THE KING'S MIRROR 53 



dishonored Uriah's wife and afterward brought about 

 Uriah's death; for Saul neglected to carry out the com- 

 mands of God, and " no offense is graver than to be 

 disobedient toward one's superiors." * 



The King's Mirror is a medieval document; it was in 

 large part inspired by the course of events in Norway 

 during the century of the civil wars; it records the scien- 

 tific and political thought of a certain definite period in 

 Norwegian history. But even though the author of the 

 work must be classed among the thinkers of his own 

 time, his place is far in advance of most of his fellows. 

 His outlook on the world is broader than that of most 

 medieval writers. In matters of science he is less credu- 

 lous and IgssJKpupH hy thpftJ^giVal tliigV than others 

 who wrote on these subjects in his own century or 

 earlier. On such questions as the cause of earthquakes 

 and the source of the northern lights he shows an ppen- 

 mindedness, which is rarely met with in the middle 

 ages.| For the author's view of life was not wholly me- 

 dieval; on many subjects we find him giving utterance 

 to thoughts which have a distinctly modern appearance. 



His theory of tViP staip anH itc fiinntinng ic Hi<atinrtl.y 



But it is probably in the field of education 



where the great Northman is farthest in advance of his 

 time. In his day the work of instruction was still in the 

 hands of the church; and the churchmen showed no 

 great anxiety to educate men except for the clerical 

 profession. The King's Mirror, however, teaches that 



t See Larson, " Scientific Knowledge in the North in the Thirteenth Cen- 

 tury ": Publications of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study, 

 I, 141-146. 



