This report examines the legacy of “mirrors for princes” literature, or advice literature for kings, in Iranian political thought, particularly in the modern period. While most scholars have studied ‘mirrors’ literature as a predominantly medieval phenomenon, this report argues that the genre and the ideals of kingship it articulates continued to flourish well into the modern period in Iran. Through an analysis of themes found both in the medieval Persian texts and the ‘mirrors’ composed in the Safavid and Qajar periods, this report demonstrates a remarkable continuity in the genre and in the ideology of kingship throughout centuries of dynastic and structural changes in Iran. Moreover, although the genre of ‘mirrors’ appears to have faded with the Qajar dynasty, this report shows how its ideology of kingship continued to influence the rhetoric of political legitimacy in the Pahlavi period. Muhammad Reza Shah in particular relied on the office of the king and his duties of executing justice and protecting Islam to justify both the necessity of the monarchy and his right to the throne. / text

Diss.--Fachbereich für Philosophie und Sozialwissenschaften--Braunschweig--Technische Universität Carolo-Wilhelmina, 1994. / Bibliogr. p. 287-311. Index.

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Les premiers miroirs des princes apparaissent dans le monde arabo-musulman au début du VIIIe siècle après J.-C, sous l’autorité de trois secrétaires de chancellerie, kuttāb : Sālim abū al-‛Alā, ‛Abd al-Ḥamīd ibn Yaḥia et ‛Abd-Allāh ibn al-Muqaffa‛. C’est à eux que l’on doit le discours premier de l’art de gouverner, dont l’étude permet de déterminer ce qui peut s’énoncer du politique, en cette période de transition du pouvoir des Omeyyades aux Abbassides. Après la contextualisation philosophique et philologique du discours des miroirs des princes proposée en première partie, la deuxième partie de cette recherche porte sur le gouvernement de soi et examine les pratiques de soi proposées au Prince, au travers de l’emploi rhétorique des fables et de la présentation d’exercices spirituels. La troisième partie aborde la situation du conseil politique : il s’agit de montrer que la tension des rapports de pouvoir entre le sage et le Prince n’annule pas la quête d’un dire-vrai, horizon idéal de la relation de conseil. Enfin, la quatrième partie examine les modalités du gouvernement des autres au travers de l’éthique de l’apparence exigée du Prince, de la typologie des gouvernements et des fonctions du souverain. Parmi ces dernières, la justice, tant distributive que corrective, et le soin, donnent lieu à des modèles spécifiques de gouvernement. Au terme de ce parcours, l’examen de la relation du Prince à ses auxiliaires choisis, ainsi que le modèle de vertu qu’il doit présenter à ses sujets, rendent manifeste la continuité qu’il y a entre le gouvernement de soi et le gouvernement des autres. Ce peuple dont il doit prendre soin doit aussi être séduit, par un gouvernement que l’on ne peut jamais véritablement qualifier de pastoral. / The first mirrors for princes appeared in the Arabo-muslim world at the beginning of the 8th century, under the authority of three secretaries of chancellery, kuttāb, namely Sālim abū al-‛Alā, ‛Abd al-Ḥamīd ibn Yaḥia and ‛Abd-Allāh ibn al-Muqaffa‛. By analyzing this early discourse about the art of government, we aim at determining what can be stated about politics in this transition period between the Umayyad and Abbassid dynasties. After first introducing the philosophical and philological background to this discourse (to the discourse of the mirrors for princes), we shall, in the second part of this study, focus on the government of the self and look into the practices that are suggested to the Prince through the rhetorical use of fables and presentation of spiritual exercises. The third part will deal with the situation of the political counsel, showing that the tension generated by the power relationship between the wise man and the Prince does not cancel the search for frank-speech, regarded as an ideal in the counselling relationship. The fourth part will finally examine the terms and conditions of the government of others by studying the ethic of appearance imposed upon the Prince, the typology of governments and the different duties expected of the sovereign, some which, such as justice, distributive and corrective, and care give rise to specific models of government. Our investigation on the relationship established between the Prince and his chosen assistants and on the model of virtue that he is required to embody for his subjects eventually reveals the obvious continuity between the government of the self and the government of others. The Prince must not only take charge of his people but also charm them by a government that can never be really qualified as pastoral.

