Adrinking horn is thehorn of abovid used as acup. Drinking horns are known fromclassical antiquity, especially theBalkans. They remained in use for ceremonial purposes throughout theMiddle Ages and theearly modern period in some parts of Europe, notably inGermanic Europe, as well as in theCaucasus. Drinking horns remain an important accessory in the culture of ritualtoasting inGeorgia in particular, where they are known by the local name ofkantsi.^[2]

Cups made from glass, metal, pottery, and in the shape of drinking horns are also known since antiquity. The ancient Greek term for a drinking horn was simplykeras (pluralkerata)'horn'.^[3] To be distinguished from the drinking-horn proper is therhyton (pluralrhyta), a drinking-vessel made very loosely in the shape of a horn, sometimes with an outlet at the pointed end.

Both in the Greek and the Scythian sphere, vessels of clay or metal shaped like horns were used alongside actual horns from an early time.A Late Archaic (ca. 480 BC)Attic red-figure vase showsDionysus and asatyr each holding a drinking horn.^[5]

During Classical Antiquity, theThracians andScythians in particular were known for their custom of drinking from horns (archaeologically, theIron Age "Thraco-Cimmerian" horizon).Xenophon's account of his dealings with the Thracian leaderSeuthes suggests that drinking horns were integral part of the drinkingkata ton Thrakion nomon ("after the Thracian fashion").Diodorus gives an account of a feast prepared by theGetic chiefDromichaites forLysimachus and selected captives, and the Getians' use of drinking vessels made from horn and wood is explicitly stated.

The Scythian elite also used horn-shapedrhyta made entirely from precious metal. A notable example is the 5th century BC gold-and-silverrhython in the shape of aPegasus which was found in 1982 in Ulyap,Adygea, now at the Museum of Oriental Art in Moscow.^[6]M.I. Maksimova (1956) in an archaeological survey of Scythian drinking horns distinguished two basic types (excluding vessels of clearly foreign origin), a strongly curved type, and a slender type with only slight curvature; the latter type was identified as based on auroch's horns by Maksimova (1956:221). This typology became standard in Soviet-era archaeology.^[7]

There are a few artistic representation of Scythians actually drinking from horns from the rim (rather than from the horn's point as withrhyta).^[8] The oldest remains of drinking horns orrhyta known from Scythian burials are dated to the 7th century BC, reflecting Scythian contact with oriental culture during their raids of theAssyrian Empire at that time. After these early specimens, there is a gap with only sparse evidence of Scythian drinking horns during the 6th century.

Drinking horns re-appear in the context of Pontic burials in the 5th century BC: these are the specimens classified as Scythian drinking horns by Maksimova (1956). The 5th-century BC practice of depositing drinking horns with precious metal fittings as grave goods for deceased warriors appears to originate in theKuban region.^[9] In the 4th century BC, the practice spreads throughout the Pontic Steppe. Rhyta, mostly of Achaemenid or Thracian import, continue to be found in Scythian burials, but they are now clearly outnumbered by Scythian drinking horns proper.

Around the midpoint of the 4th century BC, a new type of solid silver drinking horn with strong curvature appears. While the slightly curving horn type is found throughout the Pontic Steppe, specimens of the new type have not been found in the Kuban area. The custom of depositing drinking horns as grave goods begins to subside towards the end of the 4th century BC.^[10]

The depiction of drinking horns onkurgan stelae appears to follow a slightly different chronology, with the earliest examples dated to the 6th century BC, and a steep increase in frequency during the 5th, but becoming rare by the 4th century (when actual deposits of drinking horns become most frequent). In the Crimean peninsula, such depictions appear somewhat later, from the 5th century BC, but then more frequently than elsewhere.^[11]

Scythian drinking horns have been found almost exclusively in warrior burials. This has been taken as strongly suggesting an association of the drinking horn with the Scythian cult of kingship and warrior ethos. In the influential interpretation due toM. I. Rostovtzeff (1913), the Scythian ruler received the drinking horn from a deity as a symbol of his investiture. This interpretation is based on a number of depictions of a Scythian warrior drinking from a horn standing or kneeling next to a seated woman.^[12] Rolle (1980) interpreted the woman not as a goddess but as a high-ranking Scythian woman performing a ritual office.^[13]Krausse (1996) interpreted the same scenes as depicting a marriage ceremony, withthe man drinking from the horn as part of anoath ritual comparable to the scenes of Scythian warriors jointly drinking from a horn in an oath ofblood brotherhood.^[14]The Scythian drinking horns are clearly associated with the consumption ofwine.^[15]

