ON CHESS
IV - Ancient chess-men discovered in the Isle of Lewis
THE WARDERS are armed warriors (Hrókr in Icelandic), which here take the place of the rook, or castle, and are represented in a standing attitude, wearing helmets, of various shapes, but chiefly conical, some with, and others without, flaps; but all wanting the nasal-piece. The coat, or gambeson, which most of them, wear, descends to the feet; yet, in lieu of this, others have a coat of mail, with a hood which covers the head. They all hold a sword in one hand, and a shield in the other; but the position is varied; the shields in some instances being borne in front, and in others at the side. The shields all bear distinctive marks, like those of the knights; but some of them are of a broader shape, and less elongated. In general the warders are more varied from each other than the similar figures of the other pieces. One peculiarity in the figures of three of the warders tends to strengthen the belief of their being of Norwegian or Icelandic workmanship, and that is the singular manner in which they are represented biting their shields.
Now this was a characteristic of the Scandinavian BERSERKAR, who were unarmed warriors, subject to fits of madness on the eve of battle, under the influence of which they performed the most extraordinary feats. They are thus described by Snorre: "The soldiers of Odin went forth to the combat without armour, raging like dogs or wolves, biting their shields, and in strength equal to furious bears or wolves. Their enemies they laid prostrate at their feet; neither fire nor weapon harmed them: this frenzy was called Berserksgangr."
The PAWNS are of various shapes and sizes, but chiefly octagonal, with conical terminations: on one is a fret-like ornament, and on another some scroll-like adornment: the others are plain.
The shields of the knights and warders are highly curious, as presenting a series of devices, the immediate precursors of hereditary armorial bearings, in greater variety than is to be found on any other existing monuments of such an early period. The Gothic nations, however, from the earliest times, were accustomed to paint their shields of various colours; and from the Romans they might easily have learned to adopt different insignia. From some passages in the Voluspa, Saxo, and Egil's Saga, it has been assumed by many of the northern antiquaries, that the ancient Scandinavians adorned their shields with representations of their exploits; but Sperlingius, in his "Collections" on the subject, argues strongly against it, and affirms that before the twelfth century no traces of any devices on shields are to be found among them. The only device on shields noticed by Snorre is that of a cross, which Sperlingius conjectures was first introduced by King Olaf the Saint, at the commencement of the eleventh century. Most of the shields depicted in the Bayeux tapestry, bear crosses of different shapes; and this is likewise the case with those of the chess figures: some of the former also exhibit a species of dragon.
The ancient chess-men discovered in the Isle of Lewis have been made the subject of an extremely beautiful and learned essay on the introduction of chess into Europe, by F. Madden, Esq., F.R.S., published in the twenty-fourth volume of the Archæologia. Mr. Madden supposes these chess-men to have been executed about the middle of the twelfth century, by the same extraordinary race of people who, at an earlier period of time, under the general name of Northmen, overran the greater part of Europe, and whose language and manners are still preserved among their genuine descendants in Iceland. For the confirmation of his opinion, he refers to the material of which they are composed, to the general costume of the figures, and the peculiar forms of some of them, to the locality in which they were found, and to the testimonies of numerous writers in ancient and modern times, touching the existence of the game of chess in Scandinavia, and the skill of the natives in carving similar figures.
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And first, with regard to their material, Mr. Madden assumes on good evidence, that they are formed out of the tusks of the animal called in Icelandic ROSTUNGR, or Rosmar, and in other parts of Europe by the names of morse, walrus, or sea-horse. The peculiarities of structure in the tusk of this animal are shown in a remarkable manner throughout the entire series of the chess-men, and most unequivocally so in the draught-men, which were necessarily cut transversely through the tusk. The economy of the artist is likewise visible in fashioning his figures according to the portions of the teeth best calculated to serve his purpose.
The estimation wherein the tusks of the walrus, from which these chess-men were unquestionably carved, were held by the northern nations, rendered them a present worthy of royalty; and this circumstance is confirmed by a tradition preserved in the curious Saga of Kröka Ref; or Kröka the Crafty. It is there related, that Gunner, prefect of Greenland, wishing to conciliate the favour of Harald Hardraad, king of Norway, (A.D. 1046-1067,) by the advice of Barder, a Norwegian merchant, sent to the king three of the most precious gifts the island could produce: these were, first, a full-grown white tame bear; second, a chess-table, or set of chess-men, exquisitely carved; third, a skull of the ros-tungr, with the teeth fastened in it, wonderfully sculptured, and ornamented with gold.
The ancient Norwegians, and more particularly the natives of Iceland, seem to have been at a very early period famous for their skill in carving implements and figures in bone; and this talent was exerted chiefly in sculpturing chess-men from the tusks of the rosmar. The archbishop of Upsala, in his Antiquarian History of the Northern Nations, informs us that it was usual amongst them to cut the teeth of the morse in the most artificial manner for the purpose of making chess-men. Olaus Wormius, writing about a century later, states that the Icelanders were accustomed, during the long nights of winter by their fireside, to cut out various articles from " whales' teeth." " This," he continues, "is more particularly the case with chess-men (at which game they excel); and I possess some specimens of these, distinguished by being of two colours, white and green; which are sculptured so exquisitely, that each piece expresses in feature, dress, and attitude, the personage it is designed to represent." Thus, also, in the figures discovered in the Isle of Lewis, the costume, &c., of every piece has been especially attended to, and, so far as that mode of proof can be admitted, evince them to have been executed in the twelfth century.
The spot, ou which these figures were found, favours in every respect the hypothesis adopted by Mr. Madden. The Hebrides, or Southern Isles, were subject to the invasion of the Vikingr, or Sea-kings, from the end of the eighth century, and during the reign of Harald Harfager, about the year 875, were rendered tributary to the throne of Norway. The outer range of the Hebrides, in which that of Lewis is comprehended, was chiefly peopled by Scandinavians; and they continued to have princes of their own, until the period of King Magnus Barefoot's expedition, in 1096, who ravaged the Isle of Lewis with fire and sword, and added the Hebrides to his own dominions, thenceforth to be governed by a dependant lord. These islands remained under the seignory of the kings of Norway, until the year 1266, when they were formally ceded to King Alexander the Third, of Scotland, by Magnus the Fourth, in consideration of the yearly payment of one hundred marks, and the additional sum of four thousand marks, payable within four years.
Between those islands and the northern, as well as the western, coast of Scotland and Iceland, the closest intercourse existed for many ages. As the communication was kept up in small vessels (called " Byrdinga" by the Icelanders), the chances of shipwreck, in case of a storm, were great; and accordingly, many instances are on record of the destruction of ships coming from Norway to the isles.
It would appear, therefore, most probable that the chess-men and draught-men discovered in the Isle of Lewis, formed part of the stock of an Icelandic kaup-mann, or merchant, who carried these articles to the Hebrides, or to Ireland, for the sake of traffic, and that the ship, in which they were conveyed, being wrecked, these figures were swept by the waves on shore, and buried beneath the sand-bank, which, for the space of nearly seven centuries, contrived to accumulate before the fortunate discovery took place which restored them to light.
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Chess Archeology 
