In 1997 I published in Dutch Language
De invloed van de Spaanse koningin Isabel la Catolica op de nieuwe sterke dame in de oorsprong van het dam- en moderne schaakspel; Spaanse literatuur, jaren: 1283-1700
The translation is as follows::
1997:
BOOK IN DUTCH LANGUAGE:
THE
INFLUENCE OF THE
QUEEN ISABEL LA CATOLICA
ON THE NEW
POWERFUL DAMA IN THE
ORIGIN OF THE DRAUGHTS AND MODERN CHESS GAME. SPANISH LITERATURE, YEARS: 1283-1700.
And of course,
Marilyn Yalom studied my
book during her visit to the National Library in The Hague (Holland) before she
wrote Birth of the Chess Queen in 2004.
In her book
one cannot see that I already published in 1987, 1990, and 1994 material about
Isabel la Catolica (Isabel I of Castile) being the new powerful dama or chess queen on the
chessboard (1).
In other words I can state here that I’ve been studying Spanish history and
its chess literature for over 30 years. Since 2003 I’ve also known the development of the
new bishop in chess.
We have since 1987 been defending in articles the fact that the
Spanish queen Isabel la Católica was the new chess queen (dama)
on the chessboard. Other publications were in 1990, 1994, 1997, and 2004. Now in 2015 we also defend, by means of our book The Birth of a New
Bishop in Chess the fact that the new bishop on the chessboard was created at
the same time as the new queen. The bishop in question was known in Spain at the
time as the third Monarch.
To understand well the new bishop in
chess we ought to know something of the political situation in Spain around
1475 when the powerful queen Isabella I of Castile was in war with Portugal.
On learning about the death
of her brother king Henry IV of Castile (1425-1474) princess Isabella signified
to the inhabitants of Segovia, where she then resided, her desire of being
proclaimed queen in that city, with the solemnities usual on such occasions.
Accordingly, on the following morning of 13 December 1474 a numerous assembly
consisting of the nobles, clergy, and public magistrates in their robes of
office, waited on her at the alcazar or castle and, receiving her under a
canopy of rich brocade, escorted her in solemn procession to the principal square
of the city where a broad platform or podium had been erected for the
performance of the ceremony. Isabella, royally attired, rode a Spanish jennet
whose bridle was held by two of the civic functionaries, while an officer of
her court preceded her on horseback, bearing aloft a naked sword - the symbol
of sovereignty. On arriving at the square she alighted her palfrey and,
ascending the platform, seated herself on the throne prepared for her. A herald
with a loud voice proclaimed, ''Castile, Castile, for the king Don Ferdinand
and his consort Doña Isabella, queen proprietor of these kingdoms!" The
royal standards were then unfurled while the peal of bells and the discharge of
ordnance from the castle publicly announced the accession of the new sovereign.
Isabella, after receiving the homage of her subjects and swearing to maintain
inviolate the liberties of the realm, descended from the platform and, attended
by the same cortège, moved slowly towards the cathedral church where, after Te
Deum had been chanted, she prostrated herself before the principal altar and,
returning thanks to the Almighty for the protection hitherto vouchsafed [what
does this word mean?] her, implored him to enlighten her future counsels so
that she might discharge the high trust reposed in her with equity and wisdom.
Such were the simple forms
that attended the coronation of the monarchs of Castile previously to the
sixteenth century. The cities favorable to Isabella's cause, comprehending far
the most populous and wealthy throughout the kingdom, followed the example of
Segovia and raised the royal standard for their new sovereign. The principal grandees,
as well as most of the inferior
nobility, soon presented themselves from all quarters in order to tender the
customary oaths of allegiance, and an assembly of the estates, convened for the
ensuing month of February at Segovia, imparted by a similar ceremony a
constitutional sanction to these proceedings. On Ferdinand's arrival from
Aragon, where he was staying at the time of Henry's death, preoccupied with the
war of Roussillon, a disagreeable discussion took place in regard to the
respective authority to be enjoyed by the husband and wife in the
administration of the government. Ferdinand's relatives with admiral Henriquez
at their head, contended that the crown of Castile, and of course the exclusive
sovereignty, was limited to him as the nearest male representative of the house
of Trastamara. Isabella's friends, on the other hand, insisted that these
rights devolved solely on her as the lawful heir and proprietor of the kingdom.
