In Reflecting Mirrors, East and West Enrico Boccaccini sheds new light on Mirrors for Princes, the pre-modern genre of advice literature for rulers. A popular genre in the societies that emerged from the Late Antique oecumene, Mirrors for Princes are considered here, for the first time, as a transcultural phenomenon that challenges the dichotomy of the Orient and the Occident. Traditionally, the historiographic tradition has viewed ‘European’ and ‘Middle Eastern’ Mirrors as distinct and incommensurable. Analyzing the contents and discourses in four Mirrors, ostensibly separated by space, time and language, Enrico Boccaccini convincingly draws out the surprising continuities between these texts, while also showing how they are embedded in their own historical, literary and political context.

Table des matières

Front Matter
Preliminary Material
Pages: i–xi

Copyright Page

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Notes on transliteration and style

Introduction

Pages: 1–25
Chapter 1 The Traditions

Pages: 26–73
Restricted Access
Chapter 2 The Texts

Pages: 74–114
Restricted Access
Chapter 3 The Advice

Pages: 115–180
Chapter 4 The Advisors

Pages: 181–241
Conclusion

Pages: 242–262
Back Matter
Appendix

Pages: 263–272
Bibliography

Indexes