For the Healing of Little Pigs

Many of the little villages and towns have fountains and natural springs. There is usually a Saint associated with the spring, and a little shrine. The various springs, thanks to the intercession of their associated Saints are supposed to have healing properties.
Here in Cherves Chatelars, the spring of St Vivien is supposed to heal Epilepsy.
I've made a list of the towns/villages in the Charente and their healing springs at the end of this post. Some of the illnesses I haven't been able to translate. For example, at Loubert you can be healed of "Flying Fire". And I don't know what "Dartres" or "Panaris" is.

This is a little picture of the Font at Mouzon (just down the road from here: Fontaine St Martin: Rhumatism.


This PDF article (In French) describes how these little devotional fountains came about.

It seems that since the time of the Druids and before, there was a lot of nature worship. The Gauls worshiped trees and rocks, and natural springs were especially sanctified. With the Roman conquest, these springs were dedicated to the new Roman gods: Isis, Jupiter, Mithra, Minerva, Cybile. When Christanity triumphed in the Empire, these Roman gods were displaced, in turn, by church Saints. Rather than destroy the Roman practices, as directed by Council of Arles in the 6th Century, the church allowed devotions to take place at the springs, and nominated local Saints to sanitise the process. So the cult of the Springs became replaced by devotions to the church Saints at the Spring.

In the Charente there are more than 70 of these healing springs, and for those old fashioned or superticious enough, by asking the local "healer" the appropriate spring can be found. Some of the springs have become little known and secret.

The last pilgrimage to the spring at Aubin St-Mary took place on the 11th August 1947, when the citizens of Agris asked St Aubin to interced against the drought.
Since that day, though, intercesions of this type have not been so successful. Some say that the pilgrims should return to travelling by foot, rather than by car, and others say that there are too many skeptical visitors.

Look through this list and marvel at the mixture of church and pre-Christian superstition. At Montigné you can take the waters and the sain'ts blessing against the evil eye. At St-Germain-de-Confolens, St Antoine can protect you against bewitchment.

Town	Font	Illness
Abzac	St. Sulpice	Alopecia Areata
Adjutory	? ?	Érésipèle
Angoulême	La font des Pûtes	Childbirth
Angoulême	St Augustin	Cramps
Aubain -St- Mary	St. Aubain	Drought
Aussac	La font des Demoiselles	Goitre
Aignes	St Aquillie	Deafness
Brettes	La font Belette	Sore eyes
Baignes	Ste Claire	Les panaris
Brillac	La font Mélisse	Urinary Incontinence
Balzac	St Martin	Carreau
Baignes	St. Claire	Nervous Disorders
Bors	St Pierre et St Médard	Les césouelles
Boisbreteau	?	?
Benest	St Antoine	Fevers
Bonneuil	La fontaine des Sorciers	Against spells
Birac	La font des Pûtes	Heals wounds
Cillac	Font Malillac	Fevers
Cherves-Châtetars	St Vivien	Epilepsy
Cellefrouin	St Martial	Anemia
Champniers	Ste Elalie	Abscess
Courgeac	Font Guérison	Frostbite
Dirac	Font Belleveau	Lactation
Ecuras	St Etienne	Haemorrhage
Esse	St Etienne	Dartres
Epenède	Font Baumer	Mute Child
Eymoutier	St Pierre	Meningitis
Genouillac	St Augustin	Convulsion
Grassac	St Jean	Against worms
Laplaud	La Vierge	Cramps
Lichères	St Denis	Rickets
Loubert	Ste Suzanne	Le feu volant
Massignac	?	?
Montboyer	Font	Les panaris
Monchaude	St Cybard	Styes
Montemboeuf	Ste Claire	Rheumatism
Montigné	La font des Demoiselles	The evil eye
Montrolet	St Supent	Gout
Moutonneau	Font Penelles	Point de côté
Mouzon	St Martin	Haemorroides
Nonac	La font des fièvres	Fevers
Passirac	St Pierre	Boils
Pillac	St Aignan	Ringworm
Pleuville	St Jean	Deafness
Pougné	Ste Eutrope et St Martin	La ravenelle chez les enfants
Poulignac	St Martin
Puymerle	Ste Quitterie	Blindness
Puypéroux	St Gilles	Fever
Rouffiac	Font bénite	Illness of the eyes
Roussines	La font des Dames	Migraine
Rouzède	St Jean
St- Bonnet	fontaine	Anemia
St- Claud	Ste Eutrope	Goitre
St- Coutan	font	Abscesses
St- Germain -de- Confolens	St Antoine	Bewitchment
St- Germain -de- Montbron	St Antoine	Warts
St- Quentin -de- Chalais		Rheumatism
St- Laurent		Infertility
St- Yrieix	Font des Fées	Le mal caduc
Sauvagnac		Rhumatismes
Sireuil	St Orient	Against Fear
Touzac	Font des Dames	Epilepsy
Verniul	Sainte-Blaise	animals, esp. pigs
Vignolles	Ste Catherine	Against celibacy
Vitrac St Vincent	St Maixent	Epilepsy
Voulgézac	Font des Pûtes	Rheumatism
Vouthon	St Martin	Convulsions
Yviers	La font des Miracles	Convulsions