DERBYSHIKE FONTS. 159 



bowl, but in the symbolism of the result of Baptism it far 

 exceeds it. 



The bowl is ornamental, with sort of ogee-shaped arcades, 

 superimposed. The North, West, and South sides are orna- 

 mented with a winged angel's head ; a head and some foliage ; 

 and some characteristic Early English foliage respectively. On 

 the East side is a curious lizard-like creature known as the 

 salamander. An example of this little reptile has already been 

 met with on the font at Youlgreave, which was described in 

 Vol. xxvi. of this Journal. 



The salamander was popularly supposed to be a denizen of 

 the fire, and its presence here may be fairly accounted for by 

 the fact that it was intended to symbolise fire ; the fire of fires ; 

 the denizen of that fire of fires; i.e., the Devil. 



It will be noticed that in nearly every case where this 

 salamander occurs it has a look of most intense disgust and 

 loathing on its face ; this, no doubt, is meant to typify the 

 disgust which the Devil feels at the Sacrament of Baptism, by 

 the agency of which he is cast out ; and we thus see him 

 crawling away, painfully and disgustedly, from his deadly 

 enemy, the Water of Baptism. 



The invariable characteristics of this curious little creature, 

 as carved by the early mediseval artists, were the long tail with 

 one curl in it (often bifurcated), the humped back, wings, legs 

 set on very far back, and its dragon-like head. 



A list of fonts bearing the salamander has already been given 

 under the head of that at Youlgreave in this Journal. 



The presence of the salamander on this font should do away 

 with the fallacy that it is only found on those of Norman date. 

 A more undoubted example of the salamander and a better 

 distinguished Early English font could not exist. 



The clustered shafts which support the bowl are ornamented 

 in their interstices with the " dog-tooth " ornament. The 

 design is an adaptation from the Norman star ornament, which 

 consisted of a cross or four-pointed star within a square border. 

 Such a very geometrical arrangement did not suit the 



