THE KING'S MIRROR 167 



the men who have gone to the king's hand * are 

 housecarles Jbut honors and authority \are distributed 

 among them according to the merits of each and as the 

 king wishes to grant.)[Thus one class of housecarles is 

 made up of men who are always present at court, but 

 draw no wages, and do not eat and drink where thejiird- 

 men take their meals. They have to do such service in 

 the king's garth as the steward shall assign, whether it 

 be to go on a journey or to do manual labor in the garth.] 



XXVI 



THE ADVANTAGES DERIVED FROM SERVICE 

 IN THE KING'S HOUSEHOLD 



Son. I pray you, sire, not to regard me as thoughtless 

 or as wishing to interrupt your discourse, if I inquire 

 briefly about the duties of these men. 



Father. While we are on this subject, you had better 

 ask what you like, or you may regret it later, having 

 come away ill informed about what you wanted to hear, 

 because you did not inquire sufficiently. 



Son. Since those whom you have just mentioned live 

 by labor and manual toil in the king's garth and have 

 no greater honors than at home in the country, what 

 advantage do they find in being with the king more 

 than in serving their parents or kinsmen in the country 

 or engaging in trade and winning wealth in that way ? 



Father. There are many reasons why such men would 

 rather be at court than live in the country or engage in 



* To go to the king's hand (ganga konungi til handa) is the technical term for 

 the formal initiation into the royal service. " The king was in his high-seat 

 with his guard grouped about him; across his knees lay a sword, his right 



