Mether facts for kids
A mether (pronounced METH-er) is a special drinking cup from ancient Ireland. It was often shared among friends and family. These cups were mainly used for drinking mead, a sweet drink made from honey. Early methers were made from wood, but some later had fancy silver decorations.
The word 'mether' might come from 'meth', an old word for mead. It could also come from the Irish word "Mehill," which means 'a gathering'. Many old wooden methers have been found in Irish peat bogs, which are like natural swamps.
One famous old mether is the Dunvegan Cup in Scotland. It's a wooden cup from the 900s, with silver added in the 1400s. It probably came from Ireland and belongs to the Clan MacLeod. You can see it at Dunvegan Castle.
Contents
What Does a Mether Look Like?
Methers were usually made from different types of wood. These included crab apple, alder, willow, and sycamore. They often had a top with four flat sides and a round or oval bottom.
Handles and Size
Methers are special because they have several handles. These handles are usually at the bottom of the cup. Sometimes, they even extend below the bottom to act as small feet. Methers can have anywhere from one to four handles. Having multiple handles made it easy to pass the cup around.
The size of methers varied. They were usually between 6 and 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) tall. They could hold about one to three pints of liquid.
How Were Methers Used?
Methers were used to welcome visitors in a friendly way. Guests would pass the cup to their right, which was thought to bring good luck. People would hold the cup with both hands.
Drinking Together
Methers were also used for group drinking at parties and gatherings. They were designed so people could drink from one of the four wide corners. If someone drank too quickly, the mead might spill on them! This added to the fun at celebrations. Methers were used during many rural events, like weddings, fairs, and even during farming tasks such as sowing seeds or harvesting hay.
Besides mead, methers were also used for drinking other liquids, like milk or buttermilk.
Smaller Silver Methers
Later, in the 1700s and 1900s, silversmiths made smaller mether cups from silver. These were usually less than 3 inches (7.5 cm) tall and often had three or four handles. They were given as special gifts or awards. Examples include the Sigerson Cup for Gaelic Football, the Liam MacCarthy Cup and Dr Harty Cup for Hurling, and christening cups. Some pottery methers also exist, like Hedingham-ware examples that are about 6 inches tall with four feet.
Methers in Old Stories
Methers are mentioned in old Irish legends.
King Tuathal's Idea
One story tells how King Tuathal, who lived around 200 AD, saw Roman drinking cups with handles. He wanted to bring this style to Ireland. He asked his smith to make a similar cup.
The smith made a cup with one handle. But when he held it by the handle, the king couldn't grab it easily. So, the king asked for a second handle. The smith then held the cup by both handles, and the king still couldn't get a grip. A third handle was added, but the smith held two handles, leaving the third pointing at himself. Finally, a fourth handle was added. This solved the problem, and the mether was born!
The Children of Lir
The mether is also mentioned in The Fate of the Children of Lir, a famous Irish legend from the 1300s. In the story, Fionnuala, one of the children turned into a swan, sadly remembers: "We often drank hazel mead from round cups with four lips." This shows how important methers were in ancient Irish life.
Images for kids
-
A mether seen from the side.
-
A mether filled with wine.
-
A mether showing its four drinking lips.
-
The Sigerson Cup, a modern silver mether.
.jpg)
