Peasants Just Wanna Have Fun: Games of the Medieval Times

 

People of every class and background played games in Europe (1). According to Sports and Games of Medieval Cultures by Sally Wilkins, the Church gave people space and time to gather, so many games were played in the churchyard. When there were celebrations based on Christian holidays, people gathered to celebrate and had the opportunity to play games. Sports were popular in the summer, and then board games were popular in the winter because of the long dark winters in Europe (9). 

Depiction of Women Playing Chess in the Book
 of Alfonso X, the Wise (5)

There were many of games played during the medieval times, here is a look at a few. 

Chess

Chess was developed from a game in India by the name chaturanga. The encyclopedia Britannica states it was the first game known to have pieces that had certain powers and victory occurred when a certain piece was captured. Chaturanga found it's way to other countries through trade and then was developed into chess in Persia. From Persia the game travelled into Europe in the 9th century (4).  

In Europe, chess pieces were renamed to the English equivalents of the Persian version. So the pieces took on the name known in the western world today. The renamed pieces were meant to be an allegory of how people of those position should act with every single piece protecting the king. Chess was even taught in courtly education which made the game rise in popularity throughout England. It was a game of strategy which intrigued many people because many games in this period were strictly luck-based. If someone was good at chess they were seen as smart and tactical which was a high compliment. Checkers was popular with women and lower class citizens who could not understand chess (4). 

Nine-Men's Morris

13th Century Illustration of Nine-Men's Morris
Board in Libro de los Juegos (3)

 

Most popular in the 14th century, Nine-Men's Morris, is a strategy game involving two players and 18 pieces or "merrels." According to Wilkins, each player has nine merrels of their color and the goal is to be the last player with enough pieces to form a line of three. Each player takes turns placing one of their pieces onto the board. If a player forms a line of three, that player gets to remove one of the other player's pieces (9). Britannica states that once all pieces are placed on the board (not including ones taken away) each player takes turns moving one of their pieces, one space at a time, in attempt to form a line of three. Someone wins when they have taken all but two of the other players pieces (7). 

Hasard

600 Year-Old Die (8)

Hasard or "Hazard" is a dice game, similar to the modern day craps, that was made popular toward the end of the middle ages. It is a gambling game with no skill or knowledge necessary. Cassidy Cash, an Associate Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in London, says that to start the caster rolls two dice until he gets a sum that adds to a number between 5-9. That number is then called the "main." Then the caster would roll two dice again and if it was double their main, they won all the stakes. If the caster rolled a two or a three on the second roll, he automatically loses. Each main has its own rules on how to win or lose (2). In this game and other dice games, people were known to cheat. According to Fox News, a medieval die was discovered that had two fives and two fours which means someone was trying to have a higher chance getting doubles (8). 

Halatafl

The image of geese and fox were a common
occurrence in medieval literature (6)

The Icelandic game Halatafl, also know as the fox-and-geese game is a two player game. Wilkins says the game travelled across Europe by way of the Vikings. One player is the fox, the other is the geese. There are 13 geese and only one fox. Every piece can move in all directions indicated by the lines on the board. The fox's goal is to capture geese so they cannot trap him. The object for the geese is to trap the fox so he cannot move. The fox is able to capture a goose by jumping over it, similar to checkers (9).

Works Cited

(1) Alchin, Linda. Entertainment in the Middle Ages, 2017, www.lordsandladies.org/entertainment-middle-ages.htm.

(2) Cash, Cassidy. “The Dice Game Hazard (DIY History).” Cassidy Cash, 21 Sept. 2022, www.cassidycash.com/hazard/.

(3) Georgievska, Marija. “Nine Men’s Morris Is One of the World’s Most Ancient Games: The Vintage News.” The Vintage News, 7 Aug. 2017, www.thevintagenews.com/2016/11/02/nine-mens-morris-is-one-of-the-worlds-most-ancient-games/.

(4) “History of Chess.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 2023, www.britannica.com/topic/chess/History.

(5) “Medieval Chess Boards.” St. Thomas Guild - Medieval Woodworking, Furniture and Other Crafts, 2012, thomasguild.blogspot.com/2014/01/medieval-chess-boards.html.

( 6)“Middle Ages Archives.” Teaching with Themes, 18 Mar. 2020, teachingwiththemes.com/index.php/category/middle-ages/.

(7) “Nine Men’s Morris.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 2023, www.britannica.com/topic/Nine-Mens-Morris.

(8) Rogers, James. “Mysterious 600-Year-Old Dodgy Dice Discovered in Medieval ‘Gambling Den.’” Fox News, FOX News Network, 16 Apr. 2018, www.foxnews.com/science/mysterious-600-year-old-dodgy-dice-discovered-in-medieval-gambling-den.

(9) Wilkins, Sally. Sports and Games of Medieval Cultures. Greenwood Press, 2002.