Start of Chess in Spain
Even in Christian Spain, where it had been prohibited
several times, chess was starting to make a huge impact on the society. Muslims, Christians and even Jews were all a
part of the chess movement, each contributing their own ideals and values into
the game to shape it into what it is today.
The game had been played by every religion in every social
strata. It was a very popular game, and the records of wills show Christian
royalty, common Jews, and even clergyman all left chess pieces to the church or
loved ones (Yalom p.44). Even though the game started out as Muslim, it spread
to everyone in Spain.
It actually became tradition for Royalty to leave chess pieces to the church.
Even though the church was (sometimes) against chess, since so many pieces had
been donated they began hanging them as ornaments around crosses or vestments.
(Yalom p.45) Something that had started as obviously Muslim had penetrated
itself deeply into another religion. The pieces you donated actually determined
your worth. The more you donated, the better off you were. Through the
contributions, it looked as if Muslim style pieces (abstract designs because
they were unable to show realistic idols (Yalom p.7)) were still in fashion in
Christian Spain even though realistic models have already started appearing.
Alfonso VI and
Dona Urraca
Many of Spains
rulers were passionate about chess. Alfonso VI was no exception. People of all
creeds and religions were allowed into the court if they had the same passion
for chess as he did. He would have been proud of the heir he left behind.
Urraca, his eldest daughter, helped shape the chess queen.
Urraca had married a tyrannical man (Alfonso I), and after
the annulment of their marriage the two went to war. Her conquests and defeats
proved how powerful a queen can be, and helped boost the idea of having a queen
on the board. The chess queen had made a mark on chess by the 12th
century in Spain
(Yalom p.52). Whether she was accepted was completely up to the culture she was
introduced to. Muslims never let her in. They stuck with their vizier, and
continued to use their abstract pieces (and I wouldn’t be surprised if to this
day they continued to shut her out). Christians were completely for it. Jews
were iffy. They didn’t like the idea at first, but then grew to accept the
chess queen as part of the game. Jews weren’t known for being very accepting of
women so I was a little surprised to find out how the chess queen made her way
into the board in their culture. Yalom believes this is because there have been
enough powerful women in the old testament that it was more acceptable to have
a female piece on the chessboard. (p. 54)
Alfonso X and His
Book
Alfonso X wrote an amazing book about chess, dice, and
backgammon. While the book wasn’t revolutionary in terms of the rules of chess,
I think it was culturally revolutionary. The book contained pictures of women
from all cultures playing chess, even against male opponents. The pictures also
depicted people of different social classes participating in the game. This
signifies that chess really was a unifying game. The Christians believed anyone
who did not believe in Jesus was in league with the devil, but still wanted
other religions contributions when it came to chess. Even in these days
religions battle and usually have no reason to come together, but in medieval Spain people
put aside their differences for the love of chess. If you were a chess master,
your religion or gender didn’t matter. It was about passion.
-Danielle Arabov
Bibliography
Yalom, Marilyn. The Birth of the Chess Queen. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2005
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