The drinking horn reachedCentral Europe with theIron Age, in the wider context of "Thraco-Cimmerian" cultural transmission. A number of earlyCeltic (Hallstatt culture) specimens are known, notably the remains of a huge gold-banded horn found at theHochdorf burial.Krauße (1996) examines the spread of the "fashion" of drinking horns (Trinkhornmode) in prehistoric Europe, assuming it reached the easternBalkans fromScythia around 500 BC. It is more difficult to assess the role of plain animal horns as everyday drinking vessels, because these decay without a trace, while the metal fittings of the ceremonial drinking horns of the elite are preserved archaeologically.^[16]

Julius Caesar has a description ofGaulish use of aurochs drinking horns (cornu urii) inCommentarii de Bello Gallico 6.28:

„Amplitudo cornuum et figura et species multum a nostrorum boum cornibus differt. Haec studiose conquisita ab labris argento circumcludunt atque in amplissimis epulis pro poculis utuntur.“

"The [Gaulish] horns in size, shape, and kind are very different from those of our cattle. They are much sought-after, their rim fitted with silver, and they are used at great feasts as drinking vessels."

TheGermanic peoples of theMigration period imitated glass drinking horns from Roman models.One fine 5th centuryMerovingian example found atBingerbrück,Rhineland-Palatinate made from olive green glass is kept at theBritish Museum.^[17]Some of the skills of the Roman glass-makers survived inLombardic Italy, exemplified by a blue glass drinking-horn fromSutri, also in the British Museum.The twoGallehus Horns (early 5th century), made from some 3 kg ofgold andelectrum each, are usually interpreted as drinking horns, although some scholars point out that it cannot be ruled out that they may have been intended asblowing horns. After the discovery of the first of these horns in 1639,Christian IV of Denmark by 1641 did refurbish it into a usable drinking horn, adding a rim, extending its narrow end and closing it up with a screw-on pommel. These horns are the most spectacular known specimens ofGermanic Iron Age drinking horns, but they were lost in 1802 and are now only known from 17th to 18th century drawings.

Some notable examples of drinking horns of Dark Ages Europe were made of the horns of theaurochs, the wild ancestor of domesticcattle which became extinct in the 17th century. These horns were carefully dressed up and their edges lipped all round withsilver. The remains of a notable example were recovered from theSutton Hoo burial.^[18]

The British Museum also has a fine pair of 6th centuryAnglo-Saxon drinking horns, made from Aurochs horns with silver-gilt mounts, recovered from theprincely burial at Taplow,Buckinghamshire.^[19]

Numerous pieces of elaborate drinking equipment have been found in female graves in all pagan Germanic societies, beginning in the GermanicRoman Iron Age and spanning a full millennium, into theViking Age.^[20]

Drinking horns are attested fromViking Age Scandinavia. In theProse Edda,Thor drank from a horn that unbeknown to him contained all the seas, and in the process he scaredÚtgarða-Loki and his kin by managing to drink a conspicuous part of its content. They also feature inBeowulf, and fittings for drinking horns were also found at theSutton Hoo burial site. Carved horns are mentioned inGuðrúnarkviða II, a poem composed about 1000 AD and preserved in thePoetic Edda:

Beowulf (493ff.) describes the serving of mead in carved horns.

Horn fragments of Viking Age drinking horns are only rarely preserved, showing that both cattle and goat horns were in use. However, the number of decorative metal horn terminals and horn mounts recovered archaeologically show that the drinking horn was much more widespread than the small number of preserved horns would otherwise indicate.Most Viking Age drinking horns were probably from domestic cattle, holding rather less than half a litre. The significantly larger aurochs horns of the Sutton Hoo burial would have been the exception.^[24]

Drinking horns were the ceremonial drinking vessel for those of high status all through the medieval period^[25]References to drinking horns in medieval literature include theArthurian tale ofCaradoc and the Middle English romance ofKing Horn.TheBayeux Tapestry (1070s) shows a scene of feasting beforeHarold Godwinson embarks for Normandy. Five figures are depicted as sitting at a table in the upper story of a building, three of them holding drinking horns.

