Rules and Cautions (Book)

A Pretence in the Divine Art of Poetry, more commonly called Rules and Cautions, is a work of non-fiction written by a 19-year-old James Hamilton of Chrichheim and first published in Dunedyn. Its original purpose was to describe and propose the ideal standard for poets writing in the Chrichheim tradition, a style of writing which includes James' direct ancestors.
James Hamilton, as a young poet-duke, was both the head and patron of the Chrichheim Circle, a fairly close circle of court poets which he both established and composed with as peers in his teens and twenties. This group was intended to set the aesthetic standard for the writing he wished to advocate and James' patronage as Duke of Chrichheim attracted poets from both Chrichheim itself and it's neighbouring counties.
Like most of James' writing, Rules and Cautions was written in both contemporary common as well as tradition Chrich - which is a language that is no longer used among the overwhelming majority of Chrichheimers.