#ciborium

Ciborium of Burgos Cathedral, Burgos, Castille Y Leon, Spain,

I kept making and seeing jokes in the chats about vampires using metal drinking straws and drinking other vampires/humans like Capri suns when I googled "ciborium" (The Vampire Armand) :

Armand is so thirsty and horny with his begging to drink Lestat (and Jesus by proxy), you almost feel sorry for him

Armand's calling him a covered cup to hold the consecrated wafer -- oh---

and came across this:

They are called litugical fistulae. Single ones are also known calamo, cannula, arundo, calamus, pipa, pugillaris, sipho or sumptorium.

I AM CALLING THEM LITURGICAL DRINKING STRAWS FOR CLARITY. GOOGLE THEM AT YOUR OWN PERIL, BE ESPECIALLY MINDFUL OF IMAGE SEARCHES.

These are metal liturgical drinking straws used to drink Communion wine after it's been blessed from the chalice.

They were used to avoid spilling even a drop of consecrated wine, especially when given to infants.

They could also be used as a pipette to drop it in a worshipper's mouth if they only able to swallow liquids.

I have never seen this because I've never had a special audience of a Papal Coronation Mass.

Paul VI drinks from the chalice via the liturgical drinking straw in 1964. Pre Vatican II.

They were mostly used in the western church in a regular mass from the 12th century up until the 13th century, when it fell out of favor There are records of the Abbey of St. Denis (in Paris) until the 18th century, and is an acceptable way to receive communion wine instead of drinking it from the chalice according to the 1970 edition of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (and the current one).

Ministers present the Pope with two chalices and liturgical drinking straws (colored). Rome, 1719. Bayerische Staatsbibliothek.Fistulae from the Wiltener set. Austria 1160. Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien

Liturgical drinking straws from the Wiltener set. Austria 1160.Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien

Liturgical drinking straws from St Trudpert monastery. Germany, 1230. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Administering the Viaticum with a liturgical drinking straw. detail from the Illustrated Heidelberg Catechism, 1455.Heidelberg University Library

St. Trudpert chalice, liturgical drinking straw and paten. Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. ca. 1230–50

I just imagine some of these extremely Catholic vampires keeping one or two in reserve for when they have to turn one or more people at once if they feel especially ceremonial and old school. There's so many quasi religious references to blood in the Chronicles.

Apparently they are still used in some Orthodox churches today.

Which VC vampire is MOST likely to have and/or use a metal liturgical drinking straw?

SANTINO

Mr. Children of Satan leader

would appreciate the Black Plague safety measures implied by the straw (and wafer tongs)

has an entire formal turning ceremony for the Children of Satan, uh breaking rogue vampire ceremonies

ARMAND

ex-Orthodox novice and icon painter

ex-Catholic in spirit

rare art collector

begs to drink Lestat in Memnoch the Damned and The Vampire Armand as some kind of ultimate Communion/hookup

DANIEL MOLLOY

uses a lot of very Catholic metaphors to talk about The Vampire Lestat, the band

roleplay as a human trying to drink Armand from the neck in "The Devil's Minion" in The Queen of the Damned

MARIUS DE ROMANUS

S0 fucking Roman

the Vatican is in Rome, & he overidentifies as Roman

in total and full denial of being a priest complete with ritual implements (see Blood and Gold; the" Story of Marius" in The Vampire Lestat; Pandora)

Has turned two vampires at once or in quick succession before (he says; The Vampire Armand; Prince Lestat)

Designed some weird ceremony to turn two vampires at once in Prince Lestat, specifically asks for Pandora's involvement because the last time he turned two vampires it was difficult, he says

MAGNUS

You mean to tell me this guy wouldn't have used one to make himself a vampire if he could steal it?

The full on sacrilegious overtones of Lestat's turning

BENEDICT

former monk, might have had one lying around

LESTAT DE LIONCOURT

might have stolen one as a prank from one of the many churches he bumbles into;

wanted to actually be a priest at one point

might have been useful helping Louis fully reanimate to alive from charcoal briquet status in Merrick

Just the entirety of Memnoch the Damned

FAREED BHANSALI/SETH

Fancy, also have reason to mass turn vampires for organ experimentation

Ciborium

Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano - Roma