Mirrors for princes

Mirrors for princes or mirrors of princes (

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 centuries, 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

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

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Sumer

• Instructions of Shuruppak (Early 3rd millennium BC)

Egypt

• Ptahhotep, The Maxims of Ptahhotep (2375-2350BC)
• Kheti III, Teaching for King Merykara (c. 2150BC)
• Kheti the Scribe, Instructions of Amenemhat (c. 1971BC), a guide-poem on kingship for Senusret I, the son of the former Pharaoh Amenemhat I.
• Amenemope, Son of Kanakht, Instruction of Amenemope (c. 1100BC)

Indian

• Vishnu Sharma, Panchatantra (Between 200 BC - 300AD)
• Chanakya, Arthashastra (Between 200BC - 300AD)
• Narayan Pandit, Hitopdesha (c. 770 - 860AD)
• Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, "Budhbhushan" (c. 1670 - 1680AD)

Greek and Roman

• Plato, Republic (375BC)
• Xenophon, The Education of Cyrus (c. 370BC)
• Aristotle, Politics (c. Mid 4th century BC)
• Isocrates, To Nicocles and Evagoras
• Philodemus, The Good King According to Homer
• Dio Chrysostom, The First Discourse on Kingship and The Second Discourse on Kingship and The Third Discourse on Kingship and The Fourth Discourse on Kingship
• Cicero, De Officiis (44BC)
• Seneca, De Clementia (55-56AD)
• Plutarch, Moralia (c.100AD)
• Pliny the Younger, Panegyric of Trajan (100AD)
• Eusebius of Caesarea's Life of Constantine may be a mirror for princes. This text's precise genre, audience, and aims has been a subject of scholarly controversy. (c. 339AD)
• Ambrose, De officiis ministrorum (c. 391AD) although the book is for clergy, many of its lessons can be applied to secular lords due to its inspiration and criticism of Cicero's original.
• Augustine of Hippo, The City of God, Book V, chapter 24, "The true felicity of Christian Emperors." (c.413-426AD)
• Salvian, De gubernatione Dei (439-451AD)

Western European texts

Early Middle Ages

• 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.

• Cathwulf, Epistolae (775) written for Charlemagne.
• 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 to Louis the Pious, when king of Aquitania.
• Einhard's Vita Karoli Magni (c. 814) which idolises Charlemagne's reign as something for other rulers to aspire to.
• Matfrid 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 the Liber Apologeticus. (833AD)
• Dhuoda, (841-843) Liber manualis, written for her son William.
• 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.

• 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
  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

• Stephen I of Hungary, Admonitions (1010s), written for his son and heir presumptive Saint Emeric.
• John of Salisbury, Policraticus = 'The Statesman's Book' (1159).
• Frederick Barbarossa and son Henry VI
  .
• Pseudo-Plutarch, Institutio Traiani (first quoted in John of Salisbury's Policraticus).
• De instructione principis
  (c. 1193)
• Thibaut V
• Juan de Soria, Chronica latina regum Castellae (1239AD) for use as a mirror for princes and to defend the rights of Castile against Leon.
• 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 for Louis IX.^[6]
• Guy of Flanders
  .
• Thomas Aquinas, De regno (c. 1260), often conflated with the De 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
  .
• Charles of Anjou
  .
• Giles of Rome, De regimine principum = 'On the Rule of Princes' (c. 1278), written for Philip the Fair.

• 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 'Education of a Christian Prince' (1516), written as advice to King Charles of Spain (the later Charles V).
• Martin Luther. On Secular Authority (1523), a letter dedicated to John, Elector of Saxony
• Baldassare Castiglione's The Book of the Courtier (1528), based on experiences of the courts of Urbino.
• Antonio de Guevara, Relox de príncipes (1529), inspired by and dedicated to Charles V, a bestseller of its times, translated during the 16th Century to English, Latin, Italian, German, French and Dutch.
• Justus Menius, Oeconomia christiana (1529), dedicated to Sibylle of Cleves for a right ordering of a Christian Lutheran household
• Il Principe
  (c. 1513, published in 1532).
• James VI
  of Scotland
• Giovanni Botero, The Reason of State (1589), a criticism of Machiavelli's Prince.
• Johann Damgaard, Alithia (1597), written for the young Danish monarch
  King Christian IV.^[12]
• Juan de Mariana, De rege et regis institutione (Toledo, 1598); The King and the Education of the King
• James VI of Scotland, Basilikon Doron
  (1599) written as a gift to his eldest son.
• Francisco de Quevedo, La política de Dios, y gobierno de Cristo (1617–1626) The Politics of God and the Government of Christ
• Louis XIII of France
• John Gauden, Eikon Basilike (1649) published after Charles I of England was beheaded.

