George Ashby, The Active Policy of a Prince and the Dicta et Opiniones Diversorum Philosophorum

Aline Douma (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)

Ed. by Sebastian Sobecki, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Natalie Hanna, University of Liverpool
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.02: English Writing and Culture: High and Late Medieval, 1066-1485.
Vol. editors: Kate Ash-Irisarri (University of Edinburgh), Rory Critten (Université de Lausanne), David Fuller (University of Durham), Natalie Hanna (University of Liverpool), Hugh Magennis (Queen's University Belfast), Jamie McKinstry (University of Durham), Sarah Peverley (University of Liverpool), Sebastian Sobecki (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 1450 - c. 1470

Places

England (Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Poetry (any)

Resources

Active Policy of a Prince (henceforth: Active Policy) is a Lancastrian mirror for princes, written by the signet scribe George Ashby for Prince Edward of Lancaster. Active Policy consists of 131 Middle English stanzas in rhyme royal, with some Latin quotations. It is followed by the addendum Dicta et Opiniones Diversorum Philosophorum (henceforth: Dicta), an incomplete collection of Latin quotations on governance and kingly virtues each followed by their English translations in rhyme royal, which in its current state is almost 1,5 times longer than Active Policy. Though sometimes regarded as two separate poems, it is more likely that the work was conceived as one whole. Active …

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

1077 words

Citation: Douma, Aline. "The Active Policy of a Prince and the Dicta et Opiniones Diversorum Philosophorum". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 11 November 2020 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=39164, accessed 27 April 2024.]

View recommended reading for this article

Save this article