Game and Playe of the Chesse - Caxton
[Illustration]
_The seconde chapiter of the fourth book of the quene and how she
yssueth oute of her place._ [Transcriber's note: The printer's
error in the original text, labeling the third chapter as "The
seconde chapiter" is preserved here.]
Whan the Quene whiche is accompanyed vnto the kynge begynneth to meue
from her propre place/ She goth in dowble manere/ that is to wete as an
Alphyn whan she is black/ fhe may goo on the ryght syde & come in to the
poynt to fore the notarye And on the lifte syde in the black poynt and
come to fore the gardees of the cyte And hit is to wete that me
sortiseth in her self the nature in .iii. maners first on the ryght syde
to fore the alphyn/ Secondly on the lifte syde where the knyght is/ And
thirdly indirectly vnto the black poynt to fore the phisicyen And the
rayson why. Is for as moche as she hath in her self by grace/ the
auctrorite that the rooks haue by c[=o]myscion/ For she may gyue &
graute many thynges to her subgetts graciously And thus also ought she
to haue parfyt wisedom/ as the alphyns haue whiche ben Iuges/ as hit
sayd aboue in the chapitre of the Quene/ And she hath not the nature of
knyghtes/ And hit is not fittynge ne couenable thynge for a woman to goo
to bataylle for the fragilite and feblenes of her/ And therfore holdeth
she not the waye in her draught as the knyghtes doon/ And whan she is
meuyd ones oute of her place she may not goo but fro oon poynt to an
other and yet cornerly whether hit be foreward or backward takynge or to
be taken/ And here may be axid why the quene goth to the bataylle wyth
the kynge/ certainly it is for the solace of hym/ and ostencion of loue/
And also the peple desire to haue sucession of the kynge And therfore
the tartaris haue their wyues in to the felde with hem/ yet hit is not
good that men haue theyr wyuys with hem/ but that they abyde in the
cytees or within their owne termes/ For whan they ben oute of theyr
cytees and limytes they ben not sure/ but holden suspecte/ they shold be
shamfast and hold alle men suspect/ For dyna Iacob's doughter as longe
as she was in the hows of her brethern/ she kept her virginite/ But
assone as she wente for to see the strange Regyons. Anone she was
corrupt and defowled of the sone of sichem/ Seneca sayth that the women
that haue euyll visages ben gladly not chaste/ but theyr corage desireth
gladly the companye of men/ And Solynus saith that no bestes femellys
desyre to be towched of theyr males whan they haue conceyuyd/ Exept
woman whyche ought to be a best Raysonable/ And in thys caas she lefeth
her rayson/ And Sidrac wythnesseth the same And therfore in the olde
lawe/ the faders hadd dyuerce wyues and Ancellys to thende whan one was
wyth childe/ they myght take another/ They ought to haue the visage
enclyned for teschewe the fight of the men/ that by the fight they be
not meuyd with Incontynence and diffame of other/ And Ouyde sayth that
ther ben some That how well that they eschewe the dede/ yet haue they
grete Joye whan they ben prayed/ And therfore ought the good women flee
the curyositees and places wher they myght falle in blame and noyse
of the peple.
