Chess in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Age: A Fundamental Thought Paradigm of the Premodern World

Description

The game of chess was wildly popular in the Middle Ages, so much so that it became an important thought paradigm for thinkers and writers who utilized its vocabulary and imagery for commentaries on war, politics, love, and the social order. In this collection of essays, scholars investigate chess texts from numerous traditions – English, French, German, Latin, Persian, Spanish, Swedish, and Catalan – and argue that knowledge of chess is essential to understanding medieval culture. Such knowledge, however, cannot rely on the modern game, for today’s rules were not developed until the late fifteenth century. Only through familiarity with earlier incarnations of the game can one fully appreciate the full import of chess to medieval society. The careful scholarship contained in this volume provides not only insight into the significance of chess in medieval European culture but also opens up avenues of inquiry for future work in this rich field. Introduction: "Le beau jeu nottable" Part I: Chess, Morality, and Politics Chapter 1. Chess in Medieval German Literature: A Mirror of Social-Historical and Cultural, Religious, Ethical, and Moral Conditions Chapter 2. Making Chess Politically and Socially Relevant in Times of Trouble in the Schacktavelslek Chapter 3. Ludus Scaccarii: Games and Governance in Twelfth-Century England Chapter 4. Defeating the Devil at Chess: A Struggle between Virtue and Vice in Le Jeu des esches de la dame moralisé Part II: Women On and Off the Chessboard Chapter 5. Medieval Chess, Perceval’s Education, and a Dialectic of Misogyny Chapter 6. Images of Medieval Spanish Chess and Captive Damsels in Distress Chapter 7. How did the Queen Go Mad? Part III: Playing Games with Chess and Allegory Chapter 8. Playing with Memory: The Chessboard as a Mnemonic Tool in Medieval Didactic Literature Chapter 9. Changing the Rules in and of Medieval Chess Allegories Chapter 10. The Limits of Allegory in Jacobus de Cessolis’ De ludo scaccorum Selected Bibliography Notes on the Contributors Acknowledgments