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History
The font in East Meon church was made by the famous sculptors of Toumai
in Flanders. The material is their own local marble. About 1150 it was
brought here 500 miles down the Scheldt river, across the North
Sea and English Channel, and then finally up the Itchen and laboriously
overland to East Meon.
Almost certainly the font was a magnificent gift from the then Bishop of
Winchester, Henry of Blois. A grandson of William the Conqueror and
brother of King Stephen he exercised considerable authority both in
Church and State. Bishop of Winchester from 1129 to 1171 and Papal
Legate he was
known as a man of personal austerity, great administrative skill and
notable generosity to churches in his care. A contemporary observer
describes him as being 'most earnest in the beautifying of churches'. As
lord of the manor with a residence in the village (the Court House) he
would have had particular interest in East Meon and its church.
The Charite St. Christophe, a Toumai guild which traded in Winchester
would, most likely, have been responsible for bringing the four examples
of Tournai fonts to be found in Hampshire.
Outside Hampshire there are similar fonts at Lincoln Cathedral, St.
Peter's, Ipswich (badly damaged) and Thornton Curtis in Lincolnshire.
There are some fifty in Belgium and Northern France and two in Germany.
Some are now museum exhibits, others are still in use. Many are covered
in symbolic
designs but some like those at Winchester and East Meon also tell a
story. The East Meon font tells the story of Adam and Eve; Winchester
shows the story of St. Nicholas and at Dendermonde in Belgium the story
of St. Peter's denial of Christ is depicted.
The shape of the East Meon font is that usually found although one round
example is known as Wolvertem in Belgium. The sides are about 100cm by
47cm; the bowl is 67cm diameter and 37-40cm deep. In medieval times
babies were usually dipped in the font, hence the size. At that period
also water with oil and salt in it was blessed once a year at Easter and
left in the font all year. This meant that the font had to be secured
with a lid and lock to prevent theft for black magic purposes. An iron
bracket in the top of the font is all that remains of this medieval
arrangement. The modem practice is to bless fresh water on each
occasion.
Description of the Panels
The decoration is elaborate and falls broadly into two types. Two faces
and the top contain purely symbolic designs whilst the remaining two
faces tell the story of Adam and Eve.
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Begin here with the
flat Earth on its
pillars and arches
(upheld by God) and
on it, full of life,
composite creatures,
fish,reptile, bird and
animal, all in one.
They represent all
the many forms of
life. |
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photo by Stan
Smith East Meon |
The South Face
This face depicts the flat earth on its pillars with a graphic scene of
the doves of peace being pursued by the dogs of war. The scene is
intended to represent the eternal struggle between good and evil and the
dangers facing the Christian in the world.
The West Face
This face is once again symbolic and repeats the flat earth motif. This
time the earth is surmounted by four mythical beasts which combine
elements of mammals, fish, birds and reptiles. Notice the dragon heads
which recall the Norse origin of the Norman people and are reminiscent
of the famous dragons-prowed warships of the Vikings.
The North Face
With this face we come to the narrative part of the font and it should
be read from right to left. God is seen creating Adam and then creating
Eve from the rib of the sleeping Adam. Eve is tempted by the serpent and
then Adam eats the apple. A number of details are worthy of note. The
creating of Adam reflects an ancient tradition, then current, that in
creating the universe God touched man alone as he created him. Notice
once again that the serpent appears once more as a dragon rather than a
more naturalistic snake. In Anglo-Saxon times dragons were referred to
as 'great worms'. Medieval modesty dictates that Eve should have her fig
leaf in place even before her 'fall'!
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Now God the father
creates
man. (2) He creates woman
while Adam sleeps. (3) The
Old Serpent offers Eve the
forbidden fruit from the tree
(4) Adam eats it |
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photo by Stan
Smith East Meon |
The Gate of Paradise is shown
as a Romanesque palace barred
by the Angel with hi sword. But
the angel teaches Adam to dig
and Eve to spin flax |
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photo by Stan
Smith East Meon |
East Face
This face continues the story of Adam and Eve, Adam and Eve are expelled
from Eden by a sword-carrying angel. Eden is depicted as a great
medieval church and there is obviously a heavy hint to the viewer that
just as Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden so they would be
excommunicated from the Church if they misbehaved. The final scene
depicts the angel teaching Adam to dig and Eve to
spin. We have here a glimpse of the sort of implements used by the
medieval peasant. This final scene came to great prominence in later
medieval times. During the Peasants Revolt in 1381 there was a slogan
'When Adam delved and Even span. Who was then the gentleman?' It was an
attack on the land-owning aristocracy. Finally notice how the craftsman,
almost certainly working freehand, has problems of spacing. Starting on
the left he gives generous space to the first figure but has to squeeze
in the right hand section.
Here is the flat Earth on its
pillars again. Fierce dogs
chasing the doves represent
the wicked persecuting the
faithful in a fallen World |
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photo by Stan
Smith East Meon |
The Top and the Bowl
The bowl is a perfect circle, symbolising eternal life and is made of
lead. It is a late 17th century replacement of the medieval original.
This disappeared in March 1644 when General Waller's Parliamentary
troops were billeted here just before the Battle of Cheriton. Lead was
taken to make bullets and it is fascinating to speculate whether the
damage to one of the corners happened at the same time.
photo by Stan Smith East Meon
The decoration on the top is a vine-bearing fruit with the doves
drinking from the water of life. Symbolic tongues of fire on two corners
represent the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and in Baptism and
Confirmation.
Conclusion
The font was placed in its present position in the 1880's having been
moved from between the arches of the south aisle which cannot have been
its original position. The limestone base may well be original.
Two other fonts are associated with the church. At the far end of the
south aisle is a very simple but massive bowl of unknown but early date.
It came in the 1930's from the ruined chapel of St. Nicholas at Westbury
which can still be seen (2 miles west on the road to West Meon). Another
font was taken from the yard of the Court House in 1922 and placed in
the garden of Buriton Manor where it still
stands. This may be the Saxon or early Norman font which the Tournai
font replaced or it may have come originally from a now vanished chapel
Or St. Mary in the Fields which was described-in 1703 as being 'quite
down'.
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