Francesc de Castellví, Narcís Vinyoles, Bernat Fenollar
Original title: Scachs d'amor
Chess of Love is the earliest known work to describe a game of modern chess: the queen and bishop already move as they do today. Valencia, the late fifteenth century. Three poets—Francesc de Castellví, Narcís Vinyoles and Bernat Fenollar—turn a chess game into a story of love, rivalry and the power of emotion. Mars and Venus conduct the contest while Mercury watches over its laws. The poem's traditional dating to around 1475 places it at the very beginnings of modern chess.
Every move carries several meanings at once: the movement of a piece, an event in a love story and an occasion to reflect on rules of conduct. The poetic voices alternate, bringing action and instruction together. The description of a game in which the queen and bishop already possess their familiar modern powers gives the work particular historical value.
Chess of Love lets us observe a historical transformation within a literary text itself. Here the new game remains closely bound to courtly culture, mythology and the art of poetry. The book can be enjoyed as an independent poem or read with a board at hand, comparing the authors' design with the course of the game and recognising familiar chess ideas in their early form.
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