Status Updates From Birth of the Chess Queen: A...

Eleanor's history was interwoven at many levels with the spread of chess in France and England, and with the expansion of the chess queen. During Eleanor's lifetime, the queen continued to replace the vizier throughout Europe, so that by the end of her reign there was hardly a sign of the vizier on the European board, except for Spain, where Arabic chessmen coexisted with European pieces into the late Middle Ages.

One reason for the popularity of chess among women was that it could be played indoors. Even if one had to be confined to the home for reasons of childbirth or illness, women could play chess sitting up in their beds.

Arabic became the dominant language in many of the conquered lands, and some of the chess pieces took on Arabic names (al-fil for elephant, baidak for pawn, and firzan, firz or ferz for the general or vizier, while others retained their Persian labels (shah for king, rukh for rook, asp for horse).

I'm officially a fan of the medieval Italian chess set, where the knight was actually sitting on the horse & the rook was anthropomorphized into a vicar w/ fur coat & staff. Plus all the pawns were distinct! There's a peasant/wine grower who holds a hoe, a smith/carpenter/mason holding a hammer & ax, a notary/weaver w/ scissors & knife, a merchant, physician, innkeeper, city guard, and rogue/vagabond/gambler w/ dice.