecht, 28.\n\n\n Vaag, fishing village in Lofoten, 98.\n\n Valdemar the Victorious, Danish king, 3, 4, 31.\n\n Valladolid, 31.\n\n Vashti, Persian queen, 237, 238, 240, 243, 244.\n\n Venomous animals unable to live in Ireland, 106.\n\n Vincent of Beauvais, encyclopedist, 5.\n\n Volcanic fires, 17, 21, 126\u2013129, 130, 131.\n\n Vows and promises, when to be kept and when broken, 353\u2013357.\n\n _Vulgate_, 9.\n\n\n Wadmol, cloth for sail repair, 84.\n\n Walrus, 21, 140, 141.\n\n \u201cWar-beams,\u201d 215.\n\n Warfare, Private, 50, 231.\n\n Weapons suitable for warfare on land, 213, 214, 217\u2013226;\n   on board ships, 214\u2013217.\n\n Whalebone, 124.\n\n Whales, 18, 21, 119\u2013124, 139, 140, 145.\n\n White bears, 143.\n\n White whale, 120.\n\n William, king\u2019s chaplain, 29, 57.\n\n William of Sabina, cardinal, 31, 55.\n\n Willow, Miracle of the, 112, 113.\n\n Winds, Covenant of the, 87\u201389, 158\u2013161;\n   importance of, in navigation, 150, 160.\n\n Wisdom, Source and beginning of, 77, 78, 230, 299, 300;\n   nature of, 229\u2013234, 300, 302, 303;\n   speech of, 300\u2013303.\n\n Woden, 50.\n\n Wolves, Men turned into, 115;\n   in Greenland, 143.\n\n Woman taken in adultery, 281, 282.\n\n\n Year, Divisions of the, 94.\n\n\n Zadoc, Hebrew priest, 344\u2013347.\n\n Zenophilus, Roman prince, 242\u2013245.\n\n Zion (Gihon), 345.\n\n Zones of heat and cold, 15, 16, 147, 148, 153\u2013155, 162.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n \u25cf Transcriber\u2019s Notes:\n    \u25cb Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected.\n    \u25cb Typographical errors were silently corrected.\n    \u25cb Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only\n      when a predominant form was found in this book.\n    \u25cb Text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).","title":"The King's Mirror (Speculum regale-Konungs skuggsj\u00e1)","tradition":"philosophy-ethics","translated_text":null,"word_count":117512}