nquets, where, almost alone in fact,
the ancient ceremonial of the table is still observed to some extent;
and the loving-cup is the direct descendant of the hanap of the middle
ages.

Nefs.

Of all the ornaments of the table in medieval times the most conspicuous
was probably the "nef." This was in the form of a ship (_navis_), as its
name implies, and originally was designed to hold the table utensils of
the host--knives, napkins, and at times even the wine. Some of the later
examples which alone survive are carried out with the greatest
elaboration, the sails and rigging being carefully finished and with a
number of figures on the deck. The reason for the existence of such an
article of table furniture was doubtless the fear of poison. As in
course of time this became less, the nef changed its character, and
became either a mere ornament, or sometimes was capable of being used as
a drinking vessel. The former, however, was much more common, and the
number of nefs that can be practically used as drinking cups is small.

16th-century types.

In the 15th and 16th centuries the shapes, decoration and materials of
drinking vessels were almost endless. A favourite object to be so
adapted was an ostrich egg, and many can be seen in museums in elaborate
silver mounts; coco-nuts were also used in the same way, and Chinese
and other Oriental wares then of great variety, were often turned into
cups and vases by ingeniously devised silver mounting. The use of
drinking vessels either formed of actual horns or of other materials was
common in the 15th and 16th centuries, especially in the north. They
were usually provided with feet so as to serve as standing cups, and
some of them were mounted with great richness. An excellent example is
the famous drinking-horn in the possession of Queen's College, Oxford,
dating from the 14th century. The medieval beliefs about "griffins'
claws" still survived to this late date, and a horn cup in the British
Museum bears the inscription "Ein Greifen Klau bin ich genannt, In Asia,
Africa wohl bekannt." Another horn, probably that of an ibex, is in the
same institution, and has a silver mount inscribed "Gryphi unguis divo
Cuthberto dunelmensi sacer." The elegant natural curve of the horn adds
greatly to the charm of the vessel. In Germany the ingenuity of the
silversmith was turned in the direction of making vessels in the forms
of animals, at times in allusion to the coat of arms of t