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Bells are usually made of metal, but small bells can also be made from ceramic or glass. Bells can be of all sizes: from tiny dress accessories to church bells literally weighing tons.
The bells of St Sava's
Contents |
Church and temple bells
Church with Belltower
In the Western world, its most classical form is a church bell or town bell, which is hung within a tower and sounded by having the entire bell swung by ropes, whereupon an internal hinged tongue strikes the body of the bell (called a free-swinging bell). A set of bells, hung in a circle for change ringing, is knows as a ring of bells.
In the Eastern world, the traditional forms of bells are temple and palace bells, small ones being rung by a sharp rap with a stick, and very large ones rung by a blow from the outside by a large swinging beam. This last technique is employed world-wide for some of the largest tower-borne bells, because swinging the bell itself could damage the tower.
In the Roman Catholic Church and among some High Anglicans, small hand-held bells, called Sanctus or sacring bells, are often rung by a server at Mass when the priest holds high up first the host, and then the chalice immediately after he has said the words of consecration over them (the moment known as the Elevation). This serves to indicate to the congregation that the bread and wine have just been transformed into the body and blood of Christ (see transubstantiation), or, in the less rigorous Anglican teaching, that Christ is now really present in the elements, and that what the priest is holding up for them to look at is Christ himself.
Buddhist bells
Japanese Buddhist bells are used in religious ceremonies. Suzu bells, meaning "cool and refreshing," are the smallest bells and contain metal pellets. The next largest bell is the Kane bell. The largest bell is the furin, or wind bell, which is a form of wind chime.
Bells as musical instruments
Some bells are used as musical instruments, such as clock chimes, carillons, or ensembles of bell-players, called bell choirs, using hand-held bells of varying tones. A "ring of bells" is a set of 4 to twelve bells or more used in change ringing, a particular method of ringing bells in patterns. A "peal" in changing ringing may have bells playing for several hours, playing 5,000 or more patterns without a break or repetition.
Ancient Chinese bells
The ancient Chinese had bronze bells called zhong (鐘) which were used as musical instruments. Some of these bells were dated from 2000 to 3600 years old. These bells can each produce two tones. These bells usually have inscriptions on them from which scholars used as references for studying ancient Chinese writings (a.k.a. Bronzeware script). Another related ancient Chinese musical instrument is called qing (磬 pinyin qing4) but it was made of stone instead of metal.
Bellmaking
The playing of bells is known as bellringing, and such a bell produces a very loud, clear tone. If the bell is mounted as cast, it is called a "maiden bell" while "tuned bells" are worked after casting to produce a precise note. The traditional metal for these bells is a bronze of about 20% tin. Known as bell metal, this alloy is also the traditional alloy for the finest Turkish and Chinese cymbals. Other materials sometimes used for large bells include brass and iron. The process of casting bells is called bellmaking.
Belltowers
Bells are also associated with clocks, indicating the hour by ringing. Indeed, the word clock comes from the Latin word cloca, meaning bell. Clock towers or bell towers can be heard over long distances which was especially important in the time when clocks were too expensive for widespread use.
In the case of clock towers and grandfather clocks, a particular sequence of tones may be played to represent the hour. One common pattern is called the "Westminster Quarters," a sixteen-note pattern named after the Palace of Westminster which popularized it as the measure used by Big Ben.
Famous bells
Mingun Bell weighs 55,555 viss, or 90 tonnes.
Philadelphia's Liberty Bell
Tsar Bell, by the Motorins.
The Zygmunt (Sigismund) Bell in Kraków, Poland.
World Peace Bell in Newport, Ky
Big Ben is the hour bell of the Great Clock in St. Stephen's Tower at the Palace of Westminster, the home of the Houses of Parliament in the United Kingdom.
The Great Bell of Dhammazedi may have been the largest bell ever made. It was lost in a river in Myanmar after being removed from a temple by the Portuguese in 1608. It is reported to have been about 300 tonnes in weight.
The largest bell still in existence may be the Great Mingun Bell, located in Mingun, Myanmar. It weighs 90 tonnes (200,000 lb).
Great Tom is the bell that hangs in "Tom Tower" (designed by Christopher Wren) of Christ Church, Oxford. It was cast in 1680, and weighs over six tons. Great Tom is still rung 101 times at 21:05 every night to signify the 101 original scholars of the college.
The Liberty Bell is an American bell of great historic significance, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It previously hung in Independence Hall and was rung on July 4, 1776 to mark American independence.
Sigismund is a bell in the Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, Poland, cast in 1520. It is rung only on very significant national occasions, the most recent of which was the death of Pope John Paul II.
The Tsar-Kolokol III bell by the Motorin Bellfounders would have been larger than even the Great Mingun Bell at more than 200 tons, but it was never rung and broke in 1737. It is on display in Moscow, Russia inside the Kremlin.
The largest swinging bell is the World Peace Bell in Newport, Kentucky, cast by Paccard of France. The bell itself weighs 66,000 lb while with clapper and supports the total weight which swings when the bell is tolled is 89,390 lb.
Pummerin in Vienna's Stephansdom is the most famous bell in Austria and the fifth largest in the world.
The St. Petersglocke, in the local dialect of Cologne also called "Decke Pitter" (fat Peter), is a Bell in the Cologne Cathedral. It weighs 24 tons and was cast in 1922. At this time, it was the largest free-swinging bell in the world. It swings around the top, while the World Peace Bell swings around the Center of Gravity, which is more like turning than like swinging. So, depending on the point of view, the St. Petersglocke may be up to now the largest free-swinging bell in the world. And, because of the Doppler Effect, a bell which swings around the top has a better sound than a bell which swings around the gravity point.
Chimes
A variant on the bell is the tubular bell or chimes, composed of several metal tubes which are struck manually with hammers. In the case of wind or aeolian chimes, the tubes are blown against one another by the wind.
External links
- European research project: Maintenance and protection of bells
- http://www.glocke.com, information about the Perner bellfoundry in Passau, casting of broncebells, and ringing equipment, recent projects, sounds of the cathedral in Passau
- Ancient Chinese bells Pictures, sound samples, acoustics, and musical tuning of the famous bell ensemble of Zeng from 433 B.C.
- Chimes & knells ringed in traditional music from county of Nice, France
- Computer-designed harmonic bells
- Bells and their Music (online book)
- http://www.russianbells.com/acoustics/lehr.htm
- Kruszewski Brothers Bell Foundry, Wegrow, Poland (Weblink)
