Mirrors for princes

As a mirror of princes is called hortatory and didactic writings of the Middle Ages and the early modern period, usually a king, prince ( princeps) or his son directed and explain to him the virtues and duties of a ruler and principles of proper governance.

Precursor

As a precursor of the ancient world are Seneca 's De clementia and Pliny the Younger speech on Emperor Trajan mentioned. Major foundations had been laid already in antiquity in classical Greek theory of the State ( Aristotle ), in late antiquity had the Plutarch attributed Traiani institutions and the writing of Martin of Braga ( Bracara ) Formula vitae honestae as a mediator. Had stronger influence than these more secular - secular -oriented texts in the Middle Ages throughout the Bible and church fathers ( Augustine, Gregory the Great, to Isidore of Seville ) certain theocratic vision that saw the origin, standard instance and target each rule in God. It was reflected in works that provided essential content and form of embossing elements for the formation of the genre: In the Irish tract De duodecim abusivis saeculi (so-called pseudo - Cyprian 7th century ), in spiritual reminder of the Merovingian and early Carolingian period, in letter texts by contemporaries of Charlemagne ( Cathwulf, Alcuin of York).

Early Middle Ages

Mark the transition to self -designed and works of authors Aquitanian area: Theodulf of Orléans (Ad iudices about 798 ), Emerald of Saint- Mihiel ( Via regia 811-814 ) with their prince mirrors for Charlemagne's son Louis the Pious, Ermoldus Nigellus with his versified mirror for his son Pippin (I.) (828), both in their role as sub- king of Aquitaine. The strong biblical foundation and on the general Christian doctrine of virtue beyond striking new accentuations ( idea of equality for all; distinction between office and person of the ruler, the anointed ruler as vicar of Christ, score); form characteristic of continuous elements developed in the further from the Carolingian period to be named authors of Mirrors of Princes: Jonas of Orléans ( 829/831 ), Sedulius Scottus ( Liber de rectoribus Christianis to 855) and Hincmar of Reims with different plants ( 873, 882 ) for his king Charles the Bald.

High Middle Ages

In the German - Italian empire of the High Middle Ages, the genus was initially not well maintained. Idiosyncratic reshaping offer here in the late 12th century Godfrey of Viterbo and about half a century later John of Viterbo. With his Speculum regum for Emperor Frederick Barbarossa's son Henry VI. Gottfried combines the approach by way of scholastic certain ideal of rex litteratus with strong legitimacy of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, which has seen the Great to antiquity and to Karl in continuity. In the social milieu of Italy rooted the new form of Regent mirror as him the Imperial Assessor John of Viterbo with his Liber de regimine civitatum for public officials ( podestà ) offers ( 1228 ).

Even more formed elements meet secular government view on the ancient model in English and French authors, in John of Salisbury in his 1159 published work Policraticus and in the exegesis elaboration of Helinand of Froidmont (around 1200). In response to the new perspectives these authors who wrote no prince mirror itself, developed arisen Fürstenspiegel within the French monarchy, which strove to rescue the tradition: the Eruditio regum et principum of Gilbert of Tournai ( 1259 ) and the treatise De moral principis institutione of Vincent of Beauvais (c. 1264 ).

Under the influence of Aristotle and the original Arabic text Secretum secretorum the genre gained its flowering in scholasticism. Thomas Aquinas († 1274), particularly Aegidius Romanus († 1316), with the standard-setting Fürstenspiegel De regimine principum for the French heir Philip the Handsome and Engelbert of Admont ( 1300 ) should be mentioned here.

In Byzantium had developed from her own preconditions Fürstenspiegel sui generis. The genus is in Synesius of Cyrene (4th century ) one finds a first peak in the Mirror of Princes of Agapetos for Emperor Justinian I († 565 ) and remained productive in various forms until the 15th century.

Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Times

In the late Middle Ages in Scandinavia, England, Spain and France produced numerous national, related to their own kingdom mirror. In the Realm of the mirror lyrics for regent of the territorial dominions put a (including Philip of Leyden from 1355 with its strong constitutionally based work De cura et Reipublicae varietal principantis ). Humanism brought forth new levels. Pointed with the accenting of Education, history and antiquity Petrarca ( 1383 ) direction. The mirror came back in connection with the ( Habsburg ) Monarchy of the empire. Erasmus of Rotterdam offered here with his 1516 Institutio principis Christiani published the Classical and Christian connecting climax. At the same time Niccolò Machiavelli created with his work Il Principe (1513, published 1532), the counterpart to the Christian natural law ideal of the ruler. He caused great refutations of both the Reformation and Counter-Reformation authors ( Innocent Gentillet 1576; Pedro de Ribadeneyra 1595 ). War with Machiavelli, the idea of ​​reason of state become dominant, so this was initially largely underrepresented in the denominationally specific and widely available texts of the 16th, 17th and 18th century in the kingdom. Reinhard Lorich ( 1537 ) and Jacob Omphal ( 1550) combined traditional sovereign virtue with new legal administrative theory. Melchior of Ossa ( Political Testament 1555/56 ), Georg Engelhard von Löhneysen ( Aulico - politica 1622/24 ) and Veit Ludwig von Seckendorf ( Teutscher princely state 1656) forms from this perspective.

Finale

By the 17th century, the high point of the mirror of princes is reached. An interesting special case is the argument of the Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia with the " Principe " by Machiavelli. The " Antimachiavel " in 1739 /40 ( ended February 1, 1740 ) is written and published by Voltaire in September and October 1740 in two editions in The Hague. The author was at that time in Prussia (since May 31, 1740 ) King. The " Antimachiavel " can be read as a mirror for princes to itself, ie as a collection of reflections on the future own government activity. Precisely for this reason the comparison of these theoretical models with the later official leadership of Frederick ( the Great) is interesting.

A famous irony of it deemed no longer viable genre was last Christoph Martin Wieland's novel The Golden mirror, or the kings of Scheschian. A true story from 1772.