Tablero de Jesus random stuff
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Home Page Riddle MendicantsTale Fragments Miscellany
El Tablero de Jesus
An Illustrative Hoax Game players in the Society of Creative Anachronism (Renaissance Faire folks) had been playing a dice game called Tablero (or El Tablero, or El Tablero de Jesus) at their events, as an historical, “in period” game. An elaborate historical context had been presented, the source of which was an article attributed to “I.Y. Erzbergen-St.Susse, Ph.D., Queenswood Professor of Medieval Studies at Brunswick University.” This was apparently first printed in 1971, along with the rules of the game. Among the historical “facts” cited in the article: The game “is known to have been played by the Cistercian monks in the Abbey of Los Santos de Campo in Granada as early as 1404, and may well have been invented by one of the brothers there.” (Documentary evidence, and a tentative origin hypothesis—a good start.) Game boards, “exquisite examples of 15th century wood painting”, have been found in “Spanish Abbeys, and in Tuscany, Provence and the Low Countries.” (Early artifacts, a different kind of evidence—very good.) The Bishop of Limoges in 1446 described El Tablero as “a godly game, which rewardeth forbearence and punisheth greed.” (This is an outstanding “fact”, because it is reminiscent of an actual historical game mentioned by Moakley. In the 10th century, Bishop Wibold of Cambrai devised a dice game called "Ludus regularis seu clericalis" as a spiritual exercise.) The game was known in England, "for the Abbot of Cleves in 1449 alluded in his journal to losses incurred 'at the Jesus Boarde'." (Again, an excellent "fact", precisely the kind of indirect reference that is so often our only historical documentation.) Note how the establishing facts vary in form, providing a rich sense of historical support. And note the wonderful manner in which the next and final two "facts" are presented, the sense of genuine historical interest in the questions discussed, the way the discussion of the pope's ban leads to another question, which leads to more "facts" that might explain it... "Why Sylvester V abruptly banned El Tablero in 1458, enforcing his edict with such vigor that the game disappeared from view shortly afterwards, is not altogether clear. Sylvester was not remarkable for piety, and showed little zeal for reform. Indeed, he himself was no stranger to the pleasures of 'the boarde'." "The worldly Cardinal Martino d'Allessandro tells us in his memoirs that he introduced El Tablero to the papal court in 1456 and himself taught the pontiff how to play. The cardinal's implication that His Holiness had so little aptitude for the game that even when leaning heavily on the papal prerogative he was rarely a winner, has led to the conjecture that injured pride may have turned him against it, but we had best take this theory with a grain of salt." This was a *great* hoax, in several ways. To make it believable, it included a variety of incidental details woven into a story, details of the kind often found in genuine historical accounts, which added greatly to the verisimilitude of the story. More importantly, it was all bullshit. For example, there was no pope Sylvester V. (All you have to do is check the online Catholic Encyclopedia to find a list of popes: There were three popes named Sylvester, designated I, II, and III, and an "antipope" designated IV.) An actual pope's name could have been used in the story, but that would be vicious. This hoax was intended to be harmless, and the use of blatant fiction is a crucial element to such a clean, honest hoax. A hoax like this can be uncovered by anyone wanting to check out the "evidence" presented. In early 2000, Thierry Depaulis did some homework, and it turns out that all the "facts" establishing Tablero are riddled with fictions. Most importantly, not a single "primary source" historical reference to "Tablero" could be tracked down—nothing before the 1970s. For three decades, this appealing game with its appealing "history" was accepted by a large number of people; people who have a sincere interest in actual historical questions and historical games, and who share a rather broad knowledge of gaming history. It was presented as fact, and simply accepted as such, because nobody took the time to check it out. When Depaulis actually asked questions about it and looked for answers, he found that the story itself was heavily larded with fictional people and places, and there was apparently zero primary source evidence. That kind of fabrication sounds very much like traditional Tarot "history". Of course, the difference between this friendly little hoax and the French fictions of Tarot history invented in the 18th and 19th centuries is that the Tablero "history" was intended to introduce a fun game, and to be a transparent fiction to anyone who actually cared about history. The Masonic "history" of Tarot was part of a larger project, the creation of an extravagant fictional history for the Masons. (That was a lengthy project, actively pursued by generations of Masons and their opponents.) However, some of the similarities are striking. In particular, the fact that one historical dice game with religious design, (Ludus regularis seu clericalis), is real doesn't mean that another necessarily is. Bishop Wibold's invention of a dice game for clerics preceded the fictional Tablero by several centuries, but it still doesn't mean that Tablero was an historical game. The references to Wibold's game are real, but they don't provide evidence for Tablero: The later fiction was