Though there are many origin theories, chess possiblyarose in India in the 6th century, andwas likely played by nobility and clergy amongst Scandinavian society. The Lewis pieces, which were highly coveted items and numerous enough to make four separate sets, may have been stashed by a furtive travelling salesman whilst plying trade across the Norse-ruled Scottish Hebrides. But all of this is guesswork: the pieces could have been made anywhere from Norway to Iceland, by up to five different artisans, a single Norwegian maker, or one Icelandic woman.
What gives the chess pieces their magic is their charisma. All saucer-eyed and expressive in character and form, the pieces exaggerate the figures they depict, giving a concentrated, almost satirical view of the culture from which they came.
If Vikings played chess, they probably didn't use this set – but what the Lewis pieces do give us is a possible glimpse of them. Amongst the Queens, bishops and kings, the most overtly Viking of these is the rook, or warder,who is biting his shield and wears a maniacal expression. Historians have likened this piece to the ‘berserker’ warriors of Norse and Germanic folklore, who were said to have worn animal skins (the word means ‘bearskin’ and has given rise to ‘beserk’), guzzled intoxicants and approached battle with crazed brutality, intended to terrify opponents through their ferocity.(Related: Kinder, gentler Vikings? Not according to their slaves.)
Thor’s hammer
An iconic implement from pagan mythology, this ‘hammer of the gods’ –known as Mjolnir – was the weapon of Thor, the god of thunder. Thor was a popular character in the theology of the Norse in Viking times, often depicted as a mighty warrior who guarded the gates of Asgard and conjured the odd hellfire storm.
Thor's hammer, orMjölnir, as depicted on a Viking amulet. Some historiansbelieve the amulet was worn as a blessing for battle, or a swipe at the spreading faith of Christianity, which had similar effects in the shape of a cross.
Photograph by Ted Spiegel Nat Geo Image Collection
As Christianity swept through Europe, many clung to emblems of the old faith, wearing Thor’s hammer as an amulet or necklace, possibly in imitation of Christian affectations, or as a blessing for strength in battle. Many such trinkets have been found amongst Viking ephemera, from the simple to the ornate–as well as a mould found in Denmark used by an enterprising (or indecisive) jeweller to forge both Christian crosses and Mjolnir pendants. (Related: Viking amulet factory forces rethink of enigmatic artefacts.)
The Gjermundbu Helmet
However enduring the idea, Viking helmets didn’t have horns. Not that we know of, anyway – as there is remarkably little to go on when it comes to Viking helmets in general, other than the presumption that they probably wore them. Most depictions of the Vikings were created centuries after their first raids (the infamous horned helmet was a 19th century opera affectation) with only wood engravings and the later ‘picture stones,’ sometimes used as grave markers, offering contemporary clues to how the Vikings saw themselves. Many of these featured figures in profile suggesting skullcaps or simple bullet-shaped helmets made from bits of riveted iron, in a style calledspangenhelm. Given their view of extravagant weaponry as a suggestion of affluence and prowess, it’s likely helmets were viewed as similar status symbols.
The Gjermundbu Helmet, found in 1943, was the one and only near-complete Viking helmet found until a 2020 study confirmed a similar adornment – found seven years after this one, near Middlesborough in England – is also of Viking origin.
Photograph by Alamy
A clue – indeed, for a long time, the only clue –came in 1943 with the discovery of a broken spangenhelmhelmet in Ringerike, Norway. Discovered in nine fragments amongst a cache of weaponry and other burial artefacts, the piece –named Gjermundbhu, after the farm where it was found–was painstakingly restored, giving a literal glimpse into the eyes of a Viking warrior. With ceremonial figuring and a distinctive ‘spectacle’ eye-guard, it evoked Scandinavian (and Anglo-Saxon) helmets from the pre-Viking age, some of which came replete with chainmail ‘beards.’ A second strikingly similar but less embellished helmet, which had been found in a sewerage excavation near Middlesborough in north-east England in the 1950s, was recently examined and confirmed by a 2020 Durham University study to be a 10th century Viking helmet.Other than a few disparate fragments, this and the Gjermundbu relic stand alone as the only two Viking helmets yet found.
Oseberg Heads
One of the most enigmatic and undoubtedly the most spectacular Viking finds was the ship burial unearthed in 1904 at the Oseberg farm near Tønsberg in the Vestfold region of Norway. Vikings often used longships as vessels for the moneyed dead and their effects, with care taken to ensure the occupants had enough accoutrements to ensure a prosperous afterlife– much in the manner of the Ancient Egyptians. Dating from 834, the Oseberg burial was the Viking equivalent of Tutankhamun’s tomb. Though disturbed in antiquity it remained resplendent with cultural treasures, with the 21-metre ship –made entirely of oak and inscribed with exquisite carvings –packed with artefacts including a chariot, a bucket featuring a brass figure likened to Buddha, tents, equipment, several animals and the bodies of two women of evidently high social standing.
view gallery
Also found were five carved animal heads of mysterious purpose. Bound with roperunning through the mouth of one, as if to bridle it,the heads – hewn from single pieces of naturally-curved wood, bejewelled and etched with distinctive Baroque swirls and pretzel-like knots – depict fanciful animals evoking lions, water dragons or fierce mammals. What’s even more murky is their purpose: whilst painstaking craft by clearly five separate artisans went into their creation, what they were used for in life (or death) remains unknown – making them evocative symbols of a culture that was rich with symbolism and artistry, despite its violence.
Gokstad ship
Longships were masterpieces of design, and the keys that unlocked the Viking conquest machine. With a broad hull and shallow ‘draft’ – meaning little of the ship lay under water during sail –they were swift and stable yet cavernous, capable of moving hefty payloads into shallow water, such as rivers and inlets.
The Gokstad ship was built around 890AD, and like many of Viking ships of the time, served as a burial tomb. Painstakingly restored, it is now held by the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo.
Photograph by Robert Clark Nat Geo Image Collection
These raiding ships had an unmistakeable profile, which soon became a symbol of terror. While not as resplendent as the ship found in the Oseberg burial, the Gokstad ship, at almost 24 metres, is the largest Viking ship ever found. Found as part of a burial in Gokstad in Norway’s Vestfjord in 1880, the ship was capable of carrying 32 sailors, or transportation, or cargo –a true multi-functional vessel.
(Related: English mass grave may be that of a great Viking army.)
Bone Skates
As well as boats and swords, archaeology has yielded more intimate and whimsical elements of the thousand year-old Viking culture– combs, games, clothing jewellery. And these ice skates, found in a bundle of 42 others in Coppergate, York, and housed at the city’s Jorvik Viking Centre.
These skates – made from leather and horse-bone – were found amongst many others in an excavation at York. York, named Jorvik by the Vikings, was an important trading centre for the Vikings, as evidenced by the modern day Jorvik Viking Centre, which contains many of the finds excavated from the city. The city is believed to have been the stronghold of Eric Bloodaxe, the last Viking king of Northumbria, who was killed in 954.
Permission of Jorvik Viking Centre
Made using leather and polished bone – typically horse leg bones –the skates weren’t blades designed to bite the ice like today’s nimble models. They were likely used very much like skis, with accessory poles used to balance while the user skidded across frozen ground or water. They were likely used for practical purposes such as hunting, but possibly for pleasure, too – giving a slightly different view of one of the most feared conquistadors in history.
Vikings: The Rise and Fall begins 21 June at 9PM on National Geographic. Find out more here and watch the trailer below.
Vikings: The Rise and Fall –Watch the Trailer
New series coming to National Geographic burns the myth about one of history's most feared peoples