[Illustration]
_The fourth chapitre of the fourth book Is of the yssuynge of the
Alphyn._
The manere and nature of the draught of the Alphyn is suche/ that he
that is black in his propre fiege is sette on the right side of the
kynge/ And he that is whyt is sette on the lifte side/ And ben callyd
and named black and white/ But for no cause that they be so in subftance
of her propre colour/ But for the colour of the places in whiche they
ben sette/ And alleway be they black or white/ whan they ben sette in
theyr places/ the alphyn on the ryght syde/ goynge oute of his place to
the ryght sydeward comyth to fore the labourer/ And hit is reson that
the Iuge ought to deffende and kepe the labourers and possessions whiche
ben in his Iurisdiction by alle right and lawe/ And also he may goo on
the lyste syde to the wyde place to fore the phisicien/ For lyke as the
phisiciens haue the charge to hele the Infirmites of a man/ In lyke wyse
haue the Iuges charge to appese alle stryues and contencions and reduce
vnto vnyte/ And to punyfshe and correcte causes crymynels/ The lyste
alphyn hath also two wayes fro his owen place oon toward y'e right syde
vnto the black space voyde to fore the marchant/ For the marchants nede
ofte tymes counceylle and ben in debate of questions whiche muste be
determyned by the Iuges/ And that other yssue is vnto the place to fore
the rybauldis/ And that ys be caufe that ofte tymes amonge them. falle
noyses discencions thefte and manslaghter/ wherfore they ought to be
punysshid by the Iuges/ And y'e shall vnderstande that the alphyn goth
alleway corner wyse fro the thirde poynt to the thirde poynt kepynge all
way his owne fiege/ For yf he be black/ he goth all way black/ And yf he
be whyte he goth alleway whyte. the yssue or goynge cornerly or
angularly signefieth cautele or fubtylyte/ whiche Iuges ought to haue/
The .iii. poyntes betoken .iii. thynges that the Iuge ought to attende/
A Iuge ought to furder rightfull & trewe causes. secondly he ought to
gyue trewe counceyll/ and thirdly he ought to gyue and Iuge rightfull
sentences after tha legeances/ And neuer to goo fro the ryghtwisnes of
the lawe/ And it is to wete that the Alphyn goth in fix drawhtes alle
the tablier round aboute/ and that he cometh agayn in to his owen place/
And how be hit that alle rayson and good perfection shold be in a kynge/
yet ought hit also specially be in them that ben conceyllours of the
kynge and the Quene And the kynge ought not to doo ony thynge doubtouse/
tyll he haue axid counceyll of his Iuges And of the sages of the royame
And therfore ought the Iuge to be parfaytly wyse and sage as well in
science as in good maners/ And that is signefied whan they meue from
thre poynts in to thre/ For the fixt nombre by whiche they goo alle
theschequer/ And brynge hem agayn in to her propre place in suche wyse
that thende of her moeuynge is conioyned agayn to the begynnynge of the
place frowhens they departed/ And therfore hit is callid a parfayt
moeuynge.
[Illustration]
_The fyfth chapitre of the fourth Tractate Is of the meuynge of the
knyghtes._
After the yssue of the Alphyns we shall deuyse to yow the yssue & the
moeuynge of the knyghtes/ And we saye that the knyght on the right syde
is whyt/ And on the lifte syde black/ And the yssue and moeuynge of hem
bothe is in one maner whan so is that the knyght on the ryght syde Is
whyt/ The lyfte knyght is black/ The moeuynge of hem is suche/ That the
whyte may goo in to the space of the alphyn/ as hit apperyth of the
knyght on the right side that is whyte. And hath thre yssues fro his
proper place/ one on his ryght syde in the place to fore the labourer/
And hit is well reson that whan the labourer and husbonde man hath
laboured the feldes/ the knyghtes ought to kepe them/ to thentent that
they haue vitailles for them self and their horses/ The second yssue is
that he may meue hym vnto the black space to fore the notarye or draper.
For he is bounden to deffende and kepe them that make his vestementis &
couertours necessarye vnto his body. The thirde yssue is that he may go
on the lifte syde in to the place to fore y'e marchant whiche is sette to
fore the kynge/ the whiche is black/ And the refon is for as moche as he
ought and is holden to deffende the kynge as well as his owen persone/
whan he passith the first draught/ he may goo foure wayes/ And whan he
is in the myddes of the tabler he may goo in to .viii. places fondry/ to
whiche he may renne And in lyke wise may the lyste knyght goo whiche is
black and goth oute of his place in to white/ and in that maner goth the
knyght fightynge by his myght/ and groweth and multiplieth in hys
poyntis/ And ofte tymes by them the felde Is wonne or lost/ A knyghts
vertue and myght is not knowen but by his fightynge/ and in his
fightynge he doth moche harme for as moche as his myght extendeth in to
fo many poyntis/ they ben in many peryllis in theyr fightynge/ And whan
they escape they haue the honour of the game And thus is hit of euery
man the more vailliant/ the more honoured And he that meketh hym self
ofte tymes shyneth clerest.
