Illustration from "Alfonso X's Book of Games"
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Picture yourself in the Court of a King, not one of present day, but one of ancient times. A long, long time ago. When the world was another, made of smaller worlds, which didn't knew each other yet. The year was 1283. The Kingdom was located in the Iberian Peninsula. The book, written and illustrated by Royal command, was finished. Time to give the floor to the monarch himself, Alfonso X, alias the Wise.
"Because God wanted that man have every manner of happiness, in himself naturally, so that he could suffer the cares and troubles when they came to them, therefore men sought out many ways that they could have this happiness completely. Wherefore they found and made many types of play and pieces with which to delight themselves.
(…)
The other games that are done sitting are like playing chess, tables and dice and other game pieces of many types. And though all these games are each very good in the time and place where they belong, but because these latter games are played sitting they are every day and they are done as well at night as in the day; and because women who do not ride and are confined are to use them; and also men who are old and weak, or those who like to take their pleasures separately in order not to be irritated or grieved by them; or those who are under another’s power as in prison or captivity or who are at sea. And equally all those who have harsh weather so that they cannot ride or go hunting or elsewhere and have perforce to remain indoors and seek some kinds of sport with which to amuse and comfort themselves and not be idle.
And therefore we don Alfonso by the grace of God King of Castile, Toledo, Leon, Galicia, Seville, Cordova, Murcia, Jaen and Algarve commanded that this book be made in which we speak about in which those games are made most beautifully, like chess, dice and tables.
And although these games may be divided in many ways, because chess is more noble and of greater mastery than the others, we speak of it first.
But before we talk of this we wish to show some reasons, according to what the ancient wise men said, that these three types of games – chess, dice and tables – were invented. Because about this they gave many reasons, each one wishing to show why these games were invented but those which are most certain and most true are these.
As it is told in the ancient histories of India there was a king who greatly loved his wise men and had them always with him and he made them very often to reason over the nature of things. And of these he had three there who had various opinions.
The one said that brains were worth more than luck because he that lived by his brain did things in an orderly fashion and even if he lost that he was not to blame in this because he did what suited him.
The other said that luck was worth more than brains because if his fortune was to lose or to win, no matter how much brains he might have, he could not avoid it.
The third one said that best was he who could live drawing upon the one and the other because this was prudence, because the more brains he had, the more care he could take to do things as completely as he could. And also the more he depended upon luck, the greater there would be his risk because it is not a certain thing. But truest prudence was to take from the brain that which man understood was most to his advantage and from luck man should protect himself from harm as much as he could and to help himself with what was to him advantage from it.
And after they had spoken their reasons very zealously the king ordered therefore that each one bring an example to prove that which they said and he gave them the time period which they requested. They went away and consulted their books, each according to his opinion.
And when the time arrived, they each came before the king with their example.
And the one whose opinion was brains brought chess with its pieces showing that he that had more brains and who was perceptive could beat the other.
And the second whose opinion was fortune brought dice showing that brains mattered nothing without luck because it seemed through luck that men came to their advantage or their harm.
The third who said that it was best to draw from both brought the tables board with its pieces counted and placed orderly in their spaces and with its dice which move them in order to play, as is shown in this book which speaks separately about this and which teaches that through their play, he that knows how to play them well, even though the luck of the dice be against him, that because of his prudence he will be able to play his pieces in such a manner as to avoid the harm that may come to him through the rolls of the dice."
In "Alfonso X's Book of games", translated by Sonja Musser Golladay, 2005.
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