Chessboard


  1. Chessboard

    Percivale encountered, in both the Second Continuation and Peredur, a chessboard on which the pieces moved themselves. Oweing to his lack of success in the game (and, in Peredur, the jibes of the chessmen), he flung the board away. In Peredur a dark girl told him to retrieve the board. In the Second Continuation he was told to do this by a fairy of the waters.


  2. Chessboard Castle

    A fortress visited by Perceval in the Second Continuation and the Didot-Perceval. Inside, he found a magic chessboard, against which he played three games and lost each time. He became so angry that he was on the verge of hurling the board out the window, but a maiden came along and dissuaded him. Perceval became infatuated with the maiden and agreed to hunt down a white stag for her.

    He got distracted with other adventures and had to plead for forgiveness when he returned. The maiden wanted to make him lord of the castle, but Perceval had sworn to pursue the Grail Quest and was forced to depart.

    The chessboard itself was given to the lady by Morgan le Fay.

    A similar sequence of events takes place at the Fortress of Marvels in the Welsh story of Peredur. Magic chessboards make frequent appearances in Arthurian legends. Gawaine plays with one in Perlesvaus.


    See also
    Guinebal | The Legend of King Arthur
    Gwyddbwyll | The Legend of King Arthur
    Thirteen Treasures of Britain | The Legend of King Arthur



  3. Chessboard, Floating

    A magic artifact desired by Arthur and sought by Gawaine in a Dutch romance. It was owned by King Wonder, who would only relinquish it if Gawaine brought him the Sword with Two Rings. This sent Gawaine on a long series of interlocking quests, culiminating in his return to Wonder’s court with the sword. Wonder completed the trade, and Gawaine returned to Arthur’s court with the Floating Chessboard.


  4. Chessboard, Magic

    Guinebal, the older brother of Kings Ban and Bors, created a magic chessboard which moved on its own. [More]