They are...
My version of the Berserker from the Lewis chess set. These little walrus-ivory pieces were found in a sand-dune in Uig in the 1800s and promptly removed to the British Museum, never more to return. The worst bit of all is the terrible guide to the pieces produced by the museum, which states that it's difficult to imagine how precious Norse pieces might have turned up on our 'wild' and 'remote' coast. Remote from London, perhaps, but the Vikings viewed the sea as one big motorway and Lewis was an obvious stop on the way to Man and Ireland. Almost all of the place-names here are Norse. Shame on you, British Museum.
The Berserker is biting his shield to get himself in the mood. My mother says the word derives from bear sark, or bear shirt, and that the Berserkers originally wore one of these. Mine is wearing some pretty patterned fabric but I hope he looks a wee bit mad.
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