[Illustration]
_The sixt chapitre of the fourth tractate treleth of the yssue of the
rooks and of her progression._
The moeuynge and yssue of the rooks whiche ben vicairs of the kynge is
suche/ that the ryght rook is black and the lifte rook is whyte/ And
whan the chesse ben sette as well the nobles as the comyn peple first in
their propre places/ The rooks by their propre vertue haue no wey to
yssue but yf hyt be made to them by the nobles or comyn peple/ For they
ben enclosed in their propre sieges/ And the refon why is suche That for
as moche as they ben vicaires lieutenants or comyssioners of the kynge/
Theyr auctoryte is of none effecte to fore they yssue out/ And that they
haue begonne tenhaunce theyr office/ For as longe as they be within the
palais of the kynge/ So longe may they not vse ne execute theyr
commyssion/ But anon as they yssue they may vse theyr auctorite/ And y'e
shall vnderstande that their auctorite is grete/ for they represente the
sone of the kynge/ and therfore where the tablier is voyde they may
renne alle the tablier/ In lyke wyse as they goon thurgh the royame/ and
they may goo as well white as black as well on the right side & lifte as
foreward and backward/ And as fer may they renne as they fynde the
tablier voyde whether hit be of his aduersaryes as of his owen
felowship/ And whan the rook is in the myddell of the tablier/ he may
goo whiche way he wyll in to foure right lignes on euery side/ and hit
is to wete that he may in no wyse goo cornerwyse/ but allway ryght forth
goynge & comynge as afore is sayd/ wherfore all the subgettis of the
kinge as well good as euyll ought to knowe by their moeuynge that
auctorite of y'e vicaires and comyssioners ought to be verray true
rightwis & Iuste/ and y'e shall vnderstande that they ben stronge and
vertuous in bataylle For the two rooks only may vaynquyfshe a kynge
theyr aduersarye and take hym/ and take from hym his lyf and his royame/
And this was doon whan chirus kynge of perse And darius kynge of medes
slewe baltazar and toke his royame from hym. Whiche was neuew to
euylmoradach vnder whom this game was founden.
[Illustration]
_The seuenth chapitre of the fourth book treteth of the yssue of the
comyn peple &c._
One yffue and one mouynge apperteyneth vnto alle the peple/ For they may
goo fro the poynt they stande in at the first meuynge vnto the thirde
poynt right forth to fore them/ & whan they haue so don they may
afterward meue no more but fro one poynt ryght forth in to an other/ And
they may neuer retorne backward And thus goynge forth fro poynt to poynt
They may gete by vertue and strengthe/ that thynge that the other noble
fynde by dignyte/ And yf the knyghtes and other nobles helpe hem that
they come to the ferthest lygne to fore them where theyr aduersaryes
were sette. They acquyre the dignyte that the quene hath graunted to her
by grace/ For yf ony of them may come to thys sayd ligne/ yf he be white
as labourer draper phisicyen or kepar of the cyte ben/ they reteyne
suche dignyte as the quene hath/ for they haue goten hit/ and than
retornynge agayn homeward/ they may goo lyke as it is sayd in the
chapitre of the quene And yf ony of the pawns that is black/ as the
smyth the marchant the tauerner and the rybaulde may come wyth oute
domage in to the same vtterist ligne/ he shall gete by his vertu the
dignyte of the black quene And y'e shall vnderftande/ whan thyse comyn
peple meue right forth in her ligne/ and fynde ony noble persone or of
the peple of their aduersaries sette in the poynt at on ony side to fore
hym/ In that corner poynt he may take his aduersarye wherther hit be on
the right side or on the lifte/ And the cause is that the aduersaries
ben suspecyous that the comyn peple lye In a wayte to Robbe her goodes
or to take her persones whan they goo vpward right forth. And therfore
he may take in the right angle to fore hym one of his aduersaries/ As he
had espied his persone/ And in the lifte angle as robber of his goodes/
and whether hit be goynge foreward or retornynge fro black to whyte or
whyte to black/ the pawn must allway goo in his right ligne/ and all way
take in the corner that he findeth in his waye/ but he may not goo on
neyther side tyll he hath ben in the furdest ligne of theschequer/ And
that he hath taken the nature of the draughtes of the quene/ And than he
is a fiers/ And than he may goo on alle sides cornerwyse fro poynt to
