The Political Theory of Christine de Pizan

Mirrors for Princes and Sultans: Advice on the Art of Governance in the Medieval Christian and Islamic Worlds

“…This is despite the fact that such works have been described as among the most "influential reading material in the medieval Islamic world" (Yavari, 2014, 43). 5 Often called "mirrors for princes" in the European tradition, the intention of these works was to provoke self-examination on the part of the ruler by providing him or her with standards of conduct and examples of virtuous leaders to imitate (Forhan, 2002). 6 Defining the scope of the genre is difficult.…”

“…Advice literature in both traditions tends to adhere to a set of generic conventions in its framing, source materials, and thematic content. Many works begin, for instance, with a profession of humility, an insistence on the author's lack of relevant qualifications, or a disclaimer to the effect that the recipient already embodies the relevant virtues and, therefore, does not require the proffered advice (Forhan, 2002;Marlow, 2013b). Prescriptions are often offered to rulers indirectly through the use of classical and scriptural authorities and examples.…”

“…We see a similar set of themes in many Islamic advice texts, which also offered an ideal of a just ruler as one who maintains a harmonious social order (the trope of the "circle of justice" recurs throughout the Islamic texts), practices the cardinal virtues, consults with advisors and heeds good advice, avoids ostentation, and attends to the material and spiritual wellbeing of his subjects (Lambton, 1971;Marlow, 2013a). 11 A common stock of source material for Christian European advice texts includes classical authors like Seneca, Plutarch, Cicero, and particularly after the thirteenth-century recovery of his practical philosophy, Aristotle; scriptural passages and exemplary biblical figures (particularly Hebraic models of kingship like Solomon and David); and patristic literature (especially Ambrose and Augustine, and particularly the 24th chapter of the latter's City of God ) (Forhan, 2002;Lambertini, 2011). Islamic advice books similarly drew from classical sources, particularly Plato and Aristotle's ethical and political works and a pseudo-Aristotelian work, the Sirr al-Asrar, which purported to be a letter of advice from Aristotle to Alexander the Great; Sassanian theories of kingship; Arabian oral literature; and testamentary advice from royal and caliphal descendants to their heirs (Lambton, 1971;Marlow, 2013b).…”