Font
the vessel which contains the font is the only relic of our ancient archiwater for the purposes of baptism. The gous to the Grecian and Roman vases. tecture which in its form is at all analo- Norman fonts are generally square or circular; the first frequently placed on five legs. The circular form continued to be much used during the early English period; so, occasionally, was the square. orated style, the octagon was generally Throughout the continuance of the Decemployed, sometimes the hexagon. Durwas almost always used. Until the ing the Perpendicular style, the octagon Reformation, and occasionally after, dipping was practiced in England. Pouring ping was practiced in England. Pouring to the Reformation; for as early as the was declared by Pope Stephen III. to be year 754, pouring, in cases of necessity, lawful; and in the year 1811, the Council was declared by Pope Stephen III. to be lawful; and in the year 1311, the Council indifferent; yet dipping appears to have been in England the more usual mode.
Fonts were required to be covered and locked, and the covers were highly ornamented.
FONTAINEBLEAU FONTAINEBLEAU (fon'tain-blō), a town of France, department of Seine-et- Marne, near the Seine, in the forest of the same name, 32 miles S. S. E. of Paris, and 8 S. by E. of Melun. Manufactures porcelain. Fontainebleau owes its celebrity, and indeed origin, to its palace, or château, a favorite residence of the French monarchs. This is a vast and superb pile, in fact, rather a collection of palaces of different architectural periods, than a single edifice. Saracenic, Tuscan, and Greek orders are intermixed and interspersed with that of the Renaissance, and with the most bizarre and dissimilar ornamentation; yet, on the whole, the structure has a striking air of grandeur and majesty. It is surrounded by magnificent gardens, and lies in the forest of Fontainebleau, a finely wooded tract of 42,500 acres, intersected by the Seine, and presenting a very varied and picturesque surface. The château of Fontainebleau has been the scene of many historical events. Philip IV., Henry III., and Louis XIII. were born in it; and the first-named monarch died here.
It was here that Louis XIV. signed the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, in 1685. It was visited by Peter the Great; Louis XV. espoused the daughter of Stanislaus, King of Poland, in this palace; Pope Pius VII. was confined within its walls for 18 months; and it is intimately connected with the history of Napoleon, who made it his favorite residence. He signed his abdication in the palace, in 1814. It was comparatively neglected by Louis XVIII. and Charles X.; but Louis Philippe restored it to somewhat of its ancient grandeur. In 1837 the nuptials of the Duc d'Orleans were celebrated here with great pomp.
Under Napoleon III. the palace was still more enlarged and embellished, and became the scene of luxurious autumnal fêtes, rivalling those of the days of Louis XIV. The forest of Fontainebleau became famous during the 19th century as the resort of many famous French painters of the modern school, Rousseau, Corot, Diaz, Millet, etc. Pop. about 15,000.