Chess Book of Jacobus de Cessolis
The Chess Book of Jacobus de Cessolis arose ca. 1330. It is the first treatise on the game of chess and is simultaneously an allegory for the medieval estate-based society. It is one of the most widely disseminated works of the Middle Ages. The German edition from 1458 contains 15 miniatures and numerous decorative initials, which illustrate the societally critical text.
Chess Book of Jacobus de Cessolis
Jacobus de Cessolis was an Italian monk of the Dominican Order who lived in the 14th century. He achieved fame through his Chess Book, which is one of the first tractates about the game of chess. It is a book about the customs of the people and the duties of the nobility and commoners, which he elucidates using the chess metaphor. This work is extant in over 100 manuscripts and represents one of the most widely disseminated works of the Late Middle Ages. The German edition of the document arose in Amberg in 1458 and is an especially appealing specimen with its 15 miniatures and numerous decorative initials.
The Game of Chess as a Metaphor
Based on the sermons of Cessolis, he uses the work to adduce the game of chess as an allegory for society. What is crucial, is that the noble figures, such as the king and queen, cannot accomplish anything on their own, and are dependent on the cooperation of the common figures, meaning the peasantry. These were even named with professional titles, including, among others, smiths, merchants, and doctors. As a result, the role of working people of the lower orders was emphasized. Not only did the people have obligations to the nobility and clergy, but also the other way around. The societally critical work did not lose its popularity over the following centuries.
Programmatic Miniatures
The German edition of the famous chess tractate contains 15 high quality miniatures. In the course of these there are not only individual pictures, but also iconographic programs. These stylized iconographic programs graphically show what the script of the work cannot express on its own. As a result, the miniatures serve not only as decoration, but also offer support for greater understanding of the work. Alongside the miniatures, the text is adorned by a total of 29 colored initials.
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- Schachbuch des Jacobus de Cessolis
Libellus de moribus hominum et de officiis nobilium - Size / Format
- 138 pages / 20.3 × 14.7 cm
- Origin
- Germany
- Date
- 1458
- Epochs
- Style
- Genre
- Language
- Illustrations
- 15 miniatures, 29 initials, and floral bordures
- Content
- Treatise on the game of chess that is simultaneously an allegory for the medieval estate-based society
- Artist / School
- Jacobus de Cessolis (ca. 1250 – ca. 1322) (author)
- Previous Owners
- Bakkalaureus
Johann Pachmann
Chess Book of Jacobus de Cessolis
The Queen
Jacobus de Cessolis used the game of chess as an allegory for medieval society, and one of the most important players in both was the queen. She is pictured here enthroned with her royal regalia, the symbols of her power: crown, scepter, and orb – all highlighted with gold leaf. With a serene look on her face, she is wearing a blue jacket trimmed with ermine and her beautiful pink dress has a wonderfully angular and stylized fall of folds in the Zackenstil or “jagged style”.

Chess Book of Jacobus de Cessolis
The Innkeeper
Here we see the sixth of eight peasants presented in this allegorical work concerning medieval society. Green and purple acanthus leaves grow from the blue “S” initial set against a burnished gold ground on the left margin. The red and white shield in the miniature indicates that his noble lords are Hapsburgs.
The innkeeper holds a tray with a cup on it, while a mass of keys hang from his belt. Both his facial expression and the gesture of his right hand are welcoming and friendly. He stands in front of his inn and is well dressed for a commoner, wearing black boots, red tights, and a pink tunic trimmed with blue frill on the sleeves. The bottom of the frame is left open, and it seems as though he might walk out from the page to greet you.

#1 Schachbuch des Jacobus de Cessolis
Language: German
- Treatises / Secular Books
- Apocalypses / Beatus
- Astronomy / Astrology
- Bestiaries
- Bibles / Gospels
- Chronicles / History / Law
- Geography / Maps
- Saints' Lives
- Islam / Oriental
- Judaism / Hebrew
- Single Leaf Collections
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Literature / Poetry
- Liturgical Manuscripts
- Medicine / Botany / Alchemy
- Music
- Mythology / Prophecies
- Psalters
- Other Religious Books
- Games / Hunting
- Private Devotion Books
- Other Genres
- Afghanistan
- Armenia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Colombia
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Egypt
- Ethiopia
- France
- Germany
- Hungary
- India
- Iran
- Iraq
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Luxembourg
- Mexico
- Morocco
- Netherlands
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- Serbia
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Syria
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Uzbekistan
- Aboca Museum
- Akademie Verlag
- Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA)
- Aldo Ausilio Editore - Bottega d’Erasmo
- Alecto Historical Editions
- Alkuin Verlag
- Almqvist & Wiksell
- ARS
- Ars Magna
- ArtCodex
- AyN Ediciones
- Azimuth Editions
- Bärenreiter-Verlag
- Belser Verlag
- Belser Verlag / WK Wertkontor
- Bernardinum Wydawnictwo
- BiblioGemma
- Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Vaticanstadt, Vaticanstadt)
- Bibliotheca Palatina Faksimile Verlag
- Bibliotheca Rara
- Boydell & Brewer
- Brepols Publishers
- British Library
- C. Weckesser
- Caixa Catalunya
- Canesi
- CAPSA, Ars Scriptoria
- Caratzas Brothers, Publishers
- Circulo Cientifico
- Club Bibliófilo Versol
- CM Editores
- Collegium Graphicum
- Collezione Apocrifa Da Vinci
- Comissão Nacional para as Comemorações dos Descobrimentos Portugueses
- Coron Verlag
- CTHS
- D. S. Brewer
- De Agostini/UTET
- De Schutter
- Deuschle & Stemmle
- Deutscher Verlag für Kunstwissenschaft
- DIAMM
- Droz
- E. Schreiber Graphische Kunstanstalten
- Ediciones Boreal
- Ediciones Grial
- Edilan
- Editalia
- Edition Leipzig
- Edition Libri Illustri
- Editiones Reales Sitios S. L.
