BELL. The number of different forms assumed by bells is very large, not all of which need be dealt with here. The term does not strictly include gongs, cymbals, metal plates, resonant bars of metal or wood, or tinkling ornaments, such as, e.g., the "bells" upon the Jewish high priest's dress (Exodus xxviii. 32) ; nor is it necessary here to deal with such varieties as sheep or cow bells, or bells on sledges or harness. For house bells see the end of this article. A "diving-bell" (see DIVERS) is only so called from the analogy of its shape. The main interest of bells and bell-ringing has reference to church or tower bells, their history, construction and uses.
Early Bells.—Of bells before the Christian era there is no trust worthy evidence. The instruments which summoned the Romans to public baths or processions, or that which Lucian (A.D. 18o) describes as set in motion by a water-clock (clepsydra) to measure time, were probably cymbals or resonant plates of metal, like the timbrels (corybantia aera, Virg. Aen. iii. used in the worship of Cybele, or the Egyptian sistrum (q.v.), which seems to have been a sort of rattle. The earliest Latin word for a bell (campana) is late Latin of the 4th or 5th century A.D. and the first application of bells to churches has been ascribed to Paulinus, bishop of Nola, in Campania, about A.D. 400. There is, however, no confirmation of this story.
It has been maintained with somewhat more reason that Pope Sabinianus (604) first used church bells; but it seems clear that they were introduced into France as early as S 5o. In the 7th cen tury Bede mentions a bell brought from Italy by Benedict Biscop for his abbey at W'earmouth, and speaks of the sound of a bell being well known at Whitby abbey at the time of St. Hilda's death (68o). St. Dunstan hung many in the loth century; and in the I ith they were not uncommon in Switzerland and Germany.
Several old bells are extant in Scotland, Ireland and Wales; the oldest are often quadrangular, made of thin iron plates ham mered and riveted together. A well-known specimen is St. Pat rick's bell, preserved at Belfast, called Clog an eadhachta Phatraic, "the bell of St. Patrick's will." It is 6in. high, sin. broad, 4in. deep, adorned with gems and gold and silver filigree-work; it is inscribed 1091 and 1 105, but it is probably alluded to in Ulster annals in 552. In these early times beds were usually small; even in the 11 th century a bell presented to the church at Orleans weighing 2,600lb. was thought large.
To these scanty records of the early history of bells may be added the enumeration of different kinds of bells by Hieronymus Magius, in his work De Tintinnabulis: (1) Tintinnabulum, a little bell, otherwise called tinniolum, for refectory or dormitory, ac cording to Joannes Belethus, but Guillaume Durand names squills for the refectory; (2) Petasius, or larger "broad-brimmed hat" bell; (3) Codon, orifice of trumpet, a Greek hand-bell; (4) Nola, a very small bell, used in the choir, according to Durand; (5 ) Campana, a large bell, first used in the Latin churches in the steeple (Durand), in the tower (Belethus) ; (6) Squilla, a shrill little bell. We read of cymbalum for the cloister (Durand) or campanella for the cloister (Belethus) ; nolula or dupla in the clock; signum in the tower (e.g., in the Excerptions of St. Egbert, 75o) ; the Portuguese still call a bell sino.
Bell-founding.—The earliest bells were probably not cast, but made of plates riveted together. Later, when casting was adopted, the earliest founders were often peripatetic artificers, who travelled about the country, setting up a temporary foundry to cast bells wherever they were wanted.
The chief English centres of the art in mediaeval times were London, York, Gloucester and Nottingham; and bells by "John of York" (i4th century), Miles Graye (16o5), Samuel Smith, father and son, of York (1680-173o), Abraham Rudhall and his descendants, of Gloucester (1684-1774), Mot (i6th century), Lester and Pack (175o), Christopher Hodson of London (who cast "Great Tom" of Oxford, 1680, Richard Phelps (1716) and H. Bagley (18th century) are still in high repute. The White chapel Bell Foundry (now Mears and Stainbank), established by Robert Mot in 157o, incorporated the business of the Rudhalls, Lester and Pack, Phelps, Briant and others, and is now one of the leading firms of bell-founders; others being Gillett and John ston, Croydon, and Taylor and Company, Loughborough, the founders of "Great Paul" for St. Paul's cathedral (1881).
Bells have been made of the most various shapes within cer tain limits. The long narrow bell, the quadrangular, and the mitre-shaped all indicate, in Europe at least, antiquity, while the graceful curved-inwardly-midway and full trumpet-mouthed bell indicates an age not earlier than the i6th century.
