Mirror-of-princes writing

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During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Mirrors for Princes was a genre of political writing. They were treatises, often composed at the accession of a new king, when a young and inexperienced ruler was about to come to power. The writer would set out the basic rights and responsibilities of a ruler, in the hope that their advice would be heeded and the new monarch would not become a tyrant.

Examples include:

• The Prince (c. 1513) - probably the most famous 'mirror'.

• Qabus nama (1082) - an Persian example of the genre

• The III Consideracions Right Necesserye to the Good Governaunce of a Prince (c. 1350) - advice to King John II of France.