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The funeral tolling of a
bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () 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 m ...
is the technique of sounding a single bell very slowly, with a significant gap between strikes. It is used to mark the death of a person at a
funeral 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 th ...
or
burial Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
service. The expression "tolling" is derived from the English tradition of "telling" of the death by signalling with a bell. The term tolling may also be used to signify a single bell being rung slowly, and possibly half-muffled at a commemoration event many years later. Tolling is typically used for tenor bells in
change ringing Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuning (music), tuned bell (instrument), bells in a tightly controlled manner to produce precise variations in their successive striking sequences, known as "changes". This can be by method ringing in ...
, it also applies to bourdon bells as well in a bell tower or cathedral.


Origins

Historically, a bell would be rung on three occasions around the time of a death. The first was the "passing bell" to warn of impending death, followed by the
death knell A death knell is the ringing of a church bell to announce the death of a person. 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 corpse ...
which was the ringing of a
bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () 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 m ...
immediately after the death, and the last was the "lych bell", or "corpse bell" which was rung at the funeral as the procession approached the church.Walters P 154–160 This latter is closest to what is known today as the ''Funeral toll''. Today, customs vary regarding when and for how long the bell tolls at a funeral. In churches with full-circle English bells, for commemorative services such as
funeral 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 th ...
s,
memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...
services and
Remembrance Sunday Remembrance Sunday is held in the United Kingdom as a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is held on the second Sunday in Nov ...
, the bells are rung ''half-muffled'' instead with a leather pad on one side of the clapper in
call changes Call change ringing is a branch of the art of change ringing, in which a group of English-style Full circle ringing, full-circle bell ringers are instructed continually to create different sequences, or changes, of the bells' striking order. Each co ...
or
method ringing Method ringing (also known as scientific ringing) is a form of change ringing in which the ringers commit to memory the rules for generating each change of sequence, and pairs of bell (instrument), bells are affected. This creates a form of bell mu ...
. Very rarely are they rung ''fully-muffled'' with pads both sides. This can often be a quarter peal or
peal In campanology (bell ringing), a peal is the special name given to a specific type of performance of change ringing which meets certain exacting conditions for duration, complexity and quality. The definition of a peal has changed considerably ...
– the latter lasting three hours.
Big Ben Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, and, by extension, for the clock tower itself, which stands at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England. Originally named the Clock Tower, it ...
, the bell in the Elizabeth Tower in London, has, since 1910, been tolled at the funeral of a British sovereign, the number of strokes equalling the number of years of the sovereign's life.


See also

*
Dead bell A dead bell or deid bell (Scots), also a 'death', 'mort', 'lych', 'passing bell' or ''McKay, p. 130. was a form of hand bell used in Scotland and northern England in conjunction with deaths and funerals up until the 19th century. Origins Belief i ...
*
Death knell A death knell is the ringing of a church bell to announce the death of a person. 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 corpse ...
*
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 r ...
* ''
For Whom the Bell Tolls ''For Whom the Bell Tolls'' is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1940. It tells the story of Robert Jordan, a young American volunteer attached to a Republican guerrilla unit during the Spanish Civil War. As a dynamiter, he is assigned ...
'' by
Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...
(quoting
John Donne John Donne ( ; 1571 or 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under Royal Patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's, D ...
) * ''
The Nine Tailors ''The Nine Tailors'' is a 1934 mystery novel by the British writer Dorothy L. Sayers, her ninth featuring Lord Peter Wimsey. The story is set in the Lincolnshire Fens, and revolves around a group of bell-ringers at the local parish church. The ...
'' by Dorothy L Sayers


Video

* Video of English church bells being rung half-muffled, and then the tenor bell being tolled for a WW1 Roll of Honour in 201


References

* Stahlschmidt J.C.L: ''The Church Bells of Kent: Their inscriptions, founders, uses and traditions'', p. 126. Elliot Stock, 1887. * H B Walters, ''The Church Bells of England''. Published 1912 and republished 1977 by
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
.{{ISBN?
The Church Bells of Kent



Funeral Order Of Service Painting
Campanology Funerals