A church bell in
Christian architecture
Church architecture refers to the architecture of buildings of churches, convents, seminaries etc. It has evolved over the two thousand years of the Christian religion, partly by innovation and partly by borrowing other architectural styles as ...
is a
bell
A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inte ...
which is rung in a
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* C ...
for a variety of religious purposes, and can be heard outside the building. Traditionally they are used to call worshippers to the church for a communal
service, and to announce the
fixed times of daily
Christian prayer, called the
canonical hours, which number seven and are contained in
breviaries
A breviary (Latin: ''breviarium'') is a liturgical book used in Christianity for praying the canonical hours, usually recited at seven fixed prayer times.
Historically, different breviaries were used in the various parts of Christendom, such as ...
. They are also rung on special occasions such as a
wedding
A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...
, or a
funeral service. In some religious traditions they are used within the liturgy of the church service to signify to people that a particular part of the service has been reached.
The ringing of church bells, in the Christian tradition, is also believed to
drive out demons.
The traditional European church bell ''(see cutaway drawing)'' used in Christian churches worldwide consists of a cup-shaped metal resonator with a pivoted clapper hanging inside which strikes the sides when the bell is swung. It is hung within a
steeple
In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religi ...
or
belltower
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...
of a church or religious building,
so the sound can reach a wide area. Such bells are either fixed in position ("hung dead") or hung from a pivoted beam (the "headstock") so they can swing to and fro. A rope hangs from a lever or wheel attached to the headstock, and when the bell ringer pulls on the rope the bell swings back and forth and the clapper hits the inside, sounding the bell. Bells that are hung dead are normally sounded by hitting the sound bow with a hammer or occasionally by a rope which pulls the internal clapper against the bell.
A church may have a single bell, or a collection of bells which are tuned to a common scale. They may be stationary and chimed, rung randomly by swinging through a small arc, or swung through a full circle to enable the high degree of control of English
change ringing.
Before modern communications, church bells were a common way to call the community together for all purposes, both sacred and secular.
Uses and traditions
Call to prayer
Oriental Orthodox Christian
The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represent o ...
s, such as
Copts and
Indians, use a
breviary such as the
Agpeya
The ''Agpeya'' ( Coptic: Ϯⲁⲅⲡⲓⲁ, ar, أجبية) is the Coptic Christian "Prayer Book of the Hours" or breviary, and is equivalent to the Shehimo in the Indian Orthodox Church (another Oriental Orthodox Christian denomination), as wel ...
and
Shehimo to
pray
Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...
the
canonical hours seven times a day while facing in the
eastward direction; church bells are tolled, especially in monasteries, to mark these
seven fixed prayer times.
In Christianity, some churches ring their church bells from
belltower
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...
s three times a day, at 9 am, 12 pm and 3 pm to summon the Christian faithful to recite the
Lord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...
;
the injunction to pray the Lord's prayer thrice daily was given in ''
Didache'' 8, 2 f.,
which, in turn, was influenced by the Jewish practice of praying thrice daily found in the
Old Testament, specifically in , which suggests "evening and morning and at noon", and , in which the prophet
Daniel prays thrice a day.
The early Christians thus came to pray the Lord's Prayer at 9 am, 12 pm and 3 pm.
Many Catholic Christian churches ring their bells thrice a day, at 6 am, 12 pm, and 6 pm to call the faithful to recite the
Angelus
The Angelus (; Latin for "angel") is a Catholic devotion commemorating the Incarnation of Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ o ...
, a prayer recited in honour of the
Incarnation of God.
Some
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
Christian Churches ring church bells during the congregational recitation of the Lord's Prayer, after the
sermon
A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. ...
, in order to alert those who are unable to be present to "unite themselves in spirit with the congregation".
In many historic Christian Churches, church bells are also rung on
All Hallows' Eve,
as well as during the
processions
A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner.
History
Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...
of
Candlemas and
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Hol ...
