The Book of Chess

...those who understand very little
and [cannot] interpret it correctly.
Also, poor folk speak of it
very often out of their ill-will,
and therefore it seems good to me
that it should be brought into German,
so that the matter might be contemplated
by good people clearly,
both the poor and also the rich.
That they might wish to prepare themselves
and rightly consider
how each stone The translator uses "stone" (stein) to refer to chess pieces, a common medieval terminology. can signify bariten original: "bariten"; a Middle High German term meaning to signify, represent, or explain the allegorical meaning of something.,
whether it concerns women or men.
In whatever rank a person may be,
they may well notice thereby
some certain teaching,
from which they may attain
discipline and honor all the better.
I say this upon my heart original: "corsan"; likely derived from the French "corsant" (heart/body), meaning a sincere or solemn oath.
that it never entered my mind
that this same game was so good,
true, or devised for good,
until the hour that it was brought
to me by companions and colleagues.
Then it pleased me well, and I read it
as I began to rest,
to stand there and consider:

Wie kunig und kunigin How king and queen...
Roch rüt alfe und vendin Rook, knight, bishop, and pawn...
stand by dem andn stan ...stand by the other rank.
how those same hands represent them,
and how each can

signify bariten to women and men,
whether they are noble or not.
He who composed this little book
in Latin, just as I found it,
he was named Jacobus
of Cessolis Jacobus de Cessolis (c. 1250 – c. 1322) was a Dominican friar whose book Liber de moribus hominum et officiis nobilium ac popularium super ludo scaccorum used chess as a metaphor for society., a preacher.
In which land he lived,
that I did not find in the little book;
yet here my spirit tells me
that he was a good man
who knew the arts and is well-skilled.
Whether he still lives, I do not know.
Should I wish? for myself
that he knew the free and the unfree Refers to the different social classes represented in the book, from nobility to peasants.,
his poetic work shows it
in this little book,
which he composed in humble Latin original: "arm latin"; likely the translator's humble description of the source text or his own modesty regarding his Latin skills. and therein
established that he is a worthy man,
rich in wit and skills.
I would gladly be equal to him
in those same arts,
until I could successfully bring
this little book into German.
May God let me succeed!
As I took counsel with myself,
I trust He will not leave me;
He gives me the grace
until I complete the little book
just as I have intended;
for if it is to be accomplished,
it must come from His grace.