The King's Mirror (Speculum regale-Konungs skuggsjá) — A Closer Reading

lso true of Norway, though in a lesser degree. In that country, too, life was in great measure a continuous struggle with the soil and the sea. Still, even in that land and age, the spirits were active, the arts flourished, and the North added her contribution to the treasures of European culture.

The poems and tales of those virile days, the eddas and sagas, are too familiar to need more than a mention in this connection. But the fact is not so commonly known that the medieval Northmen were thinkers and students as well as poets and romancers. They, too, were interested in the mysteries of the universe, in the problems of science, and in the intricate questions of social relationships. In their thinking on these matters they showed more intellectual independence and less slavish regard for venerable authority than was usually the case among medieval writers. And of all the men who in that age of faith tried to analyse and set in order their ideas of the world in which they moved, perhaps none drew more largely on his own spiritual resources than the unknown author of the _King’s Mirror_.

Unlike the sagas and related writings, the purpose of the _King’s Mirror_ is utilitarian and didactic. The author has before him a group of serious and important problems, which he proceeds to discuss for the instruction of his readers. Consequently, certain qualities of style that are often associated with Old Norse literature are not apparent in his work to any marked degree. In his effort to make his language clear, definite, and intelligible, the author sometimes finds it necessary to repeat and restate his ideas, with the result that his literary style is frequently stiff, labored, and pedantic. These defects are, however, not characteristic of the book as a whole. Many of its chapters display rare workmanship and prove that the author of the _King’s Mirror_ is one of the great masters of Old Norse prose.

In preparing the translation of this unique work, my aim has been to reproduce the author’s thought as faithfully as possible and to state it in such a form as to satisfy the laws of English syntax. But I have also felt that, so far as it can be done, the flavor of the original should be retained and that a translator, in his effort to satisfy certain conventional demands of modern composition, should not deviate too far from the path of mental habit that the author has beaten in his roamings through the fields of thought. Peculiarities of style and expression, can, it is true, usually not be reproduced in another language; at the same time it is possible to ignore these considerations to such an extent that the product becomes a paraphrase rather than a translation; and I have believed that such a rendition should be avoided, even at the risk of erring on the side of literalness.

The importance of the _King’s Mirror_ as a source of information in the study of medieval thought was first brought to my attention by Professor Julius E. Olson of the University of Wisconsin, who has also, since the work of preparing this edition was begun, followed its progress with helpful interest. Professors G. T. Flom and A. H. Lybyer of the University of Illinois, and Professor W. H. Schofield of Harvard University, have read the manuscript in whole or part and have contributed many valuable suggestions. My wife, Lillian May Larson, has assisted in a great variety of ways, as in all my work. Dr. H. G. Leach of the American-Scandinavian Foundation has read the proof sheets of the entire volume and has suggested many improvements in the text. To all these persons I wish to express my thanks. I am also deeply indebted to the trustees of the American-Scandinavian Foundation whose generosity has made it possible to publish the work at this time.

_University of Illinois, August, 1917._

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NORTHERN LITERATURE IN THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY 1

THE SPECULUM REGALE, OR KING’S MIRROR; SOURCES 6

SCIENTIFIC LORE AND THE BELIEF IN MARVELS 11

COURTESY AND THE KING’S HOUSEHOLD 26

THE THEORY OF THE DIVINE RIGHT OF NORWEGIAN 33 KINGSHIP

ETHICAL AND THEOLOGICAL IDEAS OF THE WORK 49

MODERN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE KING’S MIRROR 53

THE PROBLEM OF AUTHORSHIP 54

DATE AND PLACE OF COMPOSITION 59

EDITIONS OF THE KING’S MIRROR 65

I. INTRODUCTION: NAME AND PURPOSE OF THE WORK 72

II. “THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM” 76

III. THE ACTIVITIES AND HABITS OF A MERCHANT 79

IV. THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED 81

V. THE SUN AND THE WINDS 86

VI. THE TIDES AND THE CHANGES IN THE COURSE OF THE SUN 92

VII. THE SUBJECT OF THE SUN’S COURSE CONTINUED 95

VIII. THE MARVELS OF NORWAY 99