‘Ffylle the Cuppe and Make vs Mery’: Lobed Drinking Vessels and their Use in Later Medieval England

Abstract

THIS ARTICLE EXAMINES CERAMIC LOBED VESSELS and the wider contexts in which they may have been used for communal drinking. 14th- and 15th-century archaeological evidence is explored alongside documentary sources and contemporary Romance stories which illuminate drinking rituals in domestic settings. From these strands of evidence it is shown that lobed cups and bowls were part of the drinking material culture used as emotants by affluent, middling elites. The main argument is that the decorated lobed vessels were suitable for the consumption of sweetened wine at the end of meals during the ‘voidee’, and for drinking wine or ale during the telling of stories. During the voidee, wine was served with spices or wafers as a paraliturgical ritual that was translated from rites more familiar in the medieval church. The communal drinking vessels could also have been used during the narration of popular Romance tales; their texts in the 15th century provided direct instructions for drinking and inspiration for drinking games. Characters and motifs of the Romance stories can also be matched to internal decoration of the lobed vessels. The objects are intertwined with the consumption of drink and food, religious ideas, moral guidance, and knightly adventures.