Mirrors for princes

Mirrors for princes () or mirrors of princes, refer to an educational literary genre, in a loose sense of the word, of political writings during the Early Middle Ages, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. They are part of the broader speculum or mirror literature genre. They occur most frequently in the form of textbooks which directly instruct kings, princes or lesser rulers on certain aspects of governance and behaviour. But in a broader sense the term is also used to cover histories or literary works aimed at creating images of kings for imitation or avoidance. Authors often composed such "mirrors" at the accession of a new king, when a young and inexperienced ruler was about to come to power. One could view them as a species of proto self-help book or study of leadership before the concept of a "leader" became more generalised than the concept of a monarchical head-of-state.
One of the earliest works was written by Sedulius Scottus ( 840–860), the Irish poet associated with the Pangur Bán gloss poem ( 9th century). Possibly the best known European "mirror" is "The Prince" ( 1513) by Niccolo Machiavelli, although this was not the most typical example. Some further examples are listed below.
Classical texts.
Greek and Roman.
Eusebius of Caesarea's "Life of Constantine" may be a mirror for princes. This text's precise genre, audience, and aims has, however, been a subject of scholarly controversy.
Western European texts.
Early Middle Ages.
Carolingian texts. Notable examples of Carolingian textbooks for kings, counts and other laymen include:
Irish texts
Pre-Islamic Persian texts.
Kalilag ud Damanag: A Middle-Persian translation of Indian Panchatantra.