In the early 1800's, on a Hebridean beach in Scotland, the sea exposed an ancient treasure cache: 93 chessmen carved from walrus ivory. Norse netsuke, each face individual, each full of quirks, 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. Questions abounded: Who carved them? Where? 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 explains the economic lure behind the Viking voyages to the west in the 800s and 900s. And finally, it brings from the shadows an extraordinarily talented woman artist of the twelfth century: Margret the Adroit of Iceland. NANCY MARIE BROWN is the author of highly praised books of nonfiction, including Song of the Vikings. She is fluent in Icelandic, and spends her summers in Iceland. She has deep ties to the Scandinavian cultural institutions in the U.S. Brown lives in East Burke,VT.
Tea
James R. Fichter
audiobookThe Lampshade
Mark Jacobson
audiobookCrypt : Life, Death and Disease in the Middle Ages and Beyond
Alice Roberts
audiobookbookAdventures in the Louvre : How to Fall in Love with the World's Greatest Museum
Elaine Sciolino
audiobookArchitecture : A History in 100 Buildings
audiobookThe Last Overland: Singapore to London: The Return Journey of the Iconic Land Rover Expedition
Alex Bescoby
audiobookThe Viking World
audiobookAntiquities
Maxwell L. Anderson
audiobookIcebound : Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World
Andrea Pitzer
audiobookbookIsland of the Lost
Joan Druett
audiobookLives in Ruins
Marilyn Johnson
audiobookAntiquity
Norman F. Cantor
audiobook