Chess

[Stefan ap Llewelyn]

I am thinking of taking my hard carved chess set to Bannockburn to play in the living history camp.

So my questions are:

In the year 1314 what the game of chess like in Britain - was it here at all, was it here but with different pieces, rules etc?

I have searched on the web but the information does not seem to be easily available, there are timelines for chess event and discussions of ancient games and players but not quite the info that I need.

[Karen Larsdatter]

And before I answer this question, I must say: Baaaaaaasingstoke! Ah, but not everyone will find that as funny, nor can I type it out with the sense of desperation that my mother used to quietly imbue into that word. ("Basingstoke, children! Basingstoke!")

In the year 1314 what the game of chess like in Britain - was it here at all, was it here but with different pieces, rules etc?

Chess was certainly present and played in Britain in the early 14th century, but the rules may have been different -- and certainly the pieces could look quite different. These links to pictures of game-players and gaming pieces may be helpful to you, especially the nifty carved ivory pieces (a 13th century chess piece found in England, a 14th century chess piece found in Germany, a 14th century chess piece found in England, etc., but also several illustrations from 14th century manuscripts of Jacques de Cessoles' Liber de Moribus hominum and other 14th century illustrations as well. Among other things, I'm not sure when the elephant pieces evolved into the more familiar bishops on the modern board, or when they would have become more common in medieval England.

I would definitely also recommend to you Le jeu d'échecs, an online exhibit/class on the development of chess through history.

[justmagnus]

Among other things, I'm not sure when the elephant pieces evolved into the more familiar bishops on the modern board, or when they would have become more common in medieval England.

Karen, did the elephant become the bishop or did it become the rook? I only ask because a friend that I play chess with occassionally is from India and they use an elephant for the rook.

Rob

[Karen Larsdatter]

Karen, did the elephant become the bishop or did it become the rook? I only ask because a friend that I play chess with occassionally is from India and they use an elephant for the rook.

I sure thought it became the bishop. I could be wrong. It happens.

I know that the modern words for the bishop chess-piece in some other languages derive from words meaning "elephant" -- the Spanish alfin and the Italian alfiere relate on an etymological level to the Arabic word for an elephant, al-fîl, for example (though alfiere means something more like a flag-bearer or something) -- and likewise with the medieval English alphyn, which is referenced -- I knew I'd think of a useful source eventually! -- in The Game and Playe of the Chesse, published in the 15th century by William Caxton, being an English translation of an earlier French work from closer to Eynar's period of interest.

[Dmitriy]

In Russian, the bishop is called "the elephant"

The rook is called a boat (but always looks like a tower....) and the knight is called a horse.

-D

[ishrajl]

I thought the rook was the elephant with the castle on its back. The elephant disapeared but the castle stayed.

[Karen Larsdatter]

Okay -- finding some more information.

The game of shaturanga, which comes from India, has elephants which are the equivalent of the modern chess rook.

It's related to the Persian game shatranj, in which there is an elephant piece which behaves more like a modern chess bishop; a separate piece, now shaped as a chariot, is called a rukh. Shatranj spreads to the Arabic world, and then spreads and develops into the modern western European game of chess.

[Ernst]

Alfonso X's book of games from 1283 likely would contain variants still in use a half century later.

http://games.rengeekcentral.com

[Stefan ap Llewelyn]

Thanks for all the help, guys.