Beautifully crafted in Italy. Painstakingly hand painted. 3.25 inch king. Exquisite detail Ideal for a 16 inch board. Defined by either red and orange or blue and purple, these pieces are not based on any particular character in history but they do have a King Arthur look about them. The Kings, draped in luxurious cloaks, are tall, imposing royals, each adorned an ornate crown and large sword. Their queens are beautiful and elegantly dressed. Looking a bit like Merlin, the bishop has a hooded cloak and a long white beard, whilst a ferocious looking dragon represents the knight. A cliff top castle makes an excellent rook and the pawns are smart looking chain mailed soldiers with shield and sword at the ready. We have matched these lovely chess men with a beautiful Spanish board to give you The Medieval Themed Chess Set but with or without the board, this would make a superb gift. THE HISTORY The Medieval period (or the Middle Ages) lasted from the 5th to the 15th century following the fall of the Western Roman Empire and developed into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional sections of Western history: classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period, itself, is subdivided into the Early, High and Late Middle Ages. This era saw manorialism, the arrangement of peasants in villages that owed rent and labour services to nobles and feudalism, whereby knights and lower nobility owed military service to their Lords in return for the right to rent from the lands.