specifically designed to seem likely, based on real historical evidence. In just such a way, the modern versions of Tarot's fictional history have been specifically designed to seem likely, (especially as presented by some current writers online), but without presenting any evidence that actually bears on the specific issues in question. The occultist inventions of the 18th and 19th centuries can be persuasively compared to the writings of Renaissance occultists with a great many commonalties being obvious. But there is also one huge difference—the earlier writers on esoteric subjects didn't ever include Tarot in their discussions—not one mention of the "Absolute Key to the Occult Sciences", and early writers on Tarot never mentioned any occult associations. Just as the earliest actual references to El Tablero de Jesus date from the 1970s, the earliest actual references to occult Tarot date from the 1780s, and the earliest evidence of divination with Tarot is only a few decades older.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Daniel U. Thibault (selinur@io.com)
Subject: Stump the Net: Toblaro > A customer came in yesterday and requested the bame Toblaro. Do you
> have any information? It is an ancient Scottish Drinking game
> using a 7 square board with 14 shot glasses, seven on each side. It
> may another name or spelt differently than my information. From the components, I'm sure this is Tablero de Jesus. Originally a gambling game, turning this into a drinking game is very straightforward: one just replaces the coins with shot glasses. Description follows: This game is played with two dice, a seven by seven checkerboard and a fifteen coin stake supplied by each player. It was very popular in Spain and in the Spanish possessions in the Low Countries during the first half of the XVth century. It was banned by the Pope in 1458, the ban enduring until the early XXth century! SET UP Each player rolls a die. Reroll ties. The low roller places five coins on either of rows 1 or 7, no more than one per column. The high roller places two coins likewise. The low roller plays first. A game of Tablero de Jesus in progress +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| X | | | | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | X | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | X | X | X | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | X |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | X | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
GAME PLAY Having thrown the dice, the player loses them to his opponent on a throw of 7, 11 or 12. On any other throw, he must move two coins, one per die -- the same coin may not be moved twice. Each coin moves within the same column, never diagonally or across. The player moves each coin either away from or towards his side, by the number of rows indicated by the dice. A coin may not be moved back and forth on one die. If the player is unable to use both dice, he moves neither coin and loses the dice to his opponent. After having moved the coins, if there are two or more lined up in a contiguous row (other than rows 1 or 7), the player may take them from the board. In that case, his opponent replenishes the vacated columns from his own stake and then takes the dice. If the opponent has an insufficient stake, the game is over. When receiving the dice, they must be thrown at least once. If a row of seven coins is created, the moving player may announce a "run". The opponent must then stake two coins on the run. The running player throws the dice. On a 7, 11 or 12, he loses the run and his opponent collects all nine coins. Otherwise, the running player collects the two coin stake and has the option of keeping on running. This keeps on until the runner stumbles, the opponent is unable to stake two coins, or the running player decides to take the seven coins. WINNER The winner is the player with the most coins when the game is over. TURNING TABLERO INTO TOBLARO The coins are replaced with shotglasses, or more exactly their contents. When coins are "captured", the winner simply gets to drink their contents, the loser refilling them from his bottle. The Game Cabinet - editor@gamecabinet.com - Ken Tidwell
-----------------------------
Sun Moon and Stars (Based on Tablero de Jesus) Background "Tablero de Jesus" was very popular in Spain and in the Spanish possessions in the Low Countries during the first half of the fifteenth century. It was banned by the Pope in 1458, which ban apparently stayed in force until the early twentieth century! credits and thanks Game Description and Objective This game is played with two dice, a seven by seven board and a fifteen coin stake supplied by each player. The players place a stake on the board, according to a die roll. Each player in turn then moves the coins up and down the columns, attempting to make lines. A player who makes a line wins those coins and the columns are replenished by the other player. The game ends when one player is unable to stake the required number of coins. The other player takes all the coins on the board at that point. You can use a chess or draughts board to play the game, and the original boards seem to have been lines scored on wood or stone, similar to the recent find on Orkney. But, for anyone who wants, I've posted a board in the style of expensive contemporary artwork. Those of us with vivid imaginations can pretend we're playing a high stakes game, sitting on chaise-longues and with our every whim attended by serving-staff whose only aim is our particular comfort. Or, hack some lines into a piece of wood and play in the back of the pub.
