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Jacopo da Cessole
Cessole d'Asti ~1250 - Genova ~1322




Jacobus de Cessolis
     Literatur von und über Jacobus de Cessolis
     1474 - Project Gutemberg - Game and Playe of the Chesse by W. Caxton
     1474 - The Library of Congress - Game and Playe of the Chesse
     Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Jacobus de Cessolis
     Google Books - 1829 - Volgarizzamento del libro de' costumi ...
     Google Books - 1862 - William Caxton - The Game of Chesse


by Daniele Ciani
(Translated by Alexis Jade Ciani)

Jacopo da Cessole (Jacobus de Cessolis) was an Italian monk (1) from the Dominican brotherhood. He lived between the XIII and the XIV century. He was born in Cessole d'Asti around 1250 and died in Genoa around 1322.
We don't know much about his personal life. He lived in Lombardy and after in Genoa in San Domenico's convent (2) as the Inquisition's Vicar (3).
He wrote one of the first books on the game of chess in Latin: "De ludo scachorum or Libellus de moribus hominum et officiis nobilium ac popularium super ludo scachorum". The book had great diffusion (4) and during the XV century it was translated in many other languages (5): Catalan, Dutch, English, French, German and Italian.


Volgarizzamento del libro de' costumi e degli offizii de' nobili sopra il giuco degli scacchi

Libellus de moribus hominum et officiis nobilium ac popularium super ludo scachorum: 1300 ca.
He was a theolog and a tireless orator; he used the game of chess for a series of sermons on mortality. Through an allegory on the game itself and its pieces, he used an impersonal but wise didactic system like the Greek "fabulists". This book taught how the folks didn't have just obligations to the reach people but also rights. The Liber was very much important for the diffusion of the game also if it was poor in technical contents.

His work is divided in four main books:
Trattato I: "Della cagione del trovamento di questo gioco"
Trattato II: "Delle forme degli Scacchi nobili"
Trattato III: "Delle forme degli Scacchi popolari"
Trattato IV: "Del movimento e dell'andare degli Scacchi"

  1. Fonts: Thomas Kaeppeli - "Pour la biographie de Jacques de Cessole" in Archivum fratrum praedicatorum vol. 30 (1960) pp. 149-162 - published some historical documents which proved that the priest was born in Piemonte, in a village called Cessole d'Asti and that he was alive between 1317 and 1322. Other fonts stated his origin in Tiriache, in the diocese of Reims in Piccardia.
  2. San Domenico's convent in Genoa was a very important source of production of religious-popular literature. This allowed a great diffusion of his work both in Latin and vernacular.
  3. The office of "Inquisition's Vicar" was usually given to a priest from the order of the Mendicants, often to a Dominican or Franciscan.
  4. Quetif said that no other book from those centuries obtained more fame than this one.
  5. Was translated in French from Giovanni Duvignay, Priest Ospitaliero of S. Jacopo d'Altopascio in 1330 and from Monk Giovanni Ferron in 1347; then in Italian on the 1st of March 1493 "for Master Antonio Miscomini". The first printed edition of the book was from Utrecht during 1473. The following year the "De Ludo" was translated in English from William Caxton with the title: "The Game and Playe of the Chesse", which was the second book ever printed in Great Britain.

Historical Sources


 
    
   1474 

   CAXTON'S GAME AND PLAYE OF THE CHESSE
   A verbatim reprint of the first edition with an introduction by William E.A. Axon, M.R.S.L.


                  


The Project Gutenberg EBook of Game and Playe of the Chesse, by Caxton

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Title: Game and Playe of the Chesse A Verbatim Reprint Of The First Edition, 1474

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THE GAME OF THE CHESSE.

Dedication to the Duke of Clarence

Prologue to second edition


BOOK I


This booke conteyneth. iiii. traytees/ The first traytee is of the Invencion of this playe of the chesse/ and conteyneth. iii. chapitres.

The first chapitre is under what kynge this play was founden.

The .ii. chapitre/ who fonde this playe.

The .iii. chapitre/ treteth of. iii. causes why hit was made and founden.


BOOK II


The seconde traytee treteth of the chesse men/ and conteyneth .v. chapitres.

The first chapitre treteth of the forme of a kynge and of suche thinges as apperteyn to a kynge.

The .ii. chapitre treteth of y'e quene & her forme & maners.

The .iii. chapitre of the forme of the alphins and her offices and maners.

The .iiii. chapitre is of the knygth and of his offices.

The .v. is of the rooks and of their maners and offices.


BOOK III


The thirde traytee is of the offices of the comyn peple And hath .viii. chapitres.

The first chapitre is of the labourers & tilinge of the erthe.

The .ii. of smythis and other werkes in yron & metall.

The .iii. is of drapers and makers of cloth & notaries.

The .iiii. is of marchantes and chaungers.

The .v. is of phisicyens and cirugiens and apotecaries.

The .vi. is of tauerners and hostelers.

The .vii. is of y'e gardes of the citees & tollers & customers.

The .viii. is of ribauldes disepleyars and currours.


BOOK IV


The .iiii. traytee is of the meuyng and yssue of them And hath .viii. chapitres.

The first is of the eschequer.

The seconde of the yssue and progression of the kynge.

The thirde of the yssue of the quene.
[Transcribers note: Original mislabels 3rd chapter as a second 2nd chapter]

The fourth is of the yssue of the alphyns.

The fifth is of the yssue of the knyghtes.

The sixty chapitre of the yssue of the rooks.

The seuenth is of the meuynge & yssue of the comyn peple.

And the eyght and laste chapitre is of the epilegacion and of the recapitulacion of all these forsaid chapitres.


GLOSSARY



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