‘Fairy tale’ is an English language term for a type of short story called “conte de fée” in French, “Märchen” in German and “fiaba,” in Italian. In Sweden they are called “sagas”. Strangely, only a small number of the stories explicitly refer to fairies but the term ‘Fairy tales’ is still the most popular term for these types of stories. Fairy tales typically feature a number of characters drawn from folklore, myths, legends and traditions and include a wide variety of human-like entities with names like goblins, pixies, elves, trolls, giants or gnomes – as well as fairies! Often the stories will involve a far-fetched sequence of events with lots of magic spells, quests, adventures, enchantments and battles between good and evil.

These stories embody ideas or concepts that are so ingrained into our collective subconscious that we constantly use the symbolism and story themes in everyday life. For example we refer to events as having a “fairy tale ending” or of a “fairy tale romance” (though not all fairy tales actually end happily). We also sometimes use the term “fairy tale” or “fairy story” in a derogatory way to mean any far-fetched tale or unbelievable claim.

In some cultures where ‘demons’ ‘wizards’ and ‘witches’ are perceived to be very real, fairy tales may merge into legends, where the stories are perceived, both by storytellers and listeners, as being grounded in historical truth. However, unlike legends and Nordic sagas, they usually do not contain more than superficial references to actual places, people, and events. Instead they take place in a non-specific “once upon a time” rather than in a definite period of history.

The history of the fairy tale is particularly difficult to trace, because only the written forms can provide evidence in a way that oral traditions cannot. The evidence from literary sources though, indicate that fairy tales have existed for thousands of years. Many of today’s fairy tales have evolved from centuries-old stories that have appeared, with variations, in multiple cultures around the world and such is their popularity that new stories are still being written today.

Defining what a fairy story really means in terms of its ‘genre’ is not easy and scholars still debate what constitutes a real ‘fairy tale’. For example, talking animals and the presence of elements of magic seem to be more common to the fairy tale than fairies themselves. However, the mere presence of animals that talk does not make a tale a fairy tale, especially when the animal is clearly a mask on a human face, as in the case of ‘fables’ which are stories created to make a specific moral point.

What is very clear though is the fact that fairy stories have always provided, and continue to provide, a rich source of material for writers and film makers. In fact both J.R.R. Tolkien and Walt Disney openly acknowledged that they have established their careers based on fairy tale concepts, ideas and characters.

Some folklore experts prefer to use the German term Märchen or “wonder tale” to refer to the genre defined as “a tale of some length involving a succession of motifs or episodes. It moves in an unreal world without definite locality or definite creatures and is filled with the marvellous. In this never-never land, humble heroes kill adversaries, succeed to kingdoms and marry princesses.”

The characters and motifs of most fairy tales are usually simple and archetypal: There are beautiful princesses and gallant princes, youngest sons and ‘seventh’ sons, ogres, giants, dragons, trolls, wicked stepmothers and sly tricksters, fairy godmothers, talking horses, foxes, birds and other animals. The stories tale place in magical landscapes of haunted forests, mountains made of glass, magnificent castles and pastoral countryside.

The first collectors to attempt to preserve not only the plot and characters of the tale, but also the style in which they were told, were the Brothers Grimm who were collectors of German folklore and fairy tales. Their first edition of ‘Grimm’s Fairy Tales’(1812) remains a treasure for folklorists although they rewrote the tales in later editions to make them more socially acceptable which ensured their sales and the later popularity of their work.

With regard to the origin of fairy tales we will probably never know the true answer. Two theories of origins have attempted to explain the common elements in fairy tales found spread across continents. One is that a single point of origin generated a given tale, which then gradually spread geographically over the centuries. The other is that such fairy tales stem from common human experience and therefore can appear separately in many different cultures.

It is certainly true that fairy tales with very similar plots, characters, and motifs are found spread across many different cultures. Many researchers claim that this is caused by the spread of such tales, as people repeat tales they have heard in foreign lands, although the oral nature of fairy tales makes it impossible to trace the route.

In some cultures fairy tales are used in the first grade of school as a central part of the curriculum. Rudolf Steiner’s work on human development claims that at age six to seven, the mind of a child is best taught through storytelling. He claims, and other experts have agreed, that the archetypes and magical nature of fairy tales appeals strongly to children at this age. The nature of fairy tales, following the oral tradition, enhances the child’s ability to visualize a spoken narrative, as well as to remember the story as heard and absorb the messages of the story.

Whatever the true origins of the fairy story might be there is no doubt that these wonderful tales have been an integral part of our culture since time immemorial. Adults and children alike remain captivated and ‘spellbound’ by the memorable characters and the message behind each story. So when you think about it, being criticised for being “away with the fairies” may be no bad thing at all.

