{{Short description|Iron basket in which wood can be burned}} {{mdy|date=May 2023}} thumb|Fire basket A '''fire basket''' is an iron basket in which wood can be burned to make a bonfire. Fire baskets have been used since antiquity mainly to illuminate and heat rooms.<ref name="Guhl">{{Cite book |first1=Ernst |last1=Guhl |first2=Wilhelm |last2=Koner |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/18016067 |title= Das leben der Griechen und Römer, nach antiken bildwerken dargestellt |trans-title=The life of the Greeks and Romans, depicted in ancient paintings | publisher = Weidmann | chapter = 1. Hälfte: ''Griechen.'' |year=1864 |location=Berlin |page=169 |language=de |author1-link=:Ernst Guhl| author2-link=:de:Wilhelm Koner}}</ref> Today, they are most often used in an outdoor garden area as an outdoor heater or grill. The fire basket primarily is used to contain firewood, or another fuel, and is meant to offer fire protection.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://m.halle.de/Publications/187/sr_301-1_gefahrenabwehrverordnung.pdf |title=Anlegen und Betreiben offener Feuer (gemäß der §§ 2 und 10 der Gefahrenabwehrverordnung der Stadt Halle (Saale)) |work=halle.de |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926051314/https://m.halle.de/Publications/187/sr_301-1_gefahrenabwehrverordnung.pdf |access-date=2020-11-21 |archive-date=September 26, 2020 |language=de}}</ref>
The basket itself consists of a heat-resistant steel, or iron, container with high side walls that are punctuated by large mesh or grid-like openings, with a bowl underneath to catch the ashes.<ref name="t-online.de">{{cite web|last = |url=https://www.t-online.de/ratgeber/id_77979942/feuerschale-kaufen-so-finden-sie-das-beste-modell-fuer-ihren-garten.html |title=So finden Sie die passende Feuerschale für Ihren Garten| trans-title = How to find the right fire bowl for your garden |work=T-Online |date=2019-01-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107185154/https://www.t-online.de/ratgeber/id_77979942/feuerschale-kaufen-so-finden-sie-das-beste-modell-fuer-ihren-garten.html |access-date=2016-10-09 |archive-date=November 7, 2020 |language=de}}</ref>
A fire basket is similar to a brazier, and is often used not only as a heat source but also for cooking or grilling food.
==Background== [[File:Konstruktion des Vippefyret Vorläufer Leuchtturm 1627 bis 1747 Kopie im Nordosten von Skagen - Foto 2018 Wolfgang Pehlemann P1220422.jpg|thumb|Skagen's Lever Light in Skagen: from 1627 to 1747 fire baskets were raised with a lever arm.]] During the Middle Ages fire baskets filled with sulfur were used to repel the Black Death.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Rise of Miasma |url=https://deathscent.com/2020/01/21/the-rise-of-miasma | work = The Death Scent Project |date=January 21, 2020 |language=en}}</ref> <!-- Currently the fire basket is used for enjoyment. In some countries the fire basket is used during Christmas in a Christmas pageant. -->
In addition to its lighting and heating functions, fire baskets have a wide variety of uses. Before document shredders, the fire basket was widely used to burn secret documents, and fire baskets are most often found in a garden for heat and light.<ref name="t-online.de" /> The beacon atop the Altenburg castle in Bamberg served to communication with the neighboring Giechburg castle.<ref name="t-online.de" />
Historically, fire baskets were used in lighthouses, such as Skagen's White Lighthouse,<ref name="dsd">{{Cite web |title=Det Hvide Fyr i Skagen |url=http://www.denstoredanske.dk/Danmarks_geografi_og_historie/Danmarks_geografi/Jylland/Jylland_-_fyr/Det_Hvide_Fyr_i_Skagen |access-date=2013-11-09 |website=Den Store Danske |date=November 11, 2011 |language=da}}.</ref> as the beacon.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lighthouse Lamps Through Time by Thomas Tag |url=https://uslhs.org/lighthouse-lamps-through-time |website=United States Lighthouse Society |access-date=May 22, 2023 |archive-date=January 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180101211520/http://uslhs.org/lighthouse-lamps-through-time |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the 16th century, Frederick II ordered the erection of beacons at Skagen, Anholt and Kullen Lighthouse to mark the main route through Danish waters from the North Sea to the Baltic.