Mirrors for princes

Mirrors for princes or mirrors of princes (Latin: specula principum) are an educational literary genre, in a loose sense of the word, of political writings during the Early Middle Ages, the High Middle Ages, the late middle ages and the Renaissance. They are part of the broader speculum or mirror literature genre.

The term itself is medieval, as it appears as early as the 12th century, under the words speculum regum, and may have been used earlier than that. The genre concept may have come from the popular speculum literature that was popular between the 12th through 16th centuries, which focused on knowledge of a particular subject matter.

These texts most frequently take the form of textbooks which directly instruct kings, princes or lesser rulers on certain aspects of governance and behaviour. But in a broader sense the term is also used to cover histories or literary works aimed at creating images of kings for imitation or avoidance. 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.[1]

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

Antiquity

Sumer

Egypt

Indian

Greek and Roman

Western European texts

Early Middle Ages

  • Pope Gregory the Great, The Book of Pastoral Rule (590AD) Although dedicated to clergy, lessons may also apply to nobles.
  • Gregory of Tours' History of the Franks (late 6th century) which warns against internal strife.
  • De duodecim abusivis saeculi, 'On the twelve abuses of the world' (7th century), a 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:

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 Morand'), written c. 700, an Old Irish text which has been called a forerunner of the 'mirrors for princes'.[3] The legendary wise judge Morand is said to have sent advice to Feradach Find Fechtnach when the latter was about to be made King of Tara.[4]
  • 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'[5]

High Middle Ages

Late Middle Ages

Renaissance

Enlightenment

Modern

Byzantine texts

Pre-Islamic Persian texts

  • Ewen-Nāmag (“Book of Rules”): On the Sasanian manners, customs, skills, and arts, sciences, etc.[14] (Between 3rd - 7th century AD)
  • Andarz literature.[15] (Between 3rd - 7th century AD)

Islamic texts

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. 330BC) text advice useful for a ruler and statecraft
  • Shizi (c. 330BC) particularly section 15, The Ruler's Governance

Han Dynasty

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

Tang Dynasty

  • Ouyang Xun (624AD) Yiwen leiju 藝文類聚 ("Classified collection based on the Classics and other literature")
  • Kong Yingda (642AD) 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

  1. Compare: Wilson, Suze; Cummings, Stephen; Jackson, Brad; Proctor-Thomson, Sarah (2017). Revitalising Leadership: Putting Theory and Practice into Context. Routledge Studies in Leadership Research. Routledge. ISBN 9781317418122. Retrieved 2017-10-22. 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' [...].
  2. A. Dubreucq (ed.), Jonas d'Orléans, Le métier du roi (De institutione regia). Sources Chrétiennes 407. Paris, 1995. pp. 45–9.
  3. 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
  4. Kelly, Fergus, ed. (1976). Audacht Morainn. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. ISBN 0901282677.
  5. Ireland, Colin A., ed. (1999). Old Irish Wisdom Attributed to Aldfrith of Northumbria: An Edition of Bríathra Flainn Fhína Maic Ossu. Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. ISBN 0866982477.
  6. Guibert de Tournai (1914). de Poorter, A. (ed.). Le traité Eruditio regum et principum de Guibert de Tournai : étude critique et texte inédit. Louvain.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. Vincent de Beauvais (1995). Schneider, Robert J. (ed.). De morali principis institutione. Turnhout: Brepols.
  8. 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.
  9. M. Pinto de Mencses (ed.). Espelho dos Reis por Alvaro Pais. Lisbon, 1955.
  10. Jean-Philippe Genet (ed.). Four English Political Tracts of the Later Middle Ages Camden Society, 4th ser. 18 (1977). 177-9.
  11. Salter, F.M. "Skelton's Speculum Principis" Speculum 9 (1934): 25–37
  12. Olden-Jørgensen, Sebastian (ed.). Alithia. Et dansk fyrstespejl til Christian IV. UJDS-Studier 14. Copenhagen, 2003.
  13. "Mirror for Princes".
  14. "Āīn-nāmā". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
  15. "Andarz". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
  16. Dunlop, D.M. (tr.). Fusul al-Madani: Aphorisms of the Statesman. University of Cambridge Oriental Publications. Cambridge, 1961.
  17. 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.
  18. Michele Amari (1852) Solwān; or Waters Of Comfort by Ibn Zafer, vol.1.
  19. Michele Amari (1852) Solwān; or Waters Of Comfort by Ibn Zafer, vol.2
  20. Meisami, Julie Scott (tr.). Sea of Precious Virtues. Salt Lake City, 1991.
  21. Sajida Sultana Alvi. Advice on the art of governance. An Indo-Islamic Mirror for Princes. State University of New York Press. 1989.
  22. "Mirrors For Princes (2010): Torino Film Festival". 29 September 2023.

Further reading

  • Anton, H.H. Fürstenspiegel und Herrscherethos in der Karolingerzeit. Bonner Historische Forschungen 32. Bonn, 1968.
  • Anton, H.H. "Fürstenspiegel (Königsspiegel) des frühen und hohen Mittelalters: Ein Editionsprojekt an der Universität Trier"
  • Finotti, Fabio (ed.), "I volti del principe". Venezia: Marsilio, 2018.
  • Handy, Amber. "The Specula principum in northwestern Europe, A.D. 650-900 : the evolution of a new ethical rule". Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Notre Dame, 2011. Notre Dame, Ind. : University of Notre Dame, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2015. Univ. of Notre Dame Online theses & dissertations
  • Konstantinos D.S. Paidas, He thematike ton byzantinon "katoptron hegemonos" tes proimes kai meses Byzantines periodoy(398-1085). Symbole sten politike theoria ton Byzantinon, Athens 2005.
  • Konstantinos D.S. Paidas, Ta byzantina "katoptra hegemonos" tes ysteres periodoy (1254–1403). Ekfraseis toy byzantinoy basilikou ideodous, Athens 2006.
  • Lambton, Ann K.S. "Islamic Mirrors for Princes." In: eadem, Theory and Practice in Medieval Persian Government. London. 1980. VI: 419–442.
  • Lasine, Stuart. “Samuel-Kings as a Mirror for Princes: Parental Education and Judean Royal Families.” Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament 34.1 (2020): 74-88.
  • Smith, Roland M. "The Speculum Principum in Early Irish Literature." Speculum 2 (1927): 411–45.
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