Mirrors for princes

Antiquity

Sumer

• Instructions of Shuruppak

  Egypt

• Ptahhotep, The Maxims of Ptahhotep
• Kheti III, Teaching for King Merykara
• Kheti the Scribe, "Instructions of Amenemhat", a guide-poem on kingship for Senusret I, the son of the former Pharaoh Amenemhat I.
• Amenemope, Son of Kanakht, Instruction of Amenemope

  Indian

• Vishnu Sharma, Panchatantra
• Chanakya, Arthashastra
• Narayan Pandit, Hitopdesha
• Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, "Budhbhushan"

  Greek and Roman

• Plato, Republic
• Xenophon, The Education of Cyrus
• Aristotle, Politics
• Isocrates, To Nicocles and Evagoras
• Philodemus, The Good King According to Homer
• Dio Chrysostom, The First Discourse on Kingship, The Second Discourse on Kingship, The Third Discourse on Kingship, and The Fourth Discourse on Kingship
• Cicero, De Officiis
• Seneca, De Clementia
• Plutarch, Moralia
• Pliny the Younger, Panegyric of Trajan
• 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.
• Ambrose, De officiis ministrorum – 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"
• Salvian, De gubernatione Dei

  Western European texts

Early Middle Ages

• Martin of Braga, Formula vitae honestae, dedicated to Suebian King Miro of Galicia.
• Pope Gregory the Great, The Book of Pastoral Rule Although dedicated to clergy, lessons may also apply to nobles.
• Gregory of Tours' History of the Franks which warns against internal strife.
• Isidore of Seville, The Sentenciae, particularly book III.
• De duodecim abusivis saeculi, 'On the twelve abuses of the world', 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 written for Charlemagne.
• Paulinus of Aquileia, Liber exhortationis, for Count Heiric of Friuli.
• Alcuin, De virtutibus et vitiis, written for Count Wido of Brittany.
• Smaragdus of Saint-Mihiel, Via regia, arguably the first true European mirror for princes, dedicated to Louis the Pious, when king of Aquitania.
• Einhard's Vita Karoli Magni which promotes Charlemagne's reign as something for other rulers to aspire to.
• Jonas of Orléans, De Institutione Laicali, written for Count Matfrid of Orléans.
• Jonas of Orléans, De Institutione Regia, written for Pepin I of Aquitaine, apparently on the basis of a council at Orléans.
• 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.
• Dhuoda, Liber manualis, written for her son William.
• Sedulius Scottus, De rectoribus christianis 'On Christian rulers', 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', 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, written, an Old Irish text which has been called a forerunner of the 'mirrors for princes'. 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.
• 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', 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'

  High Middle Ages

• Stephen I of Hungary, Admonitions, written for his son and heir presumptive Saint Emeric.
• Hugh of Fleury, De Regia Potestate, dedicated to King Henry I of England
• Moralium dogma philosophorum, dedicated to King Henry II of England
• Benoît de Sainte-Maure, Roman de Troie, written for nobles.
• John of Salisbury, Policraticus 'The Statesman's Book'.
• Godfrey of Viterbo, Speculum regum, dedicated to his Staufian imperial patrons, Frederick Barbarossa and his son Henry VI.
• Pseudo-Plutarch, Institutio Traiani.
• Gerald of Wales, De instructione principis
• Gilles de Paris, Carolinus, dedicated to King Louis VIII of France.
• Helinand of Froidmont, De bono regimine principis,
• Jean de Limoges, Somnium morale Pharaonis, written for Thibaut IV or Thibaut V
• Juan de Soria, Chronica latina regum Castellae for use as a mirror for princes and to defend the rights of Castile against Leon.
• Konungs skuggsjá or Speculum regale, Norwegian treatise originally written for King Magnús lagabœtir.
• Vincent of Beauvais, De eruditione filiorum nobilium = 'On the Education of Noble Children'.
• Guibert of Tournai, Eruditio regum et principum = 'The Education of Kings and Princes', written for Louis IX.
• Guibert of Tournai, De modo addiscendi = 'On the Method of Learning' written for John de Dampierre, provost of Bruges, son of Guy of Flanders.
• Thomas Aquinas, De regno, ad regem Cypri, 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', probably written for Louis IX.
• William Peraldus, De eruditione principum = 'On the Education of Princes', formerly attributed to Thomas Aquinas.
• Brunetto Latini, Li livres dou trésor, written for Charles of Anjou.
• Giles of Rome, De regimine principum = 'On the Rule of Princes', written for Philip the Fair.