; the only time of the
Christian Year
The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and which ...
when church bells are not rung include
Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday (also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, among other names) is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the ...
through the
Easter Vigil
Easter Vigil, also called the Paschal Vigil or the Great Vigil of Easter, is a liturgy held in traditional Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. Historically, it is during this liturgy that people are ...
. The Christian tradition of the ringing of church bells from a belltower is analogous to the
Islamic tradition of the
adhan from a
minaret.
Call to worship
Most
Christian denominations ring church bells to call the faithful to worship, signalling the start of a
mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...
or
service of worship
A church service (or a service of worship) is a formalized period of Christian communal worship, often held in a church building. It often but not exclusively occurs on Sunday, or Saturday in the case of those churches practicing seventh-day Sa ...
.
In the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
predominantly in the Anglican church, there is a strong tradition of
change ringing on
full-circle tower bells for about half an hour before a service. This originated from the early 17th century when bell ringers found that swinging a bell through a large arc gave more control over the time between successive strikes of the clapper. This culminated in ringing bells through a full circle, which let ringers easily produce different striking sequences; known as ''changes''.
Exorcism of demons
In Christianity, the ringing of church bells is traditionally believed to
drive out demons and other
unclean spirit
In English translations of the Bible, unclean spirit is a common rendering of Greek ''pneuma akatharton'' (πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον; plural ''pneumata akatharta'' (πνεύματα ἀκάθαρτα)), which in its single occurrence in ...
s.
Inscriptions on church bells relating to this purpose of church bells, as well as the purpose of serving as a call to prayer and worship, were customary, for example "the sound of this bell vanquishes tempests, repels demons, and summons men".
Some
churches have several bells with the justification that "the more bells a church had, the more loudly they rang, and the greater the distance over which they could be heard, the less likely it was that evil forces would trouble the parish."
Funeral and memorial ringing
The ringing of a church bell in the English tradition to announce a death is called a
death knell A death knell is the ringing of a church bell immediately after a death to announce it. Historically it was the second of three bells rung around death, the first being the passing bell to warn of impending death, and the last was the lych bell or c ...
. The pattern of striking depended on the person who had died; for example in the counties of Kent and Surrey in England it was customary to ring three times three strokes for a man and three times two for a woman, with a varying usage for children. The age of the deceased was then rung out. In small settlements this could effectively identify who had just died.
[H B Walters, The Church bells of England. published 1912 and republished 1977 by Oxford University Press. pp156-160]
There were three occasions surrounding a death when bells could be rung. There was the "Passing Bell" to warn of impending death, the second the Death Knell to announce the death, and the last was the "Lych Bell", or "Corpse Bell" which was rung at the funeral as the procession approached the church.
This latter is known today as the
Funeral toll
A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect ...
.
A more modern tradition where there are full-circle bells is to use "half-muffles" when sounding one bell as a tolled bell, or all the bells in change-ringing. This means a leather muffle is placed on the clapper of each bell so that there is a loud "open" strike followed by a muffled strike, which has a very sonorous and mournful effect. The tradition in the United Kingdom is that bells are only fully muffled for the death of a sovereign. A slight variant on this rule occurred in 2015 when the bones of
Richard III of England were interred in
Leicester Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of Saint Martin, Leicester, commonly known as Leicester Cathedral, is a Church of England cathedral in Leicester, England and the seat of the Bishop of Leicester. The church was elevated to a collegiate church in 192 ...
532 years after his death.
Sanctus bells
The term "Sanctus bell" traditionally referred to a bell suspended in a
bell-cot
A bellcote, bell-cote or bell-cot is a small framework and shelter for one or more bells. Bellcotes are most common in church architecture but are also seen on institutions such as schools. The bellcote may be carried on brackets projecting from ...
at the apex of the nave roof, over the chancel arch, or hung in the church tower, in
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
churches. This bell was rung at the singing of the
Sanctus
The Sanctus ( la, Sanctus, "Holy") is a hymn in Christian liturgy. It may also be called the ''epinikios hymnos'' ( el, ἐπινίκιος ὕμνος, "Hymn of Victory") when referring to the Greek rendition.
