The Book of Chess

These are notable people
And how each is formed;
Hear how the wood Referring to the wooden chess pieces themselves. stands by the nobles
And the nobles by the common folk original: "dret"; likely referring to the trottante or the foot-soldiers/commoners who support the nobility.,
As the book also confirms to me.
In the fourth part now,
The leaps original: "sprunge"; the specific legal moves of the chess pieces. are explained
On the chessboard original: "schachzabel brat"; from the Latin tabula, referring to the game board.,
And how many squares the board has.
How king and queen,
Rook, knight, all should be;
They have an order and position relative to the pawns original: "vendeln"; literally "little flags," a medieval term for pawns, who were seen as the infantry carrying banners.,
And after that, how far they go or fly.
Each may move from the position
That it was first assigned,
And how it should move thereafter;
Truly, thereafter one finds well
What significance it has
Where the chessboard stands.
As one should move it first,
So many-fold is it then full of profit;
So many-fold is also the teaching.
I wished that the teaching
Were so well demonstrated
And correctly composed in verse,
Which I, unfortunately, am not capable of;
Yet I apply myself to the work.
In short, I will do
The best thing that I
Understand, and teach everyone
To have wisdom before them.

For I alone in my mind,
As much as I can follow the teaching
Which I found written
By those who represent the nobility,
Find knights and also commoners.
I will diligently strive
To sing it aloud, though it pains me A common "humility formula" where the medieval author expresses his lack of skill compared to the weight of the subject matter.,
Whether it be read or spoken
By those who can understand it better.
However the poem goes,
The work is not much before him;
I let that be as it is.
To avoid envy and malice,
Where I am so composed,
I begin now the first part;
Where the world is evil, may God give me salvation.

This is the first part of the book
And contains all the matter concerning the
chessboard.

Here in the first part I begin,
Just as I have from the book
Read, which original: "in latin luz" sounded in Latin.
It encompasses this and says there:
There be many kinds of signs
Which proper people recognize;
Among all the signs,
With all the skill that pleases,
Much is found within a person.
Therefore, may God give me the five-fold skill
And my life for this purpose:
To instruct people early and late.