Lindet / Birket in Lindet

Baptismal font listed and illustrated in Mackeprang (1941); the entry includes after a watercolour by Magnus Petersen of the eight fabulous creatures that populate the sides of this font [cf. infra]. The baptismal font here is listed and illustrated in Danmarks Kirker: Birket Kirke: Laalands Nørre Herred [https://nmdanmarkskirkerprod.blob.core.windows.net/files/Maribo_0634-0649.pdf] [accessed 15 June 2025] as a Gotland import of the mid-14th century, the octagonal basin decorated with fabulous renderings of animals: two birds (a bald eagle, a crowing rooster); the others have the body of a lion and the head of a horse, except for one that has a "human head" with large, bared teeth, round, staring eyes, pointed dog ears and bovine horns; some of their tails and ears end in leafy motifs. The DK entry further notes that the font has been painted but the paint has been removed; it gives the diameter of the basin as 83.5 cm, and makes a reference to Mackeprang [cf. supra]. The baptismal font in this church is described and illustrated in LEX Danmarks Natinalleksikon [https://lex.dk/Birket_Kirke] [accessed 15 June 2025]: "Of the medieval furnishings, the Gothic baptismal font has been preserved . It is a Gotland export work of limestone from the middle of the 14th century. The font has an octagonal basin, each of which has a mythical animal carved in low relief . At the corners there are low, cross-lined seams, which end at the top in lilies, whose lower leaves are often formed by the tips of the animals' tails or tongues." On-site notes: baptismal font probably of the 14th or 15th century; the basin is octagonal and the sides are decorated [cf. supra] it is raised on a conical pedestal base decorated with an upper roll moulding [the base appears to be made of two blocks]. [NB: we had no access to the inside of the church during our visit to Lindet on August 31, 2003; the font was photographed through a window]