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Authors: David H. Caldwell

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There is little information on Lewis itself in this period. The Viking activities of the Orkney nobleman Sveinn Asleifarson, in the middle of the twelfth century, suggest that Lewis, where he had a friend called Ljotolf, was a good base for himself and his brother Gunni when the latter was forced into exile by Earl Harald of Orkney. Perhaps at that time Lewis was neither under the firm hand of Godred Olafsson nor Sveinn's friend Somerled.

Godred Olafsson appointed his son Olaf as his successor, but since he was only a boy at the time of Godred's death in 1187 the Manx people chose his elder half-brother Rognvald as king. Rognvald gave Lewis to Olaf. Olaf found that the island was unable to sustain himself and his army and he therefore came to his brother, who was then in the Isles, and asked him for some better portion of lands. Rognvald, after promising to take counsel with his own men, had Olaf bound in chains and handed him over to be imprisoned by William King of Scotland. Immediately prior to his death seven years later (in 1214), William ordered the release of all his prisoners, including Olaf. Olaf returned to his brother Rognvald in Man and shortly afterwards went with a retinue of nobles to visit the shrine of St James (at Compostella). On his return, Rognvald had Olaf marry Lauon, his own wife's sister. He granted him Lewis and the newly married pair went off to settle there. There are no clues as to why the King of Scots should have wished to imprison Olaf or, perhaps a related matter, why Olaf sought the intercession of St James for his sins.

Perhaps Lewis was in the sway of the MacSorleys and Olaf was intended to bring it back to the allegiance of his brother. Hence the need for an army, and, it should be noted, Rognvald
was also in the Isles at that time, very probably also campaigning to regain territory. But if Lewis was peaceful on Olaf's return to it, his own life there was to be drastically upset a few days later on the arrival of his uncle, Bishop Rognvald of the Isles, to undertake a visitation of the island's churches. The bishop refused to join Olaf in the great banquet prepared in his honour, on the grounds that Olaf's marriage to Lauon was illicit in the eyes of the Church. This was because Olaf had previously kept Lauon's cousin as a concubine.

The bishop proceeded to hold a synod at which the wedding was annulled. Since Olaf married a daughter of the powerful Earl of Ross soon afterwards, we may wonder if Olaf really was a passive, unwitting victim of the bishop's censure. Certainly Lauon's sister, the queen, was furious and sought to get her revenge on Olaf. She ordered her husband's son Godred to kill Olaf, who was obliged to flee Lewis in 1223. Nevertheless, Olaf recovered his position, forcing King Rognvald to split his kingdom with him, and succeeding him as king in 1226.

Olaf did not enjoy peaceable control of all his kingdom for very long. In 1230 he divided his kingdom with his nephew Godred Don. Olaf kept Man, while Godred Don got the Isles (unspecified). It is clear that some of the Isles at that time were held by the MacSorleys, possibly including Lewis. Godred Don was killed soon afterwards in Lewis, perhaps attempting to regain it for himself. In 1231 a Norwegian army, returning home from aiding Olaf, also went to Lewis. What it achieved there is not known, except that it forced Tormod son of Torquil to flee, and captured his wife along with a great treasure that belonged to her husband. Tormod was the ancestor of the MacLeods of Lewis.

13. KILMICHAEL GLASSARY BELL SHRINE
This bronze reliquary (NMS H.KA 5) was made in the 12th century to contain the bell of an early saint
.

The Lewis Chessmen in Lewis

S
UPPOSING the hoard was not abandoned accidentally by a merchant on his way elsewhere, then the story of the brothers Rognvald and Olaf, and all the events we have just outlined, are of considerable importance in understanding the hoard. Although the documentary sources are meagre, they do demonstrate that Lewis was home to some important individuals – men who might well have owned chessmen as prestigious and valuable as those now in National Museums Scotland and the British Museum. This was obviously the case with Olaf, who would presumably have maintained a princely lifestyle while based on Lewis. Some scholars believe that Rognvald, by giving him that island, was effectively recognising him as his sub-king or viceroy.

Then there is Bishop Rognvald, himself a member of the Manx royal family, and his immediate predecessors and successors as bishop. They should have gone to Trondheim for consecration and for other church business. Rognvald very probably did. Might an archbishop, keen to impress and win the loyalty of his bishop in the Isles, have given such a present?

