Saint-Jean-de-Sauves / St-Jean-de-Sauves

Described and illustrated in Le Patrimoine des communes de la Vienne (2002, v. 2: 627) as a plain round holy-water stoup made of granite, and of uncertain origin; it could have been found in the Gallo-Roman site or, perhaps, ancient priory of Saint-Jean. This source (ibid.) relates a tradition attributed to its history: Cardinal Richelieu [1585-1642] had decided to transport it to the nearby village of his name, Richelieu; during the trip, however, the ox-cart broke under the weight of the stoup and the stone fell to the ground and broke; it then repair itself miraculously without anyone's intervention. Tradition has that it was then taken to Saint-Jean-de-Sauves. [NB: a number of such stories applied to baptismal fonts exists all the way from Scandinavia to Spain, with slight variations such as the means of transportation or the reason for the deviation from the intended destination] [Flohic ref. no.: 86151041]