Set Up To decide who starts, each player rolls a die. In the case of a tie, both dice are re-rolled. The player who rolled the lowest starts by placing five coins on five of the 'suns', no more than one coin per column. The person who rolled the highest then places two coins on the 'moons' in the remaining columns. The low roller has the first 'turn'. Game Play The player whose turn it is begins by throwing two dice. A turn may consist of several throws, and ends when any of the following occur: the player rolls seven, eleven or twelve;
the player is unable to move two coins;
the player makes a line and wins several coins;
the player elects to pass When receiving the dice, you must throw them at least once. To continue playing after throwing the dice, you must move two coins, one per die. The coins move only within the columns, not across them, and each coin must move the full value shown on the face of that die. The same coin may not be moved twice, and the coins must each travel the full distance shown on the die, in one direction only, not backwards and forwards. If it is not possible to move two coins in this way, the player may not move any coins and the dice pass to the opponent. After having moved the coins, if there are two or more lined up in a contiguous row of stars (spaces, other than the end rows, if you're not playing on my board), you can take them from the board. In that case, your opponent replenishes the vacated columns from their own stake and then takes the dice. If the opponent has an insufficient stake, the game is over. These are our house rules with respect to leaving lines on the board. They didn't appear in the original description but they give some spice to the decision-making process, so I suspect they're close to the real thing. If you elect to leave a row, you must either break it and re-form it, or add another coin to it, in order to take it at a later stage. So, if on the next throw you can't add to it, you still can't take it. If you make another row you can take that, but not the original one. If your opponent gets the dice, the same rules apply: the row must be broken and re-formed, or added to in order to be taken. The Run If a row of seven coins is created, the moving player may announce a "run". The opponent must then stake two coins on the run: if the player cannot do this, the game ends. The running player throws the dice. On a seven, eleven or twelve the running player loses and the opponent collects all nine coins. (That's the original rule. We play that you lose on seven or eleven, which doesn't give an advantage and means that the decision should be taken based purely on how many coins each player has left.) Otherwise, the running player collects the two coin stake and may keep on "running". This keeps on until the runner stumbles, the opponent is unable to stake two coins, or the running player elects to take the seven coins. I'm indebted to gamecabinet.com for the original description of the game. I hope I've treated the material kindly and added something. I found the gamecabinet site linked at Rules to Period Games. Both sites are fascinating. I notice that the web comes full circle again, since these people are either games who dance or dancers who game. Thanks to everyone concerned.
---
Tablero de Jesus Board Please feel free to download the board and print it for personal use. (The rules are here.) It's 1200ish wide but the gif is about as small as I can get it. If you give it to friends, then I'm flattered (a credit is always welcome). I find boards and cards work well if you print on a colour inkjet, use artists' spray mount medium to attach to a board or to cardboard, and then for boards, cover with that sticky-backed plastic. 'Course, by then it's cost as much as buying a cheap game from a hobby-shop, but that's not the point, is it? However, the artwork remains © copyright Andy Anderson, 1996 and 1997. For commercial use in print or for re-posting elsewhere on the net, please contact me. I'll probably give permission, particularly if we can come to some arrangement about a donation to one of my charities. For one thing, you'll notice that this image is optimised for eight-bit browsers. If you're nice to me, I'll mail you the other one.
