page_title: Bute mazer
section_title: Heraldry
hierarchical_section_title: Bute mazer / Description / Heraldry
caption_attribution_description: English: National Museum of Scotland. A mazer was a communal drinking cup used while feasting. They were originally made in Germany (between the 11th and 16th centuries) from maple, which has spotted markings - Maser is the German word for these spots. They take the form of shallow bowls with a foot to rest it on a table, and a decorative boss in the centre of the inside. The foot, the boss (also known as the print) and the metalwork around the rim of the Bute Mazer are all made of silver. This is the oldest surviving Scottish mazer, and is associated with Rothesay Castle on Bute. It is thought to have been used in the 1320's, so is at least that old.
context_page_description: The Bute Mazer, also known as the Bannatyne Mazer is a medieval communal feasting cup of a type known as a mazer. The wood bowl and the elaborate silver-gilt "boss" in the centre are dated "fairly firmly" to between 1314 and 1327 from the heraldry, with the rim and cover about 1500. It is the oldest Scottish mazer still surviving, and one of the oldest and most elaborate British ones. The cup has long been associated with the Isle of Bute, on the west coast of Scotland. Its alternative name derives from Ninian Bannatyne, Laird of Kames, who owned the cup in the 16th century and had his name engraved on the rim. The mazer is now on loan from the Bannatyne family to the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.
context_section_description: The lion is thought by some to represent Robert the Bruce, but considered too informal to do so by others,  The six enamelled shields with coats of arms represent the families of six of Bruce's supporters (in clockwise order starting between the front paws of the lion):
  House of Stewart, as represented by Walter, the High Steward
  Douglas, as represented by Bruce's companion, Sir James Douglas (1286–1330)
  Walter FitzGilbert (died c.1346), ancestor of the Dukes of Hamilton
  John FitzGilbert, Baillie of Bute and possibly brother of Walter
  Crawford of Loudoun
  Menteith, a branch of the Stewart family
  It has been observed that Douglas is at the lion's right hand, to represent Sir James Douglas' position as Bruce's principal commander, while Stewart is between the lion's paws, since Walter Stewart was married to the King's daughter Marjorie. Their son inherited the throne as King Robert II in 1371, the first monarch of the House of Stewart.
caption: Detail of the boss
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