Exhibition and ownership Īfter their discovery by Malcolm Macleod in 1831 they were sold on, and shown at a meeting of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. With the chess pieces, there were 14 plain round tablemen for the game of tables and one belt buckle, all made of ivory, making a total of 93 artifacts. The large number of pieces and their lack of wear may suggest they were the stock of a trader or dealer in such pieces. Some historians believe that the Lewis chessmen were hidden (or lost) after some mishap occurred during their carriage from Norway to rich Norse towns on the east coast of Ireland, like Dublin. It is not possible to decide between Norway and Iceland on the evidence available, and the date of the set is also somewhat uncertain. Īnother suggestion is that the chessmen originated in Iceland. Woolf has said that the armour worn by the chess figures includes 'perfect' reproductions of armour worn at the time in Norway. There is a broken queen piece in a similar style from an excavation of the archbishop's palace, similar carving in Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, the excavation in Trondheim of a kite-shaped shield similar to shields on some of the pieces and a king piece of similar design found on Hitra Island, near the mouth of Trondheim Fjord. ĭuring that period the Outer Hebrides, and many other Scottish islands, were ruled by Norway. The chessmen were probably made in Norway, perhaps by craftsmen in Trondheim, in the 12th century, although some scholars have suggested other sources in the Nordic countries. In particular, the arrival of a female figure is a departure from the Indo-Arabic game, and the figure of a bishop is also significant. The set has made the transition to European figures, which lasts to the present day. The pieces are figurative, like modern sets, and unlike the abstract Arabic pieces. Four other major pieces, and many pawns, are still missing from the chess sets. It was also bought by the British Museum. They are owned and exhibited by the British Museum in London, which has 67 of the original pieces, and the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, which has the other 11 pieces.Ī newly identified piece, a 'warder', the equivalent of a castle or rook, was sold at auction for £735,000 in July 2019. They may be some of the few complete, surviving medieval chess sets. The hoard was discovered in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. The Lewis Chessmen, or Uig Chessmen, are 78 12th-century chess pieces, most of which are carved in walrus ivory. Lewis chessmen in the Museum of Scotland The Lewis chessmen in the British Museum ' Berserker' (as a rook), bites his shield. Lewis chessmen in the National Museum of Scotland

Origin of piece names in chess