An 8th-century"Mirror for Laymen":A Study on Secular Courtier Exhortation in De Virtutibus et Vitiis
De Virtutibus et Vitiis was a"mirror for laymen"written by Alcuin of York for Count Wido,a local dignitary.Addressing the secular responsibilities of Count Wido's border commanders and judges,Alcuin used peace and justice as core guidance to establish a set of standards for vassals for Count Wido.The admonitions for vassals in De Virtutibus et Vitiis were not truly secular advice but rather counsels embed-ded within religious exhortations.From the perspective of writing motivation,the admonitions stemmed from the traditional concerns of Christianity about earthly rule;in terms of content,they were deeply influenced by the Carolingian Empire's policy of integrating church and state,as well as by the author's own identity and experiences.In the Carolingian lord-vassal relationship,which was primarily based on oaths of loyalty and lacked institutional constraints,the admonitions for vassals in the book were actually difficult to imple-ment effectively.
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