The bell is first designed on paper according to the scale of measurement. Then the outer mould is formed in an iron case lined with loam—a mixture of special adhesive kinds of sand, cow-hair and other ingredients. The "strickle board" is fixed to an arm and central bar, and is swept round the loam until the required shape has been formed in the case. The inner mould, called the core, consists of a structure built up of bricks tier upon tier, coated with the same loam as that used in the case. This mould is formed by the other strickle board in a similar manner. These are the first, or rough, coats, and the moulds are then placed in the ovens to be thoroughly dried. This process may take two or three days in the case of a medium-sized bell, and longer in the case of larger bells.
The moulds are next brought out and coated a second time with a finer mixture of loam, and then returned again to the ovens to be dried. After this they are blacked and the surfaces "sleeked" so that the castings may come out clean and smooth. At this stage any inscriptions that may be required are stamped on the outer mould. The moulds are then put together, the case fitting over the core, and the metal, having been brought to the correct temperature, is then poured into each mould. The cooling process takes about 24 hours in the case of moderate sized bells or as much as a week in the case of larger ones. The case is then lifted off, the core is knocked out, and the bell is trimmed and sand blasted to remove the black and grease. American founders use buffing wheels to bring a high polish to the surface of their bells.
Bell Tones and Tuning.—A good bell, properly struck, should give out two distinct notes—the strike note or key of the bell, and the hum note. There are other tones present, but these are not annoying to the ear if the bell is correctly made. The hum note should be a major sixth below the strike note. Such a bell possesses a full, round tone, and as it should be cast thick, it ought to last through the ages.
The pitch of a bell may be lowered by grinding away some of the metal on its inner surface and thus increasing its diameter; and raised by grinding the edge which decreases its diameter. But any alteration of a good bell, after it is cast, is apt to injure the quality of its tone.
In tuning a "ring" or series of bells, the practice of founders was formerly to take one set of notes (in England usually the nominals, on the Continent the fundamentals) and put these into tune, leaving the other tones to take care of themselves. But during recent years tuning methods have been vastly improved, with the aid of modern mechanical appliances, and all the five tones of a bell can now be tuned with perfect accuracy. The great bell ("Great Paul") cast by Messrs. Taylor for St. Paul's cathedral, London, has not all its tones in true harmony, but the great bell cast by the same founders for Beverley Minster is in perfect tune; and with the improved machinery now in use there is no reason why this should not be the case with all church bells.
Bells early summoned soldiers to arms, as well as Christians to church. They sounded the alarm in fire or tumult; and the rights of the burghers in their bells were jealously guarded. Thus the chief bell in the cathedral often belonged to the town, not to the cathedral chapter. The curfew, the Carolus, and St. Mary's bell in the Antwerp tower all belong to the town ; the rest are the property of the chapter. He who commanded the bell corn manded the town ; for by that sound, at a moment's notice, he could rally and concentrate his adherents. Many a bloody chapter in history has been rung in and out by bells.
On the third day of Easter 1282, at the ringing of the Sicilian vespers (which have given their name to the affair), 8,000 French were massacred in cold blood by John of Procida, who had thus planned to free Sicily from Charles of Anjou. On Aug. 24, St. Bartholomew's day, 1572, bells ushered in the massacre of the Huguenots in France, to the number, it is said, of Ioo,000. Bells have rung alike over slaughtered and ransomed cities ; and far and wide throughout Europe in the hour of victory or irreparable loss. At the news of Nelson's triumph and death at Trafalgar, the bells of Chester rang a merry peal alternated with one deep toll, and similar incidents could be multiplied.
There are many old customs connected with the use of church bells, some of which have died out, while others remain here and there. The best known and perhaps oldest of these is the "Cur few" (couvre- f eu) , first enforced (though not perhaps intro duced) by William the Conqueror in England as a signal for all lights and fires to be extinguished at 8 P.M.-probably to pre vent nocturnal gatherings of disaffected subjects. In many towns it survived into the 1 gth century as a signal for closing shops at 8 or 9 P.M. ; and it is still kept up in various places as an old custom.
