George Ashby, “Active Policy of a Prince and Dicta et opiniones diversorum philosophorum”

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Extent: 176 pages

Publisher: Medieval Institute Publications

Series: TEAMS Middle English Texts Series

Language: English, English (Middle), Latin

Paperback (Published)

(September 2026)

ISBN: 9781580447256

8.31 x 10.28 inches

Price: $24.95

Critical edition of George Ashby’s fifteenth-century mirror for princes, the Active Policy of a Prince and Dicta et opiniones diversorum philosophorum.


George Ashby’s Active Policy of a Prince and its addendum Dicta et opiniones diversorum philosophorum, a mirror for princes written ca. 1461–62 for the Lancastrian prince Edward, is a unique witness to the political discourse of the Wars of the Roses. As a clerk of the Signet Office, Ashby had intimate knowledge of both the inner workings of politics at the Lancastrian court as well as its key players. The Active Policy of a Prince is a largely original work of political advice written in Middle English, while the Dicta et opiniones diversorum philosophorum is a macaronic text, combining prose passages taken mostly from the Latin wisdom text Liber philosophorum moralium antiquorum, followed by Ashby’s verse translations in Middle English. This book presents a full edition of The Active Policy and Dicta with extensive glosses, notes and translations of the Latin passages.