:Mirrors for princes

{{Short description|Medieval educational literary genre for royals}}

Mirrors for princes or mirrors of princes ({{langx|la|specula principum}}) was a literary genre of didactic political writings throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It was part of the broader speculum or mirror literature genre.

The Latin term speculum regum appears as early as the 12th century and may have been used even earlier. It may have developed from the popular speculum literature popular from the 12th to 16th century, focusing on knowledge of a particular subject matter.

These texts most frequently take the form of textbooks for the instruction of kings, princes, or lesser rulers on successful governance and behaviour. The term is also used for histories or literary works presenting model images of good and bad kings. Authors often composed such "mirrors" at the accession of a new king, when a young and inexperienced ruler was about to come to power. One could view them as a species of prototypical self-help book or study of leadership before the concept of a "leader" became more generalised than the concept of a monarchical head-of-state.

Compare:

{{cite book

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| last2 = Cummings

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| last3 = Jackson

| first3 = Brad

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| title = Revitalising Leadership: Putting Theory and Practice into Context

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=kMEtDwAAQBAJ

| series = Routledge Studies in Leadership Research

| publisher = Routledge

| date = 2017

| page =

| isbn = 9781317418122

| access-date = 2017-10-22

| quote = Monarchy was then the most common form of governance in Europe, and the truth about leadership could be found in a genre of books known as 'mirrors for princes' [...].

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One of the earliest works was written by Sedulius Scottus ({{floruit}} 840–860), the Irish poet associated with the Pangur Bán gloss poem ({{circa}} 9th century). Possibly the best known European "mirror" is The Prince ({{circa}} 1513) by Niccolò Machiavelli, although this was not the most typical example.

Antiquity

{{Expand section|date=January 2009}}

= Sumer =

=Egypt=

{{See also|Sebayt}}

=Indian=

=Greek and Roman=

Western European texts

=Early Middle Ages=

Carolingian texts. Notable examples of Carolingian textbooks for kings, counts and other laymen include:

  • Cathwulf, Epistolae (775) written for Charlemagne.
  • Paulinus of Aquileia, Liber exhortationis (795), for Count Heiric of Friuli.
  • Alcuin, De virtutibus et vitiis ({{circa|799}}–800), written for Count Wido of Brittany.
  • Smaragdus of Saint-Mihiel, Via regia (813), arguably the first true European mirror for princes, dedicated to Louis the Pious, when king of Aquitania.
  • Einhard's Vita Karoli Magni ({{circa|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 Count Matfrid of Orléans.
  • Jonas of Orléans, De Institutione Regia ({{circa|831}}), written for Pepin I of Aquitaine, apparently on the basis of a council at Orléans.A. Dubreucq (ed.), Jonas d'Orléans, Le métier du roi (De institutione regia). Sources Chrétiennes 407. Paris, 1995. pp. 45–9.
  • 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 the Liber Apologeticus. (833 AD)
  • Dhuoda, (841–843) Liber manualis, written for her son William.
  • Sedulius Scottus, De rectoribus christianis 'On Christian rulers' ({{circa|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 'On the management of the palace' (882), which sets out the moral duties of a king and includes an account of the organisation of the palace.

Irish texts

  • see De duodecim abusivis saeculi above. The vernacular mirrors differ from most texts mentioned here in that the ones who are described as giving and receiving advice are commonly legendary figures.
  • Audacht Morainn ('The Testament of Morann'), written {{circa|700}}, an Old Irish text which has been called a forerunner of the 'mirrors for princes'.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 The legendary wise judge Morann Mac Máin is said to have sent advice to Feradach Finnfechtnach when the latter was about to be made King of Tara.{{cite book |title=Audacht Morainn|year=1976 |publisher=Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies |editor-first=Fergus | editor-last=Kelly| isbn=0901282677}}
  • Tecosca Cormaic, 'The Instructions of Cormac', in which the speaker Cormac mac Airt is made to instruct his son Cairbre Lifechair about a variety of matters.
  • Bríatharthecosc Con Culainn 'The precept-instruction of Cúchulainn' (interpolated in Serglige Con Culainn), addressed to Lugaid Réoderg.
  • Tecosc Cuscraid 'The instruction of Cuscraid'
  • Senbríathra Fithail 'The ancient precepts of Fíthal'
  • Briathra Flainn Fína 'The Sayings of Flann Fína'{{cite book|title=Old Irish Wisdom Attributed to Aldfrith of Northumbria: An Edition of Bríathra Flainn Fhína Maic Ossu|url=https://archive.org/details/oldirishwisdomat00aldfuoft|editor-first=Colin A.|editor-last=Ireland|isbn=0866982477|year=1999|publisher=Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies }}

