Gorm's Cup

Gorm's Cup, also known as the Jelling Cup, is a small silver cup buried with the Danish king Gorm the Old,.

Context

The cup was found in the huge double barrow in which the heathen king Gorm the Old, founder of the Danish monarchy, and his wife Thyra, were buried side by side at Jelling, Jutland. According to heathen custom the corpses were laid in the royal grave upon pillows filled with down, with wax candles at their sides.
In the barrow was also found a wooden figure that has been interpreted by some as Christ. It is surrounded by a triskele which has been interpreted by some as a symbol of Woden. On the large stones, erected, according to heathen custom, above the barrows, a figure of Christ is seen surrounded by the same heathen triskele.

Interpretation

The cup is of silver, gilt inside, and ornamented with an old half mythological pattern of twisted snakes and fantastic animals. The burial-chamber was almost certainly closed in 958 or 959: which was no more than seven years before Denmark was officially Christianised, according to the Saxon chronicler Widukind of Corvey. The small silver cup from the grave has been interpreted by some scholars as a Christian chalice, but others have thought it a drinking vessel for the alcoholic beverage called beor.