The Woman Who Used Chess To Advance The Power of Women

Chess is now seen today as a game that you play either casually or competitively. But in early modern Europe, chess was seen as something beyond just a game. In her journal article published at JSTOR, historian Susan Broomhall writes that the game “provided important political training about statecraft, social hierarchies, and warfare.” Women with political ambition, such as Anne of Brittany and Margaret of Austria, saw chess as an activity where they could show their political abilities. Along with the figures mentioned before is Catherine de Medici’, an Italian noblewoman who became the queen consort of France decades after Anne. Not only did she use chess and other recreational activities to prove her abilities; she also used it to elevate the status of women.

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Now that’s a strong woman.

(Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Source: neatorama

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