http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/avenue/pd49/pockets/games.htm
Home Page Riddle MendicantsTale Fragments Miscellany
El Tablero de Jesus
An Illustrative Hoax Game players in the Society of Creative Anachronism (Renaissance Faire folks) had been playing a dice game called Tablero (or El Tablero, or El Tablero de Jesus) at their events, as an historical, “in period” game. An elaborate historical context had been presented, the source of which was an article attributed to “I.Y. Erzbergen-St.Susse, Ph.D., Queenswood Professor of Medieval Studies at Brunswick University.” This was apparently first printed in 1971, along with the rules of the game. Among the historical “facts” cited in the article: The game “is known to have been played by the Cistercian monks in the Abbey of Los Santos de Campo in Granada as early as 1404, and may well have been invented by one of the brothers there.” (Documentary evidence, and a tentative origin hypothesis—a good start.) Game boards, “exquisite examples of 15th century wood painting”, have been found in “Spanish Abbeys, and in Tuscany, Provence and the Low Countries.” (Early artifacts, a different kind of evidence—very good.) The Bishop of Limoges in 1446 described El Tablero as “a godly game, which rewardeth forbearence and punisheth greed.” (This is an outstanding “fact”, because it is reminiscent of an actual historical game mentioned by Moakley. In the 10th century, Bishop Wibold of Cambrai devised a dice game called "Ludus regularis seu clericalis" as a spiritual exercise.) The game was known in England, "for the Abbot of Cleves in 1449 alluded in his journal to losses incurred 'at the Jesus Boarde'." (Again, an excellent "fact", precisely the kind of indirect reference that is so often our only historical documentation.) Note how the establishing facts vary in form, providing a rich sense of historical support. And note the wonderful manner in which the next and final two "facts" are presented, the sense of genuine historical interest in the questions discussed, the way the discussion of the pope's ban leads to another question, which leads to more "facts" that might explain it... "Why Sylvester V abruptly banned El Tablero in 1458, enforcing his edict with such vigor that the game disappeared from view shortly afterwards, is not altogether clear. Sylvester was not remarkable for piety, and showed little zeal for reform. Indeed, he himself was no stranger to the pleasures of 'the boarde'." "The worldly Cardinal Martino d'Allessandro tells us in his memoirs that he introduced El Tablero to the papal court in 1456 and himself taught the pontiff how to play. The cardinal's implication that His Holiness had so little aptitude for the game that even when leaning heavily on the papal prerogative he was rarely a winner, has led to the conjecture that injured pride may have turned him against it, but we had best take this theory with a grain of salt." This was a *great* hoax, in several ways. To make it believable, it included a variety of incidental details woven into a story, details of the kind often found in genuine historical accounts, which added greatly to the verisimilitude of the story. More importantly, it was all bullshit. For example, there was no pope Sylvester V. (All you have to do is check the online Catholic Encyclopedia to find a list of popes: There were three popes named Sylvester, designated I, II, and III, and an "antipope" designated IV.) An actual pope's name could have been used in the story, but that would be vicious. This hoax was intended to be harmless, and the use of blatant fiction is a crucial element to such a clean, honest hoax. A hoax like this can be uncovered by anyone wanting to check out the "evidence" presented. In early 2000, Thierry Depaulis did some homework, and it turns out that all the "facts" establishing Tablero are riddled with fictions. Most importantly, not a single "primary source" historical reference to "Tablero" could be tracked down—nothing before the 1970s. For three decades, this appealing game with its appealing "history" was accepted by a large number of people; people who have a sincere interest in actual historical questions and historical games, and who share a rather broad knowledge of gaming history. It was presented as fact, and simply accepted as such, because nobody took the time to check it out. When Depaulis actually asked questions about it and looked for answers, he found that the story itself was heavily larded with fictional people and places, and there was apparently zero primary source evidence. That kind of fabrication sounds very much like traditional Tarot "history". Of course, the difference between this friendly little hoax and the French fictions of Tarot history invented in the 18th and 19th centuries is that the Tablero "history" was intended to introduce a fun game, and to be a transparent fiction to anyone who actually cared about history. The Masonic "history" of Tarot was part of a larger project, the creation of an extravagant fictional history for the Masons. (That was a lengthy project, actively pursued by generations of Masons and their opponents.) However, some of the similarities are striking. In particular, the fact that one historical dice game with religious design, (Ludus regularis seu clericalis), is real doesn't mean that another necessarily is. Bishop Wibold's invention of a dice game for clerics preceded the fictional Tablero by several centuries, but it still doesn't mean that Tablero was an historical game. The references to Wibold's game are real, but they don't provide evidence for Tablero: The later fiction was