In Western Christianity, th ...
and again at the
elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Ver ...
of the consecrated elements, to indicate to those not present in the building that the moment of consecration had been reached. The practice and the term remain in common use in many Anglican churches.
Within the body of a church the function of a sanctus bell can also be performed by a small hand bell or set of such bells (called
altar bells) rung shortly before the
consecration of the bread and wine into the
Body and Blood of Christ and again when the consecrated elements are shown to the people. Sacring rings or "Gloria wheels" are commonly used in Catholic churches in Spain and its former colonies for this purpose.
Orthodox Church
In the
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...
there is a long and complex history of bell ringing, with particular bells being rung in particular ways to signify different parts of the
divine services,
Funeral toll
A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect ...
s, etc. This custom is particularly sophisticated in the
Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
. Russian bells are usually stationary, and are sounded by pulling on a rope that is attached to the clapper so that it will strike the inside of the bell.
Victory Celebration
The noon church bell tolling in Europe has a specific historical significance that has its roots in the
Siege of Belgrade by the
Ottomans in 1456. Initially, the bell ringing was intended as a call to prayer for the victory of the defenders of Belgrade. However, because in many European countries the news of victory arrived before the order for prayer, the ringing of the church bells was believed to be in celebration of the victory. As a result, the significance of noon bell ringing is now a commemoration of
John Hunyadi
John Hunyadi (, , , ; 1406 – 11 August 1456) was a leading Hungarian military and political figure in Central and Southeastern Europe during the 15th century. According to most contemporary sources, he was the member of a noble family of ...
's victory against the Turks.
Other uses
Clock chimes
Some churches have a
clock chime
A clock chime is a melody or a set of melodies played at intervals upon a set of bells to mark the passage of time. It is also the name of the installed set of bells, when they are not part of a larger bell instrument such as a carillon.
Bells tha ...
which uses a
turret clock
A turret clock or tower clock is a clock designed to be mounted high in the wall of a building, usually in a clock tower, in public buildings such as churches, university buildings, and town halls. As a public amenity to enable the community to ...
to broadcast the time by striking the hours and sometimes the quarters. A well-known musical striking pattern is the
Westminster Quarters
The Westminster Quarters, from its use at the Palace of Westminster, is a melody used by a set of four quarter bells to mark each quarter-hour. It is also known as the Westminster Chimes, Cambridge Quarters or Cambridge Chimes from its place of ...
. This is only done when the bells are stationary, and the clock mechanism actuates hammers striking on the outside of the sound-bows of the bells. In the cases of bells which are normally swung for other ringing, there is a manual lock-out mechanism which prevents the hammers from operating whilst the bells are being rung.
Warning
In World War II in Great Britain, all church bells were silenced, to ring only to inform of an invasion by enemy troops. However this ban was lifted temporarily in 1942 by order of Winston Churchill. Starting with Easter Sunday, April 25, 1943, the Control of Noise (Defence) (No. 2) Order, 1943, allowed that church bells could be rung to summon worshippers to church on Sundays, Good Friday and Christmas Day. On May 27, 1943, all restrictions were removed.
In the
2021 German floods it was reported that church bells were rung to warn inhabitants of coming floods. In Beyenburg in
Wuppertal
Wuppertal (; "''Wupper Dale''") is, with a population of approximately 355,000, the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the 17th-largest city of Germany. It was founded in 1929 by the merger of the cities and tow ...
the last friar of
Steinhaus Abbey rang the storm bells after other systems failed. Some church bells are being used in England for similar purposes.
Design and ringing technique
Christian church bells have the form of a cup-shaped cast metal resonator with a flared thickened rim, and a pivoted ''clapper'' hanging from its centre inside. It is usually mounted high in a
bell tower on top of the
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* C ...