poynt only as the quene doth fightynge and takynge whom he findeth in
his waye/ And whan he is thus comen to the place where y'e nobles his
aduersaries were sette he shall be named white fiers or black fiers/
after the poynt that he is in/ and there taketh he the dignyte of the
quene &c. And all these thinges may appere to them that beholden y'e
play of the chesse/ and y'e shall vnderstande that no noble man ought to
haue despite of the comyn peple/ for hit hath ben ofte tymes seen/ that
by their vertu & witte/ Diuerce of them haue comen to right highe &
grete astate as poopes bisshoppes Emerours and kynges/ As we haue in
the historye of Dauid that was made kynge/ of a shepherd and one of the
comyn peple/ and of many other &c. And in lyke wyse we rede of the
contrary/ that many noble men haue ben brought to myserye by their
defaulte As of gyges whiche was right riche of landes and of richesses
And was so proude that he wente and demanded of the god appollo/ yf ther
were ony in the world more riche or more happy than he was/ and than he
herde a voys that yssued out of the fosse or pitte of the sacrefices/
that a peple named agalaus sophide whiche were poure of goodes and riche
of corage was more acceptable than he whiche was kynge And thus the god
Appollo alowed more the sapience & the seurte of the poure man and of
his lityll mayne/ than he dide the astate and the persone of giges ne of
his ryche mayne/ And hit is more to alowe a lityll thynge seurly
poursiewed than moche good taken in fere and drede And for as moche as a
man of lowe lignage is by his vertue enhaunsed so moche the more he
ought to be glorious and of good renomee/ virgile that was born in
lombardye of y'e nacion of mantua and was of lowe and symple lignage/
yet he was souerayn in wisedom and science and the moste noble of alle
the poetes/ of whome the renome is and shall be durynge the world/ so
hit happend that an other poete axid and demanded of hym wherfore he
setted not the versis of homere in his book/ And he answerd that he
shold be of right grete strength and force that shold pluck the clubbe
out of hercules handes/ And thys suffyceth the state and draughtis of
the comyn peple &c.
[Illustration]
_The eyght chapitre and the last of the fourth book of the epilogacion
and recapitulation of this book._
For as moche as we see and knowe that the memorye of the peple is not
retentyf but right forgetefull whan some here longe talis & historyes
whiche they can not alle reteyne in her mynde or recorde Therfore I haue
put in this present chapitre all y'e thynges abouesayd as shortly as I
haue conne/ First this playe or game was founden in the tyme of
euilmerodach kynge of Babilone/ And exerses the philosopher otherwyse
named philometer fonde hit/ And the cause why/ was for the corre3tion of
the kynge lyke as hit apperith in thre the first chapitres/ for the said
kynge was so tyrannous and felon that he might suffre no correction/ But
slewe them and dide do put hem to deth/ that corre3tid hym/ and had than
do put to deth many right wyse men Than the peple beynge sorowfull and
ryght euyll plesid of this euyll lyf of the kynge prayd and requyred the
philosopher/ that he wolde repryse and telle the kynge of his folye/ And
than the philosopher answerd that he shold be dede yf he so dide/ and
the peple sayd to hym/ Certes thou oughtest sonner wille to dye to
thende that thy renome myght come to the peple/ than the lyf of the
kynge shold contynue in euyll for lacke of thy counceyll/ or by faulte
of reprehension of the/ or that thou darst not doo and shewe/ that thou
faist/ And whan the philosopher herd this he promisid to the peple y't
he wold put hym in deuoyr to correcte hym/ and than he began to thynke
in what maner he myght escape the deth and kepe to the peple his
promesse/ And than thus he made in this maner and ordeyned the schequer
of. lxiiii. poynts as Is afore sayd/ And dide doo make the forme of
chequers of gold and siluer In humayne fygure after the facyons and
formes as we haue dyuysid and shiewid to yow to fore in theyr chapitres/
And ordeyned the moeuynge and thestate after that it is said in the
chapitres of theschesses And whan the philosopher had thus ordeyned the
playe or game/ and that hit plesid alle them that sawe hit/ on a tyme as
the philosopher playd on hit/ the kynge cam and sawe hit and desired to
playe at this game/ And than the phylosopher began tenseigne and teche
the kynge the science of the playe & the draughtes. Saynge to hym fyrst
