Medieval educational literary genre for royals
Mirrors for princes ormirrors of princes (Latin :specula principum ) constituted a literarygenre of didacticpolitical writings that were established in antiquity but increased in popularity throughout theMiddle Ages and theRenaissance . It was part of the broaderspeculum or mirror literature genre.
These texts most frequently take the form of textbooks for the instruction of monarchs on successfulgovernance andbehavior . Authors often composed such "mirrors" at the accession of a new king, when a young and inexperienced ruler was about to come to assumeroyal authority .
Some of the earliest writers on this genre includeAristotle ,Plato , andXenophon .[ 1] Sedulius Scottus (fl. 840–860), the Irish poet associated with the Pangur Bán gloss poem (c. 9th century). Possibly the best known European "mirror" isThe Prince c. 1513) by Niccolò Machiavelli , although this was not the most typical example.
Plato ,Republic Xenophon ,The Education of Cyrus Aristotle ,Politics Isocrates ,To Nicocles andEvagoras Philodemus ,The Good King According to Homer Dio Chrysostom ,The First Discourse on Kingship ,The Second Discourse on Kingship ,The Third Discourse on Kingship , andThe Fourth Discourse on Kingship Cicero ,De Officiis Seneca ,De Clementia Plutarch ,Moralia c. 100 AD ) Pliny the Younger ,Panegyric of Trajan (100 AD)Eusebius of Caesarea 'sLife of Constantine Ambrose ,De officiis ministrorum Augustine of Hippo ,The City of God , Book V, chapter 24, "The true felicity of Christian Emperors" (c. 413–426 AD)Salvian ,De gubernatione Dei Western European texts [ edit ] Martin of Braga ,Formula vitae honestae , (570s AD) dedicated to SuebianKing Miro of Galicia .Pope Gregory the Great ,The Book of Pastoral Rule Gregory of Tours 'History of the Franks (late 6th century) which warns against internal strife.Isidore of Seville ,The Sentenciae De duodecim abusivis saeculi Hiberno-Latin treatise by an anonymous Irish author sometimes referred to as Pseudo-Cyprian. This work, though not a 'mirror for princes' per se, was to be of great influence on the development of the 'genre' as it took place on the Continent.Carolingian texts . Notable examples of Carolingian textbooks for kings, counts and other laymen include:
Cathwulf ,Epistolae (775) written forCharlemagne .Paulinus of Aquileia ,Liber exhortationis (795), for Count Heiric of Friuli.Alcuin ,De virtutibus et vitiis (c. 799 –800), written for Count Wido of Brittany. Smaragdus of Saint-Mihiel ,Via regia (813), arguably the first true European mirror for princes, dedicated toLouis the Pious , when king of Aquitania.Einhard 'sVita Karoli Magni c. 814 ) which promotes Charlemagne 's reign as something for other rulers to aspire to.Jonas of Orléans ,De Institutione Laicali (818–828), (originally) written for CountMatfrid of Orléans .Jonas of Orléans ,De Institutione Regia (c. 831 ), written for Pepin I of Aquitaine , apparently on the basis of a council at Orléans.[ 2] Agobard of Lyons , his letters,A Comparison of Ecclesiastical and Political Government and Wherein the Dignity of the Church Outshines the Majesty of Empires and theLiber Apologeticus . (833 AD)Dhuoda , (841–843)Liber manualis , written for her son William.Sedulius Scottus ,De rectoribus christianis 'On Christian rulers' (c. 855 –9), addressed to King Lothar II of Lotharingia.Hincmar of Reims ,De regis persona 'The Person of the King'Hincmar of Reims ,De ordine palatii Irish texts
