En privé & en public: The Epistolary Preparation of the Dutch Stadtholders

Abstract In his educational treatise, the Instruction du prince chrétien (1642), André Rivet, the tutor of the future Willem II (1627-1650), presents his ideal of a virtuous prince well versed in the skills required to govern himself and his subjects. In the educational correspondences surrounding the future Dutch stadtholders we see some of these theoretical principles played out in epistolary practice. Reading the correspondence against the foil of Rivet’s treatise brings to the fore a number of characteristics of his ideal prince: the intimate educational nexus between tutor, parents, and p... Mehr ...