Editing Lewis chessmen (section)

== Description ==
{{main|Game pieces of the Lewis chessmen hoard}}
Almost all of the pieces in the collection are carved from walrus ivory, with a few made instead from [[Toothed whales|whale teeth]]. The 79&nbsp;chess pieces{{efn|name=Thirteenth_warder_note| Current total of 79&nbsp;pieces, after 2019 recovery<ref name=BBC-2019-06-48494885/><ref name=BBC-2019-07-48824712/> of the 13th&nbsp;[[rook (chess)|warder (rook)]]; original discovery had 12&nbsp;warders / 78&nbsp;chess pieces.}} consist of 8&nbsp;[[king (chess)|kings]], 8&nbsp;[[queen (chess)|queens]], 16&nbsp;[[bishop (chess)|bishops]], 15&nbsp;[[knight (chess)|knights]], 13&nbsp;[[rook (chess)|warders]] (rooks){{efn|name=Thirteenth_warder_note}} and 19&nbsp;[[pawn (chess)|pawns]]. The heights of the pawns range from 3.5 to 5.8&nbsp;cm ({{nobr|1{{small|{{sfrac| 3 | 8 }}}}}} to {{nobr|2{{small|{{sfrac| 9 | 32 }}}} in),}} while the other pieces are between 7 and 10.2&nbsp;cm ({{nobr|2{{small|{{sfrac| 3 | 4 }}}}}} and 4&nbsp;in). Although there are 19&nbsp;pawns (a complete set requires 16), they have the greatest range of sizes of all the pieces, which has suggested that the 79&nbsp;chess pieces might belong to at least five sets.{{sfnp|Robinson|2004|p=30}} All the pawns are smaller, geometric shapes – cylinders and "tombstones" – perhaps intended to resemble [[boundary markers]]. All the pieces in the back rank are sculptures of human figures: The knights are mounted on [[Icelandic horse|rather diminutive horses]] and are shown holding spears and shields. The rooks are standing soldiers or "warders" holding shields and swords; four of the rooks are shown as wild-eyed [[berserker]]s biting their shields with battle fury.{{sfnp|Robinson|2004|pp=28–29}} Some pieces bore traces of red stain when found (which has since vanished), possibly indicating that red and white were used to distinguish the two sides, rather than the black and white generally used in modern chess.<ref name=dlmnyt>{{cite news |last=McClain |first=Dylan Loeb |date=9 September 2010 |title=Reopening history of storied Norse chessmen|newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |page=C2 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/09/arts/09lewis.html |access-date=14 September 2010}}</ref>
[[Image:lewis-chessmen08.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|left|The Lewis chessmen in the [[British Museum]]]]

Scholars have observed that, to the modern eye, the figural pieces, with their bulging eyes and glum expressions, have a distinctly comic character.{{sfnp|Robinson|2004|pp=37–41}}{{sfnp|Stratford|1997|p=48}} This is especially true of one rook ("warder&nbsp;4" in Madden's numbering) with a worried, sideways glance and the berserker rooks biting their shields, which have been called "irresistibly comic to a modern audience".{{sfnp|Robinson|2004|p=37}} It is believed, however, that the comic or sad expressions were not intended or perceived as such by the makers, who instead saw strength, ferocity, or in the case of the queens who hold their heads with a hand and seemingly pensive expression, "contemplation, repose, and possibly wisdom".{{sfnp|Robinson|2004|pp=37–41}}

Moreover, a recent article has examined how one of the king pieces projected a racialised representation of the archetypal chess king. Chess pieces envisioned human bodies which were constantly re-imagined and re-interpreted in the medieval period, and the Lewis chess king is fittingly characterised by a beard, hairstyle, and facial features that would not stand out in twelfth-century Norway, the supposed origin point of the set.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ilko |first1=Krisztina |title=Chess and Race in the Global Middle Ages |journal=Speculum |date=2024 |volume=99 |issue=2 |page=498, 501 |doi=10.1086/729294 |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/729294}}</ref>