tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197787519649202369.post7937328887182108131..comments2024-03-12T17:50:13.932-04:00Comments on The Westford Knight, the Newport Tower, and Related Sites: David Brodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04623785833025125583noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197787519649202369.post-83134382430529136072021-08-16T10:21:43.948-04:002021-08-16T10:21:43.948-04:00Interesting about the chess piece. I went back to ...Interesting about the chess piece. I went back to find my original research on the sailboat/bishop piece history and found this reference: <br /><br />http://sinclair.quarterman.org/archive/2002/03/msg00021.html <br /><br />Not an airtight source, I realize. And I found a Wiki page which confirms your post.<br /><br />But I wonder if my larger point is still correct: The name "bishop" was given to the piece in parts of the world to placate the Church?<br /><br />Glad you are otherwise enjoying the series!<br />David Brodyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04623785833025125583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197787519649202369.post-15994864359309256452021-08-15T17:52:18.342-04:002021-08-15T17:52:18.342-04:00I am enjoying your first book immensely so far; it...I am enjoying your first book immensely so far; it's well-written, paced quickly, and the dialogue is believable. <br /><br />The only challenge I have is that there are several historical/factual inaccuracies that could have been corrected with a bit of research. Now, I realize that it's fiction and - much like "The Da Vinci Code" and its ilk - you need to manipulate history and ideas to meet the needs of the narrative. I only find troubling that the challenges are, IMHO, unnecessary to the main plot. <br /><br />For example, there was, in fact, a chess piece that was represented by a boat - but it was the rook, not the bishop. The piece we know as the bishop was originally a war elephant (!); the groove carved in the may have represented the elephant's tusks. In France it is still called the "fou" because the groove looks like a jester's cap - the "fool", and in most countries it is not called a "bishop" at all; it is called everything from "elephant" (still) to "messenger" to "hunter" to "runner" to "archer". So its development wasn't a religious/male oppression thing at all. <br /><br />Regardless, I intend to keep going in the series, because it's just rollicking good fun.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com