The Lewis Chessmen

by James Robinson

These enchanting chess pieces consist of elaborately worked walrus ivory and whales' teeth in the form of seated kings and queens, mitred bishops, knights on their mounts, standing warders and pawns in the shape of obelisks. They were found in the vicinity of Uig on the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, in mysterious circumstances some time before 11th April 1831. Various stories have evolved to explain why they were concealed there, and how they were discovered. This book takes a lively look at the many theories surrounding the ownership of the pieces, why they were hidden and how exactly they were discovered, and places them in the wider context of the ancient game of chess and secular culture of the Middle Ages.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Art, Archaeology, Scotland, Chess

64 pages, Paperback

First published December 30, 2004

About the author

James Robinson is Curator of the Medieval Gallery at the British Museum. He was also the curator of the Exhibition "Treasures of Heaven" in 2011.

Reviews

[Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This slim volume describes the mysterious and strangely beautiful chessmen of Lewis Island, found near Uig, Scotland in April 1831. Carved from walrus ivory (a few are also made from whale teeth) the 78 chess pieces were most likely made in Trondheim, Norway between 1150 and 1200 AD. Although chess sets of this type were probably common at the time, this is the most complete collection to have survived. The pieces are marvelously detailed and evocative sculptures of a bygone age, full of personality and symbolism. Robinson does a fine job of describing the various stories about how the pieces were found, ending the book with his own theory about how they ended up buried on a beach in Scotland. The book also gives a brief history of the game of chess and its dispersal throughout Europe--it was long considered to be a frivolous and even sinful activity, and only gradually gained repute as an intellectual pursuit. This book focuses primarily on the 67 chess men owned by the British Museum, with a few references to the 11 pieces at the National Museum of Scotland (the pieces passed through the hands of several collectors during the 19th century and were split up).

The pieces offer clues to the evolution of European society during this era of transition from the Dark Ages--the original Indian game of chaturang featured only chariots (rukhs), knights, pawns, elephants and a king. By the time the game reached Europe in the 9th century, a queen had been added, the rukhs had become warders (knights on foot), and the elephants turned into bishops--even though the church disapproved of chess-playing. New rules allowed some pieces to move several squares at a time in order to make the game faster and more interesting. Eventually the warders became castles.

Robinson ends the book by discussing the trade in walrus-ivory carvings, an important export from Scandinavia. Chess itself was one of the few pastimes available to a largely nonliterate population facing long, dull winters without television or iPods. The Norwegians capitalized on the market, but of the thousands of chess sets manufactured, only these pieces survive. Oddly, of the 78 pieces found near Uig, only one complete set can be put together, although pieces from 8 sets are included.

What stands out, through the photos and Robinson's careful analysis, is the importance of these chess pieces as historic artifacts and works of medieval art. Through this book I gained a new appreciation for the game of chess and its role in history.

[Barbara Henderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very basic, picture driven account which is a useful portal to investigating more, but was not quite enough for me on its own. Descriptive content in the main, but with useful cross referencing to other finds of the period.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for what it is, which is a short little introduction with really high quality images. Oh, and they’re my favourite objects in the world, so I’m slightly biased, but also quite pleased with how much I learned from this.

[Dominic · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good wee introduction to the Lewis Chessmen, the development of chess in the middle ages and the use of walrus ivory as a material. Everything I needed really, I'll use what I learnt in this book when talking about the Chessmen with future guests on the Isle of Lewis.

[Lo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short but interesting read. I didn’t realize they used Walrus ivory for carving. I also didn’t know that the chess set used in the 1st Harry Potter movie was based on the Lewis Chess set.

[Cidney Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

rahhhh I ❤️ the lewis chessmen