Lewis chessmen

The Lewis Chessmen (English Lewis Chessmen ) are a set of 78 chess pieces, which were in 1831 on the Scottish Isle of Lewis, the largest island of the Outer Hebrides, discovered. They were probably made in Norway and are considered the best preserved medieval tiles. They are also an excellent testimony of Romanesque ivory carvings.

Origins

The Lewis Chessmen were manufactured in the Romanesque style from the ivory of walrus and whale teeth. Until today received a total of 78 figures, which belonged to four character sets, two of which are complete. A total of 8 kings, 8 queens, 16 bishops ( Alfil / runner ), 15 Springer, 12 towers and 19 farmers were found. With the exception of farmers, similar to the landmarks, all game characters possess human traits. The kings and queens sit on thrones, the knight on horses. Clothing and weapons are shown in detail, the bishops are equipped with a crosier and a Bible. Some of the towers are shown as Berserk, the bite with a wild look in their shields. Most game characters look at the game with a rather bewildered expression. The largest pieces are the bishops who are up to 10.2 cm high. Since some of the figures were originally painted red, the chessboard may have been divided into white and red boxes; a distinction in White and Black at that time was apparently not common.

Discovery and exhibition of chess pieces

The discovery history is unclear, with their several legends and rumors are connected. The circumstances in which the characters came to the Isle of Lewis, are unknown. In the 12th and 13th centuries included the Outer Hebrides, at the northern end of the Lewis is, to the Norwegian kingdom. It is believed that the chessmen were hidden at this time on the Isle of Lewis by a Norwegian merchant.

The Lewis chessmen were first presented on 11 April 1831, when they were exhibited at a meeting of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. There are no contemporary sources about the exact time of the discovery, but the figures were reportedly found in a small brick chamber in a sand bank in the Bay of Uig on the west coast of Lewis. Together with the chess pieces 14 Tabula tokens and a belt buckle were found.

The collection of chess pieces was divided soon after the first exhibition. Ten characters were bought by the painter Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, 67 figures were acquired by the British Museum, where they are still exhibited, for 84 British pounds. Sharpe later found yet another figure and sold all eleven of chess figures on the collectors Lord Londesborough. In 1888 they were acquired by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, which were distributed to the Royal Museum in Edinburgh ( now the National Museum of Scotland).

From an archaeological point of view, the Lewis Chessmen are considered the best-preserved testimonies Nordic settlements in Scotland. In particular, the collection of the British Museum led to the high popularity of the figures. They are considered the most famous medieval characters and are available in different replicas. In the movie Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone one of the chess pieces is modeled after the Red Queen from the Lewis collection. Also listed in the 2002 TV movie The Gambler a Lewis figures replicated chess plays an important role.

A number of bishops in the background and a set of jumpers in the foreground

A resin replica of the Kings

Lewis Chessmen ( Museum of Scotland )

In the years 2010 and 2011 the figures were added together with other exhibits from the period in several museums in Scotland ( Aberdeen, Lerwick in Shetland and Stornoway on Lewis) under the title: The Lewis Chessmen Unmasked issued.