specifically designed to seem likely, based on real historical evidence. In just such a way, the modern versions of Tarot's fictional history have been specifically designed to seem likely, (especially as presented by some current writers online), but without presenting any evidence that actually bears on the specific issues in question. The occultist inventions of the 18th and 19th centuries can be persuasively compared to the writings of Renaissance occultists with a great many commonalties being obvious. But there is also one huge difference—the earlier writers on esoteric subjects didn't ever include Tarot in their discussions—not one mention of the "Absolute Key to the Occult Sciences", and early writers on Tarot never mentioned any occult associations. Just as the earliest actual references to El Tablero de Jesus date from the 1970s, the earliest actual references to occult Tarot date from the 1780s, and the earliest evidence of divination with Tarot is only a few decades older.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Daniel U. Thibault (selinur@io.com)
Subject: Stump the Net: Toblaro > A customer came in yesterday and requested the bame Toblaro. Do you
> have any information? It is an ancient Scottish Drinking game
> using a 7 square board with 14 shot glasses, seven on each side. It
> may another name or spelt differently than my information. From the components, I'm sure this is Tablero de Jesus. Originally a gambling game, turning this into a drinking game is very straightforward: one just replaces the coins with shot glasses. Description follows: This game is played with two dice, a seven by seven checkerboard and a fifteen coin stake supplied by each player. It was very popular in Spain and in the Spanish possessions in the Low Countries during the first half of the XVth century. It was banned by the Pope in 1458, the ban enduring until the early XXth century! SET UP Each player rolls a die. Reroll ties. The low roller places five coins on either of rows 1 or 7, no more than one per column. The high roller places two coins likewise. The low roller plays first. A game of Tablero de Jesus in progress +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| X | | | | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | X | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | X | X | X | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | X |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | X | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
GAME PLAY Having thrown the dice, the player loses them to his opponent on a throw of 7, 11 or 12. On any other throw, he must move two coins, one per die -- the same coin may not be moved twice. Each coin moves within the same column, never diagonally or across. The player moves each coin either away from or towards his side, by the number of rows indicated by the dice. A coin may not be moved back and forth on one die. If the player is unable to use both dice, he moves neither coin and loses the dice to his opponent. After having moved the coins, if there are two or more lined up in a contiguous row (other than rows 1 or 7), the player may take them from the board. In that case, his opponent replenishes the vacated columns from his own stake and then takes the dice. If the opponent has an insufficient stake, the game is over. When receiving the dice, they must be thrown at least once. If a row of seven coins is created, the moving player may announce a "run". The opponent must then stake two coins on the run. The running player throws the dice. On a 7, 11 or 12, he loses the run and his opponent collects all nine coins. Otherwise, the running player collects the two coin stake and has the option of keeping on running. This keeps on until the runner stumbles, the opponent is unable to stake two coins, or the running player decides to take the seven coins. WINNER The winner is the player with the most coins when the game is over. TURNING TABLERO INTO TOBLARO The coins are replaced with shotglasses, or more exactly their contents. When coins are "captured", the winner simply gets to drink their contents, the loser refilling them from his bottle. The Game Cabinet - editor@gamecabinet.com - Ken Tidwell
-----------------------------
Sun Moon and Stars (Based on Tablero de Jesus) Background "Tablero de Jesus" was very popular in Spain and in the Spanish possessions in the Low Countries during the first half of the fifteenth century. It was banned by the Pope in 1458, which ban apparently stayed in force until the early twentieth century! credits and thanks Game Description and Objective This game is played with two dice, a seven by seven board and a fifteen coin stake supplied by each player. The players place a stake on the board, according to a die roll. Each player in turn then moves the coins up and down the columns, attempting to make lines. A player who makes a line wins those coins and the columns are replenished by the other player. The game ends when one player is unable to stake the required number of coins. The other player takes all the coins on the board at that point. You can use a chess or draughts board to play the game, and the original boards seem to have been lines scored on wood or stone, similar to the recent find on Orkney. But, for anyone who wants, I've posted a board in the style of expensive contemporary artwork. Those of us with vivid imaginations can pretend we're playing a high stakes game, sitting on chaise-longues and with our every whim attended by serving-staff whose only aim is our particular comfort. Or, hack some lines into a piece of wood and play in the back of the pub.
