(hopefully new) Movie Comments

[Heather Moore]

--- In HPFGU-Movie at y..., frantyck at y... wrote:

 
> Yes, did anyone compare the chess board which Ron and Harry were 
> using in the Great Hall with the one in the chess task? I agree with 
> your other chess points.
> 
> Thoughtful post. 

 I might have an answer for this!

 The chess set which Ron and Harry were using in the Great Hall was modeled after a historical reproduction of an actual Viking chess set. The Lewis Chessmen were found in the early 1830's on the Isle of Lewis. The cache consisted of 87 pieces and most likely came from two or three similar sets owned by the same games enthusiast. They date from the mid-to-late 1100's, during a time when the Isle of Lewis was still under Norse rule. 

You can see a repro of the set at this site:  http://www.rosechess.co.uk/lewis.html


 Many companies which sell repro Lewis Chessmen do so in a package which markets itself not as modern chess, but a similar medieval norse game called Hnefatafl. Hnefatfl had different versions with varying game board sizes, ranging from 7 X 7  on up. If the Great Hall chessboard was indeed smaller than a "normal" chessboard (I didn't notice; I was too tickled at recognizing the chessmen!), it's possible that they were using a hnefatafl board which came with the pieces the props people had obtained.