The Philosophers' Game: Rithmomachia in Medieval and Renaissance Europe with an Edition of Ralph Lever and William Fulke, The Most Noble, Auncient, and ... in Medieval and Early Modern Civilization)

In The Philosophers' Game, Ann E. Moyer invites us to engage with the forgotten chess-like game Rithmomachia ("The Battle of Numbers"), which combined the pleasures of gaming with mathematical study and moral education. Intellectuals of the medieval and Renaissance periods who played this game were not only seeking to master the principles of Boethian mathematics but were striving to improve their own understanding of the secrets of the cosmos. The Philosophers' Game, which includes a complete, illustrated Elizabethan rulebook, examines the nature and importance of the game's appeal as well as some of the reasons why it faded into obscurity. Rithmomachia enjoyed a last wave of popularity during the Renaissance before the early Scientific Revolution led to its disappearance. The demise of Rithmomachia forms part of the great transformation of fields of learning and the classification of knowledge that marked the final dissolution of the quadrivium among the traditional liberal arts. The Philosophers' Game will interest anyone who studies the history of science, mathematics, or education in medieval and Renaissance Europe; the intellectual or cultural history of those eras; or the histories of games, sports, and leisure. It will also interest scholars interested in astrology and magic. Ann E. Moyer is Assistant Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania. 1. Introduction 2. From Cathedral School to University 3. Games of Philosophers and Astronomers 4. The Renaissance France: Claude de Boissiére Central Europe England: Ralph Lever and William Fulke Italy: Benedetto Varchi, Carlo Strozzi, Francesco Barozzi 5. Decline and Disappearance The Most Noble, Ancient, and Learned Place (1563) To the reader The definition Of diverse kinds of playing Of the parts of this game Of these parts in the first kind of playing ОЕ гІlе шеи The reason of these numbers and the knowledge of their proportion Of multiplex Of superparticular proportion Superpartiens proportion Of the kings Of the placing, encamping or setting in array Of the marching or removing of the men The motion of the rounds Of the triangles Of the squares Of the king's marching Of the manner of taking Of equality Of taking by obsidian Of taking by addition Of taking by subtraction Of taking by multiplication Of taking by division Of the taking of the kings The law of prisoners Of taking by proportion Of the triumph Of diverse kinds of triumphs Of the great triumph Of arithmetical proportion A rule to find out arithmetical proportion between the first and the last Of geometrical proportion A rule to find the middle number in geometrical proportion Of musical proportion A rule to find the first, when you have the two last To find the middle between the first and the last Of the greater triumph Of the greatest triumph Of the second kind of playing at the Philosophers' Game Of the table ОБ гІlе шеи Of the marking of the men The marking of the men The setting in array The marching or moving The manner of taking Of taking by obsidian Of taking by equality Of taking by addition Of taking by subtraction Of taking by multiplication Of taking by division Of taking by cossical signs Of the kings, and their taking The privilege of the king Of the triumph Here followeth the third kind of playing at the philosophers' game ОЕ гІlе шеи The inscription and fashion Of the order of the battle Of their motions Of their taking Of taking by encountering Of taking by eruption Of taking by deceit or lying wait Of taking by obsidian The privilege of the king Of the triumph Of the common victory Victory of bodies Victory of goods Victory of quarrel Victory of honor Of victory of honor and quarrel Victory of standards Bibliography PRIMARY SOURCES Manuscripts Printed Works SECONDARY SOURCES Index "Ann Moyer invites us to engage with the forgotten, chess-like game rithmomachia ("The Battle of Numbers") that combined the pleasures of gaming with mathematical study and moral education. Intellectuals of the medieval and Renaissance periods who played this game were seeking not only to master the principles of Boethian mathematics, but to improve their minds and characters by contemplating its numbers and ratios.". "The Philosophers' Game examines the nature and importance of the game's appeal as well as some of the reasons why it faded into obscurity." "The Philosophers' Game will interest anyone who studies the history of science, mathematics, or education in medieval and Renaissance Europe; the intellectual or cultural history of those eras; or the histories of games, sports, and leisure. It will also appeal to scholars interested in astrology and magic."--BOOK JACKET. The philosophers' game : rithmomachia in medieval and renaissance Europe, with an edition of Ralph Lever and William Fulke, The most noble, ancient, and learned playe (1563) / Ann E. Moyer. Ann E. Moyer. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 181-198) And Index.