Among secular uses connected with church bells are the "Mote" or "Common" bell, summoning to municipal or other meetings, as e.g., the 7th at St. Mary's, Stamford, tolled for quarter sessions, or the bell at St. Mary's, Oxford, for meetings of Convocation. In some places one of the bells is known as the "Vestry Bell." The "Pancake Bell," still rung here and there on Shrove Tuesday, was originally a summons to confession before Lent ; the "Harvest Bell" and "Seeding Bell" called labourers to their work; while the "Gleaning Bell" fixed the hours for beginning or leaving off gleaning, so that everyone might start fair and have an equal chance. The "Oven Bell" gave notice when the lord of the manor's oven was ready for his tenants to bake their bread ; the "Market Bell" was a signal for selling to begin ; and in some country dis tricts a church bell is still rung at dinner time.
Other old customs are naturally connected with the ecclesiastical uses of bells. The "Passing Bell," rung for the dying, is now generally rung after death. "Burial Peals," once common at or after funerals, to scare away the evil spirits from the soul of the departed, though discouraged by bishops as early as the 14th cen tury, were kept alive by popular superstition, and only finally checked in Puritan times; but they have been revived, since the spread of change-ringing, in the "muffled peals" now frequently rung as a mark of respect to deceased persons of public or local importance. The "Sermon Bell," rung in pre-Reformation times to give notice that a sermon was to be preached (cf. Shakespeare, Henry IV., pt. 2, iv. 2. 4-7), survives in some places in a custom of ringing the tenor bell, before a service with a sermon ; and a similar custom before a celebration of the Holy Communion preserves the memory of the "Sacrament Bell." Large Bells.—There are a few bells of world-wide renown, and several others more or less celebrated. The great bell at Moscow, "Tsar Kolokol," which was cast in 1733, was in the earth 103 years and was raised by the emperor Nicholas in 1836. The present bell seems never to have been actually hung or rung, having been cracked in the furnace ; and it now stands on a raised platform in the middle of a square. It weighs about 18o tons, height 1 gf t. 3in., circumference 6oft. gin., thickness 2 f t., weight of broken piece 11 tons. The second Moscow bell, the largest in the world in actual use, weighs 128 tons. In a pagoda in Upper Burma hangs a bell i 6f t. in diameter, weighing about 8o tons. The great bell at Peking weighs 53 tons; Nanking, 22 tons; 01 mutz, 17 tons; Vienna (1711), 17 tons; Notre Dame (168o), 17 tons; Erfurt, 13 tons; Great Peter, York Minster, recast in 1927, 1 I tons; Great Paul, at St. Paul's cathedral, 16i tons; Great Tom at Oxford, 71 tons ; Great Tom at Lincoln, 51 tons. Independence Hall bell, in Philadelphia, cast by Meneely in 1876, 61 tons. Big Ben of the Westminster clock tower weighs 132 tons; it was cast by George Mears under the direction of the first Lord Grimthorpe (E. Beckett Denison) in 1858, but is now cracked. Its four quarters were cast by Warner in 1856. The "Kaiserglocke" of Cologne cathedral, recast in 1875, with metal from French cannon captured in 187o-71, weighed 271 tons, but was broken up during the World War and has since been replaced by a new bell weighing 25 tons. The bourdon bell of the carillon of 72 bells in Riverside church, New York (supplied by Messrs. Gillett and Johnston, of Croydon, England), is the biggest bell in the world that has ever been tuned and the largest bell which has so far been cast in England.
(1) Mechanical ringing is effected by a system of wires con nected with small hammers striking the bells, usually on the out side in the case of clocks and inside in the case of chimes and carillons, and worked either by connection with the machinery of a clock, so as to play tunes or artificially arranged chimes at definite intervals; or with a key-board containing handles. The first of these methods is familiar in the chimes (Cambridge, Westminster, etc.) heard from many towers at the striking of the hours and quarters; or in hymn tunes played at intervals (e.g., of three hours) upon church bells. The second method is peculiar to the "carillon" (q. v.) as found everywhere in Belgium, where with a set of from 20 or 3o to 6o or 7o bells a much wider scope for tunes and harmonies is provided than in English belfries, where the num bers of bells usually range from four to twelve in one key only. There are about 4o rings of 12 bells in England, some hundreds of rings of ten, perhaps 2,000 rings of eight, with a total of, say, ringing peals.
(2) Ringing by Hand.—Church bells may be "chimed" or "rung" (see above). One man can, as a rule, chime three bells, with a rope in each hand and one foot in the loop of another. Some prefer the quieter sound of chiming as an introduction to divine service, but where a band of ringers is available and change ringing is practised, the bells as a rule are rung. The practice of "clocking" a bell, in which the clapper, by means of a cord at tached to it and pulled from below, is allowed to swing against the bell at rest, is often employed to save trouble ; but the jar is very likely to crack the bell. In ringing, or in true chiming, the bell is in motion when struck.
