According to bishop Olavus Magni glasses were very rare in the North, and should also remain so because they were dangerous ΓÇö the northern drinking habits were violent and one could easily get bad wounds from broken glass. At the end of the 16th century it was customary with the nobility and in the court to drink a toast to different people and with each cause, after which the glasses were smashed to the floor. When King Eric XIV arranged a banquet for Stockholmers during Christmas 1563, 174 beakers were smashed. However, this was only a small amount compared to the many banquets of the court. For instance, for the 1596 coronation of Christian IV, King of Denmark, a whole 35 000 glasses were ordered. No wonder that separate glassworks had to be established for the needs of the court.