Stephen I of Hungary ,Admonitions heir presumptive Saint Emeric .Hugh of Fleury ,De Regia Potestate (1118/35), dedicated to KingHenry I of England Moralium dogma philosophorum Henry II of England Benoît de Sainte-Maure ,Roman de Troie John of Salisbury ,Policraticus Godfrey of Viterbo ,Speculum regum (c. 1183 ), dedicated to his Staufian imperial patrons,Frederick Barbarossa and his sonHenry VI .Pseudo-Plutarch ,Institutio Traiani (first quoted in John of Salisbury'sPolicraticus ).Gerald of Wales ,De instructione principis c. 1193 ) Gilles de Paris ,Carolinus (c. 1200 ), dedicated to King Louis VIII of France .Helinand of Froidmont ,De bono regimine principis , (1211 - 1223)Jean de Limoges ,Somnium morale Pharaonis c. 1234 –60), written for Thibaut IV orThibaut V Juan de Soria ,Chronica latina regum Castellae Konungs skuggsjá Speculum regale c. 1250 ) Norwegian treatise originally written for King Magnús lagabœtir .Vincent of Beauvais ,De eruditione filiorum nobilium = 'On the Education of Noble Children' (c. 1250 ). Guibert of Tournai ,Eruditio regum et principum = ' The Education of Kings and Princes' (1259), written forLouis IX .[ 6] Guibert of Tournai ,De modo addiscendi = 'On the Method of Learning' (c. 1260 ) written for John de Dampierre, provost of Bruges, son of Guy of Flanders .Thomas Aquinas ,De regno c. 1260 ), often conflated with theDe regimine principum of Ptolemy of Lucca Vincent de Beauvais ,De morali principis institutione = 'On the Moral Instruction of the Prince' (c. 1262 ), probably written for Louis IX. [ 7] [ 8] William Peraldus ,De eruditione principum = 'On the Education of Princes' (c. 1265 ), formerly attributed to Thomas Aquinas .Brunetto Latini ,Li livres dou trésor (1266), written forCharles of Anjou .Giles of Rome ,De regimine principum = 'On the Rule of Princes' (c. 1278 ), written for Philip the Fair .Engelbert of Admont ,Speculum virtutum moralium (c. 1310 ), written for Otto, Duke of Austria andAlbert II, Duke of Austria Paolino Veneto ,Trattato de regimine rectoris (1313×1315), written for the Marino Badoer,duke of Crete William of Pagula ,Speculum regis , written forEdward III of England (c. 1331 ). Don Juan Manuel ,Tales of Count Lucanor Don Juan Manuel ,Libro Infinido o Libro de Castigos et de Consejos Alvarus Pelagius ,Speculum regum (1340s), written forAlfonso XI of Castile .[ 9] Um styrilsi kununga ok höfþinga The III Consideracions Right Necesserye to the Good Governaunce of a Prince (c. 1350 ), a translation of a French treatise from 1347, intended for King John II of France .[ 10] Philip of Leyden ,De cura reipublicae et sorte principantis ("On the care of the state and the role of the ruler") (c. 1355 ), dedicated to William V of Holland Evrart de Trémaugon ,Le songe du verger (1376).Der Fürsten reget , (c. 1370 –1380) dedicated to William, Duke of Austria Christine de Pizan ,Epistre Othea a Hector (c. 1400 ),Livre du corps de policie (1407),Livre de la paix (between 1412 and 1414). Pierre Salmon ,Dialogues (1409, rev. 1412/15), dedicated toCharles VI of France Thomas Hoccleve ,De regimine principum (early 1410s) written forHenry V of England .Duarte of Portugal ,Leal Conselheiro (1438), a practical manual of ethical guidance for the nobility of Portugal.Andreas Pannonius ,Libellus de virtutibus Matthiae Corvino dedicatus (1467), dedicated toMatthias Corvinus , andLibellus de virtutibus Herculi Estensi dedicatus (1471), dedicated toErcole I d'Este .John