Marco Girolamo Vida
Original title: Scacchia ludus
In Marco Girolamo Vida's poem, the chessboard becomes the field of an epic battle. Apollo and Mercury take their places before the watching gods of Olympus, and wooden pieces acquire the character of warriors. The elevated language of classical epic is joined by subtle irony: the majestic passions of the gods play out within the bounds of a small board.
Vida describes the deployment of armies, the first losses, stratagems, sacrifices and changes of fortune. Each chess piece receives its own imagery and manner of action; calculation stands beside anger, martial courage and deception. Readers follow both a developing game and a fantastic battle in which even divine intervention becomes part of the narrative of play.
The edition presents the Roman version of 1527: a translation in rhythmic prose is accompanied by the Latin original and explanatory material. This volume opens up the literary side of the chess Renaissance—the game's capacity to inspire an ambitious poetic work. It will appeal to readers who wish to see familiar pieces through the eyes of a humanist for whom chess deserved the language of heroic poetry.
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