For ringing, a bell is pulled up and "set" mouth uppermost. She (to ringers a bell is feminine) is then pulled off, first at "handstroke" (i.e., with the hands on the "sally" or tufted por tion of the rope, a few feet from its lower end) and then at "back-stroke" in the reverse direction (with the hands nearer the lower end, the rope having at the previous pull coiled round three-quarters of the wheel's circumference), describing at each pull a full circle till she comes back to the upright position. At each revolution the swing is chiefly done by the weight of the bell, the ringer giving a pull of just sufficient strength to bring the bell back into the upright position ; otherwise its swing would become gradually shorter till it remained at rest mouth downwards.
(3) Electric Ringing.—A device recently marketed by the Me neely Bell Company of Troy, N.Y., enables the ringer to play tunes and changes on chimes (carillons) of stationary bells from a console having keys like those of an organ. Wires lead from the console to relays, located near the bells, and wires from the relays are run to solenoids (large magnets) which are connected to the clappers. Pressure on the keys transmits the electricity to the solenoids which pull the clappers. Quick playing is thus secured, repeat blows at the rate of three per second being possible on any one bell. Nearly all American made chimes are now being de signed for electric ringing.
Change-ringing.—When a given number of bells are rung over and over again in the same order, from the highest note, or "treble" to the lowest, or "tenor"—I, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8—they are said to be rung in "rounds." "Changes" are variations of this order—e.g., 2 I 3 5 4 7 6 8, 2 3 I 4 5 6 7 8; and "change-ringing" is the art of ringing bells in "changes" so that a different "change" or rearrangement of order is produced at each pull of the bell ropes, until, without any repetition of the same change, the bells come back into "rounds." The general principle of all methods of change-ringing is that each bell, after striking in the first place or "lead," works gradually "up" to the last place or "behind," and "down" again to the first, and that no bell ever shifts more than one place in each change. Thus the ringer of any bell knows that whatever his position in one change, his place in the next will be either the same, or the place before or the place after. He does not have to learn by heart the different changes or variations of order ; nor need he, unless he is the "conductor," know the exact order of any one change. He has to bear in mind, first, which way his bell is working, viz., whether "up" from the first to last place, or "down" from last to first ; secondly, in what place his bell is striking ; thirdly, what bell or bells are striking immediately before or after him—this being ascertained chiefly by "rope-sight," i.e., the knack, acquired by practice, of seeing which rope is being pulled immediately be fore and after his own. He must also remember and apply the rules of the particular "method" which is being rung.
The following table representing the first 20 changes of a "plain course" of "Grandsire Triples" (for these terms, see below) illustrates the subject-matter of this section: I 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Rounds." 7 5 6 .I 4 2 3 (loth change.) 2 I 3 5 4 7 6 (1st change.) 5 7 I 6 2 4 3 3 4 2 6 1 7 5 I 2 5 3 7 4 6 4 3 6 2 7 I 5 (5th change.) 2 I 5 7 3 6 4 (15th change.) 7 6 5 4 I 3 23 5 4 2 6 I 7 3 4 5 6 2 7 I (20th change.) It will be observed that at the 1st change the third bell and at the I 5th the fifth bell, according to the rule of this "method," strikes a second blow in the third place ("makes third's place"). This stops the regular work of the bells which at the previous change were in the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th places ("in 4, 5, 6, 7"), causing them to take a step backwards in their course, "up" or "down," or as it is technically called, to "dodge." Were it not for this the bells would come back into "rounds" at the 14th change. It is by the use of "place-making" and "dodging," ac cording to the rules of various "methods," that the required num ber of changes, upon any number of bells, can be produced. But in order that this may be done, without the bells coming back into "rounds," further modifications of the "coursing order," called technically "Bobs" and "Singles," must be introduced. In ring ing, notice of these alterations as they occur is given by one of the ringers, who acts as "conductor," calling out "Bob" or "Single" at the right moment to warn the ringers of certain bells to make the requisite alteration in the regular work of their bells. Hence, in ringing language, to "call" a peal or touch=to conduct it.