how the kynge ought to haue in hymself pytie. debonairte and rightwisnes
as hit is said to fore in the chapitre of the kynge And he enseygned to
hym the estate of the queue and what maners she ought to haue And than
of the alphyns as connceyllours and luges of the royame And after the
nature of the knyghtes/ how they ought to be wise. trewe and curtoys and
alle the ordre of knyghthode And than after/ the nature of the vicaires
& rooks as hit apperyth in theyr chappitre And after this how the comyn
peple ought to goo eche in his office/ And how they ought to serue the
nobles. And whan the philosopher had thus taught and enseigned the kynge
and his nobles by the maner of the playe and had rephended hym of his
euyll maners/ The kynge demanded hym vpon payne of deth to telle hym the
cause why and wherfore he had made & founden thys playe and game And
what thynge meuyd hym therto/ And than the philosopher constrayned by
fere and drede answerd/ that he had promysid to the peple whiche had
requyred hym that he shold correcte and reprise the kynge of his euyll
vices/ but for as moche as he doubtid the deth and had seen that the
kynge dide do flee the fages & wyse men/ That were so hardy to blame hym
of his vices/ he was in grete anguysshe & sorowe/ how he myght fynde a
maner to correcte & reprehende the kynge/ And to saue his owen lyf/ and
thus he thought longe & studyed that he fonde thys game or playe/ Whiche
he hath do sette forth for to amende and corre3te the lyf of the kynge
and to change his maners/ and he adioustyd with all that he had founden
this game for so moche as the lordes and nobles habondynge in delyces &
richessis/ And enioynge temporell peas shold eschewe ydlenes by playnge
of this game/ And for to gyue hem cause to leue her pensisnes and
sorowes/ In auysynge & studyynge this game. And whan the kynge had herd
alle thyse causes/ He thought that the philosopher had founde a good
maner of correction/ And than he thanketh hym gretly/ and thus by
thenseygnement and lernynge of the phylosopher he changid his lyf his
maners & alle his euyll condicions And by this maner hit happend that
the kynge that to fore tyme had ben vicyous and disordynate in his
liuyng was made Iuste. and vertuous. debonayre. gracious and and full of
vertues vnto alle peple/ And a man that lyuyth in this world without
vertues liueth not as a man but as a beste[56]/ And therfore my ryght
redoubted lord I pray almighty god to saue the kyng our souerain lord &
to gyue hym grace to yssue as a kynge & tabounde in all vertues/ & to be
assisted with all other his lordes in such wyse y't his noble royame of
Englond may prospere & habounde in vertues/ and y't synne may be
eschewid iustice kepte/ the royame defended good men rewarded
malefa3tours punysshid & the ydle peple to be put to laboure that he
wyth the nobles of the royame may regne gloriously In conquerynge his
rightfull enheritaunce/ that verray peas and charite may endure in bothe
his royames/ and that marchandise may haue his cours in suche wise that
euery man eschewe synne/ and encrece in vertuous occupacions/ Praynge
your good grace to resseyue this lityll and symple book made vnder the
hope and shadowe of your noble protection by hym that is your most
humble seruant/ in gree and thanke And I shall praye almighty god for
your longe lyf & welfare/ whiche he preserue And sende yow
thaccomplisshement of your hye noble. Ioyous and vertuous desirs Amen:/:
Fynysshid the last day of marche the yer of our lord god. a. thousand
foure honderd and lxxiiii
[Footnote 1: Blades' "Life of Caxton," ii., 12.]
[Footnote 2: Mr. Blades enumerates only ten, but between the publication
of his work in 1863 and the appearance in 1880 of a more popular one, an
eleventh copy turned up. It is described further on. As both editions of
Mr. Blades' book are frequently cited, it may be stated here that where
the reference is to the page only, the one volume edition of 1880
is meant.]
[Footnote 3: Blades, ii., 12.]
[Footnote 4: Van der Linde, "Geschichte und Literatur des Schachspiels,"
Berlin, 1874, ii., 125.]
[Footnote 5: Blades, ii., 48.]
[Footnote 6: Blades, ii., 97.]
[Footnote 7: Blades, ii., 95.]
[Footnote 8: Dibdin's "Bibliotheca Spenceriana," iv., 195.]
[Footnote 9: See Prosper Marchand, "Dict. Hist.," t. i., p. 181.]
[Footnote 10: "Les Bibliotheques Francoises de La Croix du Maine et de
Du Verdier." n. e. Paris, 1782, t. i., p. 493.]