Set Up To decide who starts, each player rolls a die. In the case of a tie, both dice are re-rolled. The player who rolled the lowest starts by placing five coins on five of the 'suns', no more than one coin per column. The person who rolled the highest then places two coins on the 'moons' in the remaining columns. The low roller has the first 'turn'. Game Play The player whose turn it is begins by throwing two dice. A turn may consist of several throws, and ends when any of the following occur: the player rolls seven, eleven or twelve;
the player is unable to move two coins;
the player makes a line and wins several coins;
the player elects to pass When receiving the dice, you must throw them at least once. To continue playing after throwing the dice, you must move two coins, one per die. The coins move only within the columns, not across them, and each coin must move the full value shown on the face of that die. The same coin may not be moved twice, and the coins must each travel the full distance shown on the die, in one direction only, not backwards and forwards. If it is not possible to move two coins in this way, the player may not move any coins and the dice pass to the opponent. After having moved the coins, if there are two or more lined up in a contiguous row of stars (spaces, other than the end rows, if you're not playing on my board), you can take them from the board. In that case, your opponent replenishes the vacated columns from their own stake and then takes the dice. If the opponent has an insufficient stake, the game is over. These are our house rules with respect to leaving lines on the board. They didn't appear in the original description but they give some spice to the decision-making process, so I suspect they're close to the real thing. If you elect to leave a row, you must either break it and re-form it, or add another coin to it, in order to take it at a later stage. So, if on the next throw you can't add to it, you still can't take it. If you make another row you can take that, but not the original one. If your opponent gets the dice, the same rules apply: the row must be broken and re-formed, or added to in order to be taken. The Run If a row of seven coins is created, the moving player may announce a "run". The opponent must then stake two coins on the run: if the player cannot do this, the game ends. The running player throws the dice. On a seven, eleven or twelve the running player loses and the opponent collects all nine coins. (That's the original rule. We play that you lose on seven or eleven, which doesn't give an advantage and means that the decision should be taken based purely on how many coins each player has left.) Otherwise, the running player collects the two coin stake and may keep on "running". This keeps on until the runner stumbles, the opponent is unable to stake two coins, or the running player elects to take the seven coins. I'm indebted to gamecabinet.com for the original description of the game. I hope I've treated the material kindly and added something. I found the gamecabinet site linked at Rules to Period Games. Both sites are fascinating. I notice that the web comes full circle again, since these people are either games who dance or dancers who game. Thanks to everyone concerned.
---
Tablero de Jesus Board Please feel free to download the board and print it for personal use. (The rules are here.) It's 1200ish wide but the gif is about as small as I can get it. If you give it to friends, then I'm flattered (a credit is always welcome). I find boards and cards work well if you print on a colour inkjet, use artists' spray mount medium to attach to a board or to cardboard, and then for boards, cover with that sticky-backed plastic. 'Course, by then it's cost as much as buying a cheap game from a hobby-shop, but that's not the point, is it? However, the artwork remains © copyright Andy Anderson, 1996 and 1997. For commercial use in print or for re-posting elsewhere on the net, please contact me. I'll probably give permission, particularly if we can come to some arrangement about a donation to one of my charities. For one thing, you'll notice that this image is optimised for eight-bit browsers. If you're nice to me, I'll mail you the other one.
http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/avenue/pd49/pockets/games.htm
posted by raiva at 3:31 PM
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