Page:A History of Domestic Manners and Sentiments in England During the Middle Ages.djvu/51

 and Sentiments. of honour. The cup-bearer, who is ferving them, has a napkin in his hand. The feat is furniflied with cufliions, and the three perfons feated on it appear to have large napkins or cloths fpread over their knees. Similar cloths are evidently reprefented in our cut No. i6. Whether thefe are the fetl-hrcegel, or feat-cloths, mentioned in fome of the Anglo- Saxon wills, is uncertain. It will be obferved that the greater part of the drinking-cups bear a refemblance in form to thofe of the more ancient period which we find in Anglo- Saxon graves, and of which fome examples have been given in the preceding chapter. AVe cannot tell whether thofe feen in the pictures be intended for glafs or other material ; but it is certain that the Anglo-Saxons were oftentatious of drinking-cups and other velfels made No. 22. yin Anglo-Saxon Drinking Party. of the precious metals. Sharon Turner, in his Hiftory of the Anglo- Saxons, has collected together a number of inftances of fuch valuable veffels. In one will, three filver cups are bequeathed ; in another, four cups, two of which were of the value of four pounds ; in another, four filver cups, a cup with a fringed edge, a wooden cup variegated with gold, a wooden knobbed cup, and two very handfome drinking-cups {fmicere fcencing-cuppan). Other limilar documents mention a golden cup, with a golden difli j a gold cup of immenfe weighty a dilli adorned with gold, and another with Grecian workmanlliip (probably brought from Byzantium). A lady bequeathed a golden cup weighing four marks and a half. Mention of filver cups, filver bafins, &c., is of frequent occurrence.