mugs, or drinking vessels?
on a recent Antiques Roadshow (US/PBS version--oregon)--some one showed up with a copper and silver trophy--it was a large hammered copper vessel, with ornate silver scrollwork at the base, and three handles--made from stags horns.
the expert appraiser said it was a sort of tyg
Onelook has only one listing for the word tyg... and that listing defines a tyg as a 12 handled vessel.
so... has anyone here (hi tsuwm!) ever heard of a tyg? anyone have a dictionary that list a tyg? and why a tyg? any other words with tyg as part of the word?
(any care besides me? its a good scrabble word for sure!)
I picture such a vessel in the hands of a Viking and the word looks Nordic, as well.
Brick & Mortar OED has it:
A name said to have been formerly given in the Staffordshire potteries to a porringer; now applied by antiquaries and collectors to a drinking-cup with two or more handles, attributed to the 17th and 18th c.
Now, let's look up porringer:
A small basin or similar vessel of metal, earthenware, or wood, from which soup, broth, porridge, children's food, etc., is eaten.
There were a lot of Vikings in Staffordshire, right?
After consulting several swedish and multilingual dictionaries, I found only one meaning for the word tyg: cloth, fabric. In Norwegian, the verb tygge also means to chew, but this is the only reference to eating and drinking that I could find with my rather poor Swedish skills. However, I did find a picture from an English website which was similar to your description:
http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/Tiffany/metal02_larger.html Kinda puzzling, I'd say. Hope someone has an access to something that could explain where the word tyg has come to English...
How does one drink out of a 12 handled mug? For that matter, why does one drink out of a 12 handled mug?
(Fill it too often and you'd see 24.)
*laughing at Zed's post*
Filling it just often enough, I'd say.
Hope someone has an access to something that could explain where the word tyg has come to English... ~ Miia
The twelve-handled mug was originally used in jury rooms. It was grasped by each of the jurors to demonstrate their agreement on a verdict. By custom it was filled with strong mead to help the jurors to relax and, by each taking a drink in turn, heal any wounded feelings resulting from the arguments necessary to reaching the verdict. After the twelfth man had drained the last of the mead they could depart in peace and camaraderie. Tyg is an acronym for twelve yeoman’s gill, a gill being a fluid measure in some districts reckoned as a quarter pint and in others as a half pint.
I was actually thinking the word looked Welsh - dunno why that should cross my mind.
gill is a 1/4 pint (4 oz)--or it has been all my life-- a half gill is 2 oz, (or a large 'shot') In US a shot (of whiskey) is defined as 1.5 ounces..
(pint,-16 oz, half pint-8oz., gill-4 oz., , half gill-2 oz.)
well the tyg on the show, wasn't a 24 oz (12 X 2) mug! --in fact, it was a trophy for the best in show Spanniel at a dog show.
Words in the Welsh language, being composed entirely of numerous consonants, continue to confound.
The twelve-handled mug was originally used in jury rooms. It was grasped by each of the jurors to demonstrate their agreement on a verdict. By custom it was filled with strong mead to help the jurors to relax and, by each taking a drink in turn, heal any wounded feelings resulting from the arguments necessary to reaching the verdict. After the twelfth man had drained the last of the mead they could depart in peace and camaraderie. Tyg is an acronym for twelve yeoman’s gill, a gill being a fluid measure in some districts reckoned as a quarter pint and in others as a half pint.
Thank you! [bow]
Talk about grand jury duty....
And it ain't even April Fool's Day!
Ahh, a tyg for a tyke!
And thanks, dixbie, for that enlightening bit of trivia!
they could depart in peace and camaraderie
as opposed to a tyg of war
[I tried to resist, honest I did]
Thanks dxb! Never could have thought of that explanation, I sincerely thought tyg was a loan word from some Nordic language... Live and learn
Thanks dxb! Never could have thought of that explanation, I sincerely thought tyg was a loan word from some Nordic language... Live and learn
Is that the Finnish line, Miia? [/oops]
How bout a poll here? How many of y'all bought dxb's fascinating fable?
How many of y'all bought dxb's fascinating fable?I did. Totally plausible. Why, is it not true? Dixbie, you wouldn't put us on, would you?
I do believe that ole shaggy dog caught on right quick...
takes one to know one!
You guys are kidding, right?
One thing I have learned here is that acronyms are a twentieth century invention, so when you see one like the yeoman's gill or feloneous use, carnal knowledge, you should be very skeptical.
acronyms are a twentieth century invention
Maybe not quite a twentieth century invention. There has been spotted a pre-twentieth claim of an acronymic origin for 'tip' as in what one gives to waiters. That it is not the case that 'tip' has an acronymic origin is beside the point. The fact that someone in the nineteenth century thought it was would indicate that pre-twentieth acronymic origins were not unknown.
why does one drink out of a 12 handled mug? In those dark ages, people didn't wash their hands quite as often as today. If several people were drinking from the mug in turn, they wanted to avoid catching a nasty bug from the neighbor
.
If several people were drinking from the mug in turn, they wanted to avoid catching a nasty bug from the neighbor.
That would account for 12 spouts but not 12 handles.
PS did you know that there are enough medieval dribble glasses that people today collect them? If you knew which air hole to block you could drink dribble free and then laugh at your friends. So much for the theory of evolution (of humour)
> to avoid catching a nasty bug
Hence the traditional country game called Bug Err Your Neighbour :)
avoid catching a nasty bug from the neighbor
Not to mention, in the dark ages the folk didn't have the foggiest idea about 'nasty bugs'.
who noticed that wsieber and Zed were, you know, fooling around?
Nope - I noticed, and just sat here chuckling. I like the idea of a mediaeval dribble glass, though. I want to make a puzzle jug - I've seen mediaeval examples. The neck of the jug is pierced - usually built to look like a tower with windows or something - but the liquid still comes out the spout at the top. I need to find out how they did that and make one.....
Heh. I
knew we had something in common, Mizz Lizardbreath.
know the reference? It's a Canadian comic strip
yep, I know that one. Rumours are she's going to retire, but I have inside info that says she never will.