A stirrup cup is a "parting cup" given to guests, especially when they are leaving and have their feet in the stirrups. It is also the traditional drink (usually port or sherry

Sherry

Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the town of Jerez , Spain. In Spanish, it is called vino de Jerez....

) served at the meet, prior to a traditional foxhunt

Foxhunt

Foxhunt is the debut ep by Australian music collective Dukes of Windsor, released on 15 August 2005.-Track listing:-Release history:...

. The term can describe the cup that such a drink is served in.

In Scots the host may well, in inviting his guest to stay briefly for that farewell drink, call it a "dochan doruis" (from Scottish Gaelic deoch an dorais tʲɔx ən̪ˠ t̪ɔɾɪʃ, literally "drink of the door").

In Anya Seton

Anya Seton

Anya Seton was the pen name of Ann Seton, an American author of historical romances.-Biography:...

's Katherine

Katherine (novel)

Anya Seton's Katherine is a historical novel based largely on fact. It tells the story of the historically important love affair between the titular Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the third surviving son of King Edward III...

the custom occurs frequently before English royalty and nobility leave on travels abroad or progresses. In G.G. Coulton's Chaucer and his England it is referred to in relation to the Canterbury pilgrims setting out. It is also used in a number of Rosemary Sutcliff

Rosemary Sutcliff

Rosemary Sutcliff CBE was a British novelist, and writer for children, best known as a writer of historical fiction and children's literature. Although she was primarily a children's author, the quality and depth of her writing also appeals to adults; Sutcliff herself once commented that she wrote...

's historical novels set in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 after the Norman Invasion.