, so it can be heard by the surrounding community. The bell is suspended from a headstock which can swing on bearings. A rope is tied to a wheel or lever on the headstock, and hangs down to the
bell ringer. To ring the bell, the ringer pulls on the rope, swinging the bell. The motion causes the clapper to strike the inside of the bell rim as it swings, thereby sounding the bell. Some bells have full-circle wheels, which is used to swing the bell through a larger arc, such as in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
where full- circle ringing is practised.
Bells which are not swung are "chimed", which means they are struck by an external hammer, or by a rope attached to the internal clapper, which is the tradition in Russia.
Blessing of bells
In some churches, bells are often blessed before they are hung.
In the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
the name ''Baptism of Bells'' has been given to the ceremonial blessing of church bells, at least in France, since the eleventh century. It is derived from the washing of the bell with
holy water
Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, or derived from a well or spring considered holy. The use for cleansing prior to a baptism and spiritual cleansing is common in several religions, from ...
by the
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
, before he anoints it with the "oil of the infirm" without and with
chrism
Chrism, also called myrrh, ''myron'', holy anointing oil, and consecrated oil, is a consecrated oil used in the Anglican, Assyrian, Catholic, Nordic Lutheran, Old Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Latter Day Saint churches in th ...
within; a fuming
censer
A censer, incense burner, perfume burner or pastille burner is a vessel made for burning incense or perfume in some solid form. They vary greatly in size, form, and material of construction, and have been in use since ancient times throughout t ...
is placed under it and the bishop prays that these
sacramentals
A sacramental in Christianity is a material object or action (in Latin ''sacramentalia'') ritually blessed by a priest to signal its association with the sacraments and so to incite reverence during acts of worship. They are recognised by the Cat ...
of the Church may, at the sound of the bell, put the demons to flight, protect from storms, and call the faithful to prayer.
History
Before the introduction of church bells into the
Christian Church, different methods were used to call the worshippers: playing
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
s, hitting wooden planks, shouting, or using a
courier
A courier is a person or organisation that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are ...
.
In AD 604,
Pope Sabinian
Pope Sabinian ( la, Sabinianus, died 22 February 606) was the bishop of Rome from 13 September 604 to his death. His pontificate occurred during the Eastern Roman domination of the papacy. He was the fourth former '' apocrisiarius'' to Constant ...
officially sanctioned the usage of bells.
These ''tintinnabula'' were made from
forged metal and did not have large dimensions.
Larger bells were made at the end of the 7th and during the 8th century by
casting metal originating from
Campania
(man), it, Campana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demog ...
. The bells consequently took the name of ''campana'' and ''nola'' from the
eponymous city in the region.
This would explain the apparently erroneous attribution of the origin of church bells to
Paulinus of Nola
Paulinus of Nola (; la, Paulinus Nolanus; also Anglicized as Pauline of Nola; – 22 June 431) born Pontius Meropius Anicius Paulinus, was a Roman poet, writer, and senator who attained the ranks of suffect consul () and governor of Campan ...
in AD 400.
By the
early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
, church bells became common in Europe.
They were first common in northern Europe, reflecting
Celtic influence, especially that of Irish missionaries.
Before the use of church bells, Greek monasteries would ring a flat metal plate (see ''
semantron
The semantron ( el, σήμαντρον) is a percussion instrument used in Eastern and Oriental Orthodox monasteries to summon the monastics to prayer or at the start of a procession.
It is also known as a semandron, semanteriom (σημαντ ...
'') to announce services.
The ''signa'' and ''campanae'' used to announce services before Irish influence may have been flat plates like the ''semantron'' rather than bells.
The oldest surviving circle of bells in Great Britain is housed in
St Lawrence Church, Ipswich.
In literature
The evocative sound of church bells has inspired many writers, both in poetry and prose. One example is an early poem by the English poet
Letitia Elizabeth Landon
Letitia Elizabeth Landon (14 August 1802 – 15 October 1838) was an English poet and novelist, better known by her initials L.E.L.
