THE KING'S MIRROR 33 



beginning. The fifth crusade began in 1217, the year of 

 Hakon IV's accession to the kingship. Several Nor- 

 wegian chiefs with their followers joined this movement, 

 some marching by land through Germany and Hungary, 

 while others took the sea route. One is tempted to be- 

 lieve that the author was himself a crusader, but it is 

 also possible that he got his information as to the mili- 

 tary art of the south and east from warriors who re- 

 turned from those lands. 



From the subject of proper behavior and good breed- 

 ing the author passes to a discussion of_pvil conduct and 

 its pflfc^t on thtt wHfnre ^ *k*> kingdom, Many causes, 

 he tells us, may combine to bring calamities upon a 

 land, and if the evils continue any length of time, the 

 realm will be ruined.* There may come dearth upon the 

 fields and the fishing grounds near the shores; plagues 

 may carry away cattle, and the huntsman may find a 

 scarcity of game; but worst of all is the dearth which 

 sometimes comes upon the intellects and the moral 

 nature of men. As a prolific source of calamities of the 

 last sort, the author mentions the jnst-itllt- 1 ' 1 "f joint 



kingship, *V>^ wila nf whinh h^ rlisniigggg a.f cnm^ Ipngth 



His chapter on this subject is an epitome of Norwegian 

 history in the twelfth century when joint kingship was 

 the rule. 



to the laws of medieval Norway before- 



allo.dial possession and was inherited by his sons, at his 

 death. All his sons were legaLheir&y-tko&e.ol illegitimate 

 birth as well as .those j^JxajKereuho 



*C.xxxv. 



