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• 1 2017-05-19T21:52:37-07:00 Equestrian Chess Piece 13 Object Page plain 2017-09-21T21:47:08-07:00 Games figured prominently within Norse society, as both a sign of status and a form of entertainment. Many board games existed, hnefatafl, alea, and chess. By the end of the early medieval period, chess had become the dominant game of the courtly elite and would remain immensely popular into the 15^th century. Chess originated in India, around the 5^th century, and found its way to Europe through Arab traders. Over time, the game evolved and the medieval version of the game would be unfamiliar to contemporary players of the game.^[1][2]
  
  The chess piece featured here was found in Solberga, Sweden and dates roughly back to the Early Middle Ages. It is made from walrus ivory and is fashioned in the shape of figure on horseback. Although lacking its head, the piece appears to be the medieval equivalent of the modern knight piece.
  
  The record of literature mentioning the game is scant until the later Middle Ages, but one major source does exist: Versus de scachis. An English translation can be found here: https://www.chess.com/blog/batgirl/early-modern-chess-writers-and-poets. Written circa 997, the work focuses entirely on the game of chess. It was written in Einsiedeln, now in modern Switzerland, so it is entirely possible that the manuscript was not read in the far northern reaches of Europe. It does, however, indicate a general awareness of the game within Europe and a degree of prestige with which it was associated. Many Anglo-Scandinavian leaders looked to the south for cultural cues and the chess piece found in Sweden may very well have been produced to imitate the latest trend among southern nobles.^[3]