We need not be surprised if, among the turbulent barons of the middle ages, the game of chess often gave rise to disputes and sanguinary quarrels. The curious history of the Fitz-Warines, reduced to writing certainly in the thirteenth century, gives the following account of the origin of the feud between king John and Fulk Fitz-Warine, the outlaw:--“Young Fulk,” we are told, “was bred with the four sons of king Henry II., and was much beloved by them all except John; for he used often to quarrel with John. It happened that John and Fulk were sitting all alone in a chamber playing at chess; John took the chess-board and struck Fulk a great blow. Fulk felt himself hurt, raised his foot and struck John in the middle of the stomach, that his head went against the wall, and he became all weak and fainted. Fulk was in consternation; but he was glad that there was nobody in the chamber but they two, and he rubbed John’s ears, who recovered from his fainting-fit, and went to the king his father, and made a great complaint. ‘Hold your tongue, wretch,’ said the king, ‘you are always quarrelling. If Fulk did anything but good to you, it must have been by your own desert;’ and he called his master, and made him beat him finely and well for complaining.” Similar incidents recur continually in the early romances I have just quoted as the “Chansons de Geste,” which give us so vivid a picture of feudal times. A fatal quarrel of this kind was the cause of the feud between Charlemagne and Ogier le Danois. At one of the Easter festivals of the court of Charlemagne, the emperor’s son, Charles, and Bauduin, the illegitimate son of Ogier, went to play together. Bauduin and young Charles took a chess-board and sat down to the game for pastime. “They have arranged their chess-men on the board. The king’s son first moved his pawn, and young Bauduin moved his _aufin_ (bishop) backwards. The king’s son thought to press him very hard, and moves his knight upon the other _aufin_. The one moved forward and the other backward so long, that young Bauduin said ‘mate’ to him in the corner:”--
_Il et Callos prisent un esquekier,_ _Au ju s’asisent por aus esbanier._ _S’ont lor esches assis sor le tabler._ _Li fix au roi traist son paon premier,_ _Bauduinés traist son aufin arier._ _Li fix au roi le volt forment coitier,_ _Sus l’autre aufin a trait son chevalier._ _Tant traist li uns avant et l’autre arier,_ _Bauduinés li dist mat en l’angler._ --Ogier de Danemarche, l. 3159.