page_title: Mazer (drinking vessel)
hierarchical_section_title: Mazer (drinking vessel)
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 They were originally made in Germany (between the 11th and 16th centuries) from maple, which has spotted markings - Maser is the German word for these spots.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: A mazer is a special type of wooden drinking vessel, a wide cup or shallow bowl without handles, with a broad flat foot and a knob or boss in the centre of the inside, known technically as the print or boss. They vary from simple pieces all in wood to those ornamented with metalwork, often in silver or silver-gilt. They use dense impervious woods such as maple, beech and walnut wood, and get their name from the spotted or birdseye marking on the wood, or possibly maserle as a name for Acer campestre. They are a north European medieval tradition, mostly made from the 11th to the 16th centuries.
context_section_description: A mazer is a special type of wooden drinking vessel, a wide cup or shallow bowl without handles, with a broad flat foot and a knob or boss in the centre of the inside, known technically as the print or boss.  They vary from simple pieces all in wood to those ornamented with metalwork, often in silver or silver-gilt.  They use dense impervious woods such as maple, beech and walnut wood, and get their name from the spotted or birdseye marking on the wood (Ger. Maser, spot, marking, especially on wood; cf. "measles"), or possibly maserle as a name for Acer campestre.  They are a north European medieval tradition, mostly made from the 11th (or earlier) to the 16th centuries.
caption: The Bute Mazer's whale bone cover, c 1500
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