THE KING'S MIRROR 11 



illustrate his/owj theories of Norwegian kingship. He 

 was acquainted with some of the legends that circulated 

 through the church and made effective use of them. 

 He must also have known a work on the marvels of 

 Ireland * and the letter of Prester John to the Byzan- 

 tine emperor, f in which that mythical priest-king re- 

 counts the wonders of India. But the chief source of 

 his work is a long life full of action, conflict, thought, 

 and experience. 



The importRTirp of thp King's Mirror lies in the in- 

 sight that, it givps into the ...state of culture and civiliqa- 

 jJ2!L_flf ft 1 ** N^rtk in thft late** midf^ flg fts - The interest 



follows seven different lines i^^^sjcaTsc^n^) espe- 

 cially such matters as are of importance to navigators; 

 geography/ particularly the geography of the Arctic 

 lands and waters; the organization of the king's house- 

 hold and the privileges and duties of the king's hench- 

 men; military engines, weapons, and armour used in 

 offensive and defensive warfare; ethical ideas, especially 

 rules of conduct for courtiers and merchants; the royal 

 office, the duties of the king and the divine origin of 

 kingship; and the place of the church in the Norwegian 

 state. 



In one of his earlier chapters the author enumerates 

 the chief subjects of a scientific character that ought 

 to be studied by every one who wishes to Won a suc- 

 cessful merchant. These are the great luminaries of the 

 sky, the motions and the paths of the heavenly bodies, 

 the divisions of time and the changes that bring the 

 seasons, the cardinal points of the compass, and the 



* See below, pp. 22-25. f See below, p. 101 (c. viii). 



