Du char de guerre à la tour : le destin d’une figure du jeu d’échecs en Occident

Abstract

The chess game, invented in India, is transmitted to the Christian West through the Muslim space in the course of the Xth century. Among the pieces of the game, the original war chariot was the object of numerous interpretations adapted to local cultures. Marquis or count, boat, elite warrior or Janus bifrons, it became in the course of the Middle Ages the rock or the tower. These re-readings mark the many difficulties encountered by Westerners in adapting a representation that was foreign to them.

Keywords

• chess game
• war chariot
• rook
• Middle Ages
• Europe
• cultural transfer