Mellier / Mailier / Marlier / Maslario / Maslier / Maslières

A baptismal font fashioned from a 16thC? column fragment is listed and illustrated in BALaT KIK-IRPA [https://balat.kikirpa.be/object/10083994] [accessed 23 January 2026]: "fonts baptismaux [...] Ancien fût de colonne (?) [...] hauteur: 70 cm; largeur: 34 cm; profondeur: 34 cm [...] Date: 1501 (incertain) - 1600 (incertain)". Noted in the Belgian Wikipedia entry for this church [https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Église_Saints-Pierre-et-Paul_de_Mellier] [accessed 23 January 2026]: "des fonts baptismaux portés par un fût de colonne ancien du XVIe siècle"

A communication to BSI from Pol Herman (e-mail of 24 December 2025) informs: "https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89glise_Saints-Pierre-et-Paul_de_Mellier. 764, 888, 930 : Maslario;1188 : Maslier; 1199 : Maslières; Marliers, Mailier,… Mellier is one of the oldest settlements in the region. It existed during the Carolingian era. The first historical mention dates back to 763: King Pippin granted the monastery of Pruem (Germany, near Bitburg) the immunity "actum maslario palacio publico," meaning that Carolingian rulers henceforth possessed a palace in Mellier for overnight stays and for writing documents. Archaeological excavations undertaken in the 1980s to the west of the church uncovered the base of a square tower, probably erected during the 11th century. This, in turn, covered part of the foundations of a much older building, perhaps the Carolingian villa mentioned in the texts. In 888, King Arnulf confirmed the properties of the Convent of Saint Mary in Aachen at "Maslario." In the middle of the village, on a hill (mound) called Haut du Cour, once stood a fortified castle, which was destroyed in 1474 by Henry of Nassau. Its castle chapel, to the north of the site, was dedicated to Saint Peter and is already mentioned in 1304. It was abandoned from 1802 and demolished in 1842 after the construction of the current parish church, below the hill. New church, 1841. Baptismal font hewn in an ancient 16th-century column shaft. Maybe remnant of the older chapel. https://balat.kikirpa.be/object/10083994"