Baaium / Baijum / Bajum

The Rijksmonumenten site [http://rijksmonumenten.nl/monument/21528/kerk-van-baijum-hervormde-kerk/baaium/] [accessed 3 July 2015] notes: "het rood zandstenen doopvont met gotische nissenversiering en opschrift waaruit blijkt dat het vont in 1668 opgegraven is, is weer bij de preekstoel opgesteld." [summary: red sandstone font dug up in 1668 and placed next to the pulpit]. The object is very odd looking and appears made-up, as if four plates had been cemented together to make an uncharacteristic font for the period and the area; the sides have drilled holes in them; the basin is quite possibly re-carved; late-Gothic at the earliest. The round cover is equally odd, and has a ring handle. A communication from Pol Herman to BSI (e-mail of 9 September 2022) provided two relevant contibutions to the documentation on this font: "I found 2 interesting articles that give information about the “font” of Baaium. The original font of Baaium has disappeared, and in 1668 a new font was constructed using sculpted panels of Bentheimer sandstone found in the church ground. However, both the composite construction of sandstone slabs and the square shape make it clear that this is an improbable reconstruction, certainly in comparison to other fifteenth- and sixteenth-century baptismal fonts. 1. “Grondig verborgen en toevallig gevonden” by Albert Reinstra in Alde Fryske Kerken, nr. 16, June 2017, ISSN 2210-7657 [https://docplayer.nl/60796731-500-jaar-reformatie-in-fryslan.html] [accessed 9 September 2022]. In this he describes Dutch fonts that were found buried in the ground. About the Baaium font, he writes : One of the oldest known finds of a pre-reformation font dates back to the seventeenth century. The illustrious baptismal font of Baaium was, given a written mention in the proverbs collection of C.C. van Burmania, already famous in 1614 by the proverb “Sa grut as de Baaiumer fonte” (as big as the Baaium font), but that baptismal font has not been preserved. When large pieces of red sandstone emerged from the church grounds around 1668, they were assembled into the supposedly lost legendary baptismal font. An inscription on one of the four surfaces tells the story: Dit is Baiommer vondt - Die vergeeten lagh inde grondt - Is 1668 Wederom op gerecht - Om dat daer veel van wert gesecht - Godt wil ons landt en dorp bevrien - Voor bij Geloof en Afgoderien. However, both the composite construction of sandstone slabs and the square shape make it clear that this is an improbable reconstruction, certainly in comparison to other fifteenth- and sixteenth-century baptismal fonts. 2. “Het vont uit de grond” by Albert Reinstra in Alde Fryske Kerken, nr. 5, December 2011, ISSN 2210-7657 [https://issuu.com/gerkolast1973/docs/aft-05] [accessed 9 September 2022] In this he tries to find the original function of the panels, also using the work of Justin Kroesen. He comes to the conclusion that the Baaium baptismal font is fake. The original font that gave rise to the proverb “as big as the Baaium font” must be lost, and the 1668 font efficiently served to preserve the memory of it.