Luck of Edenhall

The "Luck of Edenhall" is a glass beaker that was made in Syria or Egypt in the middle of the 14th century, elegantly decorated with arabesques in blue, green, red and white enamel with gilding. It is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and is 15.8 cm high and 11.1 cm wide at the brim. It had reached Europe by the 15th century, when it was provided with a decorated stiff leather case with a lid, which includes the Christian IHS; this no doubt helped it to survive over the centuries. Glass drinking vessels very rarely survive—or remain in one family—for long enough to acquire a legendary status, so the successful passing of this vessel through many generations of the Musgrave family of Edenhall, Cumberland is exceptional. Legend has it that this ancient beaker embodied the continuing prosperity of its owners. Telling the story in The Gentleman's Magazine in 1791, Rev. William Mounsey of Bottesford wrote:

The beaker is now known to be an exceptionally fine and pristine example of 14th century luxury Islamic glass. Old stories relating to the 'Luck' suggested it found its way to England in the baggage of a returning Crusader, however recent dating which suggests the Luck was made in the 14th century makes this unlikely as the Crusades ended in the 13th century. The antiquity of the legend surrounding it has not been determined. It was the subject of a German ballad by Ludwig Uhland, later rendered in English by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; this wrongly says the glass was shattered. A number of rare objects owned by families in the North of England were known as "lucks"; the glass is first documented, and named as the "Luck of Edenhall", in 1677 in the will of Sir Philip Musgrave.

Edenhall

Coordinates: 54°41′06″N 2°40′23″W / 54.685°N 2.673°W / 54.685; -2.673

Edenhall is a clustered village in the south-west of the civil parish of Langwathby, 800m to the north in the Eden district, in the county of Cumbria, England. Edenhall has a church called St Cuthbert's Church. The name Edenhall originates from Eden Hall house, the seat of the Musgrave family of Hartley Castle, Cumberland many of whom were members of the House of Commons.

Eden Hall

The original Eden Hall was extended in the 1700s from materials salvaged from the demolition of Hartley castle, the ancestral home of the Musgrave family. It was rebuilt in 1821 employing the architect Sir Robert Smirke and rebuilt again in white stone in an Italianate style in the late 1860s. The hall was sold in the early 1900s when the Musgrave family moved to London and was demolished in 1934 leaving its 19th century courtyard of stables and coach houses which has been divided into seven properties retaining some stables.

The hall was noteworthy as the home of the Luck of Eden Hall, an enamel and gilt glass beaker from the 14th century, once owned by the Musgrave family and currently in pristine condition. While reputedly stolen from the fairies during its history, it is actually an Islamic piece dating from the 14th century. It is now in the Victoria and Albert museum.