Cessolis, Jacobus de. Volgarizzamento del libro de'costumi e degli View Watchlist >
1829. Large paper copy.
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Cessolis, Jacobus de. Volgarizzamento del libro de'costumi e degli offizii de' nobili sopra il giuoco degli scacchi di Frate Jacopo da Cessole tratto nuovamente da un codice magliabechiano. Milano, 1829. 8vo. xx, 162pp., 1 leaf (errata). L/N 4244; van der Linde, Beilagen 123; Chicco / Sanvito, Lineamenti ..., 181.
The Volgarizzamento del libro de’ costumi e degli offizii de’ nobili sopra il giuoco degli scacchi is an Italian vernacular version of Jacobus de Cessolis’ medieval work that uses the game of chess as a moral and social allegory. Jacobus de Cessolis, a Dominican friar writing in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth century, turned the chessboard into a symbolic representation of society, where each piece reflects a social role and teaches virtues and proper conduct. Kings, queens, and nobles represent ruling and responsibility, while the pawns illustrate common professions and the dignity of labor. Through this metaphor the text explains how order, harmony, and justice depend on each member of society fulfilling their duties ethically.
The 1829 Milan edition is a scholarly printing based on an old manuscript from the Magliabechiano collection, prepared with editorial care and including historical illustrations. It was produced in a very limited number, with only twenty-four special large-format copies printed on fine paper, which has contributed to its rarity and status as a collector’s item. The work is valued today for illuminating medieval views of morality, governance, and social structure, as well as for its role in the history of chess literature.
Condition: From David DeLucia's Chess Library. This copy is one of 24 Large Paper Copies printed on special paper with a presentation inscription from Gaetano Melzi to A. Pezzana, two Italian bibliographers and linguists. This is the 13th century text used by Caxton in his translation entitled, The Game of Chesse. Binding partly defect.
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