Literary Sources
This page contains a list of contemporary literary sources. It
does not include works of modern times, even those that shed light upon
the game, such as the excellent books by H. J. R. Murray and D. Parlett
(see the bibliography for those).
Tawlbwrdd in the 16th Century
Reproduction of tawlbwrdd illustration
While chess and draughts had displaced tafl in most other places,
in 1587 Robert ap Ifan wrote a description of a game called tawlbwrdd,
which was still played in Wales at that time. He also drew the empty
board. The description of the game tells us how many pieces were
in the game, and gives a vague idea of where they started. It neglects
to say how they move, and the conditions of victory are unclear, but the
document does describe capture and supplies enough detail for us to
recognise this as a variant of hnefatafl.
Linnaeus Observes Tablut
Diagram of the tablut board by Linnaeus
The last historical instance of tafl was recorded by Linnaeus in
1732, while he was on a tour of Lapland. He left us a set of rules for a
game called tablut, which depicted a Swedish king fighting off a horde
of Muscovites, and also left drawings of the board and pieces. The
rules are are lacking only a few particulars.
It is from these
rules that most of our knowledge of tafl comes, and when variants are
reconstructed for which little evidence survives, rules are often
borrowed from Linnaeus's account to fill in the gaps.
Ancient Laws of Wales
Laws originally formulated by Hywel Dda contained references to
hnefatafl under its Welsh name of tawlbwrdd. This document provides a
valuation of the forces on the king's tawlbort. Enough information is
given that calculations show a king and eight men against sixteen. The
extant laws date from about 1250.
Bown a Hamtwn
This Welsh translation of an English romance contains a reference to tawlbwrdd.
Corpus Christi College MS. 122
Facsimile of the diagram from the Corpus Christi manuscript.
A manuscript kept at the library of Corpus Christi College,
Cambridge, contains a diagram showing the initial layout of a tenth
century game, and the accompanying text is an allegory relating the
board set-up to the gospels. Nothing is said of the rules of play apart
from a cryptic list of seven things one needs to know in order to master
it.
Dimetian Code
R. C. Bell quotes this as giving a list of values for boards of
different materials. The value of the king's board coincides in value
with the forces described in detail, so it is unclear whether these
values are for the boards or the pieces.
Fornaldur Sogur
According to Murray, an Icelandic saga which in one place
describes how, during a raid on Northumbria, Hvitserkr and Sugurd were
playing hnefatafl when a messenger from king Aella arrived.
Fridthjof's Saga
One passage in this Icelandic saga focuses on a game between
Fridthjof and Bjorn. Hilding arrives during the game, asking for
Fridthjof's help in a raid against king Hring. Fridthjof does not answer
him directly, but exchanges comments with Bjorn about the game. These
comments are interpreted by Hilding as replies to his questions.
Greenland Lay of Atli
H. J. R. Murray quotes the words "the hnefi is often beaten when
the hunns are taken", but Sten Helmfrid says the original is not "hunns"
but "qvistir", and doubts that the passage refers to hnefatafl at all.
However, the following exerpt and translation suggest hnefatafl is
being used as an analogy:
Atlamál in Grœnlenzko (The Greenland Lay
of Atli), stanza 70, complete: Kostom drepr kvenna/ karla ofríki --/ í
kné gengr hnefi,/ ef kvistir þverra;/ tré tekr at hníga,/ ef høggr tág
undan./ Nú máttu einn, Atli,/ ollo hér ráða. Translation: Women's choice
is killed/ by the greater power of men --/ the king-piece surrenders/
if the ranks are thinned;/ a tree begins to fall/ if the root is cut
from under it./ Now you alone, Atli,/ are sole master here. (U. Dronke)
Gretti's Saga
One scene describes an argument between Thorbjorn and his
stepmother, in which a game piece is run through Thorbjorn's cheek. The
phrase "he was playing hnefatafl, it was a large halatafl" suggests that
a halatafl was a type of gaming board on which hnefatafl was played.
Herverar Saga
The Herverar saga contains a couple of riddles that refer to
hnefatafl, one of which refers to the pieces as maids fighting around
their lord, the brown sheltering him and the fair attacking him. The
other, more cryptic one, refers to the hnefi as chasing the flocks, and
having eight horns but no head.
Kroka-Refs Saga
An elaborate gaming board is described in this saga, on one side
containing a chess board and another containing a hnefatafl board. It
was sent from Greenland to King Harald Hadrada.
Raven Song
This contains a single sentence probably of relevance to
hnefatafl: "They are well cared for, the warriors who move the hunns in
Harald's court."
The Lay of Rig
This Eddic poem, about the god Rig's wanderings, mentions the Jarl's children learning to swim and play tafl, in verse 41.
