The Game of Chess Moralized

On the office and the customs of the Rooks In this medieval allegory, the Rooks represent the king’s vicars or itinerant judges who travel to maintain justice..
On the form and the manner of those who labor upon the land Representing the first pawn (the farmer)..
On the office and the customs of smiths The OCR reads "femmes" (women), but in the context of the game's traditional structure, this refers to "fevres" (blacksmiths, carpenters, and other metalworkers), who comprise the second pawn..
On the office and the customs of those who work with thread and wool Representing the third pawn, which includes drapers, lawyers, and notaries..
On the office and the work of merchants and tailors Representing the fourth pawn..
On the office and the work of apothecaries and money-changers Original: "espices & des mines." This refers to physicians or spicers and those who deal in minerals and coinage, representing the fifth pawn..
On the office of tavern-keepers, innkeepers, and those who provide lodging Representing the sixth pawn..
On the office and the work of the city guards, public officials, and those who collect tolls Representing the seventh pawn..
On the office and the customs of spendthrifts, scoundrels, gamblers, and messengers Representing the eighth pawn, the lowest social tier in this hierarchy..
On the state and the manner of the entire chessboard.
How the King moves from his place.
How the Queen moves from her place.
How the Bishops Original: "alphins." This piece was originally called the elephant (al-fil in Arabic); in the medieval period, it was often depicted as a judge or a sage. move from their place.
How the Rooks move from their place.
How the common people move from their place.
On the chapter that briefly records all the things aforesaid.
Under which king the game of chess was invented.

Among all the bad signs that one shall see? that can exist in a man, it is a very bad sign when a man does not fear to anger Jesus Christ through sin. And he also does not fear to trouble and anger men through a wicked and disordered life. For he who is full of such iniquity Original: "inquité." A state of gross injustice or wickedness. has not only contempt for his own soul...