Marellus (Mill Game)

The Mill Game is part of a group of board games intending to place three pieces in a row in the same line. It dates back to Ancient Greece Ancient Greece and Phoenician merchants, the latter credited with its spread throughout the Mediterranean area. During the Middle Ages, the game was practiced, possibly, due to the influence of the Muslims established in the Iberian Peninsula. It was played by monks in the cathedrals in the United Kingdom, such as Norwich, Canterbury, Gloucester, Salisbury, and Westminster, as well as in churches, such as the Church of Santa Maria do Olival in Guimarães, and the Cathedral of Lisbon, where engraved boards have been discovered in the cloisters. This game also goes by many other names, such as Mill or Morris in the UK, Mérelles in France, Morels in Spain, Mühle in Germany, and Molle in Norway. The Mill Game is said to have influenced today’s three-in-a-row games, of which the popular Rooster Game is a subsequent.

• Goal: Place three pieces in a row, “three in a row” – Mill. Reduce most pieces to the opponent to less than three. The player who captures the highest number of pieces wins.
• No. of participants: 2 players
• No. of pieces: 18, 9 for each player.

Symbology of the pieces

Triumphal Crown – the triumphal or laurel crown is a symbol of victory and triumph, made with two branches of laurel leaves. The custom seems to come from Ancient Greece, where triumphal crowns were given to Olympic winners but also to the most celebrated poets. In Rome, during both the Republic and the Empire, victorious commanding generals and even Emperors entered the Eternal City in triumphal parades along the Via Sacra and toward the temple of Jupiter Capitolineus, wearing their showy crowns. During the parade, a slave would lift the wreath above the head of the honouree and repeat the expression memento mori, thus reminding him that glory is fleeting and fading. Sometimes, to the two laurel wreaths was added a third, in gold, sent by the provinces and whenever the triumph was recognized by decree of the Senate. When a commander won a campaign he would also inform the Senate by sending a scroll wrapped in gold leaf.

The origins of this tradition lie in Greek mythology, specifically in the myth of Daphne. According to this myth, Apollo, god of the Sun, music, poetry, male beauty, and other attributes, would have fallen in love with the beautiful nymph Daphne who, nevertheless, did not have the same feelings for Apollo. Thus, to escape his seduction attempts, Daphne decided to flee to the forest hills where she met her father, the river god Peneus, who decided to turn her into a laurel tree. Despite this setback, Apollo’s passion did not wane, and made the laurel his tree, dedicating songs and poems to it. The Pythoness of Delphi, famous for her prophecies inspired by Apollo, chewed laurel leaves before her divinations and is often presented with laurel branches in one hand.

Glaive – from the Latin gladius, was a term commonly used to designate any kind of sword. Although it was mainly used for stockpiling or piercing, it also had a high cutting potential and could thus be considered a complete sword.

Glades used by the Roman legions resulted from previous Hispanic models that soldiers in the service of Rome had known in the Iberian Peninsula during the Punic Wars, where mercenaries hired by Carthage used them.

Over time it was reduced in size, becoming more common the so-called ‘model of Pompeii’ since in that city the first examples have been identified, recovered in the debris and ashes of the tragic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A. D.

The size reduction was probably to increase their efficiency in tighter hand-to-hand combat, an aspect to which the shield would also contribute; the small dimensions would allow them to more easily attack and bypass the opponent’s armor, being also very effective against less effective armor, which was the norm at the time.

The largest glads were 75 to 85 cm long, and the shortest was no more than 60-65 cm. The heaviest ones would be about one kilogram, although they were generally a little lighter, between 800 and 900 grams.

Shield – the shield (scutum) was used by the Roman infantry from the established date for the foundation of the Republic (753 BC) until the fall of the so-called Western Roman Empire (476 AD). It would be a perfect match for the Pompeii model Gladius, one of the other pieces in this first edition of board games from Quinta da Raza; together, they would have played a fundamental role in the numerous victories of the Roman legions.

The first shields were oval and small, made of wood and leather. Rome’s military successes, still during the time of the Republic, are believed to have led, around the 3rd century BC , to the development of other shapes, such as the rectangular one, similar to the one in the game. This model assumed a more elaborate production, comprising three layers of wood arranged in a convex shape, covered with a strip of leather and calfskin; at the edges, a metal rim provided greater protection against enemy swords and darts. Its approximate dimensions would be 1.20 meters in length by 0.80 meters in width, weighing between 7 to 8 kilograms.

In addition to their functional side, the shields also held strong symbolic significance. The front part was often decorated with signs and/or marks alluding to the unit to which the soldier belonged. It also contained symbols of Roman imperial power, fantastic and mythological images, or battle scenes that could impress and intimidate adversaries.

Among the most famous military maneuvers where shields were used was the famous ‘tortoise’ formation (popularized in literature and cinema), which consisted of a defensive organization in which a group of soldiers, all together, covered themselves with their shields, thus defending themselves from enemy arrows and projectiles.