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The Game and Playe of the Chesse

William Caxton author Jenny Adams editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Medieval Institute Publications

Published:1st May '09

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

The Game and Playe of the Chesse cover

Despite its title, Caxton's Game and Playe of the Chesse does not, in fact, have much to say about a game or about playing it ... Instead, the work uses the chessboard and its pieces to allegorize a political community whose citizens contribute to the common good. Readers first meet the king, queen, bishops (imagined as judges), knights, and rooks, here depicted as the king's emissaries. They are then introduced to the eight different pawns, who represent trades that range from farmers to messengers ... Paired with each profession is a list of moral codes ... These pairings reinforce the idea of a kingdom organized around professional ties and associations, ties that are in turn regulated by moral law. - from the Introduction

ISBN: 9781580441308

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 370g

164 pages