The Game of Chess

Decorative initial 'I' at the beginning of the text, rendered in red ink with internal lattice patterns and flourishing extending into the margin.

I, Brother Jacob of Cessolis of the Order of PreachersAlso known as the Dominicans, a Catholic religious order known for preaching and scholarship.
have been persuaded by the brothers'
prayers and by secular students and also
other noble people who have heard me
preach about the game that is called chessoriginal: "schāchzabel", the medieval German term for chess, derived from the Latin 'scaccarium'.
that I should make from it
this book; and I have used it for the benefit
of human customs and as a teaching on the
struggles of the human race. And I
have titled it the book of human [customs]
and the duties of the nobleoriginal: "das buch menschlicher und der ampt der edlen". This is a translation of his original Latin title, 'De moribus hominum et de officiis nobilium super ludo scaccorum'.. In this book
I have set forth how many parts
the book has, so that one may
more easily find within it what one
wishes to have. This book has four parts. The first
chapter of the first part [is] under which [ruler]
the game was invented. The second, who
invented it. The third, why it
was invented. The first chapter of the
second part is about the king’s formIn this context, 'form' refers to the king's appearance, moral character, and how he is represented by the chess piece..