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hahn-Pedersen |first=Morten |url=https://prussia.online/Data/Book/ba/baltic-sea-identity/Baltic%20Sea%20Identity%20(2003),%20OCR.pdf |date=April 2003 |title=Baltic Sea Identity: Common Sea – Common Culture? |publisher=Polish Maritime Museum in Gdańsk |chapter=Reports on Baltic Lights – Denmark |isbn=83-919514-0-5 |editor-last=Litwin |editor-first=Jerzy |location=Gdańsk |page=81}}</ref> These "bascule lights" or "tipping lanterns" ({{langx|da|vippefyr}}) were fire baskets hung from a bascule. In Skagen, the current {{lang|da|vippefyr}} is a reproduction of the original, which dates back to 1626.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Holland |first=F. Ross |title=America's lighthouses: an illustrated history |publisher=Dover |year=1988 |isbn=978-0486255767 |location=New York |page=3 |orig-date=1972}}</ref>
==Heraldry== A fire basket is an uncommon heraldic figure in heraldry. Another name in Germany is the "pitch basket",<ref>{{cite book| last = Gritzner | first = Maximilian | author-link = Maximilian Gritzner| language = de | title = Großes und allgemeines Wappenbuch | year = 1888 | page = 131 | publisher = BoD – Books on Demand | quote = Plate XXVIII Figure 7 | isbn = 978-3-368-46344-1}}</ref> or a "straw basket".<ref>{{cite book| last = Ernst Heinrich Kneschke | language = de | title = Die Wappen der deutschen freiherrlichen und adeligen Familien in genauer vollständiger und allgemein verständlicher Beschreibung | volume = 3 | publisher = T.O. Weigel | location = Leipzig | year = 1856 | page = 363| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3K1AAAAAcAAJ&q=Die+Wappen+der+deutschen+freiherrlichen+und+adeligen+Familien+in+genauer+vollst%C3%A4ndiger+und+allgemein+verst%C3%A4ndlicher+Beschreibung}}</ref>
A distinction is made between two representations: Only the empty fire basket or the basket with flames licking up from it is shown in the coat of arms and/or in the upper coat of arms. All heraldic colors are used, but black and the metals are used most often. The flames are mostly red. Deviations and special shapes and positions are to be mentioned in the description of the coat of arms. The town of Becherbach uses the fire basket in its coat of arms from the terms pitch and basket.<ref>Becherbach municipality’s name</ref>
A cresset is a fire basket on a pole.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cresset|url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O128612/cresset-unknown/|publisher=Victoria and Albert Museum|accessdate= 2012-09-05| quote = Click "More information" tab}}</ref>
<gallery> File:Becherbach (Pf) CoA.svg|Fire basket from the coat of arms of the German community of Becherbach Proeck-Wasppen.png|Coat of arms of the Prussian noble family, {{ill|Proeck|de}} Seutter von Letzen Wappen.jpg|The Württemberg {{ill| Seuter| de|Seuter (Familie)}} carried a golden basket in their escutcheon and upper coat of arms.<ref>{{cite book| author-link = :de:Otto Titan von Hefner | last = von Hefner | first = Otto Titan | title = Die Wappen des Württemberger Adels | year = 1857 | trans-title= Coat of arms of the Württemberg nobility | location = Nuremberg | publisher =Bauer and Raspe | page = 12 | quote = plate 14, image 9 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=eQ9nAAAAcAAJ&dq=Die+Wappen+des+W%C3%BCrttemberger+Adels&pg=PA4}}</ref> Coat of arms of Wolverhampton City Council.png|Arms of City of Wolverhampton Council with a stalked fire basket in the crest </gallery>
==Gallery== <gallery> Vonken naar de sterren.jpg|A fire in a basket Brasero de Pompeya.jpg|A fire basket from Pompeii File:Skagen Hvide Fyr.jpg|The retired Skagen's White Lighthouse in Skagen, North Judland, Denmark. On the roof is the fire basket once used as a beacon. </gallery>
==See also== * Family coat of arms of the {{ill|Proeck|de}} family * Franklin stove
==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *{{commons category-inline|Fire baskets}} *{{wiktionary-inline}} {{heraldry}}
Category:Light fixtures Category:Garden features Category:Fireplaces Category:Cooking vessels Category:Bonfires