=High Middle Ages=

=Late Middle Ages=

=Renaissance=

=Enlightenment=

=Modern=

Byzantine texts

{{See also|Basilikos logos}}

Pre-Islamic Persian texts

  • Ewen-Nāmag ("Book of Rules"): On the Sasanian manners, customs, skills, and arts, sciences, etc.{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Āīn-nāmā |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/ain-nama |access-date=2023-05-21 |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |language=en-US}} (Between 3rd and 7th century AD)
  • Andarz literature.{{Cite web |title=Andarz |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/andarz-precept-instruction-advice |access-date=2023-05-21 |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica}} (Between 3rd and 7th century AD)

Islamic texts

{{See also|Nasîhatnâme}}

  • Abd al-Hamid al-Katib, letter to Abdallah son of the Umayyad caliph Marwan II ({{circa|750}})
  • Ibn al-Muqaffa, Kalila wa Dimna ({{circa|750}})
  • Abu Yahya ibn al-Batriq (d. 815) Sirr al-Asrar ({{lang|ar|سر الأسرار}}) {{lang|la|Secretum Secretorum}}
  • Al-Farabi ({{circa|872}}–950), Fusul al-Madani 'Aphorisms of a Statesman'Dunlop, D.M. (tr.). Fusul al-Madani: Aphorisms of the Statesman. University of Cambridge Oriental Publications. Cambridge, 1961.
  • Abu'l-Qasim al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Maghribi (981–1027), Kitab fi'l-si'yasa{{cite encyclopedia | last = Bosworth | first = C.E. | authorlink = C.E. Bosworth | title = al-Maghribī, al-Ḥusayn ibnʿAlī | encyclopedia =Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature, Volume 2: L–Z, Chronological Tables, Index | editor1-last = Meisami | editor1-first = Julie Scott | editor2-last = Starkey | editor2-first = Paul | publisher = Routledge | year = 1998 | isbn = 0-415-18572-6 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=DbCFBX6b3eEC&pg=PA488 | page = 488 }}
  • Al-Tha'alibi (d. 1038), Ādāb al-mulūk
  • Al-Mubashshir ibn Fatik (fl.1053, Damascus), Mukhtār al-Hikam wa-Maḥāsin al-Kalim ({{lang|ar|مختار الحكم ومحاسن الكلم}}) 'Selected Maxims and Aphorisms'
  • Qabus nama (1082) – a Persian example of the genre
  • Nizam al-Mulk, Siyāset-nāmeh 'Book of Government' ({{circa|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 (11th century)
  • At-Turtushi, Siraj al-Muluk 'The Lamp of Kings' ({{circa|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[https://archive.org/details/solwanorwatersof01ibnz Michele Amari (1852) Solwān; or Waters Of Comfort by Ibn Zafer, vol.1].[https://archive.org/details/solwanorwatersof02ibnz Michele Amari (1852) Solwān; or Waters Of Comfort by Ibn Zafer, vol.2]
  • Bahr Al-Fava'id 'Sea of (Precious) Virtues', compiled in the 12th century.Meisami, Julie Scott (tr.). Sea of Precious Virtues. Salt Lake City, 1991.
  • Ibn Arabi, Divine Governance of the Human Kingdom (At-Tadbidrat al-ilahiyyah fi islah al-mamlakat al-insaniyyah) (1194–1201 AD/590-598AH)
  • Saadi's Gulistan, chapter I, "The Manners of Kings", (1258, Persian).
  • 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 by Henry 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).Sajida Sultana Alvi. Advice on the art of governance. An Indo-Islamic Mirror for Princes. State University of New York Press. 1989.

