A metal basket or container mounted on a pole or wall that holds burning coal, wood, or oil to provide light and heat.
From Middle English cresset, from Old French creisset, possibly from creste (crest) referring to its raised position, used for illumination in medieval and early modern times.
Before streetlights, towns used cressets to light their streets at night—you can still see ancient cressets carved into castles and city walls across Europe!
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