The affair was finally referred to the arbitration of the cardinal of Spain
Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza and the archbishop of Toledo Alfonso Carrillo (1410-1482)
who after careful examination established by undoubted precedent that the
exclusion of females from the succession did not apply in Castile and Leon, as was the case in Aragon;
that Isabella was consequently the sole heir of these dominions, and that
whatever authority Ferdinand might possess could only be derived through her.
A settlement was then made on
the basis of the original marriage contract. All municipal appointments, and
collation to ecclesiastical benefices, were to be made in the name of both with
the advice and consent of the queen. All fiscal nominations and issues from the
treasury were to be subject to her order. The commanders of the fortified
places were to render homage to her alone. Justice was to be administered by
both conjointly when residing in the same place and by each independently when
separate. Proclamations and letters patent were to be subscribed with the
signatures of both; their images were to be stamped on the public coin, and the
united arms of Castile and Aragon emblazoned on a common seal. Ferdinand, it is
said, was so much dissatisfied with an arrangement which vested the essential
rights of sovereignty in his consort that he threatened to return to Aragon;
but Isabella reminded him that this distribution of power was rather nominal
than real, that their interests were indivisible, that his will would be hers,
and that the principle of the exclusion of females from the succession - if now
established - would operate to the disqualification of their only child who was
a daughter. By these and similar arguments the queen succeeded in soothing her
offended husband without compromising the prerogatives of her crown.
Ferdinand II of Aragon was
dissatisfied with the arrangement, and the recognition of his daughter
Isabella, born in 1470, as heiress of Castile alone prevented him from retiring
to Aragon in disgust. But Castile, however it was to be administered, was not
to be acquired without a struggle. Were the supporters of the rival Joanna to
be successful in the field, Ferdinand’s share in the administration of the
country would scarcely have been worth delimiting. The activity of the Marquis
of Villena, together with the agreeable prospect of some fighting in the immediate
future, decided the heir of Aragon to adopt the only honorable course that was
open to him - to remain at the side of his royal wife, and to defend her rights
to Castile. The assailants were many and important. The Marquis of Villena, the
Duke of Arevalo, the richest and most powerful among the grandees of Spain, the
young Marquis of Cadiz, and the Grand Master of Calatrava were not the only
great names in the coalition in favor of the late king's doubtful daughter
Joanna. The Archbishop of Toledo, the bold soldier who had galloped across the country
to save Isabella's life at Madrigal, the bolder churchman who had forged the
Pope's Bull to quiet her conscience at Valladolid, the priest who had married
her in 1469, the lawyer who had assured her wedded independence in 1475, taking
umbrage at some fancied preference of the queen for their common friend Cardinal
Mendoza, withdrew from the court and attached himself to the queen's enemies.
Alfonso V. of Portugal (1432-1481),
moreover, a king always ready to engage in any strange and exciting adventure,
proposed to marry Joanna, surnamed La Beltraneja, who was not only his niece, but
also his junior by over thirty years. A Bull of dispensation could, of course,
be obtained from Sixtus IV; and the royal lover whose bold and successful forays
in Barbary had gained him the suggestive title of “The African”, threw himself
heart and soul into this new and romantic enterprise in Castile. In the month of
May of 1475 Alfonso, without further warning and after very hasty preparations,
crossed the frontier into Spain and was solemnly affianced to his youthful bride
at Plasencia where the royal pair were immediately proclaimed King and Queen of
Castile (12 May, 1475). Ferdinand and Isabella had meanwhile composed their
differences and devoted themselves to the equipment of an army to defend their
rights. Nor was the queen less active or less capable in her exertions than her
more experienced husband. Isabella’s regiments were no less efficient than
Ferdinand’s forces. However fortunate Alfonso of Portugal may have been in his African
expeditions, he showed himself a very indifferent general in Spain. A long
delay at Arevalo gave his rivals time to prepare their army, and when after two
months' inaction he marched forward and possessed himself of Toro and Zamora,
the Castilian forces were already on their way to oppose him. Yet Isabella’s
position was critical in the extreme. The Archbishop of Toledo Alfonso Carrillo
had not only joined the invaders, but took with him a body of 500 lances.
Ferdinand had been repulsed before Toro. Prince John of Portugal looked forward
to a second Aljubarrota. All of Leon seemed at the mercy of the invaders. Isabella,
never daunted, convoked a Cortes at Medina del Campo (August 1475).