"Tafl Emk Orr at Efla"
In an untitled poem, Earl Rognvald of Orkney enumerates his talents, one of which is that he is "strong at tafl-play"
Volospa
The Volospa tells of the beginning and end of the world. It tells
how the gods played tafl when the world was young. Later, after
Ragnarok, the Anses find the gods' golden taeflor in the grass.
L'Estoire des Engles
Geoffrey Gaimar's L'Estoire des Engles contains an early
substitution of chess for hnefatafl in literature. Written in the
twelfth century, it contains the passage "Orgar iuout a vn esches, Vn
giu kil aprist des Daneis", or in English, "Ordgar was playing at chess,
A game which he learnt from the Danes".
Chess reached Scandinavia
later than it reached England, so it is more likely that Ordgar had
learnt hnefatafl from the Danes. Chess arrived in England in the
eleventh century, so it would have been well known to Gaimar. In this
extract he has done something we are used to seeing from many later
scholars: substituting the familiar chess in place of the unfamiliar
hnefatafl.
Abair riom a Eire ogh
An Irish poem attributed to Maoil Eoin Mac Raith throws much light on the game of brandub, as shown by the translated extract:
"The
centre of the plain of Fal is Tara's castle, delightful hill; out in
the exact centre of the plain, like a mark on a parti-coloured brannumh
board. Advance thither, it will be a profitable step: leap up on that
square, which is fitting for the branan, the board is fittingly thine. I
would draw thy attention, o white of tooth, to the noble squares proper
for the branan (Tara, Cashel, Croghan, Naas, Oileach), let them be
occupied by thee. A golden branan with his band art thou with thy four
provincials; thou, O king of Bregia, on yonder square and a man on each
side of thee."
The Colloquy of the Ancients
In Gaelic, "Acallam na Senorach", a collection of stories about
the Irish Heroic Age, brandub is briefly mentioned and implied to be an
asymmetric game: "My famed brandub is in the mountain above Leitir
Bhroin, five voiceless men of white silver and eight of red gold."
Notice in the poem 'Abair riom a Eire ogh' that it suggests all
the squares, not necessarily one - 'let THEM be occupied by you',
possibly alluding to a home-run style of play. the 3 'cities' are the
inauguration sites of the Celtic kings, the central area is the area of
sacred kingship, the mythic high-king. Why is the four areas of the
board so emphasized in the Irish Bran-dubh and the Christian veneered
Alea with the four gospels (Tetramorph), and what role/influence did
Fiodh-cheall play if any, it seems to have being played on the same
board but with even numbers.
The home-run is an interesting theory. The main problem I can see
is from a game-play point of view: the quest of the king would be
well-near impossible unless the attackers' abilities were seriously
reduced.
Maybe this is Buanbach/bac played on the Bran-dubh (Brannuimh)board
and is a variation. A suggestion is that it was played similar to
Ashtāpada or historical Chaturanga which was played on the Ashtāpada
board, similar to the smaller Brandubh board. The game represented the
forces of light and darkness in a Christian context, Brandubh itself may
be named for the mythical king Brandubh MacEchtach ('black raven') in a
battle against Áed MacAinmuirech (Aodh, fire-light), symbolically the
forces of light and darkness in pre-Christian times. interestingly
Buan-bach means 'sustained/lasting blocks/handicap/hindrance' or
'impeded/prevented-victory'. This is just a guess and suggestion, but
the rules are unknown.
An over-looked point, Irish Brandubh is played on the line, like
xiang qi, and generally not on the square like the other games. A
possible Tafl descendant is a German Medieval game known as Gala, played
with chess pieces on a Tafl board, the rules are reversed - the king/s
must go into the center and start in the four corners. The king cannot
capture on the 'meridian' lines until he leaves them, could this have
being taken from movements in Tafl?
Yes, brandub and the Scottish 7x7 games were generally played on
points or lines, though "Abair riom a Eire ogh" mentions squares, if the
translation is precise. I used to make boards resembling the
Downpatrick pattern, and use squares now only for aesthetic reasons.
I'm
not sure of any connection between gala and hnefatafl, though it's a
while since I looked at the rules for gala. I do know that some have
doubted the authenticity of gala, but the chances of its taking rules
from hnefatafl wouldn't be reduced by its being a modern game.
That is true about the squares, many feel here that
Fiodh-cheall/Fithcheall was played on the same board, a game descended
from Ludus latrunculorum, if true then Brandubh may have borrowed its
line-play from pre-existing Fiodhcheall. Line play is uncommon outside
Ireland/Scotland, Alea also shows the Irish preference for line-play.
Hence if Fiodhcheall had 8x8 lines, the same pieces could be put
directly onto the squares to make Brandubh, or played on the lines for
Fiodhcheall. This could be why the board mentioned is played on the
square rather than on the line.
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