General Information

Designers and craftsmen have created a magnificent chess set which epitomises the struggles for domination between Christians and Muslims. This conflict has continued intermittently for over a thousand years but it is the period between 1095 and 1292 which has captured our imagination because of the exploits of the crusader Knights. Stories of heroes of the crusades abound in all cultures.

These pieces represent the Christian side led by King Richard I of England, known as Richard the Lionheart, in combat with the Muslim armies led by Saladin.

The Story Behind The Crusades Chess Set

The chess set concentrates particularly on the Third great Crusade led by King Richard I of England, who in 1189 joined King Philip II of France in an effort to recapture the holy city of Jerusalem. King Richard, with 8000 troops, seized Cyprus and some cities on the Palestinian coast, but ultimately failed to dislodge the Muslim leader Saladin from Jerusalem.

It was not only religious fervour that caused these bitter conflicts, many of the Christian armies were raised by leading European monarchs who were searching for land, riches and power. Likewise, the Muslims were seeking to extend their sphere of influence and continually attacked Christian strongholds in the Mediterranean.

Both sides relied heavily on mercenary soldiers. European knights from England, France, Spain and Germany were all employed against the Muslims and Richard I was also supported in the Third Crusade by specialist Italian crossbow men.

The Muslim army contained Saracens, Seljuk, Mameluks, Arabs, Berbers, Turks, Kurds and Egyptians. The army was well equipped and had a vast number of camels, which enabled them to cover long distances very quickly.

The prize, the city of Jerusalem, was fought over continuously by both sides, changing ownership many times. There was slaughter and suffering in abundance until in 1921, the last Christian foothold in the Holy Land was relinquished and fell into Muslim hands.

The crusades period came to an end when Christian Europe in the 14th Century was devastated by plague, famine and internal strife. The Hundred Years War between England and France flared up and Europe essentially became too weak and distracted by its own affairs to enter into further combat with the Muslims. The Muslims, meanwhile, had serious problems on their eastern front and were continually overwhelmed by Mongol hordes.

The high cost of Crusading financially crippled many European states, but a few prospered, particularly the cities of Venice and Genoa, where many ships were provisioned for their voyages to the Holy Land. However, contact with the Arabic world bought many benefits to Europe. Fabrics such as cotton, mohair, taffeta and gauze, foods such as sherbet, syrup, coffee, artichokes, aubergines, oranges, lemons and spinach all resulted from these contacts.

Stories of heroes of the Crusades abound in all cultures. We invite you to create your own heroes and villains from within the characters of our chess set.

The Pieces

Christian King

Richard I of England
Also known as Richard the Lionheart, Richard Coeur de Lion, born 1157 died 1199. Richard spent less than one year of his reign in the country, the rest in the Crusades and defending his French provinces in Anjou and Normandy. He fought many battles in the Holy Land against Saladin and his Muslim army. On his way home to England, he was captured by Leopold of Austria and only released after a very large ransom, raised by taxation, was paid

Christian Queen

Berengaria of Navarre
Wife of Richard I and Queen of England. Richard’s long absences abroad made her life a solitary and pious one and she is dressed here with only a little of the regal finery of a Queen.

Christian Bishop

Christian Bishop
Typical of the Mediaeval period.

Christian Knight

Teutonic Knight
There were many Christian Knights who fought in the various Crusades, although sometimes the differing group of Knights would fight amongst themselves causing disunity. The Knights of the Temple, The Knights of the Order of St John of Jerusalem and the Teutonic Knights were all famous orders, whose original purpose was to protect pilgrims on their travels to and from the Holy Land.

Christian Rook Rook

The design is based on a tower from the famous Krak de Chevaliers, a large castle in the hands of the Christian Knights of St John until it was captured by the Muslims in 1272. The population of such a garrison could number about 2000, equivalent to a major European town at that time.

Christian Pawn

Crossbow Archer
probably Italian, used by Richard I in the Third Crusade. Lightly clad and un-armoured, he wears a padded gambeson or tunic for protection.

Muslim King

Saladin
Saladin, as he was known to his Christian enemies, or more correctly Salah Ed-Din, born 1138 died 1193, was the greatest Muslim general and leader of the Crusade period. He and his armies put an end to Christian supremacy in the Holy Land. He was of Armenian Kurdish origin and rose to the rank of Vizier before becoming the first Ayubid sultan of Egypt. He reunited several groups of dissident Muslim sects and then set about the recapture of Syria and most of Palestine from the Christians. A generous man, even the Christians admired him for his considerate treatment of prisoners and his encouragement of East-West trade.

Muslim Queen

Wealthy Islamic Woman
A typical wealthy Islamic woman, clothed in silk and gold braid, but very little ostentatious jewellery.

Muslim Bishop

Imam
Islamic Spiritual leader, typical of the period. There were many different sects of Muslims, some more militant than the others

Muslim Knight

Mameluk Cavalry
Most of the Muslim soldiers were accompanied on campaigns by a large camel caravan, these animals being well suited to the hot desert conditions. However, for fighting purposes, horses were used.

Muslim Rook

Saladin occupied several castles during his campaigns, but his own castle at Qalaat al Jindi had gates decorated with the sword and shield motif reproduced on our castle chess piece.

Muslim Pawn

Islamic Archer
Probably from the Damascus area of Syria, which is famous for its bowmen.