[Footnote 11: Dr. Van der Linde, "Geschichte," 114.]
[Footnote 12: Cf. Van der Linde, "Geschichte," and his "Jartausend."]
[Footnote 13: Jaubert, cited by Van der Linde, "Geschichte," t. i., p.
122.]
[Footnote 14: Blades' "Caxton," 173-175.]
[Footnote 15: Blades, i., 166.]
[Footnote 16: "Geschichte," i., 29. There is a manuscript copy in the
Chetham Library, Manchester, which he does not name. It came from the
Farmer Collection, and is in a volume containing a number of fifteenth
century Latin tracts. See account of European MSS. in the Chetham
Library, Manchester, by James Orchard Halliwell, F.R.S., Manchester,
1842, p. 15.]
[Footnote 17: "Bulletin du Bibliophile," 1836-1837, 2ieme serie, p.
527.]
[Footnote 18: "Academy," July 12, 1881.]
[Footnote 19: Blades' "Life of Caxton," vol. ii., p. 9.]
[Footnote 20: "De regimine Principum," a poem by Thomas Occleve, written
in the reign of Henry IV. Edited, for the first time, by Thomas Wright,
Esq., M.A., F.S.A., &c. Printed for the Roxburghe Club. London: J. B.
Nichols, 1860, 410.]
[Footnote 21: Warton's "History of English Poetry," 1871, iii., 44.]
[Footnote 22: The fires of purgatory are finely and amply illustrated in
the story at p. 110, whilst the power of the saints and the value of
pilgrimages would be impressed upon the hearers by the narrative of the
miracles wrought by St. James of Compostella (p. 136)]
[Footnote 23: "Hist. of Siege of Troye."]
[Footnote 24: "Works of Polidore Virgil." London, 1663, p. 95.]
[Footnote 25: Graesse: Tresor, s.v. Sydrach. See also Warton's "History
of English Poetry," 1871, vol. ii., p. 144, Hazlitt's "Handbook of Early
English Literature," p. 43.]
[Footnote 26: Hoeffer: "Nouvelle Biographie Universelle."]
[Footnote 27: Hoeffer, "Nouvelle Biographie Generale," xxxiii. 818.]
[Footnote 28: Brunei, "Manuel du Libraire," s. v. Gesta.]
[Footnote 29: "Gesta Romanorum," edited by Herrtage. London, 1879, p.
vii.]
[Footnote 30: Occleve, "De Regimine Principum," p. 199.]
[Footnote 31: "Curiosities of Search Room." London, 1880, p. 32.]
[Footnote 32: "Percy Anecdotes: Domestic Life," iv. 446.]
[Footnote 33: Dunlop, "History of Fiction," 1876, p. 259.]
[Footnote 34: "Latin Stories," edited by Thomas Wright. Percy Society,
1842, p. 222.]
[Footnote 35: See "Gesta Romanorum," edit, by Herrtage, p. 364.]
[Footnote 36: "On Two Collections of Mediaeval Moralized Tales," by John
K. Ingram, LL.D. Dublin, 1882, p. 137.]
[Footnote 37: Muratori: "Rerum Italicarum Scriptores," t. i. p. 465.]
[Footnote 38: Wright, "Latin Stories," p. 235.]
[Footnote 39: "Francis of Assisi," Mrs. Oliphant. London, 1874, p. 87.]
[Footnote 40: "Valerius Maximus," vi. 2, 3.]
[Footnote 41: It will be sufficient here to refer for further details to
the following works:--"Geschichte und Literatur des Schachspiels," von
Antonius van der Linde, Berlin, 1874, 2 vols.; "Quellenstudien zur
Gefchichte des Schachspiels," von Dr. A. v.d.Linde, Berlin, 1881.]
[Footnote 42: This dedication is omitted in the second edition.]
[Footnote 43: Second edit. reads "Thossyce of notaries/ aduocates
scriueners and drapers and clothmakers capitulo iii"]
[Footnote 44: Sec. edit. reads "The forme of phisiciens leches spycers
and appotycaryes"]
[Footnote 45: Sec. edit. "Of tauerners hostelers & vitaillers"]
[Footnote 46: Sec. edit. "Of kepers of townes Receyuers of custum and
tollenars"]