LONDON, 1626, MAKER'S MARK RB ABOVE A STAR

ACCEPTED FREWEN

The eldest son of the Puritan clergyman Reverend John Frewen, rector of Northiam in Sussex, Accepted had numerous brothers, including the equally unusually named Thankfull, who also entered the church. Accepted was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford where he became a B.A. in 1606 and M.A. in 1612, becoming ordained and made a fellow of the college in the same year. In 1617 he was given a leave of absence from the university to act as chaplain to Sir John Digby (1580-1653), ambassador to Spain. There he befriended Prince Charles, later King Charles I, during his visit, by warning him of attempts to convert him to Catholicism. The prince consequently appointed him as one of his personal chaplains, following his accession to the throne. Frewen was unanimously elected president of Magdalen College, Oxford in 1626 and it is possible his was given this tankard on his appointment. He was appointed Vice Chancellor of the university in 1628 and 1629. He reordered the chapel in accordance with the beliefs of Archbishop Laud (1573-1645). He was appointed vice-chancellor once more in 1639 and the request of Laud, but it was a turbulent time for Frewen and the university. In 1642 Frewen helped arrange a loan of £500 to the beleaguered king, possibly financed by Frewen himself. This led to an accusation of treason against parliament and an order for his arrest. He went into hiding and survived, his loyalty was rewarded by the gift of a bishopric. He made Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield in 1643. Turmoil in the country meant he was not enthroned until the following year, with the ceremony being performed by John Williams, Archbishop of York (1582-1650) in the chapel of Magdalen College, rather than the cathedral. His position and estates were forfeited in 1652. He evaded capture and laid low in exile in France during the interregnum. On the return of the King in 1660 he was made Archbishop of York. He benefited greatly from the new leases issued to the tenants of the bishopric and he used large sums to restore Lichfield Cathedral and his episcopal seat Bishopthorpe near York. He died a wealthy man leaving his brother Stephen a fortune of almost £30,000. A large monument was raised in his memory beneath the east window of York Minster.

The Archbishop left £500 to Magdalen College 'my mother that gave me my breeding'. He made other bequests to his family and friends ranging from £400 to £5. The residue of his estate including all his chattels, presumably including his plate, was left to his brother Stephen Frewen (1600-1679), master of the Skinners' Company. It is unlikely that the tankard belonged to John Frewen, Accepted's father as no such object is lister in 'Inventory of the goods of the Rev John Frewen the elder of Northiam, appraised by the Rev Thomas Mannington, William Mudle and Thomas Packins, 3 May 1628 and exhibited by his son Thankful Frewen,' in the Frewen Family Papers at the East Sussex Public Record Office. The detailed list includes a'one greate guilt cupp with a cover one silver bole one beaker, one salt' and a quantity of spoons. The 'greate guilt cupp' was bequeathed by John Frewen to his 'eldest and welbeloved sonne, Accepted Frewen, Doctor of Divinitye, and President of Magdalen College OxforI’ together with the salt and six of his best spoons.

THE FORM OF THE TANKARD

This tankard is typical for the Charles I period, with a wide mouth to the body, in contrast to Elizabeth I and James I examples, such the Willoughby tankard, also offered here, which tapers to a much narrower opening. The tankard's plainness is in direct contrast to the parcel-gilt and engraved examples of the earlier period, in reaction to the Puritan belief in function over ornament. The thumbpiece is plain and undecorated. The only embellishment, apart from the engraved arms and inscription, is the reeded bands, recalling the strips which bound the staves of wooden tankards, which similarly recalls the wooden tankards of the period. A soldier drinks form such an example in the painting by the Dutch artist Frans van Mieris (I), 1655-1657, illustrated here. This tankard can be compared to a more bellied example of 1587 sold from the collection of the Whiteley Trust at Christie’s London on 13 June 2000, lot 18, illustrated in M. Clayton, The Collector's Dictionary of Silver and Gold of Great Britain and North America, Woodbridge, 1985, p. 396.