This is nowhere more evident than in the story of some old chess pieces found on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides and now on display in the Royal Museum in Edinburgh and the British Museum in London. Although we cannot be sure of all the facts which are clouded by the passing of time there is a lot of evidence to support the following incredible story…

About three hundred years ago a sailing ship was caught in an Atlantic gale off the west coast of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. The ship escaped the worst of the storm by anchoring in a sheltered inlet called Loch Resort where the crew decided to stay until the storm subsided. One of the crew was a cabin boy who for some reason decided to escape from the ship while it was so close to land, presumably because of bullying which was very common on ships at this time. During the night while the crew were sleeping the boy swam to the shore but not before stealing from the ship’s Captain a few sets of precious ivory chessmen which he loaded into a sack.

The boy managed to swim to the shore despite the weight of the sack containing approximately 100 chess pieces but was immediately confronted by a local cowherd who realised the sack probably contained something valuable. After an argument between the cabin boy and the cowherd a fight ensued during which the boy was killed. The cowherd quickly buried the body and then made off with the sack of chess pieces.

When the cowherd examined the contents of the sack he grew afraid of capture so carried the sack to another site ten miles distant known as the Mains of Uig where he then buried the sack beneath a sandbank.

We know about this sequence of events because many years later the cowherd was arrested for another crime and hanged in the islands main town of Stornoway. Just before he was hung however the cowherd confessed to killing the cabin boy and revealed the location of where he had buried the sack of chessmen.
Although searches were made at the time nothing was found and the story of the stolen chess pieces became just another local legend. Many years later though, in 1830, a man called Malcolm Macleod was walking his cows beside the same sandbanks when he noticed something sticking out of the sand. It was a small chess piece. Macleod began to scrabble in the same area and very soon uncovered the hoard of amazing chessmen. Macleod took all the pieces home but began to feel uncomfortable about having what he called ‘pagan idols’ in his house due to his religious convictions. Eventually he decided to hand them all over to a friend called Roderick Pirie who seems to have realised their potential value. Pirie took the pieces all the way to Edinburgh and sold them to an antiques dealer called Forrest for thirty pounds.

After much haggling by Forrest the pieces were then sold on to the British Museum for eight guineas. They were purchased by Frederick Madden who worked for the British Museum in the Manuscripts department but who was also a keen chess enthusiast and immediately recognised them as rare chess pieces.

In all Forrest had sold eighty two chess pieces to the British Museum but he held back ten pieces which he later sold to a Scottish genealogist called Charles Sharpe. Sharpe also managed to acquire another single chess piece found later in the same Lewis sandbanks making a total of eleven. When Sharpe died the eleven pieces were sold at a Christie’s Auction in 1888 to the ‘Society of Antiquaries of Scotland’. The Society of Antiquaries then donated them to the National Museum of Scotland.

This then is the accepted amazing story of the Lewis chessmen and yet this is not the end of the story. In London at the British Museum Madden had been studying the chess pieces in detail noticing that each piece was of a unique warrior style, expertly carved from ivory and with some having been painted with dyes. In all there were ninety three pieces if you added the London and Edinburgh collections together consisting of 8 Kings, 8 Queens, 16 ‘Bishops’, 15 ‘Knights’, 12 ‘Rooks’ and 19 ‘Pawns’. Gradually Madden began to realise that the pieces were a lot older than previously thought and certainly not Scottish in origin. After much research experts concluded that the enigmatic chess pieces had been originally carved from walrus ivory and whales teeth in Trondheim, Norway at some time in the twelfth century. This is amazing in itself but there are further mysteries to consider. Chess was not a game commonly played in 12th Century Scandinavia although many other dice based board games were popular. The origins of chess lie way back in Iran or India two thousand years ago. So who made these incredible figurines and why? And how did they find their way to a ship moored off the coast of Lewis? Where did a sea captain find such a valuable hoard that probably made up five or five complete chess sets? And are there many more pieces still to be found beneath the sandbanks on Lewis? These are intriguing questions we may never know the answers to.

Wherever the truth lies there is undoubtedly a rare beauty in these enigmatic characters. So much so that a battle has raged for many years as to who really ‘owns’ the pieces. Clearly they were made in Norway but found in Scotland but possibly stolen from an English ship. In a way it is a shame that the collection is ‘split’ between London and Edinburgh with both cities claiming ownership. The good news however is that they are now permanently on show to the public so that everyone can admire the remarkable craftsmanship and beauty of these objects – one of the pieces was even featured recently in a Harry Potter film!

Whatever the true story behind these objects might be one thing is certain. It is indisputable that the Lewis chessmen represent one of the very few medieval chess sets that have survived the ravages of time and they still remain one of the greatest and most beautiful archaeological finds of the century.