The Tassilo Chalice (german: Tassilokelch; la, Calix Tassilonis) is a bronze

chalice A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning. R ...

, gilded with silver and gold, dating from the 8th century AD. The chalice is of

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

design, and has probably been at

Kremsmünster Abbey Kremsmünster Abbey (german: Stift Kremsmünster) is a Benedictine monastery in Kremsmünster in Upper Austria. History The monastery was founded in 777 AD by Tassilo III, Duke of Bavaria. According to the foundation legend, Tassilo founded th ...

, Austria since shortly after it was made.

History

Dating from c. 770-790 AD, the chalice was donated by Liutperga, wife of the

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...

Tassilo III, possibly on the occasion of the establishment of the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The c ...

Kremsmünster Kremsmünster is a town in Kirchdorf an der Krems District, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Settled in 777, it is home to the Kremsmünster Abbey. The Abbey was founded 777 by Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria and is one of the oldest abbeys o ...

in 777. The chalice is composed of an egg-shaped cup, a large knop (ornamental knob), and a relatively narrow foot (base). The chalice is cast in bronze that has been gilded with gold and silver and decorated by various methods, including

niello Niello is a black mixture, usually of sulphur, copper, silver, and lead, used as an inlay on engraved or etched metal, especially silver. It is added as a powder or paste, then fired until it melts or at least softens, and flows or is pushed ...

engraving and

chip-carving Chip carving or chip-carving, ''kerbschnitt'' in German, is a style of carving in which knives or chisels are used to remove small chips of the material from a flat surface in a single piece. The style became important in Migration Period metalw ...

. It stands 25.5 cm high, and weighs 3.05 kg; its cup holds approximately 1.75 litres. The interlinked oval medallions round the cup show Christ (together with the initials "I" and "S", for ''Iesus Salvator'') and four

Evangelist portrait Evangelist portraits are a specific type of miniature included in ancient and mediaeval illuminated manuscript Gospel Books, and later in Bibles and other books, as well as other media. Each Gospel of the Four Evangelists, the books of Matthew, Ma ...

s, each

Evangelist Evangelist may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a co ...

with his symbol. Round the base are

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The mos ...

s of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

, and, according to an uncertain interpretation, the Lombard queen

Theodolinda Theodelinda also spelled ''Theudelinde'' ( 570–628 AD), was a queen of the Lombards by marriage to two consecutive Lombard rulers, Autari and then Agilulf, and regent of Lombardia during the minority of her son Adaloald, and co-regent when ...

. The interlace decoration which covers most of the rest of the exterior contains some animals. Around the foot is the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

inscription: TASSILO DUX FORTIS + LIVTPIRG VIRGA REGALIS. The chalice is an outstanding and original object, possibly made by

Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

n craftsmen, decorated with Hiberno-Saxon ornament typical of the period. The style is more typical of the Anglo-Saxon rather than Irish component of this hybrid style. There is evidence that monks themselves were trained as

goldsmith A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made silverware, platters, goblets, decorative and servicea ...

s in the insular period, like St.

Dunstan Saint Dunstan (c. 909 – 19 May 988) was an English bishop. He was successively Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised as a saint. His work restored monastic life in ...

, a 10th-century

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Just ...

, and

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

for example, was a centre of the

Anglo-Saxon mission Anglo-Saxon missionaries were instrumental in the spread of Christianity in the Frankish Empire during the 8th century, continuing the work of Hiberno-Scottish missionaries which had been spreading Celtic Christianity across the Frankish Empire a ...

. The care and artistry with which it was worked and the rich decoration show that it was the product of the highest craftsmanship of the day. Although church synods held in the 8th and 9th centuries expressly prohibited the use of copper and bronze for use in

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different gro ...

chalices, this is one of a few surviving examples of such vessels from that time. The character of the ornamentation shows clearly the predominance of Insular and

influences, even though it may have been made on the Continent. Its place of manufacture is uncertain, and it may have been produced in

northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative region ...

, but Mondsee or

have also been suggested. Together with the

Ardagh Chalice The Ardagh Hoard, best known for the Ardagh Chalice, is a hoard of metalwork from the 8th and 9th centuries. Found in 1868 by two young local boys, Jim Quin and Paddy Flanagan, it is now on display in the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin. I ...

and the

Derrynaflan Chalice The Derrynaflan Chalice is an 8th- or 9th-century chalice that was found as part of the Derrynaflan Hoard of five liturgical vessels. The discovery was made on 17 February 1980 near Killenaule, County Tipperary in Ireland. According to art ...

and associated

paten A paten or diskos is a small plate, used during the Mass. It is generally used during the liturgy itself, while the reserved sacrament are stored in the tabernacle in a ciborium. Western usage In many Western liturgical denominations, the ...

, all of Irish origin, it is one of the most impressive of the very few surviving large pieces of Insular church metalwork – most examples of the style are secular brooches. Anglo-Saxon metalwork was highly regarded as far away as Italy, and especially noted for its engraving, but even fewer pieces have survived than from Ireland.Dodwell op cit pp.188-215, esp. 202-210

References

Bibliography

*G. Haseloff (1951), ''Der Tassilokelch''. Münchner Beiträge zur Vor- und Frühgeschichte 1. Munich. *G. Haseloff (1977), "Zum Stand der Forschung zum Tassilokelch." In: Jung, H. (Hrsg), ''Baiernzeit in Oberösterreich''. Von Severin zu Tassilo. Linz. *V. Bierbrauer (1988), "Liturgische Gerätschaften aus Baiern und seinen Nachbarregionen in Spätantike und frühem Mittelalter". In: Dannheimer, H. (Hrsg.): ''Die Bajuwaren''. Von Severin bis Tassilo 488–788. Munich.

External links

{{commons category-inline Kremsmünster Abbey Bronzeware Anglo-Saxon art Chalices Medieval European metalwork objects