And what about Tormod? His great treasure was presumably not the Lewis chessmen since it was carried off by the Norwegian army, but it is noteworthy that there were treasures to be had on the island.

A MacSorley cannot be dismissed as a possible owner. Some of them were great warriors, holders of extensive lands, and were recognised as kings. One in particular is worth considering here, and that is Angus Mor, a great grandson of Somerled, whose main centre of power was the island of Islay. A praise poem written in his honour in the mid-thirteenth century describes how he inherited his ivory chessmen from his father Donald. It also describes him as King of Lewis – flattery yes, but Angus was clearly a big man in the world of the Isles, Scotland and Ireland. As son of Donald he was the first MacDonald, and also one of the commanders of the invasion fleet which King Hakon used to threaten Scotland in 1263.

Excavations directed by Dr David Caldwell at Finlaggan on the Isle of Islay, probably Angus Mor's main home, produced no chessmen but many tables-men – three of bone and about fifty of stone – probably all of later date than Angus. It is not without interest, however, to note that Angus' praise poem also records how his father Donald left him his dog leashes and hounds. The bronze mounts from two dog collars were found in midden material dating to the 13th century. They include two fine quality swivel attachments with dragonesque heads [
Fig. 11
].

Great men like these did not lead a sedentary life, but moved from house to house, went campaigning and visiting their lands, tenants, churches and clergy. It is possible that one such as these would have hidden or secured their chessmen in an underground chamber, no doubt adjacent to a favoured residence, until their return from a voyage.

The Lewis chessmen are not the only items from parts of modern-day Scotland that demonstrate the ongoing Scandinavian heritage in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. An enamelled copper plaque with an image of Christ has been recovered from a grave in Teampull Bhuirgh (Castle Chapel) at Borve, Benbecula, in the Outer Hebrides [
Fig. 12
]. It would originally have decorated the reverse of a large crucifix, but seems to have been reused, probably as a morse or clasp to fasten the cope of a cleric. It is believed to be Scandinavian work of the mid-thirteenth century.

A superb, copper alloy bell-shrine from Kilmichael Glassary in mainland Argyll demonstrates the fusion between Scandinavian and Gaelic culture in the twelfth century [
Fig. 13
]. In many of its details, and in conception as a receptacle for a relic of a local saint, it is a ‘Celtic' work. The figure of Christ in the Crucifixion on the front of the shrine, and the background scrollwork, are Scandinavian in style. It could really only have been produced in Argyll or the Western Isles.

11. A DOG COLLAR MOUNT
From Finlaggan.

12. ENAMELLED COPPER PLAQUE
Enamelled plaque (NMS H.KE 18) with an image of Christ, from Teampull Bhuirgh, Borve. Scandinavian, mid-13th century.

Analysing the Chessmen

I
MAGINING that the Lewis chessmen belonged to someone in Lewis opens up all sorts of other possibilities. A belief that the hoard was a merchant's stock implied that the chessmen were brand new when lost, and all from the same source. If the hoard belonged to a great man, then the pieces may have been of some age when buried and might be from more than one source. They might not all be the same date, and include pieces which are substitutes for ones lost or broken. A recent research project by the authors has considered these very issues.

So far no evidence for wear and tear on the pieces, consistent with them being used in gaming, has been detected. This is not surprising. Walrus ivory is a very tough substance and it would arguably take constant playing over many years for such wear to be observable.

Differences in the pieces resulting from the work of different craftsmen and workshops appears a much easier thing to trace, although there are obvious problems in trying to compare, say, a bishop with a warder, since they both have different clothing and equipment. This is why it is important to concentrate on the faces. The authors supposed that craftsmen carving chessmen, day in and day out, would tend to give them the same faces, in the same way as a cartoonist nowadays, or the carver of
holiday souvenirs. Grouping the face-pieces by their faces would clearly be a very subjective business if we relied solely on a visual examination. Instead, we have employed Caroline Wilkinson's skills as a forensic anthropologist to make a comparative study, assessing and comparing each face with the aid of magnification and measurements. The aim was to characterise and describe the different faces, sorting them into groups, principally by checking the proportions of mouths, noses and eyes, both vertically and horizontally.

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