The number of possible "changes" on any given series of bells may be ascertained, according to the mathematical formula of permutations, by multiplying the number of the bells together. Thus on three bells, only six changes or variations of order (I X 2 X3) can be produced ; on four bells, I X2 X 3 X 4 = 24 ; and so on up to the immense figure of 479,005,600 changes obtainable upon 12 bells. As many as 21,000 changes, occupying over 12 hours, have been rung upon church bells. But the great physical strain upon the ringers—to say nothing of the effect upon those who are within hearing—makes such performances exceptional. The word "peal" is often, though incorrectly, used (I) for a set of church bells ("a peal of six," "a peal of eight") , for which the correct term is "a ring" of bells ; (2) for any shorter per formance than a full peal (e.g., "wedding-peal," "muffled peal," etc.), called in ringing language a "touch." Varying "Methods."—Change-ringing upon five bells is called "Doubles," upon seven bells "Triples," upon nine "Caters" (Fr. quatre) , and upon I I "Cinques," from the fact that at each change two, three, four or five pairs of bells change places with each other. "Doubles" can be and are rung when there are only five bells; but as a rule these "odd-bell" systems are rung with a "tenor behind," i.e., struck at the end of each change ; the num ber of bells in a tower being usually an even number—six, eight, ten or 12. In "even-bell" systems the tenor is "rung in" or "turned in," i.e., changes with the other bells, and a different terminology is employed; change-ringing on six bells being called "Minor"; on eight bells, "Major"; on ten bells, "Royal"; and on 12, "Maximus." As regards the application of the term "tenor," rather than "bass," to the largest bell in a peal, no satisfactory explanation has ever been offered—unless the suggestion can be so described that in a peal of ten the biggest bell is the "tenth" or "tenor!" The principal "methods" of change-ringing, each of which has its special rules, are : (I) "Grandsire"; (2) "Plain Bob"; (3) "Treble Bob"; (4) "Stedman," from the name of its inventor, Fabian Stedman, about 1670. In "Grandsire" the treble and one other bell, in "Plain Bob" the treble alone, has a "plain hunt," i.e., works from the first place, or "lead," to the last place, or "be hind," and back again, without any dodging; in "Treble Bob" the treble has a uniform but zigzag course, dodging in each place on its way up and down. This is called a "Treble Bob hunt"; and under these two heads, according to the work of the treble, are classified a variety of "plain methods" and "Treble Bob methods," among the latter being the so-called "Surprise" methods, the most complicated and difficult of all. "Stedman's principle," which is sui generis, consists in the three front bells ringing their six possible changes, while the remaining pair or pairs of bells dodge. It is thus an "odd-bell" method adapted to five, seven, nine or I I bells; as also is "Grandsire," though occasionally rung on even numbers of bells. "Treble Bob" is always, and "Plain Bob" gen erally, rung on even numbers—six, eight, ten or 12.
Quite distinct from the art of change-ringing is the science of "composing," i.e., arranging and uniting by the proper "calls," subject to certain fixed laws and conditions, a number of groups of changes, so that no one change, or series of changes represented in those groups, shall be repeated. A composition, long or short, is said to be "true" if it is free from, "false" if it involves, such repetition; and the body of ascertained laws and conditions gov erning true composition in any method constitutes the test or "proof" to be applied to a composition in that method to demon strate its truth or falseness. One of the objects kept in view by composers is musical effect. Certain sequences of contrasts of notes strike the ear as more musical than others ; and an arrange ment which brings up the more musical changes in quicker suc cession improves the musical effect of the "peal" or "touch." On seven bells all the possible changes must be inserted in a true peal; but on larger numbers of bells, where the choice is from an im mense number of possible changes, the composer is free to select those which are most musical.
Before the end of the i 7th century was founded the "Society of London Scholars," the name of which was changed in 1746 to "Cumberland Youths" in compliment to the victor of Culloden. These two metropolitan societies still exist, and include in their membership most of the leading change-ringers of England ; one of the oldest provincial societies being that of Saffron Walden in Essex, founded in 1623, and still holding an annual ringing festival. In the latter half of the i8th and first half of the 19th century change-ringing, which at first seems to have been an aristocratic pastime, degenerated in social repute. Church bells and their ringers, neglected by church authorities, became associated with the lower and least reputable phases of parochial life; and the belfry was too often an adjunct to the pothouse.
In the last half of the i 9th century, however, there was a great revival of change-ringing, leading to improvements in belfries and in ringers, and to their gradual recognition as church workers. Diocesan or county associations for the promotion of change ringing and of belfry reform spread knowledge of the art and aroused church officials to greater interest in and care for their bells. A central council of church bell ringers, consisting of dele gates from these various societies, was also formed, and in the result, it is now less likely than ever that the Belgian carillons will be preferred in England to the peculiarly English system of ringing bells in peal; by which, whatever its difficulties, the musical sound of bells is most fully brought out, and their scientific construction best stimulated.