Enlightenment

• John Locke, Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1693AD)
• Louis XV of France
  .
• Frederick II of Prussia, Anti-Machiavel
  (1740AD) a critique of Machiavelli's Prince.
• Frederick II of Prussia, Letter addressed to his nephew, Charles Eugene, Duke of Württemberg (6 February 1744AD) ^[13]
• Montesquieu, The Spirit of Law (1748AD)

Modern

• Walter Bagehot, The English Constitution (1867) studied by generations of British monarchs for its insight on their role in a constitutional monarchy.

Byzantine texts

• Synesius, Bishop of Cyrene, De regno, speech delivered to emperor Arcadius.
• Agapetus the deacon, speech delivered to emperor Justinian I. (c. 530s)
• Basil I the Macedonian, Admonitory chapters I and II to his son emperor Leo VI the Wise
• Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos, De Administrando Imperio, a domestic and foreign policy manual for the use of Constantine's son and successor, the Emperor Romanos II
  . (948 - 952)
• Kekaumenos, Strategikon (1075/1078), chapters 77 - 91.
• Archbishop Theophylact of Ohrid, Paideia Basilike (Lat. Institutio Regia) (c. 1088), addressed to his pupil Constantine Doukas, son of Emperor Michael VII Doukas.
• Spaneas or Didaskalia Parainetike, modelled on the Isocratean Ad Demonicum (12th century)
• Nicaean emperor
  (c. 1250)
• Thomas Magistros, La regalita addressed to Andronikos II Palaiologos
  . (14th century)
• Manuel II Palaiologos, Paideia Regia dedicated to his son, John VIII Palaiologos. (15th century)

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

• Abdallah son of the Umayyad caliph Marwan II
  (c. 750)
• 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) 'Selected Maxims and Aphorisms'
• Qabus nama
  (1082) – a Persian example of the genre
• Nizam al-Mulk, Siyāset-nāmeh 'Book of Government' (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 (1105AD/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' (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) (1194-1201AD/590-598AH)
• Gulistan
  , chapter I, "The Manners of Kings", (1258, Persian).
• 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 (1540sAD/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]

Slavonic texts

• Patriarch Photios I of Constantinople, letter addressed to Boris I of Bulgaria (867AD)
• Poucheniye (Instruction) of Vladmir Monomakh to his children (1120s).
• Izmaragd (c. 14th century) moral guide and education for children
• Patriarch Antony IV of Constantinople, letter to Vasily I of Moscow
  (1393).
• Domostroy (c. 15th century)
• Neagoe Basarab (1512–1521), The teachings of Neagoe Basarab to his son Theodosie, one of the earliest literary works in Wallachia
• Mikhail Lomonosov, (1760) Panegyric to the Sovereign Emperor, Peter the Great

Chinese texts

Ancient

• 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 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

Imperial Dynasties

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")
• Imperial Examination

Song Dynasty

• Ouyang Xiu (1060AD) New Book of Tang, carries a treatise on how to select and appoint officials.
• Sima Guang (1084AD) Zizhi Tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance)
• Zhu Xi (1172AD) Zizhi Tongjian Gangmu
• Zheng Qiao (12th century) Tongzhi 通治 ("Comprehensive Treatise on Government")

Ming Dynasty

• Zhu Yuanzhang (1373AD) Huang-Ming Zuxun

• Huang Zongxi (1661-62AD) Waiting for the Dawn

In popular culture

• Mirrors For Princes is the name of a 2010 cinematic work by Lior Shamriz. Parts of the text were based on the Instructions of Shuruppak and other Sumerian literature.^[22]

See also

References