Most Norwegian drinking horns preserved from the Middle Ages have ornamented metal mountings, while the horns themselves are smooth and unornamented. Carvings in the horns themselves are also known, but these appear relatively late, and are of a comparative simplicity that classifies them as folk art.^[26]

Corpus Christi College ofCambridge University has a largeaurochs drinking horn, allegedly predating the college's foundation in the 14th century, which is still drunk from at College feasts.^[27]

The "Oldenburg horn" was made in 1474/75 by German artisans forChristian I of Denmark when he visited Cologne to reconcileCharles the Bold of Burgundy. It is made of silver and gilt, richly ornamented with the coats of arms of Burgundy and Denmark. The horn has its name from being kept in theOldenburg family castle for two centuries before being moved to its present location in Copenhagen. It became associated in legend with countOtto I of Oldenburg, who was supposed to have received it from a fairy woman in 980.

Drinking horns remained in use for ceremonial purposes throughout the Early Modern period. A magnificent drinking horn was made for the showpiece of the Amsterdam Guild of Arquebusiers by Amsterdam jeweller Arent Coster in 1547, now kept in theRijksmuseum.

In 17th to 18th centuryScotland, a distinct type of drinking horn develops.One aurochs drinking horn still preserved inDunvegan Castle on theIsle of Skye inScotland. It was only produced before guests, and the drinker in using it, twisted his arms round its spines, and turning his mouth towards the right shoulder, was expected to drain it off.^[28]

German Renaissance andBaroque horns often were lavishly decorated with silverwork.One such example is depicted in a 1653 painting byWillem Kalf, known asStill Life with Drinking Horn.

Lavishly decorated drinking horns in theBaroque style, some imitatingcornucopias, some made fromivory, including gold, silver andenamel decorations continued to be produced as luxury itemsin 19th to early 20th centuryimperial Austria andGermany.^[29]

Also in the 19th century, drinking horns inspired by theRomanticViking revival were made for Germanstudent corps for ritual drinking.In the context of Romanticism, a ceremonial drinking horn with decorations depicting the story of theMead of Poetry was given to Swedish poetErik Gustaf Geijer by his students in 1817, now in the Private Collection of Johan Paues,Stockholm.^[30]

Ram or goat drinking horns, known askantsi, remain an important accessory in the culture of ritualtoasting inGeorgia.During a formal dinner (supra) Georgians propose a toast, led by a toastmaster (tamada) who sets the topic of each round of toasting. Toasts are made with either wine or brandy; toasting with beer is considered an insult.^[2]

InSwiss culture, a large drinking horn together with a wreath ofoak leaves is the traditional prize for the winning team of aHornussen tournament.

Modern-dayAsatru adherents use drinking horns forBlóts (sacrificial rituals) andsumbels (feasts).

• Blowing horn
• Fairy cup legend
• Cornucopia
• Powder horn
• Qanci
• Rhyton
• Sumbel
• Drink portal

• Enright, Michael J.Lady With a Mead Cup: Ritual Prophecy and Lordship in the European Warband from La Tène to the Viking Age. Dublin: Four Courts Press. 1996.
• V.I. Evison,Germanic glass drinking horns, Journal of Glass Studies-1, 17 (1975)
• Dirk Krausse,Hochdorf, Bd.3, Das Trinkservice und Speiseservice aus dem späthallstattzeitlichen Fürstengrab von Eberdingen-Hochdorf, Theiss (1996),ISBN 978-3-8062-1278-5.
• Hagen, Ann. A Second Handbook of Anglo-Saxon Food and Drink: Production and Distribution. Hockwold cum Wilton, Norfolk, UK: Anglo-Saxon Books. 1995.
• Magerøy, Ellen Marie. "Carving: Bone, Horn, and Walrus Tusk" inMedieval Scandinavia: An Encyclopedia. Phillip Pulsiano et al., eds. Garland Reference Library of the Humanities 934. New York: Garland. 1993. pp. 66–71.
• Wieland, Anja,Skythisches Gold in griechischem Stil, Bonn (2013), "Trinkhörner und Rhyta", pp. 25–49.

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