Ampulla (2)

Ampulla

(prob. for amb-olla, from its swelling out in every direction) was a flask for holding water and wine for the eucharist, and also a vessel (λήκυθος) for the Oil used in chrism (Opt. Milevitanus, Contra Donat. 2, 19, p. 42).

One of the most celebrated of these utensils was the one said to have been brought from heaven by a dove at the baptism of Clovis, and afterwards used at the coronation of the Frankish kings (Hincmar, Hist. Eccles. Remensis, 1, 13).