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Acauldron (or acaldron) is a large pot orkettle used for cooking or boiling, typically over an openfire. It often features alid, an arc-shaped hanger, and/or integral handles or feet.
While largely replaced by modern cooking vessels in the developed world, the cauldron holds a rich history inreligion,mythology, andfolklore. InWestern culture, it is most commonly associated withwitchcraft.
The word cauldron is first recorded inMiddle English ascaudroun (13th century). It was borrowed fromNormancaudron[1] (Picardcaudron,French:chaudron). It represents the phonetical evolution ofVulgar Latin*caldario forClassical Latincaldārium "hot bath", that derives fromcal(i)dus "hot".[1]
The Norman-French word replaces the Old Englishċetel (German(Koch)Kessel "cauldron", Dutch(kook)ketel "cauldron"), Middle Englishchetel. The word "kettle" is a borrowing of theOld Norse variantketill "cauldron".[2]
From Latin origin, the term cauldron is derived from caldrius, meaning “hot.” This word provided the root meaning for caldarium, a cooking-pot and the Anglo- Norman French cauderon, from which came the Middle English word caldron in the fourteenth century.
Cauldrons have largely fallen out of use in thedeveloped world as cooking vessels. While still used for practical purposes, a more common association inWestern culture is the cauldron's use inwitchcraft—acliché popularized by various works offiction. In English Renaissance theater plays—such asWilliam Shakespeare'sMacbeth,Thomas Middleton'sThe Witch, andChristopher Marlowe'sThe Jew of Malta—the cauldron symbolizes the danger of marginalized characters by linking the cauldron's use by these characters to death, femininity, and the subversion of a familiar domestic object into an instrument of murder[3]. Also, inIrish folklore, a cauldron is purported to be whereleprechauns keep their gold andtreasure.
In some forms ofWicca, appropriating aspects ofCeltic mythology, the cauldron is associated with the goddessCerridwen.Welsh legend also tells of cauldrons that were useful to warring armies. In the second branch of theMabinogi in the tale ofBranwen, Daughter of Llŷr, thePair Dadeni (Cauldron of Rebirth) is a magical cauldron in which dead warriors could be placed and then be returned to life, save that they lacked the power of speech.[4] It was suspected that they lacked souls. These warriors could go back into battle until they were killed again. In Wicca and some other forms of neopagan or pagan belief systems, the cauldron is still used in magical practices. Most often a cauldron is made of cast iron and is used to burn loose incense on a charcoal disc, to make black salt (used in banishing rituals), for mixing herbs, or to burn petitions (paper with words of power or wishes written on them). Cauldrons symbolize not only the Goddess but also represent the womb (because it holds something) and on an altar, it represents earth because it is a working tool. Cauldrons are often sold inNew Age or "metaphysical" stores and may have various symbols of power inscribed on them.
TheHoly Grail ofArthurian legend is sometimes referred to as a "cauldron", although traditionally the grail is thought of as a hand-held cup rather than the large pot that the word "cauldron" usually is used to mean. This may have resulted from the combination of the grail legend with earlier Celtic myths of magical cauldrons.
The common translation fording is often referred to as a cauldron. In Chinese history and culture, possession of one or more ancient dings is often associated with power and dominion over the land. Therefore, the ding is often used as an implicit symbolism for power. The term "inquiring of the ding" (Chinese: 问鼎; pinyin: wèn dǐng) is often used to symbolize the use of divination or for the quest for power. One example of the ding cauldron and gaining power over the traditional provinces of China is theNine Tripod Cauldrons (whether regarded as myth or history).
Archeologically intact actual cauldrons with apparent cultural symbolism include:
Cauldrons known only through myth and literature include:
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