The writings of Landon are transitional between Romanticism and the Victorian Age. Her first major breakthrough ...
entitled simply,
Controversies about noise
The sound of church bells is capable of causing noise that
interrupts or prevents people from sleeping. A 2013 study from the
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich
(colloquially)
, former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule
, image = ETHZ.JPG
, image_size =
, established =
, type = Public
, budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021)
, rector = Günther Dissertori
, president = Joël Mesot
, a ...
found that 'An estimated 2.5-3.5 percent of the population in the
Canton of Zurich experiences at least one additional awakening per night due to church bell noise.' It concluded that 'The number of awakenings could be reduced by more than 99 percent by, for example, suspending church bell ringing between midnight and 06 h in the morning', or by 'about 75 percent (...) by reducing the sound-pressure levels of bells by 5
dB.'
In the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, there have been lawsuits about church bell
noise pollution
Noise pollution, also known as environmental noise or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise with ranging impacts on the activity of human or animal life, most of them are harmful to a degree. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is ma ...
experienced by nearby residents.
The complaints are usually, but not always, raised by new local residents (or tourists who spend the night in the neighbourhood
who are not used to the noise at night or during the day.
Local residents who had been used to it for longer usually retort that the newcomers 'should have known this before they moved here' and that the ringing bells 'belong to the local tradition', which sometimes goes back more than a hundred years.
Image gallery
Image:Lullusglocke.jpg, Lullusglocke, cast in 1038, in monastery of Bad Hersfeld
The festival and spa town of Bad Hersfeld (''Bad'' is "spa" in German; the Old High German name of the city was ''Herolfisfeld'') is the district seat of the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany, roughly 50 km southe ...
in Hesse, Germany
Image:Torun Tuba Dei 02.JPG, Tuba Dei bell in Cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...
in Toruń, Poland, cast in 1500
Image:Kraków, Dzwon Zygmunta - fotopolska.eu (227571).jpg, Sigismund Bell
The Royal Sigismund Bell ( pl, Królewski Dzwon Zygmunt or ) is the largest of the five bells hanging in the Sigismund Tower of the Wawel Cathedral in the Polish city of Kraków. It was cast in 1520 by Hans Behem and named after King Sigismund I ...
in Kraków, Poland, cast in 1520 by Hans Beham
Image:Pummerin Stephansdom Vienna July 2008 (14).JPG, Pummerin
Pummerin is the name of the bell in the Stephansdom, St. Stephen's Cathedral, in Vienna.
Old Pummerin ''(Josephinische Glocke)''
The Old Pummerin was originally cast in 1705 from 208 of the 300 cannons captured from the Muslim invaders in ...
in Stephansdom, Vienna
Image:Tsar Kolokol with humans for perspective.JPG, Tsar Bell
The Tsar Bell (russian: Царь–колокол; ), also known as the Tsarsky Kolokol, Tsar Kolokol III, or Royal Bell, is a , bell on display on the grounds of the Moscow Kremlin. The bell was commissioned by Empress Anna Ivanovna, niece o ...
in Moscow, Russia, the heaviest existing bell in the world (over 196 tons)
Image:St Xaviers church peyad Belgium bell.jpg, Belgian-made bell of St. Xavier's Church, Peyad, Trivandrum, Kerala, India
Image:Church bell of the Cathedral Church of Saint Matthew at Dallas.jpg, Bell in the Cathedral Church of Saint Matthew, Dallas, Texas
The Cathedral Church of Saint Matthew, known simply as St. Matthew's Cathedral, is an Episcopal cathedral church located at 5100 Ross Avenue in Dallas, Texas, in the United States.
The cathedral is the official seat of the bishop of the Epi ...
Image:CathedralCologneBell.jpg, Bell in Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral (german: Kölner Dom, officially ', English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a Catholic cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese o ...
File:Suomenlinna Church bell.jpg, Bell in Suomenlinna Church
Image:16 21 2668 san miguel.jpg, Bell for San Miguel Mission
San Miguel Chapel, is a Spanish colonial mission church in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Originally built around 1610, it is often referred to as the oldest church in the United States (excluding Puerto Rico). The church was rebuilt twice, once in ...
