Tegelen / Tegele

A partial view of two intertwined dragons on the wall-mounted fragment of the medieval basin; the piece appears to be the part of a Mosan font basin comprised between two heads. A similar scene can be found on the font at Nouvion-sur-Meuse (Ardennes, France), for instance. The fragment was discovered in 1899 during the demolition of the church that had been destroyed by fire the previous year. The presen font in use is late-18th century. [NB: a lengthy communication from Pol Herman (e-mail of 17 December 2021) informs of a long debate about the fragments of a font [?] that ended up in two churches, those of Asselt and Tegelen. The standing argument had to do with the claim by Ferdinand (Fred) Hestermann that the basin in Tegelen originated in Asselt, while professor Raphaël Ligtenberg had argued that the sizes of basin and base/columns of Romanesque fonts where somewhat standardized, and that the probability is high that an any old basin will fit some old base. According to him, there was no reason to assume that the fragments of Asselt and Tegelen were of the same font. The issue reached the newspapers, as can be senn in the examples below provided by Pol Herman. The document “Geschiedenis van Asselt” takes the view of Asselt. Hestermann is called “the well known specialist in the study of old baptismal fonts, who was investigating the fragments of old finds in Limburg and in the Rhine province since two years” He happened to be visiting and saw the fragments of the basin at Tegelen and made an investigation without making publicity about it. The document “Een oude doopvont uit een kerkje van Asselt” describes how the base was found at Asselt in 1916. How after the fire at the church of Tegelen in 1898, fragments of a basin were found. How Hestermann, who was making a special study on baptismal fonts in the Rhineland, Belgium and Limburg, rediscovered the fragments of Tegelen in 1919. Hestermann concludes that Ligtenberg oversaw arguments. Because Hestermann had visited Asselt and had seen the base, he concluded that the dimensions fitted. You can see his sketch in this document. The priest of Asselt then tried to acquire the fragments of Tegelen, in vain. However, when rector Mobius had to undergo surgery in the hospital, the fragments of Tegelen were quickly moved to Asselt based on an unsigned approval telegram whose sender was never identified. In the week of 18-23 November 1919, the repaired font was consecrated at Asselt. This led to bitter disputes that were settled amicably. In a newspaper article of 4th of December 1919, an anonymous author explains why it is sure that the fragments of Tegelen belong to Asselt. But he also writes : “One day Hestermann came to Asselt and saw the base and column of the old baptismal font, and he promised that if he ever found the missing basin during his study trips, he would try to get it back for Asselt. Little did he suspect then that he would find them so quickly in the immediate vicinity”.In a newspaper article of 9th of December 1919, Hestermann defends his opinion and behaviour. In a newspaper article of 18th of December 1928, an anonymous former priest of Tegelen argues that the basin was originally from the church of Tegelen and should have stayed there. How the Tegelen priest of that time had shown too little respect for old objects. That a fitting basin and base does not mean that they are from the same font. That it is improbable that fragments of the broken Asselt font would have been moved to Tegelen, to be used in the foundation of the new Tegelen church, given that it was a 3 to 4 hours voyage and that plenty of building material for the foundation was available at Tegelen coming from the demolition of the old Tegelen church, etc.]