 The Lewis chessmen top: king, queen, bishop middle: knight, rook, pawn bottom: closeup of queen The Lewis chessmen belong to one of the few complete medieval chess sets that have survived until today. Download high resolution version (344x800, 80 KB)Photographs of real-size resin reproductions of the Lewis chessmen. ...
Download high resolution version (344x800, 80 KB)Photographs of real-size resin reproductions of the Lewis chessmen. ...
The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ...
A chess table is a table with a chessboard painted or engraved on it. ...
The chessmen are believed to have been made in Norway, perhaps by craftsmen in Trondheim, sometime during the 12th century. During that period the Hebrides, along with other major groups of Scottish islands, were ruled by Norway. Some historians believe that the Lewis chessmen were hidden (or lost) after some mishap occurred during their transportation from Norway to wealthy Norse settlements on the east coast of Ireland. County Sør-Trøndelag Landscape Municipality NO-1601 Administrative centre Trondheim Mayor (2005) Rita Ottervik (A) Official language form Neutral Area - Total - Land - Percentage Ranked 258 342 km² 322 km² 0. ...
(11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ...
The Hebrides comprise a wide-spread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland, and in geological terms are composed of the oldest rocks in the British Isles and Ireland. ...
Almost all of the pieces in the collection are carved from walrus ivory, with a few made instead from whale teeth. The cache consists of 8 Kings, 8 Queens, 16 Bishops, 15 Knights, 12 Rooks, and 19 Pawns. All the pieces are sculptures of human figures, except the pawns (which are smaller, simple sculptures resembling carved gravestones). The knights are shown mounted (on rather diminutive horses) holding spears and shields, and all of the human figures have decidedly glum expressions (other than one rook, which is shown as a berserker, wild-eyed and biting his shield with battle fury). Binomial name Odobenus rosmarus (Linnaeus, 1758) Subspecies Walruses are large semi-aquatic mammals that live in the cold Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. ...
Ivory is a hard, white, opaque substance that is the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals such as the elephant, hippopotamus, walrus, mammoth, etc. ...
Whales are the largest species of exclusively aquatic placental mammals, members of the order Cetacea, which also includes dolphins and porpoises. ...
Types of teeth Molars are used for grinding up foods Carnassials are used for slicing food. ...
Berserkers (or Berserks) were Norse warriors who had sworn allegiance to the sky god Odin and worked themselves into a frenzy before a battle. ...
The chessmen were discovered in 1831 in a sand bank at the head of the Bay of Uig on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis, one of the Outer Hebrides. No contemporary account describing their discovery exists, but it is reported that they were found in a small chamber of dry-built stone about 15 feet below the top of the sand bank. 1831 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...
Uig is a bay backed machair and hills on the western coast of the island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. ...
Looking towards the mountains at the centre of the Island of Lewis Lewis (Scottish Gaelic: Leòdhas) is the northern part of the main island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. ...
The Outer Hebrides or Western Isles (officially known by their Gaelic name, Na h-Eileanan Siar) comprise an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. ...
They were exhibited by Roderick Ririe at a meeting of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, on April 11, 1831. The chessmen were soon after split up, with 10 being purchased by Kirkpatrick Sharpe and the others (67 chessmen and 14 tablemen) were purchased on behalf of the British Museum. The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is an archaeological learned society formed for the purpose of studying the history of Scotland. ...
April 11 is the 101st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (102nd in leap years). ...
The main entrance to the British Museum The British Museum in London is the United Kingdoms - and one of the worlds - largest and most important museums of human history and culture. ...
Kirkpatrick Sharpe later found another Lewis chessman to take his collection up to eleven, all of which were later sold to Lord Londesborough. In 1888 they were again sold, but this time the purchaser was the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, who donated the pieces to the Royal Museum in Edinburgh. The main hall of the Royal Museum of Scotland The Royal Museum is a museum on Chambers Street, in Edinburgh, Scotland. ...
Edinburghs location in Scotland Edinburgh viewed from Arthurs Seat. ...
The pieces donated to the British Museum are still located there, and can be found in Room 42 with the exhibition code M&ME 1831,11-1.
The distinctive style of the Lewis cache inspired the animated series Noggin the Nog. Noggin the Nog was a popular British childrens television series originally shown by the BBC during the years 1959 to 1965. ...
Two kings and two queens from the Lewis chessmen at the British Museum. Two kings and two queens from the Uig, or Lewis chessmen at the British Museum. ...
The main entrance to the British Museum The British Museum in London is the United Kingdoms - and one of the worlds - largest and most important museums of human history and culture. ...
| A selection of some of the other chess pieces, with a row of bishops at the back, then a row of knights. Download high resolution version (1024x800, 340 KB)A selection of pieces from the Uig, or Lewis chessmen at the British Museum. ...
| A resin replica of one of the kings |
Bibliography
- N. Stratford, The Lewis chessmen and the enigma of the hoard (The British Museum Press, 1997)
- Michael Taylor, The Lewis Chessmen (British Museum Publications Limited)
- HJR Murray, A History of Chess (Oxford University Press)
Harold James Ruthven Murray (June 24, 1868 - May 16, 1955) born in Peckham Rye, London, son of James Murray (editor of the Oxford English Dictionary), the eldest of eleven children, was most prominent as a chess historian. ...
External links - The British Museum's page on the chessmen
- Chez.com's page on the chessmen
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