The Earl of Eastcheap

Shakespeare's baron of besotted conviviality, Sir John Falstaff, loved his sack (a somewhat sweet, fortified Spanish wine) in astounding quantities, but was never one to turn his back on other forms of liquid refreshment. While reducing the ale supply at the Boar's Head Tavern in London's Eastcheap, Fat Jack might have tilted back a black jack, a one-handled blackened leather liquid-holding vessel, of the sort pictured here.

This early 17th-century English black jack is in the collection of Agecroft Hall, a collection that includes a broad assortment of tableware from the period. The word "jack" was probably an allusion to the "leathern" coats worn by soldiers of the period. The size and amount of liquid a black jack carried varied from a quart to six or more gallons, with the larger ones generally used to carry liquid from the cellar to a table. Those were often referred to as "bombards" because of their resemblance in form to a type of cannon of the period.. The vessels would be lined with resin or pitch to make them waterproof. It's hardly surprising that rowdy, thirsty English soldiers evidently had a hand in naming some of the items on a typical drinking table. Who's going to argue with 'em?

Shakespeare's beloved Falstaff will be showing up at the 2012 Richmond Shakespeare Festival at Agecroft Hall, to keep The Merry Wives of Windsor amused. That play is slated to run from July 5th through July 29th. Prior to that production, Cymbeline will be performed from June 7th through July 1st.