Spiel(tisch)decke? - 16th century table tapestry of unknown purpose
Richter, Jonas
Dear all,
a colleague asked me for any ideas or insights concerning a potential gaming object from the early 16th century. She also took up my offer to put this question on this mailing list.
The object in question is a table tapestry of Heinrich/Henry V., Duke of Mecklenburg (= a part of Northern Germany). This piece, dating to 1523, is referred to as „Spieltischdecke“ or „Spieldecke“ (gaming tablecloth) in the sparse literature. Today it is located in Castle Güstrow, historically it is from Schwerin. Its size is 195cm x 178 cm.
The b/w image attached to this email is from Heinrich Göbel, Wandteppiche III,2 (1934), fig. 102a:
https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/goebel1934bd3_2/0459
Göbel’s short description on p. 129 (not touching on the topic of games):
https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/goebel1934bd3_2/0143/
The inventory from 1552 mentioned by Göbel presumably still exists, but cannot currently be accessed, unfortunately, as the Landeshauptarchiv Schwerin is moving. It is not clear when the archivalia will be accessible again at their new address. At the moment we don’t know how the tablecloth is listed in this inventory, and whether the connection to games is already documented in the 16th century, or whether this is a new interpretation. The identification as Spiel(tisch)decke has been in use since the early 20th century, without explanation. 20 years ago an exhibition catalog even claimed this tapestry is showing the design for trictrac.
The table tapestry shows the letters HHZM (Herzog Heinrich zu Mecklenburg) and the date 1523 around a coat of arms in the center. Both to the left and right is a group of nine letters and lines, with a letter in front of each line. These groups of letters and lines are oriented to the sides (rotated 90° compared to the central part with the coat of arms). The corners and borders of the tapestry show decorative patterns.
Based on the attached photograph the nine letters appear to be
X M C x m x ß w d on the one side, and
X M C x m x p w d on the other. Upper and lower case are an approximation and not necessarily correct.
Lines marked M – C – X are typical as a tool for calculating, but the repetition of the letters and the lack of columns seem strange. So maybe it is
However, I’m also not aware of any game that uses such a setup. I’m wondering whether it might be a staking board on which players place coins, similar to Poch and Turmspiel. But having two almost identical staking boards on opposing sides of the table feels unpractical.
The design of the table tapestry seems to imply a shared activity for two (?) persons on opposing sides of the table, with markings for placing objects (coins, pieces). This could be a game, but also something entirely else.
Any ideas?
All the best
Jonas
Wim van Mourik
Hi Jonas,
The lines look like an abacus ?
Wim van Mourik
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Richter, Jonas
Hi Wim,
you're right, that's what my line about a "tool for calculating" is aiming at. The terminology (at least in German, but apparently also in English) is more complex. What you probably mean by "abacus" is called a counting board (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counting_board).
I'm not deeply familiar with the history of calculating/maths. The numbering on the tapestry seems odd, to say the least. The counting board hypothesis is definitely on the table (pardon the pun), but it does need extra explanation, doesn't it? Why does
the layout lack one or two vertical lines for columns, such as Adam Ries promoted in his books (AFAIK)? Why would you have lines in this order?
X (10)
M (1000)
C (100)
x (10)
m (1000)
x (10)
As for the last three lines (p/ß, w, d), my colleague and I wondered whether they might indicate types of coins like "penning"/"schilling"; Weißpfennig (but this was primarily in use along the Rhine), denarii... But I would assume that a counting board doesn't have separate lines for coin types next to the numeral lines.
Next to the two hypotheses mentioned (counting board and staking board for games) we could also consider a scoring board. But in my understanding all three hypotheses cannot easily explain the specific layout of the tapestry.
Yours
Jonas
Gesendet: Montag, 14. September 2026 10:38
An: bgs4...@googlegroups.com
Betreff: RE: Spiel(tisch)decke? - 16th century table tapestry of unknown purpose
Richter, Jonas
Looking further, I've come across possible explanations for at least some of the lines. The entry for "Rechentisch" (counting table) in the Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/013753/2012-01-12/) shows a counting board layout that doubles both the X and C above the M - C - X, which probably allowed calculating the ten thousands and hundred thousands.
The lower part might have been for grains and/or coin denominations:
m = Mütt?
ß = Schilling
d = Pfennige/denarii
That still leaves some questions, but it strengthens the hypothesis that the tapestry was used for calculating. There's even a (historical?) table with two sets of lines on opposing sides: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Strassburg_Frauenhaus-Museum_Rechentisch_Brunswyk_(2014).JPG
Jonas
Gesendet: Montag, 14. September 2026 11:28
An: bgs4...@googlegroups.com
Betreff: AW: Spiel(tisch)decke? - 16th century table tapestry of unknown purpose
Myron Samsin
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Malcolm J Watkins
It looks like a form of reckoning cloth to me. They were used for doing calculations in Roman numerals, and gave the name Exchequer to where the English Kings' money was counted. I demonstrate the technique from time to time.
Malcolm
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Malcolm J Watkins
Sorry. Hadn't seen this.
Malcolm
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Wim van Mourik
I found this image without further information
Maybe interesting because of the figures at the left
Wim
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Thierry Depaulis
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<Typus-Arithmeticae.jpg>
Malcolm J Watkins
Yes. Thanks. That represents the conflict between the two forms of arithmetic and features in my talk on calculating techniques in the early modern period.
Malcolm
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Richter, Jonas
Dear all,
thank you for your help!
Yesterday I read an excellent article by Schärlig (translated into German) about the calculating board/table from Bremgarten:
Along with other, less informative articles by other authors, it helped convince me that the Schwerin tapestry is designed for calculating, as Thierry confirms. I can't figure out the meaning of every single letter, but the overall purpose is clear.
I'll pass the info on to my colleague. Thanks again for all your help!
All the best
Jonas