AZZI, Tommaso.

The first edition of this uncommon work which passes off as a treatise on the game of chess, but actually tackles broader juridical questions. Tommaso Azzi was a jurist from Fossombrone, of whom very little is known. ‘De ludo’ ‘is not properly a treatise on chess, but a collection of arguments concerning more or less controversial juridical questions, of various kinds, using as a starting point observations connected with the game of chess. Only some parts are connected to the game, its appropriateness, nature, and rules’ (Marchetto, p.284). Each of the 12 sections is based on a unifying chess theme, such as the nature of the game, its definition and similarities with ‘a just war’, with two armies facing each other, the origins of the game and why it was introduced, the characteristics of each pawn (with a symbolic interpretation), its appropriateness for clerics, its rules, and the appropriate behaviour of those watching a chess game. Connections with war are highlighted in its origins, for instance, it was probably invented to keep soldiers busy during interruptions in war, as well as in the game itself, and considered good exercise and practice to hone the strategic skills of army commanders, for instance disengaging and retreating from a lost battle. The 5th section includes a discussion on the Queen and on whether women should take part in wars at all, with Actius supporting this idea for the better defence of cities, whilst providing numerous references to canonical and popular sources in Latin and Italian concerning the social status of young women, widows, etc. Among the interesting information on chess and its rules found in ‘De ludo’ is the ‘rule of courtesy’ that ‘a player should warn his opponent of the fact whenever he attacked his Queen with a piece other than the Queen’ (Murray, p.389). An interesting, uncommon work.