Konungs skuggsjá
Konungs skuggsjá (Old Norse for "King's mirror"; Latin: Speculum regale, modern Norwegian: Kongsspegelen (Nynorsk) or Kongespeilet (Bokmål)) is a Norwegian didactic text in Old Norse from around 1250, an example of speculum literature that deals with politics and morality.
The son asks, and is advised by his father about practical and moral matters, concerning trade, the hird, chivalric behavior, strategy and tactics.
Parts of Konungs skuggsjá deals with the relationship between church and state.
A study of the relations of the text's manuscripts was undertaken by Ludvig Holm-Olsen,[1] underpinning his 1983 edition, which is presently the standard one.
[2] The seventy chapters of the text consist of a prologue and two main parts, of which the second may perhaps be subdivided into two sections, one focused on the king's court, the other (more specifically) on the king's justice.
In the prologue, the speaker sets out to deal with merchants, kingsmen, the clergy and peasants, but his discussion does not extend much beyond the first two classes.
It seems possible that the last two chapters were originally intended for a separate treatment of the clergy.
The son states the purpose of the work, useful as he considers it to be both as a King's Mirror and as a handbook for a wider audience.
Relation between the quality of crops and the moral standard of government 37.
The importance of severity in the king's judgment, and the Fall of Lucifer 50–3.
The book gives advice on various subjects, such as seafaring and trading: A merchant must often put his own life at stake.
Therefore, the merchant must always behave in a good manner in the places where he happens to find himself.There are several chapters on marvels in various countries.
For example, it tells of an encounter which fits the description of a wild man or Woodwose: It once happened in that country (and this seems indeed strange) that a living creature was caught in the forest as to which no one could say definitely whether it was a man or some other animal; for no one could get a word from it or be sure that it understood human speech.
It had the human shape, however, in every detail, both as to hands and face and feet; but the entire body was covered with hair as the beasts are, and down the back it had a long coarse mane like that of a horse, which fell to both sides and trailed along the ground when the creature stooped in walking.Another story tells that after mass in a church in Ireland, the people found an anchor hanging from a rope from the sky.