Ireland ,The Meroure of Wysedome , (1490) written forJames IV of Scotland .Phillipus de Bergamo ,Spiegel der regyrunge (15th century) translated into middle GermanEyn kurz ordenunge in gemeyne allen den die da regieren huß, dorffere oder stede , (15th century) short text written on how to rule a household, village or cityVon der regeronge der stede , (15th century) text written on how to govern a cityJohn Skelton ,Speculum principis Henry VIII . A copy of this treatise, which may not be entirely the same as that presented to Henry, resides with the British Museum.[ 11] Erasmus ,Institutio principis Christiani Charles V ).Martin Luther .On Secular Authority John, Elector of Saxony Baldassare Castiglione 'sThe Book of the Courtier Antonio de Guevara ,Relox de príncipes (1529), inspired by and dedicated toCharles V , a bestseller of its times, translated during the 16th century to English, Latin, Italian, German, French and Dutch.Justus Menius ,Oeconomia christiana Sibylle of Cleves for a right ordering of a ChristianLutheran householdMachiavelli ,Il Principe c. 1513 , published in 1532). George Buchanan ,De iure regni apud Scotos James VI of ScotlandGiovanni Botero ,The Reason of State Johann Damgaard,Alithia (1597), written for the young Danish monarchKing Christian IV .[ 12] Juan de Mariana ,De rege et regis institutione The King and the Education of the King James VI of Scotland ,Basilikon Doron eldest son .Tomas Fernández de Medrano ,República Mista 1st Duke of Lerma .Francisco de Quevedo ,La política de Dios, y gobierno de Cristo (1617–1626)The Politics of God and the Government of Christ Hugo Grotius ,De jure belli ac pacis Louis XIII of FranceJohn Gauden ,Eikon Basilike Charles I of England was beheaded.Diego Fernández de Medrano y Zenizeros ,Mirror of Princes : Espejo de Príncipes: Crisol de sus Virtudes, Asombro de sus lealdades; Alma de su govierno y govierno de su AlmaMirror of Princes: Crucible of his virtues, wonder of his loyalties; soul of his government and government of his soul , dedicated toPhilip Prospero, Prince of Asturias .John Locke ,Some Thoughts Concerning Education Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet ,Politics Drawn from the Very Words of Holy Scripture Louis XV of France.Johann Gottfried Gregorii ,Curieuse Affecten-Spiegel On the Christian Wisdom of Kings, Princes and Rulers Frederick II of Prussia ,Anti-Machiavel Frederick II of Prussia ,Letter addressed to his nephew,Charles Eugene, Duke of Württemberg (6 February 1744 AD)[ 13] Montesquieu ,The Spirit of Law Synesius , Bishop of Cyrene,De regno , speech delivered to emperorArcadius .Agapetus the deacon , speech delivered to emperorJustinian I . (c. 530s ) Basil I the Macedonian , Admonitory chapters I and II to his son emperorLeo VI the Wise Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos ,De Administrando Imperio Romanos II . (948–952)Kekaumenos ,Strategikon ArchbishopTheophylact of Ohrid ,Paideia Basilike (Lat.Institutio Regia ) (c. 1088 ), addressed to his pupil Constantine Doukas , son of EmperorMichael VII Doukas . Spaneas orDidaskalia Parainetike , modelled on the IsocrateanAd Demonicum (12th century)Nikephoros Blemmydes ,Andrias Basilikos (Lat.Regia statua , "Statue of a King"), written forTheodore II Laskaris , the futureNicaean emperor (c. 1250 ) Thomas Magistros ,La regalita addressed toAndronikos II Palaiologos . (14th century)Manuel II Palaiologos ,Paideia Regia dedicated to his son,John VIII Palaiologos . (15th century)Pre-Islamic Persian texts [ edit ] Ewen-Nāmag ("Book of Rules"): On the Sasanian manners, customs, skills, and arts, sciences, etc.