The Sachsenspiegel (literally “Saxon Mirror”, roughly “Survey of Saxon Law”; Middle Low German Sassen Speyghel, Low German Sassenspegel) is the most important law book and custumal of the German Middle Ages. Written ca. 1220 as a record of existing customary law, it was used in parts of Germany until as late as 1900, and is important not only for its lasting effect on German law, but also as an early example of written prose in a German language, being the first lengthy legal document to have been written in a continental Germanic language, instead of Latin. A Latin edition is known to have existed, but only fragmented chapters remain.

The Sachsenspiegel (literally “Saxon Mirror”, roughly “Survey of Saxon Law”; Middle Low German Sassen Speyghel, Low German Sassenspegel) is the most important law book and custumal of the German Middle Ages. Written ca. 1220 as a record of existing customary law, it was used in parts of Germany until as late as 1900, and is important not only for its lasting effect on German law, but also as an early example of written prose in a German language, being the first lengthy legal document to have been written in a continental Germanic language, instead of Latin. A Latin edition is known to have existed, but only fragmented chapters remain.