- Éditions de l'Oiseau Lyre
- Editions Medicina Rara
- Editorial Casariego
- Editorial Mintzoa
- Editrice Antenore
- Edizioni Edison
- Egeria, S.L.
- Eikon Editores
- Electa
- Eos-Verlag
- ET&B
- Eugrammia Press
- Extraordinary Editions
- Facsimile Editions Ltd.
- Facsimilia Art & Edition Ebert KG
- Faksimile Verlag
- Folger Shakespeare Library
- Franco Cosimo Panini Editore
- Fundación Hullera Vasco-Leonesa
- G. Braziller
- Gebr. Mann Verlag
- Giovanni Domenico de Rossi
- Giunti Editore
- Graffiti
- Grafica European Center of Fine Arts
- Guido Pressler
- Guillermo Blazquez
- Helikon
- Henning Oppermann
- Herder Verlag
- Hes & De Graaf Publishers
- Hoepli
- Houghton Library
- Hugo Schmidt Verlag
- Idion Verlag
- Il Bulino, edizioni d'arte
- ILte
- Imago
- Insel Verlag
- Instituto de Estudios Altoaragoneses
- Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia
- Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana - Treccani
- Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato
- J. Thorbecke
- Jugoslavija
- Karl W. Hiersemann
- Kasper Straube
- Kaydeda Ediciones
- Kurt Wolff Verlag
- La Liberia dello Stato
- La Linea Editrice
- La Meta Editore
- Lambert Schneider
- Leo S. Olschki
- Les Incunables
- Libreria Musicale Italiana
- Lichtdruck
- Lumen Artis
- Lund Humphries
- M. Moleiro Editor
- Maison des Sciences de l'homme et de la société de Poitiers
- Manuscriptum
- Maruzen-Yushodo Co. Ltd.
- MASA
- McGraw-Hill
- Militos
- Millennium Liber
- Müller & Schindler
- National Library of Wales
- Nova Charta
- Odeon
- Orbis Mediaevalis
- Orbis Pictus
- Österreichische Staatsdruckerei
- Oxford University Press
- Parzellers Buchverlag
- Patrimonio Ediciones
- PIAF
- Plon-Nourrit et cie
- Prestel Verlag
- Princeton University Press
- Prisma Verlag
- Priuli & Verlucca, editori
- Pro Sport Verlag
- Propyläen Verlag
- Pytheas Books
- Quaternio Verlag Luzern
- Reales Sitios
- Reichert Verlag
- Riehn & Reusch
- Roberto Vattori Editore
- Rosenkilde and Bagger
- Roxburghe Club
- Salerno Editrice
- Sarajevo Svjetlost
- Schöck ArtPrint Kft.
- Scolar Press
- Scrinium
- Scripta Maneant
- Scriptorium
- Siloé, arte y bibliofilia
- SISMEL - Edizioni del Galluzzo
- Sociedad Mexicana de Antropología
- Stainer and Bell
- Styria Verlag
- Sumptibus Pragopress
- Szegedi Tudomànyegyetem
- Tarshish Books
- Taschen
- Tempus Libri
- Testimonio Compañía Editorial
- The Clear Vue Publishing Partnership Limited
- The Facsimile Codex
- The Folio Society
- The Marquess of Normanby
- The Richard III and Yorkist History Trust
- Tip.Le.Co
- TouchArt
- Trident Editore
- Typis Regiae Officinae Polygraphicae
- University of California Press
- University of Chicago Press
- Urs Graf
- Vallecchi
- Van Wijnen
- VCH, Acta Humaniora
- VDI Verlag
- Verlag Styria
- Vicent Garcia Editores
- Wiener Mechitharisten-Congregation (Wien, Österreich)
- Xuntanza Editorial
- Zollikofer AG