[ 14] Andarz literature.[ 15] Abd al-Hamid al-Katib , letter toAbdallah son of the Umayyad caliphMarwan II (c. 750 ) Ibn al-Muqaffa ,Kalila wa Dimna c. 750 ) Abu Yahya ibn al-Batriq (d. 815)Sirr al-Asrar (سر الأسرار Secretum Secretorum Al-Farabi (c. 872 –950),Fusul al-Madani 'Aphorisms of a Statesman'[ 16] Abu'l-Qasim al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Maghribi (981–1027),Kitab fi'l-si'yasa [ 17] Al-Tha'alibi (d. 1038),Ādāb al-mulūk Al-Mubashshir ibn Fatik (fl.1053, Damascus),Mukhtār al-Hikam wa-Maḥāsin al-Kalim (مختار الحكم ومحاسن الكلم Qabus nama Nizam al-Mulk ,Siyāset-nāmeh c. 1090 ) (Persian) Al-Imam al-Hadrami (d. 1095) –Kitâb al-Ishâra Al-Ghazali (1058–1111),Nasihat al-muluk 'Counsel to Princes' (Persian)Al-Ghazali (1105 AD/499AH),Alchemy of Happiness , Book XXI, Part Three, 'Disciplining the Self'Yusuf Balasaghuni ,Kutadgu Bilig At-Turtushi ,Siraj al-Muluk c. 1121 ) Ibn Ẓafar al-Ṣiqillī 's (12th century)Sulwan al-Muta' fi 'udwan al-atba 'Consolation for the Ruler during the Hostility of Subjects'; published in English (1852) as,Solwān; or Waters Of Comfort [ 18] [ 19] Bahr Al-Fava'id 'Sea of (Precious) Virtues', compiled in the 12th century.[ 20] Ibn Arabi ,Divine Governance of the Human Kingdom (At-Tadbidrat al-ilahiyyah fi islah al-mamlakat al-insaniyyah) (1194–1201 AD/590-598AH)Saadi 'sGulistan Wasitat al-suluk fi siyasat al-muluk Hussain Vaiz Kashifi 's Aklhaq i Muhsini (composed in Persian AH 900/ AD 1495), translated into English as "The Morals of the Beneficent" in the mid 19th century byHenry George Keene Abd al-Wahhab al-Sha'rani (1540s AD/946AH) "Advice for Callow Jurists and Gullible Mendicants on Befriending Emirs"Lütfi Pasha Asafname (Mid-16th century)Muhammad al-Baqir Najm-I Sani,Mau‘izah-i Jahangiri 'Admonition of Jahāngír' or 'Advice on the art of governance' (1612–1613).[ 21] Tao Te Ching –Lao Tzu Chinese philosopher (Can be interpreted as a mystical text, philosophical text, or political treatise on rulership) (late 4th century BC)Mencius – moral advice for a ruler (late 4th century BC)Han Fei Zi –Legalist text advice for a ruler and the art of statecraft (mid-3rd century BC) dedicated toQin Shi Huang The Book of Lord Shang (Multiple authors spanning centuries, starting from c. 330 BC) text advice useful for a ruler and statecraftShizi (c. 330 BC) particularly section 15,The Ruler's Governance Ouyang Xun (624 AD)Yiwen leiju 藝文類聚 ("Classified collection based on the Classics and other literature")Kong Yingda (642 AD)Wujing Zhengyi 五經正義 ("Correct Meaning of the Five Classics")Liu Zhi (7th century AD)Zhengdian 政典 ("Manual of politics"), a political encyclopaedia useful for young boys taking theImperial Examination ^ Gray, Vivienne J. (2010)."Xenophon's Mirror of Princes" .doi :10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199563814.001.0001 .ISBN 978-0-19-956381-4 ^ A. Dubreucq (ed.),Jonas d'Orléans, Le métier du roi (De institutione regia). Sources Chrétiennes 407. Paris, 1995. pp. 45–9. ^ Rob Meens. "Politics, mirrors of princes and the Bible: sins, kings and the well-being of the realm."Early Medieval Europe 7.3 (1998): 352 ^ Kelly, Fergus, ed. (1976).Audacht Morainn . Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.ISBN 0901282677 ^ Ireland, Colin A., ed. (1999).Old Irish Wisdom Attributed to Aldfrith of Northumbria: An Edition of Bríathra Flainn Fhína Maic Ossu ISBN 0866982477 ^ Guibert de Tournai (1914). de Poorter, A. (ed.).Le traité Eruditio regum et principum de Guibert de Tournai : étude critique et texte inédit . ^ Vincent de Beauvais (1995). Schneider, Robert J. (ed.).De morali principis institutione . Turnhout: Brepols. ^ Schneider, Robert J.; Rouse, Richard H. (January 1991)."The Medieval Circulation of the De morali principis institutione of Vincent of Beauvais" Viator .22 :189– 228.doi :10.1484/j.viator.2.301322 .ISSN 0083-5897 . ^ M. Pinto de Mencses (ed.).Espelho dos Reis por Alvaro Pais . Lisbon, 1955. ^ Jean-Philippe Genet (ed.).Four English Political Tracts of the Later Middle Ages Camden Society, 4th ser. 18 (1977). 177-9.^ Salter, F.M."Skelton's Speculum Principis"Speculum 9 (1934): 25–37 ^ Olden-Jørgensen, Sebastian (ed.).Alithia. Et dansk fyrstespejl til Christian IV . UJDS-Studier 14. Copenhagen, 2003. ^ "Mirror for Princes" . 15 November 2016.^ "Āīn-nāmā" .Encyclopaedia Iranica . Retrieved2023-05-21 .^ "Andarz" .Encyclopaedia Iranica . Retrieved2023-05-21 .^ Dunlop, D.M. (tr.).Fusul al-Madani: Aphorisms of the Statesman . University of Cambridge Oriental Publications. Cambridge, 1961. ^ Bosworth, C.E. (1998)."al-Maghribī, al-Ḥusayn ibnʿAlī" . In Meisami, Julie Scott; Starkey, Paul (eds.).Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature, Volume 2: L–Z, Chronological Tables, Index . Routledge. p. 488.ISBN 0-415-18572-6 ^ Michele Amari (1852) Solwān; or Waters Of Comfort by Ibn Zafer, vol.1 .^ Michele Amari (1852) Solwān; or Waters Of Comfort by Ibn Zafer, vol.2 ^ Meisami, Julie Scott (tr.).Sea of Precious Virtues . Salt Lake City, 1991. ^ Sajida Sultana Alvi .Advice on the art of governance. An Indo-Islamic Mirror for Princes . State University of New York Press. 1989.^ "Mirrors For Princes (2010): Torino Film Festival" . 29 September 2023.Anton, Hans Hubert (1968).Fürstenspiegel und Herrscherethos in der Karolingerzeit . Bonner Historische Forschungen (in German). Vol. 32. Bonn: L. Röhrscheid.OCLC 1979986 . Anton, Hans Hubert (2003)."Fürstenspiegel (Königsspiegel) des frühen und hohen Mittelalters" (PDF) .Forschungsberichte . Archived from the original on 2012-02-18. Finotti, Fabio, ed. (2018).I volti del principe (in Italian). Venezia: Marsilio. Handy, Amber (2011).The Specula principum in northwestern Europe, A.D. 650–900: the evolution of a new ethical rule doi :10.7274/sf268338z83 . Paidas, Konstantinos D. S. (2005).Η θεματική των βυζαντινών κατόπτρων ηγεμόνος της πρώιμης και μέσης περιόδου 398-1085 The theme of the Byzantine mirrors ruler of the early and middle period 398-1085 ] (in Greek). Athens: Γρηγόρη (Grigori).ISBN 9603334375 Paidas, Konstantinos D. S. (2006).Τα βυζαντινά κάτοπτρα ηγεμόνος της ύστερης περιόδου 1254-1403 The Byzantine mirrors of the ruler of the late period 1254-1403 ] (in Greek). Athens: Γρηγόρη (Grigori).ISBN 9789603334477 Lambton, Ann K.S. (1980). "Islamic Mirrors for Princes".Theory and Practice in Medieval Persian Government .VI . London:419– 442. Lasine, Stuart (2020). "Samuel-Kings as a Mirror for Princes: Parental Education and Judean Royal Families".Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament .34 (1):74– 88.doi :10.1080/09018328.2020.1801933 .S2CID 221299605 . Smith, Roland M. (1927). "TheSpeculum Principum in Early Irish Literature".Speculum .2 (4):411– 445.doi :10.2307/2847517 .JSTOR 2847517 .S2CID 163116214 .