Isabella’s appeal, in August, to
the people was eminently successful. Supplies to a large extent were voted by
the devoted Commons. The church plate was pledged to the extent of half its
value by a loyal clergy thanks to the support of Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza. Ferdinand’s
army was reinforced. New regiments were
raised by Isabella. The Portuguese once more remained inactive, and allowed the
defenders of Castile time they badly needed to complete their preparations. Thereafter, in December 1475, we see the warrior churchman Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza as
Captain General in
the battle against Zamora. At length, in February 1476 between Toro and Zamora the
combined forces of Ferdinand and Isabella inflicted severe and decisive defeat
upon the Portuguese and rebel army.
Zamora as well as Toro fell
into the hands of the victors, and the invaders, unmindful of Aljubarrota
retreated in some confusion into their own country. Nor was the moral effect
less remarkable in Spain. The humbler waiters upon fortune immediately declared
for Isabella. The Duke of Arevalo soon thereafter gave his adhesion. The Archbishop
of Toledo was not far behind him, and the Marquis of Villena was at length
content to enjoy his diminished revenues under the protection of his lawful
sovereign. Isabella walked barefooted in a procession to the Church of St. Paul
at Tordesillas in honour of the victory. Ferdinand contented himself with the building
and endowment of a monastery of the Order of St. Francis at Toledo, known as
San Juan de los Reyes. Louis XI of France, who had encouraged the Portuguese,
was not long in offering his alliance to Ferdinand, and a treaty of perpetual peace
between France and Castile, promoted by the ever-vigilant King of Aragon John
II, was signed at St. Jean de Luz in October 1478. To make Isabella's victory
more complete a new Bull was obtained from Sixtus IV annulling the marriage of
Alfonso of Portugal with Joanna the Beltraneja, and that unhappy lady, the
sport of fortune and a puppet in the hands of kings and Popes, retired to the
Convent of St. Clare at Coimbra while her disappointed husband, Alfonso the
African -romantic to the end - resigned his crown and assumed the habit of a Franciscan
friar.
No doubt that with this summary the readers will much better understand the
poem Scachs d’amor and why queen
Isabella of Castile became more important than her husband king Ferdinand II of
Aragon. In this respect we cannot forget that Isabella reduced the
influence of her husband just in case by her death there was any contingency in
the regular course of heredity if she died earlier than her husband. Isabella I
of Castile’s determination that her first daughter, also named Isabella, would
succeed her if necessary to the Castilian throne is a clear proof in this
respect. Both her husband and his supporters naturally felt that he should be
the heir, something that Isabella did not agree to even in his will and codicil
of October and November 1504. In any event.
The new bishop in chess has been a
great mystery from the XV century until now, because not only was the power of
the queen greatly introduced, but so was also the position of the church. Pedro
Gonzalez de Mendoza was the partisan of Princess (later Queen) Isabella and
fought for her in the Battle of Toro on March 1, 1476. He had a prominent part
in placing Princess Isabella on the throne and served her tirelessly in her
efforts to suppress the disorderly nobles of Castile with the money of the
church. He was considered as “the third king of Spain” and Isabella’s best
adviser.
The third king of Spain now
became visible on the chessboard with more power than before. However, because
of not giving Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza too much power the Spanish name alfil
for the chess piece was not changed to bishop and so the name is alfil still
today.
(1)
(1987) Dutch Draughts Magazine “Het Nieuwe Damspel”,
p. 71
(1990) Las Damas: Ciencia sobre un tablero. Tomo I. Editor Promociones y
Publicaciones Universitarias, S.A. (PPU S.A.) – Barcelona. ISBN 84-7665-697-0
(1994) Historia de la nueva dama poderosa en el juego de
Ajedrez y Damas. (History of the New Powerful Queen in the Game of Chess and Draughts),
pages 103-225. Homo Ludens: Der spielende Mensch IV,
Internationale Beiträge des Institutes für Spielforschung und Spielpädagogik an
der Hochschule "Mozarteum" - Salzburg. Herausgegeben von Prof. Mag.
Dr. Günther C. Bauer
(1994) Homo Ludens, Der Spielende Mensch IV. Internationale
Beiträge des Institutes für Spielforschung und Spielpädagogik an der Hochschule
Mozarteum Salzburg, Salzburg.