Image:Ipatios monastery Kostroma 19.jpg, Ringing the bells at Ipatiev Monastery
The Ipatiev Monastery (), sometimes translated into English as Hypatian Monastery, is a male monastery situated on the bank of the Kostroma River just opposite the city of Kostroma. It was founded around 1330 by a Tatar convert, Prince Chet, who ...
in Kostroma
Kostroma ( rus, Кострома́, p=kəstrɐˈma) is a historic types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russia, Golden Ring of Russian cities, it is lo ...
, Russia.
Image:Bells in the tower - geograph.org.uk - 1369287.jpg, Ring of eight bells in the tower of St Michael and All Angels' parish church, Blewbury
Blewbury is a village and civil parish at the foot of the Berkshire Downs section of the North Wessex Downs about south of Didcot, south of Oxford and west of London. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it t ...
, Oxfordshire
Cloche dans l'église Saint-Jacques de Tournai (DSCF8555).jpg, Bell in the Saint-Jacques church of Tournai
File:Church bells of Ulm Minster (2019).jpg, Church bells of Ulm Minster
Ulm Minster (german: Ulmer Münster) is a Lutheran church located in Ulm, State of Baden-Württemberg (Germany). It is currently the tallest church in the world. The church is the fifth-tallest structure built before the 20th century, with a ...
seen from above (2019)
See also
*
Bellfounding
*
Bolognese bell ringing art
Bolognese bell ringing is a tradition of ringing bells that developed in Bologna, present day Italy. A form of full circle ringing, it entails swinging bells to develop rhythmic patterns.
History
During the 16th century there was a competitive ...
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Campanology
Campanology () is the scientific and musical study of bells. It encompasses the technology of bells – how they are founded, tuned and rung – as well as the history, methods, and traditions of bellringing as an art.
It is common to collect t ...
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Central Council of Church Bell Ringers
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Change ringing
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Handbells
A handbell is a bell designed to be rung by hand. To ring a handbell, a ringer grasps the bell by its slightly flexible handle – traditionally made of leather, but often now made of plastic – and moves the arm to make the hinged cla ...
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Loudspeakers in mosques
Loudspeakers were invented in the early 20th century, and they were introduced in mosques in the 1930s, where they are used by a muezzin for the ''adhan'' ("call to prayer"), and sometimes for ''khutbah'' (sermons).
Outdoor loudspeakers, usuall ...
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Ring of bells
A "ring of bells" is the name bell ringers give to a set of bells hung for English full circle ringing. The term "peal of bells" is often used, though peal also refers to a change ringing performance of more than about 5,000 changes.
By ri ...
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Russian Orthodox bell ringing
Russian Orthodox bell ringing has a history starting from the baptism of Rus in 988 and plays an important role in the traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Theology
The ringing of bells is one of the most essential elements of an Orthodox ...
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Veronese bellringing art
Veronese bell ringing is a style of ringing church bells that developed around Verona, Italy from the eighteenth century. The bells are rung full circle (mouth uppermost to mouth uppermost), being held up by a rope and wheel until a note is r ...
References
External links
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Animation of English Full-circle church bell ringingVideo of English full circle-ringing, 8 bells half muffled and one bell tollingVideo of English full circle-ringing, 8 bells ringing "open"Sound of Bells - An Investigation into their tuning*
ttp://www.bellringingcentral.co.uk Bell-Ringing Central* [http://cityark.medway.gov.uk/query/results/?Mode=ShowImg&Img=/cityark/Scans/Unofficial_or_Privately_Originated_Collections/DE0402_Couchman_ephemera_and_MSS_/DE0402_16.html/DE402_16_44L.jpg Old archive image of church bells in Chatham, Kent, England, ca.1900]
All Saints Bell Tower
{{Bells
Bells (percussion)
Campanology