Fidchell

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Modern game board by François Haffner ( Tilsit Éditions )

Fidchell ( Old Irish [fɪðʲçɛlː] , also fidhcheall , fidceall , fitchneal or fithchill , neuirisch ficheall , Welsh gwyddbwyll [ 'gwiðbuiɬ ]), meaning in both languages "wood-sense" ( gwydd or fid = "timber", Pwyll or cíall = "Mind"), was a Celtic board game . whose exact rules are unknown, a similarity to the game of chessit is assumed. It was very often used to deal with armed conflicts in the form of a substitute act. Exact mastery of the game was one of the 34 essential skills of a young nobleman.

A probably very similar game is the Nordic Hnefatafl or Königszabel .

Game board and pawns

According to a description, the game pieces had a small peg at the bottom that could be inserted into corresponding holes in the board, similar to our current travel chess game .

In the National Museum of Ireland ( Dublin ), such a board for is Fidchell kept. It is made of wood, has a handle designed as a stylized human head on two opposite sides and a rim with different carving patterns . The "fields" are marked with 7x7 holes, the middle field is marked with a double circle, each corner field with a quarter circle.

mythology

Fidchell is often played by the mythical kings and heroes in Irish sagas (e.g. in Táin Bó Cuailnge , "The Cow Robbery of Cooley "). King Conchobar mac Nessa of Ulster was obliged by geis (taboo) to spend a third of the day at the fidchell .

In the Welsh satire Breuddwyd Rhonabwy ("Rhonabwy's Dream"). gwyddbwyll plays an important role in the dispute between King Arthur and Owein fab Urien .

Arthur sat down on the cloak and Owein, Uryen's son, stood across from him. "Owein, do you want to play Gwyddbwyll?" Asked Arthur. "Yes, sir," said Owein. The red-haired lad brought Arthur and Owein the Gwyddbwyll game - gold pieces on a silver board - and they began to play.

In Breuddwyd Macsen (“Macsen's Dream”) it is also played with a silver board and gold pieces. In Peredur fab Efrawg ("Peredur, Efrawg's son") the pieces come to life in a deserted hall and play against each other (see live chess ).

And Peredur came to the castle [of miracles] and the castle gate was open. And when he came to the hall, its door was also open. And as he entered he saw a Gwyddbwyll game in the hall, and each of the two parties was playing against the other. And the party he would have supported lost and the other let out a cry of joy as if they were real men. He was angry about this, grabbed the stones in his lap and threw the game board into the lake.

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Helmut Birkhan: Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. P. 1021 f.
  2. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Celtic stories from the emperor Arthur. Part 2, p. 255, note 216.
  3. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. P. 1092.
  4. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Celts. Images of their culture. P. 329, photo 583.
  5. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Celtic stories from the emperor Arthur. Part 2, p. 130.
  6. ^ Bernhard Maier: Lexicon of the Celtic religion and culture. P. 156 f.
  7. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Celtic stories from the emperor Arthur. Part 1, p. 172.