226 THE KING'S MIRROR 



a wooden tower that is moving toward a castle may be 

 foiled by setting up strong, firm posts rising consider- 

 ably higher than the attacking tower. But a more effec- 

 tive contrivance than all the engines that I have now 

 described is a stooping shield-giant which breathes forth 

 flame and fire.* And now we shall close our account of 

 the engines that are useful in defending castle walls with 

 the reminder that every sort of weapon with which one 

 can shoot, hurl, hew, or thrust, and every kind that 

 can be used in attack or defense may be brought into 

 service. 



XL 



THE PROPER MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF A ROYAL COURT 



Son. Since you seem to think that sufficient has been 

 said about weapons both for attack and defense, how 

 they should be made or built, and on what occasion each 

 kind should be used (and after your comments these 

 things are very clear to me), I now wish to ask whether 

 there may not be other subjects which you think ought 

 to be discussed, such as pertain to customs that one 

 must observe in the presence of great men or at royal 

 courts. 



Father. There still remain a number of things which 

 a man should not fail to hear discussed and to reflect 

 upon, if he is to attend on kings or other magnates and 



* The shield-giant was probably a mythical device; but it is possible as has 

 been suggested that its fiery breath may refer to the use of Greek fire, with 

 which the Norwegians became acquainted during the crusades, or even to 

 early experiments with gunpowder. Falk, Altnordische Waffenkunde, 200-201. 

 It is not known when gunpowder was invented, but the earliest known for- 

 mula for making it is found in the writings of Roger Bacon, who was a con- 

 temporary of the author of the King's Mirror. 



