page_title: Game pieces of the Lewis chessmen hoard
section_title: List of pieces
hierarchical_section_title: Game pieces of the Lewis chessmen hoard / List of pieces
caption_attribution_description: This file was uploaded as part of a partnership between Wikimedia UK and the National Museum of Scotland. This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing. This work is free and may be used by anyone for any purpose. If you wish to use this content, you do not need to request permission as long as you follow any licensing requirements mentioned on this page. Wikimedia Foundation has received an e-mail confirming that the copyright holder has approved publication under the terms mentioned on this page. This correspondence has been reviewed by an OTRS member and stored in our permission archive. The correspondence is available to trusted volunteers&#160;as ticket #2019101510006699. If you have questions about the archived correspondence, please use the OTRS noticeboard. Ticket link: https://ticket.wikimedia.org/otrs/index.pl?Action=AgentTicketZoom&amp;TicketNumber=2019101510006699 H.NS 21: Chessman or chess piece, queen, crowned and wearing a long cloak over a long sleeved gown, seated on throne, of walrus ivory, found in an underground chamber in the parish of Uig, Lewis in 1831: Scandinavian, late 12th century
context_page_description: The ninety-three game pieces of the Lewis chessmen hoard were found on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Medieval in origin, they were first exhibited in Edinburgh in 1831 but it is unclear how much earlier they had been discovered. The hoard comprised seventy-eight distinctive chess pieces and fifteen other non-chess pieces, nearly all carved from walrus tusk ivory, and they are now displayed at the British Museum in London and National Museums Scotland in Edinburgh. Another chess piece, which turned up in 1964 and in 2019 was attributed to have come from the original hoard, now belongs to an undisclosed owner.
  The style of carving, particularly that on the thrones of the seated figures, suggests they are Scandinavian in origin, most likely from Trondheim, the medieval capital of Norway until 1217.
  The types of piece are similar to those in modern chess – the chessmen are the earliest found that have figures in clerical dress. The rooks are represented as warriors which came to be called "warders" at an early stage after they were discovered. Four of the warders are shown biting their shields – these have been identified as the berserkers of the Norse sagas.
caption: also  rear
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