  Late Middle Ages

• Engelbert of Admont, Speculum virtutum moralium, written for Otto, Duke of Austria and Albert II, Duke of Austria
• Paolino Veneto, Trattato de regimine rectoris, written for the Marino Badoer, duke of Crete
• William of Pagula, Speculum regis, written for Edward III of England.
• Don Juan Manuel, Tales of Count Lucanor.
• Don Juan Manuel, Libro Infinido o Libro de Castigos et de Consejos
• Alvarus Pelagius, Speculum regum, written for Alfonso XI of Castile.
• Um styrilsi kununga ok höfþinga, Old Swedish treatise
• The III Consideracions Right Necesserye to the Good Governaunce of a Prince, a translation of a French treatise from 1347, intended for King John II of France.
• Philip of Leyden, De cura reipublicae et sorte principantis , dedicated to William V of Holland
• Evrart de Trémaugon, Le songe du verger.
• Der Fürsten reget, dedicated to William, Duke of Austria
• Christine de Pizan, Epistre Othea a Hector, Livre du corps de policie, Livre de la paix.
• Pierre Salmon, Dialogues, dedicated to Charles VI of France
• Thomas Hoccleve, De regimine principum written for Henry V of England.
• Duarte of Portugal, Leal Conselheiro, a practical manual of ethical guidance for the nobility of Portugal.
• Andreas Pannonius, Libellus de virtutibus Matthiae Corvino dedicatus, dedicated to Matthias Corvinus, and Libellus de virtutibus Herculi Estensi dedicatus, dedicated to Ercole I d'Este.
• John Ireland, The Meroure of Wysedome, written for James IV of Scotland.
• Phillipus de Bergamo, Spiegel der regyrunge translated into middle German
• Eyn kurz ordenunge in gemeyne allen den die da regieren huß, dorffere oder stede, short text written on how to rule a household, village or city
• Von der regeronge der stede, text written on how to govern a city

  Renaissance

• John Skelton, Speculum principis, written for the future Henry VIII. A copy of this treatise, which may not be entirely the same as that presented to Henry, resides with the British Museum.
• Erasmus, Institutio principis Christiani 'Education of a Christian Prince', written as advice to King Charles of Spain.
• Martin Luther. On Secular Authority, a letter dedicated to John, Elector of Saxony
• Baldassare Castiglione's The Book of the Courtier, based on experiences of the courts of Urbino.
• Antonio de Guevara, Relox de príncipes, 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, dedicated to Sibylle of Cleves for a right ordering of a Christian Lutheran household
• Machiavelli, Il Principe.
• George Buchanan, De iure regni apud Scotos, a work in the form of a Socratic dialogue on ideal kingship dedicated to the young James VI of Scotland
• Giovanni Botero, The Reason of State, a criticism of Machiavelli's Prince.
• Johann Damgaard, Alithia, written for the young Danish monarch King Christian IV.
• Juan de Mariana, De rege et regis institutione ; The King and the Education of the King
• James VI of Scotland, Basilikon Doron written as a gift to his eldest son.
• Tomas Fernández de Medrano, República Mista, dedicated to the 1st Duke of Lerma.
• Francisco de Quevedo, La política de Dios, y gobierno de Cristo The Politics of God and the Government of Christ
• Hugo Grotius, De jure belli ac pacis dedicated to Louis XIII of France
• John Gauden, Eikon Basilike published after Charles I of England was beheaded.
• Diego Fernández de Medrano y Zenizeros, Mirror of Princes: Espejo de Príncipes: Crisol de sus Virtudes, Asombro de sus lealdades; Alma de su govierno y govierno de su Alma ''Mirror of Princes: Crucible of his virtues, wonder of his loyalties; soul of his government and government of his soul'', dedicated to Philip Prospero, Prince of Asturias.

  Enlightenment

• John Locke, Some Thoughts Concerning Education
• Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, Politics Drawn from the Very Words of Holy Scripture dedicated to the future Louis XV of France.
• Johann Gottfried Gregorii, Curieuse Affecten-Spiegel, particularly the chapter On the Christian Wisdom of Kings, Princes and Rulers
• Frederick II of Prussia, Anti-Machiavel a critique of Machiavelli's Prince.
• Frederick II of Prussia, Letter addressed to his nephew, Charles Eugene, Duke of Württemberg
• Montesquieu, ''The Spirit of Law''

  Modern

• Walter Bagehot, The English Constitution 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.
• 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.
• Kekaumenos, Strategikon, chapters 77 – 91.
• Archbishop Theophylact of Ohrid, Paideia Basilike , addressed to his pupil Constantine Doukas, son of Emperor Michael VII Doukas.
• Spaneas or Didaskalia Parainetike, modelled on the Isocratean Ad Demonicum
• Nikephoros Blemmydes, Andrias Basilikos, written for Theodore II Laskaris, the future Nicaean emperor
• Thomas Magistros, La addressed to Andronikos II Palaiologos.
• Manuel II Palaiologos, Paideia Regia dedicated to his son, John VIII Palaiologos.

