Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Pila Bautismal

In 720 Charlemagne´s great grandmother Bertrada had founded the Prüm Abbey, from where in 830 the Benedictine monastery "Novum Monasterium" was founded here. While the Prüm Abbey owned the "Sandals of Jesus", important relics in Medieval times, the newly founded convent got the relics of Chrysanthus und Daria, who had been martyred in Rome during the Diocletian persecution. The existing church of the abbey burnt down around 1100, so the abbey church, seen here, was built within the 12th and 13th century. The design of the westwerk is very similar to that one of St. Pantaleon in Cologne (about 50kms northeast). The Benedictine monastery existed upto the end of the 12th century, when it was converted into a college of canons, that existed upto 1803. Since then the church serves the parish, but it was in a miserable status. One of the towers collapsed in 1872. The rebuilding was completed in 1890. Only a part of the remarkable baptismal font suvived the times. It is carved from "bluestone", that probably came from Namur or Tournai. Exactly this type of font (with four heads) was very popular in Northern France in the 12th/13th century.

Saint-Georges is located in the center of the village Saint-Jeanvrin (pop. ~200), what means probably since the early times "la fête" is celebtrated right here. We arrived, when the preparation were still ongoing. The church was erected in the first half of the 12th century and then was dedicated to Saint Janvier (= Januarius) hence the name of the village. Like many other churches/priories in the area, it was depended on the Notre-Dame de Déols (about 60kms northwest). Pope Pascal II confirmed this ownership in 1115. The single nave church was erected on the blueprint of a "Latin Cross" and embellished with some nice carvings and even frescoes. The baptismal font looks archaic. I actually found one informtation, dating the font to the early 12th century, and another info claiming it is "older than the church" and may have used already in a "predeceding church here". I have the impression it is pre-Romanesque.

The former collegiate church, dedicated to Saint Laurent (aka "Lawrence of Rome"), is located on the foot of a hill, that once was occupied by a castle, that got completely demolished in 1817. The Gothic choir, dating to the 12th century, is the oldest part of the church, that got much altered and fortified in the 17th century. This baptismal font may even be older than the choir. Rectangular fonts, carved from bluestone ("Pierre bleue de Tournai"), were very popular in Northern France within the 12th century.

A church in Jeantes was known since the 12th century, as it got mentioned in a charter of the Bishop of Laon Barthélémy. The building seen today was built from bricks around 1620-30 and probably replaced the older one. The interior of the church is surprising, as in 1962 the Dutch artist Charles Eyck created great frescoes, covering 200 m² of the interior walls. This baptismal font was probably part of the 12th century church. Rectangular fonts, carved from bluestone ("Pierre bleue de Tournai") must have been very popular and the state of the art in Northern France within the 12th century.

The village of Chaourse is known as the place, where in 1883 the "Chaourse Treasure" was found, a hoard of Roman silver from the 2nd and 3rd century, now in the British Museum. When the treasure was buried, the settlement´s name was "Catusiacum". About thousand years later, when the church was burnt down during the Hundred Year´s War in 1337, the name had changed to "Chaorsia". A royal edict from 1365 allowed the population to erect a protective wall around the church, what started the fortification of the church. This baptismal font is dated to the 2nd quarter of the 12th century, so it is older then the church. It looks like a the font in Beaurain, a (simplified) copy of the font in the Cathedral of Leon.

The fortified church dedicated to Saint-Médard is set on the edge of a plateau overlooking the valley of the Oise. It stands alone, surrounded by a graveyard. The small village of Flavigny, that once existed here, was looted and burnt down by soldiers of Philip IV of Spain at the end of the "Dutch War of Indipendence" (aka "Eighty Years' War"). The church was founded in the 12th century. The Thiérache area in Northern France has been a place, where many wars and battles were fought over the centuries (upto WW1). To fortify the church, and so to offer shelter to the rural population, was an idea many villagers followed here. Such fortified churches mostly had a well, a bread oven and fireplaces. Some of them even had a second floor, to give more room fro the refugees. The Église Saint-Médard has an remarkable baptismal font, that reminds me on that one in the Cathedral of Laon.