"Saxon mirror": symbols and metaphors

Abstract

The “Saxon Mirror” (“Sachsenspiegel”) was the most famous account of customary law in Europe and the first legal treatise written by a secular person. It reflected the mentality of medieval society, imbued with faith in God, Christianity, and metaphorical thinking. The gestures, numbers, clothing, colours have symbolic meaning there. The metaphor of the body was used by the author to explain contemporary social institutions. The text of the “Saxon Mirror” was significantly influenced by the Old Testament.