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12
CUPS
AND
THEIR
CUSTOMS.
palace
spoken
of
as
"
the
beer-hall,
where
the
Thane
performed
his
office,
—
he
that
in
his
hand
bare
the
twisted
ale-cup,
from
which
he poured
the
bright,
sweet
liquor,
while
the
poet
sang
serene,
and
the
guests
boasted
of
their
exploits."
Furthermore
we
learn,
that
when
the
queen
entered,
she
served
out
the
liquor,
first
offering
the
cup
to
her
lord
and
master,
and
afterwards
to
the
guests.
In
this
romance,
^^
the
dear
or
precious
drinking-cup,
from
which
they
quaffed
the
mead,"
is
also
spoken
of
:
and
as
these
worthies
had
the
peculiar
custom
of
burying
the
drinking-cups
with
their
dead,
we
may
conclude they
were
held
in
high
esteem,
while
at
the
same
time
it
gives
us
an
opportunity
of
actually
seeing
the
vessels
of
which
the
romance
informs
us;
for
in
Saxon
graves,
or
barrows,
they
are
now
frequently
found.
They
were
principally
made
of
glass
;
and
the
twisted
pattern
alluded
to
appears
to
have
been
the
most
prevailing
shape.
Several
other
forms
have been
discovered,
all
of
which,
however,
are
so
formed
with
rounded
bottoms
that
they
will
not
stand
by
them-
selves;
consequently
their
contents
must
have
been
quaffed
before
replacing
them
on
the
table.
It
is
probable
that
from
this
peculiar
shape
we
derive
our
modern
word
^^
tumbler
;"
and,
if
so,
the
freak
attributed
to
the
Prince
Kegent,
and,
since
his
time,
occasionally
performed
at
our
Universities,
of
breaking
the
stems
off
the
wine-glasses
in
order
to
ensure
their
being
emptied
of
the
contents,
was
no
new
scheme,
it
having
been
employed
by
our
ancestors
in
a
more
legitimate
and
less
expensive
manner.
We
also
find,
in
Anglo-