Ivory Vikings: the Mystery of the Most Famous Chessmen in the World and the Woman Who Made Them
The Mystery of the Most Famous Chessmen in the World and the Woman Who Made Them
St. Martin's Press · Print & ebook · September 1, 2015
“A fascinating tale of discovery and mystery.” —The Minneapolis Star Tribune In the early 1800's, on a Hebridean beach in Scotland, the sea exposed an ancient treasure cache: 93 chessmen carved from walrus ivory.
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- Who it’s for
- A set of carved chessmen opens onto medieval art, historical sleuthing, and a connected North Atlantic.
- Themes
- Lewis Chessmen origins, Viking history in the North Atlantic, Margret the Adroit’s artistry
- Genres
- Medieval History, Scandinavian History, Chess
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Start with this bookAbout this book
“A fascinating tale of discovery and mystery.” —The Minneapolis Star Tribune In the early 1800's, on a Hebridean beach in Scotland, the sea exposed an ancient treasure cache: 93 chessmen carved from walrus ivory. The Lewis Chessmen are probably the most famous chess pieces in the world. Harry played Wizard's Chess with them in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Housed at the British Museum, they are among its most visited and beloved objects.
Continue reading
Questions abounded: Who carved them? Where? Nancy Marie Brown's Ivory Vikings explores these mysteries by connecting medieval Icelandic sagas with modern archaeology, art history, forensics, and the history of board games. In the process, Ivory Vikings presents a vivid history of the 400 years when the Vikings ruled the North Atlantic, and the sea-road connected countries and islands we think of as far apart and culturally distinct: Norway and Scotland, Ireland and Iceland, and Greenland and North America. The story of the Lewis chessmen brings from the shadows an extraordinarily talented woman artist of the twelfth century: Margret the Adroit of Iceland.
Artful Mysteries
A set of carved chessmen opens onto medieval art, historical sleuthing, and a connected North Atlantic.
Come here for
- The origins of the Lewis chessmen and their maker
- Viking-era connections across the North Atlantic
Expect
- Sagas alongside archaeology, art history, and forensics
- A woman artist emerging from the historical shadows
Where it sits
| Medieval History | 52% |
|---|---|
| Chess | 38% |
| Scandinavian History | 34% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Medieval Art History
- Medieval History
- Scandinavian History
- Authors
- Nancy Marie Brown
- Publisher
- St. Martin's Press
- Published
- September 1, 2015
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Lewis Chessmen origins · Viking history in the North Atlantic · Margret the Adroit’s artistry
- Reading lane
- Medieval Art History