The Game of Chess

...he caused her to be transfixed with a wooden stake up to her throat, saying: "Such a lustful wife who betrayed her city because of desire deserves such misery." And let these things spoken concerning the Queen suffice.

Concerning the form and the office of the Alphili.

A line drawing depicts the "alphilus" (a judge or legal scholar, representing the chess piece that would become the bishop). The figure is seated in a large, high-backed chair original: "cathedra," the seat of authority at a desk. He wears a hood and long robes. On the desk is a slanted lectern holding an open book with the inscription "Enter unto me" original: "Introi ad me," likely a reference to the study of wisdom or law. To the right of the figure stands a large, stylized shape resembling a medieval chess bishop piece or a large bell.

It must be known that the alphili The term "alphilus" derives from the Arabic "al-fil," meaning "the elephant," but in the medieval European tradition, it was reimagined as a judge or counselor. were formed in the manner of seated judges in a chair of authority with an open book before them. And because they are, as it were, the courtly boundaries regarding not only possessions, but rather spiritual disputes, it was therefore necessary for there to be two judges in the kingdom: one alphilus on the black referring to the black squares of the chessboard, which is the first; and the other on the white, which is the second. Their duty is to counsel the king, to shape the laws and the mandates of the prince throughout the whole kingdom with moral guidance. They are to favor just causes and to define sentences according to what has been alleged and proven. They must show fair and right counsel to those who ask for it, without respect of persons meaning they must act without favoritism or bias. They must attend to contemplation so that what others work at with their hands and...