Torreilles / Toreilles / Toreillés / Torrelles / Torrelles de la Salanca

In his Notes sur l'art réligieux du Roussillon 2e partie: l'ornementation (Bulletin archéologique du Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques, vol. 11, 1893: 361-362), Brutails mentions a number of ancient fonts, among them "Les fonts de Torreilles offrent sur la tranche une inscription du XIIe siècle au plus tard", and cites L. de Bonnefoy as source. One of several unmounted oval fonts from the Roussillon area listed by Enlart (1902) and dated by him to the 11th and 12th centuries. Ponsich (1980) refers to a beautiful white-marble font in the church of Saint-Julien de Torredelles which may actually be a recycled "labrum" or ablutions basin. He further adds that, although classed as "monument historique", it was hidden under the stairs after being almost destroyed in 1921 during the renovations carried out by the priest of the time, renovations that practically succeeded in the quasi destruction of this three-nave church, "une des plus intéressantes du Roussillon. Ponsich relates that he found a fragment of the font built into the bell tower in 1964, and that there is another part of the rim missing. With respect to the rim inscription ["gravée sur le marli"], Ponsich refers to the earlier work of L. de Bonnefoy (Epigraphie Roussillonnaise, Perpignan, 1856-1868, p. 120); Bonnefoy had read, in part, "OMNIBVS ORANTIBVS... OBTVLIT..." and regretted that that was all he dare make out ["tout ce que j'ose lire"] of the inscription on what he termed one the oldest font in the country. One hundred years later, Ponsich rebuilds the text as: ".. D ..... O EPO .. RO ...... O .... S OBTVLIT .......... IXO ...... OMNIBVS ORANTIBVS A ROM .. ECLESIA S ............................"; taking "EPO" to be the abbreviation of "EPISCOPO" and assuming that that title would follow the name of the actual bishop, Ponsich found two possible local candidates to match the name in the inscription: Audesindo (855-871) and Hildesindo (979-991). He discovered that Hildesindo was at the same time the abbot of the monastery of Saint-Pierre de Rodes and that the monastery owned a church dedicated to St. Peter in Torrelles/Torreilles. This church was one of three in town in the High Middle Ages, the other two being dedicated to St. Michael and St. Julian. Only the latter remains now of the three, but the font is believed to be originally from St. Peter's. Listed in Palissy [ref.: PM66000910]: "Cuvette baptismale. oeuvre mutilée. Elle repose directement sur le sol. [...] marbre (blanc) [...] Inscription (incomplète) : ... omnibus orantibus... obtulit ... [...] 11e siècle". [NB: Ponsich's illustrations for this font are confusing; to be completed with on-site images]