Das Schachzabelbuch des Jacobus de Cessolis, O.P., in mittelhochdeutscher Prosa-Übersetzung

Jacobus de Cessolis, a 13th-century Dominican friar, originally composed his Liber de moribus hominum et officiis nobilium ac popularium super ludo scachorum as a series of moral sermons. By using the game of chess as an allegory for the structures of medieval society, he sought to provide an accessible framework for ethics and social duty. This work became one of the most widely read and translated manuscripts of the Middle Ages, influencing secular literature and political philosophy long after the friar's lifetime.

The 1961 edition published by E. Schmidt represents a scholarly effort to preserve and disseminate the Middle High German prose translation of this essential text. By focusing on the vernacular translation, the publication provides insight into the linguistic shifts and the reception of classical moral philosophy in medieval German-speaking territories. It serves as a rigorous academic resource, designed to maintain the integrity of the original didactic intent for modern researchers and historians of the game of chess.