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RECREATIONS
prevalent was the game of dice. It required no skill;
purely a gambling game of throwing the dice and betting on
the result of the throw. A great variety of games played with
pieces on boards of different design were known in the middle
ages. The game ofmerels (tokens, counters) figures under many
names morris, merrypeg, miracles, &c. and was played
with three, five, nine, or even twelve pieces;
boards for these
games were often scratched on the stone seats in the cloisters of
6H
it was
monasteries and elsewhere. The object was to get the 'men* in
a row. In its simpler form this was done by merely entering them
on the board, somewhat as in the modern game of 'noughts
and crosses*. But in the more elaborate form the pieces, when
entered on the board, were moved in turn to attain the align'
ment. Draughts, derived in part from chess, was invented in
the twelfth century, probably in the south of France; but,
though played in England, it never attained to much popu^
larity until the seventeenth century. Backgammon, on the other
hand, or 'tables* as the medieval game (which did not differ
essentially from the game of today) was called, was much in
vogue. It was an ancient game, a race game, developed from
the Roman game of dea or tabula and the Persian nard, and
played with 'tablemen' resembling draughts but larger, and
three or two dice. It was known in Anglo-Saxon times for it is
mentioned in old English glossaries of the eighth and ninth
centuries. Like chess it was a favourite game of the upper
classes throughout the middle ages. King John was fond of
playing with his court favourites ad tatulas for modest stakes
which, ifhe lost, were faithfully recorded on the roll ofhis daily
expenses; and the knights in Robert of Gloucester's metrical
chronicle at composed the end ofthe thirteenth century played
*atte tables oj?er
atte chekere (chess)*.
Among the aristocracy, however, by far the most popular
and universal of indoor recreations was the game of chess.
Originating in India, it came to the west by way of Persia
(where it was known in the seventh century) and the Muslim
world. The word 'chess* (Latin, scad, scacci, meaning chess^
men) is derived from the chess king, the Persian shah. It was a