{"id":74969,"date":"2022-08-02T21:42:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-03T01:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=74969"},"modified":"2022-08-11T10:20:36","modified_gmt":"2022-08-11T14:20:36","slug":"mirrors-for-princes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/","title":{"rendered":"Mirrors for Princes: How Machiavelli\u2019s The Prince Fits In"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What does “mirrors for princes” mean? How is The Prince<\/em> different from most works in the genre?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mirrors for princes was a popular literary genre during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The works served as advice for rulers on how to behave and lead. While Machiavelli\u2019s The Prince<\/em> is the best-known example, it stands apart from most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more to learn how The Prince<\/em> fits into the mirrors for princes genre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Mirrors for Princes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Prince<\/em> is the best-known, though not the most representative, example of the genre known as mirrors for princes<\/em><\/a>. These texts were written by scholars, monks, and politicians as instructions for newly ascended monarchs. They offered advice, gave a history of the state, and described rulers whom the new monarch should seek to emulate. Though the genre experienced a boom in the Middle Ages, it dates back to ancient Greece, and new examples were published until the 19th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What makes The Prince<\/em> unusual is Machiavelli\u2019s grounded interests and largely realistic tone. While other authors stressed the importance of Christian virtue<\/a> and acting on behalf of the people, Machiavelli is concerned mainly with power\u2014how to take it, maintain it, and defend it. He mentions Christianity only in passing<\/a> and encourages the reader to flout traditional morality if doing so helps preserve the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Machiavelli dedicated The Prince<\/em> to Lorenzo II de\u2019 Medici, the then-prince of Florence who was only 20 years old when he took power. While there\u2019s no evidence that Lorenzo or any of his successors ever read the book, some scholars have theorized that it was written as a kind of job application, a cynical attempt by Machiavelli to ingratiate himself to the Medici family<\/a> after they had imprisoned, tortured, and dismissed him<\/a> from the government a year earlier. The Prince<\/em>\u2019s dedication stressed his loyalty and his knowledge of politics<\/a>, and, in making a gift of the book, he may have hoped to simultaneously assuage any suspicions against him and encourage Florence\u2019s new leaders to bring him back into politics<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What does “mirrors for princes” mean? How is The Prince different from most works in the genre? Mirrors for princes was a popular literary genre during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The works served as advice for rulers on how to behave and lead. While Machiavelli\u2019s The Prince is the best-known example, it stands apart from most. Read more to learn how The Prince fits into the mirrors for princes genre.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":74972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,39,275],"tags":[710],"class_list":["post-74969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-history","category-politics","tag-the-prince","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nMirrors for Princes: How Machiavelli\u2019s The Prince Fits In - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mirrors for princes served as advice for rulers on how to behave and lead. Learn how The Prince fits into the genre\u2014and how it stands apart.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mirrors for Princes: How Machiavelli\u2019s The Prince Fits In\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mirrors for princes served as advice for rulers on how to behave and lead. Learn how The Prince fits into the genre\u2014and how it stands apart.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-08-03T01:42:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-08-11T14:20:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/old-book.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elizabeth Whitworth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elizabeth Whitworth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13\"},\"headline\":\"Mirrors for Princes: How Machiavelli\u2019s The Prince Fits In\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-08-03T01:42:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-11T14:20:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/\"},\"wordCount\":352,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/old-book.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"The Prince\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Books\",\"History\",\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/\",\"name\":\"Mirrors for Princes: How Machiavelli\u2019s The Prince Fits In - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/old-book.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-08-03T01:42:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-11T14:20:36+00:00\",\"description\":\"Mirrors for princes served as advice for rulers on how to behave and lead. Learn how The Prince fits into the genre\u2014and how it stands apart.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/old-book.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/old-book.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mirrors for Princes: How Machiavelli\u2019s The Prince Fits In\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World's Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13\",\"name\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\"},\"description\":\"Elizabeth has a lifelong love of books. She devours nonfiction, especially in the areas of history, theology, and philosophy. A switch to audiobooks has kindled her enjoyment of well-narrated fiction, particularly Victorian and early 20th-century works. She appreciates idea-driven books\u2014and a classic murder mystery now and then. Elizabeth has a Substack and is writing a book about what the Bible says about death and hell.\",\"sameAs\":[\"rina@shortform.com\"],\"award\":[\"Contributions to joint task force efforts (FBI)\",\"Contributions to Special Operations Division (DOJ & DEA)\",\"Efforts to fight the war on drugs (NSA)\",\"Contributions to Operation Storm Front (US Customs Service)\"],\"knowsAbout\":[\"History\",\"Theology\",\"Government\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Senior SEO Writer\",\"worksFor\":\"Shortform\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/elizabeth\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mirrors for Princes: How Machiavelli\u2019s The Prince Fits In - Shortform Books","description":"Mirrors for princes served as advice for rulers on how to behave and lead. Learn how The Prince fits into the genre\u2014and how it stands apart.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mirrors for Princes: How Machiavelli\u2019s The Prince Fits In","og_description":"Mirrors for princes served as advice for rulers on how to behave and lead. Learn how The Prince fits into the genre\u2014and how it stands apart.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2022-08-03T01:42:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-08-11T14:20:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/old-book.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Elizabeth Whitworth","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Elizabeth Whitworth","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/"},"author":{"name":"Elizabeth Whitworth","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13"},"headline":"Mirrors for Princes: How Machiavelli\u2019s The Prince Fits In","datePublished":"2022-08-03T01:42:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-11T14:20:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/"},"wordCount":352,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/old-book.jpg","keywords":["The Prince"],"articleSection":["Books","History","Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/","name":"Mirrors for Princes: How Machiavelli\u2019s The Prince Fits In - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/old-book.jpg","datePublished":"2022-08-03T01:42:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-11T14:20:36+00:00","description":"Mirrors for princes served as advice for rulers on how to behave and lead. Learn how The Prince fits into the genre\u2014and how it stands apart.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/old-book.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/old-book.jpg","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mirrors-for-princes\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Mirrors for Princes: How Machiavelli\u2019s The Prince Fits In"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World's Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13","name":"Elizabeth Whitworth","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Elizabeth Whitworth"},"description":"Elizabeth has a lifelong love of books. She devours nonfiction, especially in the areas of history, theology, and philosophy. A switch to audiobooks has kindled her enjoyment of well-narrated fiction, particularly Victorian and early 20th-century works. She appreciates idea-driven books\u2014and a classic murder mystery now and then. Elizabeth has a Substack and is writing a book about what the Bible says about death and hell.","sameAs":["rina@shortform.com"],"award":["Contributions to joint task force efforts (FBI)","Contributions to Special Operations Division (DOJ & DEA)","Efforts to fight the war on drugs (NSA)","Contributions to Operation Storm Front (US Customs Service)"],"knowsAbout":["History","Theology","Government"],"jobTitle":"Senior SEO Writer","worksFor":"Shortform","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/elizabeth\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/old-book.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74969"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75146,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74969\/revisions\/75146"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}