Si les membres des « Ordres du roi », expression désignant, sous l’Ancien Régime, l’Ordre de Saint Michel créé en 1469 par Louis XI, et l’Ordre du Saint-Esprit créé en 1578 par Henri III, sont connus et précisément recensés, l’histoire de l’art, en l’occurrence l’examen des toiles, gravures ou sculptures produits entre les XVe et XVIIIe siècles, et en particulier des portraits peints et gravés de chevaliers, permet de progresser dans la compréhension de la fonction et du fonctionnement de ces deux institutions. L’invention et le recours aux ordres de chevalerie par des puissances étatiques centralisatrices ne peuvent être dissociés du processus qui vit en Europe, du Moyen Âge à nos jours, l’affirmation et l’ascension progressive de l’individu, sinon de l’individualisme, face à la collectivité, aux corporations, aux « castes » d’un « vieux monde » solidement organisé. Loin de servir cette vaste émancipation, comme on le conçoit a priori, les ordres de chevalerie agissent à son encontre en permettant certes aux chevaliers décorés d’assouvir leur désir de distinction, mais uniquement de façon superficielle – en leur offrant la possibilité de ressembler au roi –, sans conséquence sur l’ordonnancement des affaires de l’État. À partir de l’étude du don du cordon bleu aux fils de France, des insignes accaparés et des signes que l’on prend pour des insignes alors qu’ils n’en sont pas et de l’altération, par accident, par intention ou par incompréhension des motifs visuels des Ordres du roi, il s’agit de démontrer comment ces derniers constituent des outils de neutralisation d’ordre esthétique, par le pouvoir, des ambitions aristocratiques. / If the members of the "Orders of the King", which refer, under the Ancien Régime, to the Order of Saint Michael created in 1469 by Louis XI of France, and the Order of the Holy Spirit created in 1578 by Henry III of France, are well known and precisely identified, history of art, through the examination of canvases, engravings or sculptures produced between the 15th and the 18th centuries, and in particular painted and engraved portraits of knights, paves the way to a better understanding of the Orders in terms of roles and operation. The invention and the use of chivalric orders by a centralized state is intimately linked to the process that led in Europe, from the Middle Ages to present days, to the rise of the individual, if not the rise of individualism itself, in a strong society made up of corporations and “castes”. These orders were not founded to strengthen this dynamics of emancipation, as one could think. Even if the knights were given the right to stand out from the crowd, thanks to insignias that give them the illusion to look like the king, it was only in a superficial way, without affecting the affairs of the state. Our thesis, which consists in demonstrating how the “Orders of the King” were used as a tool of aesthetic neutralization, by the King, of aristocratic ambitions, relies on the study of the Sons of France’s Cordons Bleus – the ribbon from which the Cross of the Holy Spirit was hung was blue –, insignias that are not precisely insignias of the Orders of the King, and the modification by accident, intent or misconception of the Orders of the King’s symbols and representations.

<p>In the genre of the-mirror-for-princes Erasmus Desiderius, <em>Institutio Principi Christiani</em> and Niccoló Machiavelli’s <em>Il Principe</em> are traditionally considered as a dichotomy. This thesis aims at comparing Erasmus against the norm of Machiavelli with emphasis on genre and rhetoric. A "reversed" comparative reading like this study shows that much of what is considered typical of the genre in Erasmus classic is in fact a result of the use of ethos and decorum. The study concentrates on the uses of normative language on the subjects of education, virtue, war, love, and hate to answer how the two texts differentiate in view of the legitimacy of rulers and how these differing views can be explained. This unorthodox reading of Erasmus mirror-for-princes reveals a less naïve and more pragmatic ideal prince. Though clearly separate from Machiavelli’s prince, formed by the roman discourse, the Erasmian ruler is hard to define as its antithesis. The differences in outlook constitute two different rhetorical stances in the face of the new political situation of the time and therefore share much common ground.</p>

