Chess

Writers immediately after the Conquest speak of the Saxons as playing at che , which, they say, they learned from the Danes. The game of che is very prominent in the romances of the Middle Ages. The Scand in avian navigators introduced some remarkable elaborately carved che men, of walrus ivory, from Iceland, in the 12th century. The castles are replaced by warriors on foot, called hrokr, from the Saracen roc, Persian rokh, our rook. In the Saracen game the vizier represented our queen, and the elephant our bishop, the roc, or hero, as aforesaid, our rook. Beautifully carved che men in the costumes of the 13th and 14th century exist in England. They were all very large, a king being four inches in height and seven in circumference. The che -boards were of corresponding size, and made of all materials, including the precious metals, crystal, sapphires, and topazes. The pieces varied in form: the med iæval rook had a head like a fleur-de-lis, the knight was represented by a small upright column with the upper part bent on one side. The auf in or bishop was of the same shape, but the bent end was cleft to indicate a mitre. The figures of the 16th century much more nearly resemble those now in vogue.