Today happens to be international chess day. Chess is a strategy game with a long and abstract past which is difficult to trace with historical accuracy, though scholars often classify it as a common ancestor of Chaturanga, an Indian strategy game which emerged around the 7th century. The game spread through the Arab world, eventually finding its way to Europe. Chess has long been practiced on the British Isles: the earliest known surviving chess-sets are the 12th century Lewis Chessmen, a set of 78 ivory carved pieces found on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland in 1831. English Folklore depicts John, King of England (1199-1216), as a prodigious yet highly emotional chess player, and we know from surviving archives that English monarchs, Charles I and Henry VIII chief among them, personally owned boards and pieces.
In this vein, we turn to a will from our own collections. This is a will from 1557, for a Robert Cocke of Dedham (D/ABW 8/265). His profession is not provided, and the main body of the will follows the standard legal formula, but there are several indications that this is a well-educated man of some wealth. Most interestingly, as we proceed down his list of bequests, something unusual appears.
Item I gyve & bequeathe unto Matthew Cock & Robert Cock my Virgynall* & ____ chesse board & chesse men…
It is really interesting to see a chess set mentioned in this context. Clearly it is something of great value, financially and psychologically. Perhaps Robert practiced openings and end game strategies with his two sons in their leisure time, instructing on the values of patience and sacrifice. Were the pieces the work of a carpenter or a stonemason? At what point were they lost? or do fragments of their visage persist in dusty garrets and vaulted tombs?
*A Virgynall is a kind of early harpsichord, often embellished with finery and gold trimmings, with a sound characteristic of the Baroque period. Essex’s first county archivist, F.G. Emmison, was a champion of this obscure instrument – more on this will follow in future blog posts…