Slavonic texts

Chinese texts

=Ancient=

  • Tao Te ChingLao 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 ZiLegalist text advice for a ruler and the art of statecraft (mid-3rd century BC) dedicated to Qin Shi Huang
  • The Book of Lord Shang (Multiple authors spanning centuries, starting from c. 330 BC) text advice useful for a ruler and statecraft
  • Shizi (c. 330 BC) particularly section 15, The Ruler's Governance

=Imperial dynasties=

==Han dynasty==

  • Lu Jia ({{circa|200 BC}}) Xin Yu 新语 ("New Discourses"), treatise on why empires rise and fall.
  • Ban Biao ({{circa|50 AD}}) Book of Han, Volume 23, Treatise on Punishment and Law
  • Ban Biao ({{circa|50 AD}}) Treatise on the Mandate of Kings (王命論) covers the concept of sovereignty that would influence later Chinese texts.

==Tang dynasty==

  • 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 the Imperial Examination

==Song dynasty==

==Ming dynasty==

==Qing dynasty==

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

Further reading

  • {{cite book |last=Anton |first=Hans Hubert |title=Fürstenspiegel und Herrscherethos in der Karolingerzeit |series=Bonner Historische Forschungen |volume=32 |location=Bonn |year=1968 |language=de |oclc=1979986 |publisher=L. Röhrscheid}}
  • {{cite journal |last=Anton |first=Hans Hubert |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218182546/http://www.ahf-muenchen.de/Forschungsberichte/Jahrbuch2003/Anton.pdf |url=http://www.ahf-muenchen.de/Forschungsberichte/Jahrbuch2003/Anton.pdf |journal=Forschungsberichte |archive-date=2012-02-18 |title=Fürstenspiegel (Königsspiegel) des frühen und hohen Mittelalters |url-status=usurped |year=2003}}
  • {{cite book |editor-last=Finotti |editor-first=Fabio |title=I volti del principe |location=Venezia |publisher=Marsilio |year=2018 |language=it}}
  • {{cite thesis |last=Handy |first=Amber |title=The Specula principum in northwestern Europe, A.D. 650–900: the evolution of a new ethical rule |degree=PhD |publisher=University of Notre Dame |year=2011 |url=https://curate.nd.edu/articles/thesis/The_Specula_Principum_in_Northwestern_Europe_A_D_650-900_The_Evolution_of_a_New_Ethical_Rule/24834039 |doi=10.7274/sf268338z83}}
  • {{Cite book |last=Paidas |first=Konstantinos D. S. |script-title=el:Η θεματική των βυζαντινών κατόπτρων ηγεμόνος της πρώιμης και μέσης περιόδου 398-1085 |trans-title=The theme of the Byzantine mirrors ruler of the early and middle period 398-1085 |publisher=Γρηγόρη (Grigori) |location=Athens |year=2005 |language=el |isbn= 9603334375 |url=https://metabook.gr/books/h-thematiki-ton-vizantinwn-katoptron-ighemonos-tis-prwimis-kai-mesis-periodoy-398-1085-konstantinos-d-s-paidas-121119?__cf_chl_tk=GunIodL1M.u_wQ835KqjP5FqXc1pGmQMXVs7jqF8DNw-1736817002-1.0.1.1-a3kpKuBDIlodokLmIH7ul1kyuvDI5kqCtJq00N15Eq4}}
  • {{Cite book |last=Paidas |first=Konstantinos D. S. |script-title=el:Τα βυζαντινά κάτοπτρα ηγεμόνος της ύστερης περιόδου 1254-1403 |trans-title=The Byzantine mirrors of the ruler of the late period 1254-1403 |publisher=Γρηγόρη (Grigori) |location=Athens |year=2006 |language=el |isbn= 9789603334477 |url=https://metabook.gr/books/ta-vizantina-katoptra-ighemonos-tis-ysteris-periodoy-1254-1403-konstantinos-d-s-paidas-63953}}
  • {{cite journal |last=Lambton |first=Ann K.S. |title=Islamic Mirrors for Princes |journal=Theory and Practice in Medieval Persian Government |location=London |year=1980 |volume=VI |pages=419–442}}
  • {{cite journal |last=Lasine |first=Stuart |title=Samuel-Kings as a Mirror for Princes: Parental Education and Judean Royal Families |journal=Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament |volume=34 |issue=1 |year=2020 |pages=74–88|doi=10.1080/09018328.2020.1801933 |s2cid=221299605 }}
  • {{cite journal |last=Smith |first=Roland M. |title=The Speculum Principum in Early Irish Literature |journal=Speculum |volume=2 |year=1927 |pages=411–445|doi=10.2307/2847517 |jstor=2847517 |s2cid=163116214 }}

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Category:Medieval literature

Category:Renaissance literature

Category:Wisdom literature