Lewis chessmen

A Lewis warder biting his shield, from the National Museum of Scotland's collection In the Lewis set the rook is not a castle but a standing warrior with sword and shield, and four of them are shown as wild-eyed berserkers biting their shields in battle fury. This one, with his pointed helmet and bared teeth, is the piece most likely to make a visitor grin. It also tells you something about the carvers' world: the rook as a Norse fighting man rather than a tower or a chariot.