Beloncio / Belonciu / San Pedro de Beloncio

Described and illustrated in Alvarez Martínez (1990) as a baptismal font of the Asturian pre-Romanesque. Described and illustrated in García de Castro (1995). The basin is roughly square, with the sides framed with a thin moulding that clearly separates them from the underbowl; only two of these sides are visible (the font was attached to the wall at the back and the view of the right side was blocked at the time - NB: the font is now [August 2008] free standing); the left side has, on the upper half, a small cross with a large fleur de lis on either side, while the lower half has a row of romboid motifs; another side, contiguous to the previous side, is decorated with seven rectangular motifs on the left half, while the right half has a large "X" motif [NB: the upper surface of this side has been repaired; it is not clear whether or not other motifs existed prior to the repair]; all the carving is in fairly low relief; the underbowl is rounded, and covered with ball motifs scattered all around it without an obvious order. GdeC (ibid.) relates its general shape to the Asturian font of Santa Maria de Villanueva de Teverga, and to the Visigothic (!) fonts of San Isidoro, in nearby Leon, and Gormaz, in Soria. This same author points out that there is no firm dating for either the font or the church itself since, although an entry for 926 A.D. appears in the Liber Testamentorum, its veracity is in question. In a later work, García de Castro Valdés (2000) notes medieval quadrangular fonts in Spain at Beloncio, Bullaso, San Isidoro de Leon, Villanueva de Valdecarzana (suggested date in the 11th century); Armentia, Bustasur, Dosante, Gormaz, Quintanillalabon, Rosales, Santillan del Agua, Soto de Bureba (suggested date in the 12th or 13th century); Ripodas and Turrillas (suggested date in the 13th century). [NB: altough no mention is made of a cover for this font it should be noted that the incision on the upper rim of the left side and the damage on the upper front and back sides are consistent with the presence of a cover and its hardware requirements]