Anglo-Saxon Period—Glass Vessels—Drinking-glasses—Tumblers—Ale-glasses—Beads—Necklaces—Ear-rings—Coins, etc.

The glass vessels found in the grave-mounds of the Anglo-Saxon period are principally drinking-cups of different forms, and decanter-shaped vessels, which are closely analogous in shape to our common glass toilet water-bottles. The Anglo-Saxons are supposed by most writers to have derived their knowledge of the art of glass-making from their Roman predecessors, but of this more proof is wanting. So very different in most of its characteristics is the Saxon glass from the Roman, that it is difficult to believe that the one is but an imitation of the other. The forms are in many instances similar to those found in Frankish graves, and it is certain that the art was practised simultaneously in the Saxon period in Germany, France, and our own country. The drinking-cups of glass were formed either rounded or pointed at the bottom, so that they could not stand, and thus when filled the liquor was obliged to be drunk off before the cup could be set down inverted on the table. From this circumstance our modern name for drinking-glasses—tumblers—takes its origin, although not now in the original sense, our present “tumblers” being particularly safe and firm when set on the table, and not necessitating the whole of the contents being quaffed at once. Figs. 353 and 354 exhibit two drinking-glasses of this kind, the first of which is ribbed. They are from the Kentish graves. Fig. 355 is a glass cup from Cow-Low, Derbyshire, found by the late Mr. Bateman, and which, from the care which had been taken in enclosing it in a wooden box, must have been no little prized by the deceased lady. The cup, of thick green glass, a bone comb, some small instruments of iron, a piece of perforated bone, and a necklace with pendant ornaments, with other articles, were found enclosed in a box, or casket, made of ash wood, half an inch in thickness, with two hinges and a small lock, which had, when placed in the grave, been carefully wrapped in woollen cloth. The interment was in many respects a highly interesting one. A cup of similar form is shown on fig. 358, and other examples of glasses are shown on the same group.

These examples, it will be seen, must have been held in the open palms of the hand, as is seen so frequently represented in illuminations, and must have been emptied of their contents before being returned, inverted, to the board.

Another form, figs. 356 and 357, is the long ale-glass, the shape of which is probably derived from the drinking-horns which were in use. They, and other of the Saxon glasses, were often ornamented with a raised thread or band on their outer surface, arranged either spirally or otherwise. In Beowulf these glasses are spoken of—

This form of glass is well illustrated in the next engraving, fig. 359, from a MS. of the twelfth century. In it the cup-bearer holds the glass in one hand and the jug in the other, from which he has just filled it. As an accompaniment to this I give another engraving, which shows the cellarer with the barrels and two large earthenware pitchers, which, it will be observed, are ornamented in precisely the same manner as some of the urns I have engraved. Another excellent example of the use of these glasses at a banquet is shown on fig. 361, where a mixed company of males and females are seated at a banquet, and pledging each other in them. It is from the Cottonian MSS. in the British Museum.

The next two figures (362 and 363) show two of the decanter-shaped vessels to which I have alluded, and figs. 364, 365, and 366 again exhibit a different variety—one in which the ornament is formed of a number of what may almost be called handles—hollow protuberances, or claws, attached at the upper and lower ends. Many specimens of these curious glasses have been found in graves in different districts.

Among the most profuse of Anglo-Saxon remains are the beads and necklaces of glass, of amber, and of other materials, many of which are of extreme beauty. The greater part of the beads which are found are composed of glass, transparent and opaque; variegated clays of different colours; and of amber. Less frequently beads of amethystine quartz, of crystal, and of other rare natural substances are found. Sometimes the beads are formed singly, and at other times they are in couplets or triplets. Beads of metal—gold and silver—and of stones set in the same precious metals, have also been exhumed. Beads mounted on rings, or, more properly speaking, threaded on rings, are of not unfrequent occurrence, and appear, in many instances, to have been intended for the ears. The three engravings (figs. 367, 368, and 369) will serve as examples of beads. The first, engraved full size, is of glass, and is ornamented with red, white, and yellow waves. The other two are of clay, with yellow stripes. They are from Sibertswold. The beads from the Kentish barrows are perhaps the most extensive in number, as well as the most varied in form, material, and ornamentation, of any. The next illustration (fig. 370) shows a series of twenty-seven beads, which formed the necklace of an Anglo-Saxon lady, whose grave was opened by Mr. Bateman at Wyaston. In this barrow, which was thirty-three feet in diameter, and four feet high in the centre, were discovered the remains of a human skeleton, consisting merely of the enamel crowns of the teeth, which, though themselves but scanty mementoes of female loveliness, were accompanied by several articles indicating that the deceased was not unaccustomed to add the ornaments of dress to the charms of nature. These comprise a handsome necklace of twenty-seven beads, a silver finger-ring, silver ear-rings, and a circular brooch or fibula. Five of the beads are of amber, carefully rounded into a globular shape, the largest an inch diameter; the remaining twenty-two (two of which are broken) are mostly small, and made of porcelain or opaque glass, very prettily variegated with blue, yellow, or red, on a white or red ground. The finger-ring is made of thick silver wire, twisted into an ornamental knot at the junction of the ends. The ear-rings are too slight and fragmentary for description. The fibula is a circular ring, ribbed on the front, an inch and a half diameter, composed of a doubtful substance. The remains of the teeth show the person to have been rather youthful, and afford another instance of the extreme decay of the skeleton usual in Saxon deposits in this part of the country, whilst those which we have reason to reckon centuries more ancient are mostly well preserved. Rings of silver, with cylindrical, or globular, or flattened beads attached, are of common occurrence in the Kentish and other graves. Of pendants I shall speak a little later on.

Coins have only occasionally been discovered with Anglo-Saxon interments, and these have, in most instances, been of the preceding Roman period. Byzantine, Frankish, and Merovingian coins have likewise been found in the graves. Coins, to which loops are attached, so as to be worn as personal ornaments, are also found.