Chess first revealed itself as a component of German culture in the late 990s. Around this time, a German-speaking monk at the Einsiedeln Monastery in Switzerland wrote “Verses on Chess.” In addition to detailing the rules of the game, the monk also established that the game was not one of chance, in an attempt to prevent any religious opposition (Yalom 16). This text demonstrates that although chess had become popular, the Church still had serious concerns about the game. The monk had to offer a preemptive defense against religious objections.
The monastery of Eisiedeln had strong ties to the Germanic Ottonian emperors (Yalom 18), and chess had as strong a place in the Emperor's court as it did in the monastery. In fact, Emperor Otto I's wife Empress Adelaide and daughter-in-law the Empress Theophano, may have served as models for the chess queen, who's role on the chessboard appeared well-established in “Verses”(Yalom 17). Empress Theophano also may have played an important role spreading the game of the chess among the nobility of Germany. She was the niece of a Byzantine emperor and chess was regarded as an important skill in the Byzantine court (Yalom 19-20).
The role of chess among the nobility in Germany is further reinforced in the epic Roudlieb, written around 1070 by another German-speaking monk at a monastery with imperial ties (Yalom 27). At one point in the story, the hero is forced into a chess match against a king and after winning, is forced play again as the king and nobles bet on the match. The hero continues to win, and when the hero refuses to take the money earned from the bets, the nobles reply, “While you are amongst us, you live as we do!” (Yalom 28). This reveals that chess certainly had an established role among German nobility, where everyone knew the rules enough to wager and regularly comment on matches as they occurred (Yalom 28).
Despite the seeming commonality of the game, even within the court of the Holy Roman Emperor, the Church continued to oppose the game. In 1061 Italian bishop Petrus Damiani wrote to the pope-elect decrying the game, and these writings set the stage for a series of decrees banning chess, which were largely ignored (Yalom 29). The moral and religious debate over chess continued centuries later, revealed in the writings of German poets. Around 1300 the poet Hugo von Trimborg stated that “Sin and shame come easily” from a game of chess, and around 100 years later another poet stated, “You should flee from chess!” (Yalom 76).
Though a few poets may have expressed some reservations about the game, it remained popular among the nobility. For example, in the 1320 Manesse manuscript Otto IV of Brandenburg is shown playing chess with a courtly lady (Yalom 75). The scene is one of revelry, with the court's musicians playing music for the two chess players. There appears no concern of breaking any religious or moral taboos.
The Carmina Burana, a collection of songs and poems compiled around 1230, contains a passage on chess. This passage further reinforces chess's connection to noble life by defining the movement and qualities of the pieces in terms relating to their real-life counterparts. For instance, “The Knight runs rapidly” and when the king loses his wife “there is nothing left of value on the board” (Yalom 77). The writer has no concern of any religious objection, stating, “The Bishop, with his horned head, is to be dreaded for he misleads the opponent. (Yalom 77)”
A manuscript of the Willehalm story by the German poet Wolfram von Eschenbach serves as a final example of the connection between chess, nobility, and religion. In one scene, the the hero teaches a queen about religion over a chessboard, and in the another scene, the queen teaches the hero about chess (Yalom 134). An interesting aspect of these scenes and the story is that the teaching of religion and chess are given equal weight and both done over the chessboard.
Chess was well established as a past-time among Germanic nobility by the 1000s, and Germanic nobility may have played an important role in the game's establishment and evolution. Perhaps more interesting, though, is how chess served as a small battleground between the nobility and the Church and how those who wrote about the game reflected these attitudes. A monk in the 990s had to preemptively defend himself against the Church's objections, but a poet in the 13th century could openly refer to the Bishop as a deceiver. These changes and challenges to Church authority hint at larger, more dramatic changes and challenges soon to come.
Works Cited
Yalom, Marilyn. Birth of the Chess Queen. New York: HarperCollins, 2004.
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