Before the royal wedding, the Lannisters and Tyrells come together for a breakfast. As is customary, this is when the wedding gifts are presented. Mace Tyrell gives Joffrey an elaborately decorated goblet, followed by Tyrion, who gives him a book titled The Lives of Four Kings. At first Joffrey accepts it with courtesy and grace. However, when Tywin presents him with the gift of a freshly forged Valyrian steel sword (made from Ice), Joffrey tests it out on the book, chopping it to pieces. Joffrey has always been a loathsome character, and this scene only adds to his long list of loathsome acts. A fact missing from the show is that there are only 4 copies of that book in existence, which makes his destruction of it all the more perverse. Joffrey could potentially learn to be a more intelligent and just ruler from the knowledge of kings past, but humiliating his uncle matters more. Its such an incredibly immature and childish act. As if we didnt hate him enough already, now he is a book burner. Unfortunately, this is just the beginning of the awfulness that Joffrey puts Tyrion through in this episode.