In the genre of the-mirror-for-princes Erasmus Desiderius, Institutio Principi Christiani and Niccoló Machiavelli’s Il Principe are traditionally considered as a dichotomy. This thesis aims at comparing Erasmus against the norm of Machiavelli with emphasis on genre and rhetoric. A "reversed" comparative reading like this study shows that much of what is considered typical of the genre in Erasmus classic is in fact a result of the use of ethos and decorum. The study concentrates on the uses of normative language on the subjects of education, virtue, war, love, and hate to answer how the two texts differentiate in view of the legitimacy of rulers and how these differing views can be explained. This unorthodox reading of Erasmus mirror-for-princes reveals a less naïve and more pragmatic ideal prince. Though clearly separate from Machiavelli’s prince, formed by the roman discourse, the Erasmian ruler is hard to define as its antithesis. The differences in outlook constitute two different rhetorical stances in the face of the new political situation of the time and therefore share much common ground.

Scholarship on education and social reform has studied how communities with a history of literacy and employment in pre-colonial state administrations adjusted to the new socio-political order brought about by the British Empire in India. My work shifts the attention to the Indian aristocracy and mercantile communities and examines why they promoted modern education. I argue that rulers of Indian states adapted to the colonial environment quite effectively. Instead of a break from the past, traditional ideas of rajadharma (duties of a king) evolved and made room for reformist social and economic policies. This dissertation examines why many Indian princes (kings and queens) adopted liberal policies in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. I argue that English-educated rulers of Indian states became reformers and modernizers to enhance their monarchical authority. The main audience for princes was their own state population, neighboring princes, imperial officials, and Indian journalists and politicians. I have carried out research at government archives and public and private libraries in India and the United Kingdom. Sources used include official records and correspondence, annual administrative reports, newspaper accounts, social reform journals, and weeklies and monthlies dedicated to educational topics. I have also consulted memoirs and biographies of kings, queens, diwans (prime ministers) and merchants. My source material is in English and Gujarati. I draw evidence from princely states across India with a focus on Hindu Rajput and Pathan Muslim states in the Gujarat (specifically Saurashtra) region of western India, neighboring the former Bombay Presidency. Due to Gujarat's strong mercantilist tradition, commercial groups played an influential role in society. I examine how and why merchants in princely states supported their ruler's educational policies. I also discuss how mercantile philanthropy crossed political and religious boundaries with the Gujarati (Hindu, Muslim and Jain) diaspora across India, Africa and Burma supporting educational institutions in Gujarat. My dissertation examines the interactions between the English-educated upper caste Hindus, the Anglicized Rajput rulers and the Gujarati merchants to understand how they all contributed to the shaping of modern Gujarati society. / text

The regions of James II, III, and IV in the second half of the fifteenth century in Scotland saw a distinctive flowering of advice to princes literature. This is the first account of its kind to examine in detail the sources, arguments, and extent of political comment of each individual work. In particular it employs both literary and historical sources to reveal the largely unrecognized impact of continental, especially French, political thought, on a number of writers. The study opens with a consideration of the poem De Regimine Principum, a politically very forthright advice work, influential for a century or so after its composition. Chapter 2 deals with the writings of Sir Gilbert Hay, whose work shows clear influences from the continent, particularly in the Buik of King Alexander, which is also seen to have interesting links with De Regimine Principum. Chapter 3 discusses the romance Lancelot of the Laik, a poem less precise in its allusions, but clearly indicative of a number of recurrent preoccupations in Scottish advisory literature in the areas of justice and kingly minorities. The two following chapters examine The Talis of the Fyve Bestes, which gives a markedly nationalistic evocation of good kingship, and The Buke of the Chess, where Scottish advice to princes is seen at its least politically aware. In Chapter 6 advice appears in yet another genre, the devotional poem The Contemplacioun of Synnaris, where the wider associations of `kingship' with the nosce te ipsum tradition are apparent. Chapters 7 and 8 concern The Thre Prestis of Peblis and John Ireland's Meroure of Wyssdome, possibly produced around the same time, but presenting their advice in very different manners: the Thre Prestis adroitly worked and entertaining, the Meroure, highly theological and drawing strongly on continental writers, notably the sermons of Jean Gerson. In conclusion it is shown that through this context we can best appreciate the purpose and formidable execution of Robert Henryson's advice to princes fable lq The Lion and the Mouse.

Thesis (M.A.)--Baylor University, 2008. / Includes bibliographic refrences (p. 123-126)