Gregorio Ducchi
Original title: Scacheide
Gregorio Ducci's Scacheide, printed in Vicenza in 1586, transforms a chess contest into an extensive adventure narrative. The white and black pieces become the armies of two kings, Cacco and Temir. Queens, horsemen, female foot soldiers and towers mounted on elephants form a world where the order of the chessboard meets the poet's imagination.
Six cantos lead readers through battles, love stories, embassies, prophecies and magical adventures. Ducci carefully describes weapons, clothing, emblems and the appearance of his characters, linking individual encounters to the wider struggle. Chess pieces acquire destinies of their own, while military glory, fidelity and betrayal drive the plot.
The work shows how far a chess theme could travel beyond a manual or a recorded game. Literary action does not always allow a literal transfer to the board: the poem's conventions require attentive reading. The translation preserves the sequence of the available text and the boundaries of its octaves; gaps identified in the scans used are marked, and missing passages have not been replaced by editorial paraphrase.
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