Froyennes / Fraaihem

Cloquet (1895) mentions the existence of [ca. 1895] a base from a Tournai font -just like those of the Nordpeene and Vermand fonts- outside the parish church of Froyennes, near Tournai. In his earlier article (1890, p. 416) he describes it as "la première assise de fonts à cinq colonnes, avec bases pattées" and dates it to the 12th century. BALaT KIK-IRPA does not include a mention of the medieval font base but it reports a stone holy-water stoup of the 18th century [ttp://balat.kikirpa.be/object/10056384] [accessed 27 April 2022]. In a communication between Jean-Claude Ghislain and Pol Herman (e-mail of 22 April 2022) Ghislain wrote: "Voici quelques repères relatifs aux éléments de fonts baptismaux romans tournaisiens dont vous citez les noms de lieux [...] Froyennes : base déposée à l'extérieur, à proximité de la façade de l'église". A communication by Pol Herman to BSI (e-mail of 23 April 2022) informs: "There is a booklet written about this font : “Les fonts baptismaux romans de Froyennes” by Jean-Louis Pilot, 1998. I have no yet succeeded to find this book, nor do I have pictures of the font fragment." A further communication by Pol Herman (email of 27 February 2024) includes a photograph of th fragment and adds: "Source : Paul De Win, In het kader van de “Inventaris van het rechtshistorisch patrimonium van België” : Roepstenen en kerkpuien, in Ons Heem, tweemaandelijks tijdschrift, jaargang 43, 2, lentemaand/maart 1989, page 77", which contains a photograph of the disused lower base.