  Pre-Islamic Persian texts

• Ewen-Nāmag : On the Sasanian manners, customs, skills, and arts, sciences, etc.
• Andarz literature.

  Islamic texts

• Abd al-Hamid al-Katib, letter to Abdallah son of the Umayyad caliph Marwan II
• Ibn al-Muqaffa, Kalila wa Dimna
• Abu Yahya ibn al-Batriq Sirr al-Asrar Secretum Secretorum
• Al-Farabi, Fusul al-Madani 'Aphorisms of a Statesman'
• Abu'l-Qasim al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Maghribi, Kitab fi'l-si'yasa
• Al-Tha'alibi, Ādāb al-mulūk
• Al-Mubashshir ibn Fatik, Mukhtār al-Hikam wa-Maḥāsin al-Kalim 'Selected Maxims and Aphorisms'
• Qabus nama – a Persian example of the genre
• Nizam al-Mulk, Siyāset-nāmeh 'Book of Government'
• Al-Imam al-Hadrami – Kitâb al-Ishâra
• Al-Ghazali, Nasihat al-muluk 'Counsel to Princes'
• Al-Ghazali, Alchemy of Happiness, Book XXI, Part Three, 'Disciplining the Self'
• Yusuf Balasaghuni, Kutadgu Bilig
• At-Turtushi, Siraj al-Muluk 'The Lamp of Kings'
• Ibn Ẓafar al-Ṣiqillī's Sulwan al-Muta' fi 'udwan al-atba 'Consolation for the Ruler during the Hostility of Subjects'; published in English as, Solwān; or Waters Of Comfort
• Bahr Al-Fava'id 'Sea of Virtues', compiled in the 12th century.
• Ibn Arabi, Divine Governance of the Human Kingdom
• Saadi's Gulistan, chapter I, "The Manners of Kings",.
• Wasitat al-suluk fi siyasat al-muluk
• Hussain Vaiz Kashifi's Aklhaq i Muhsini, translated into English as "The Morals of the Beneficent" in the mid 19th century by Henry George Keene
• Abd al-Wahhab al-Sha'rani "Advice for Callow Jurists and Gullible Mendicants on Befriending Emirs"
• Lütfi Pasha Asafname
• Muhammad al-Baqir Najm-I Sani, Mau‘izah-i Jahangiri 'Admonition of Jahāngír' or 'Advice on the art of governance'.

  Slavonic texts

• Patriarch Photios I of Constantinople, letter addressed to Boris I of Bulgaria
• Poucheniye of Vladmir Monomakh to his children.
• Izmaragd moral guide and education for children
• Patriarch Antony IV of Constantinople, letter to Vasily I of Moscow.
• Domostroy
• Neagoe Basarab, The teachings of Neagoe Basarab to his son Theodosie, one of the earliest literary works in Wallachia
• Mikhail Lomonosov, ''Panegyric to the Sovereign Emperor, Peter the Great''

  Chinese texts

Ancient

• Tao Te Ching – Lao Tzu Chinese philosopher
• Mencius – moral advice for a ruler
• Han Fei Zi – Legalist text advice for a ruler and the art of statecraft dedicated to Qin Shi Huang
• The Book of Lord Shang text advice useful for a ruler and statecraft
• Shizi particularly section 15, ''The Ruler's Governance''

  Imperial dynasties

Han dynasty

• Lu Jia Xin Yu 新语, treatise on why empires rise and fall.
• Ban Biao Book of Han, Volume 23, Treatise on Punishment and Law
• Ban Biao Treatise on the Mandate of Kings covers the concept of sovereignty that would influence later Chinese texts.

  Tang dynasty

• Ouyang Xun Yiwen leiju 藝文類聚
• Kong Yingda Wujing Zhengyi 五經正義
• Liu Zhi Zhengdian 政典, a political encyclopaedia useful for young boys taking the Imperial Examination

  Song dynasty

• Ouyang Xiu New Book of Tang, carries a treatise on how to select and appoint officials.
• Sima Guang Zizhi Tongjian
• Zhu Xi Zizhi Tongjian Gangmu
• Zheng Qiao Tongzhi 通治

  Ming dynasty

• Zhu Yuanzhang ''Huang-Ming Zuxun''

  Qing dynasty

• Huang Zongxi ''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.