Magnus VI, called Lawmender (1238-80), king of Norway (1263-80), who replaced the various provincial laws with a common national code. The son and successor of Håkon IV, he continued the governmental reforms begun by his father, establishing a hereditary nobility and making the king's council a permanent institution. His national law code, issued in 1274, for the first time made the punishment for crime a public rather than a private responsibility. In 1277 he concluded a concordat with the church and issued a special municipal code, which was based on the existing institutions of Bergen. He was succeeded by his son, Eric the Priesthater.