Poissiy No. 1

Montfaucon (1729-1733, vol. 2: 121 and pl. XIX) mentions and illustrates the baptismal font in which St. Louis [i.e., Louis IX, king of France, 1214-1270] was baptised, still preserved in the "Église de Notre-Dame de Poissi" [i.e., Poissy]. The illustration shows a strange, late-looking object with Renaissance ornamentation that does not fit the dating of Montfaucon at all. An explanation is provided in http://catholique-versailles.cef.fr : only shapeless fragments ["des pierres informes"] remain now of the old baptismal font, mounted on 16th-century base, and placed behind a railing since 1894. This same source informs that the font has been venerated for centuries, despite the many moves through the different chapels of the collegiate church, for the healing powers attributed to it, as recorded in a cartouche which was located by the font and read [our translation of Edmond Bories version]: "Baptismal font of St. Louis de Poissy, the powder of which, when mixed in a glass of water, will heal the feverish. Although it contains no water, this font you are now looking at will miraculously calm any burning thirst [...] Wonder, o nature! The order of things is here altered: now it is the stone that has acquired the ability of water to extinguish fire." The same source informs that a stained-glass window -now disappeared- included a four-line poem dating from 1507 and placed there by Nicolas Mercier, grammarian in the Collège de Navarre [our translation]: St. Louis was a child from Poissy / and baptised in this church. / This font is still kept here / and honoured as an exquisite relic. ["Saint Louis fut en enfant de Possy / Et baptisé en la presente église. / Ses fonts en sont gardés encor ici / Et honorés comme relique exquise".