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The Game and Playe of the Chesse

The Game and Playe of the Chesse

By Caxton, William

Published by Medieval Institute Publications

English 166 pages 2009 ISBN 9781580444439
Estimated reading time: 3 h 3 min
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About this book

First printed in 1474, the English printer William Caxton's The Game and Playe of the Chesse says little about the game of chess, despite its title. Instead, both Caxton's Middle English translation and its Latin source, a thirteenth-century treatise by the Dominican friar Jacobus de Cessolis, use chess as an allegory for a political community whose citizens serve the common good. Assigning each chess piece to a real-world counterpart and a corresponding moral code, this example of the speculum regis, or "mirror for a prince," genre envisions a kingdom not bound together by kinship, but organized by professional ties and governed by moral law. Moral exempla and maxims drawn from classical sources, which illustrate these principles while engaging the reader, comprise the bulk of the work until its final chapter finally introduces the playe of chess, using rules largely unchanged since the game's introduction to Europe in the tenth century.

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The Game and Playe of the Chesse is available as PDF at 14 online bookshops. Bookshops carrying it include Alpha Books, Bajalibros Argentina, Bajalibros Latam.

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English
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In what formats is The Game and Playe of the Chesse available?
The Game and Playe of the Chesse is available as PDF at 14 online bookshops.
Where can I buy The Game and Playe of the Chesse?
You can buy The Game and Playe of the Chesse at Alpha Books, Bajalibros Argentina, Bajalibros Latam. Compare every option in the list on this page.
How long does it take to read The Game and Playe of the Chesse?
At an average reading pace, The Game and Playe of the Chesse takes about 3 h 3 min to read (166 pages).

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