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<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=879271610-11082008>What evidence is there
from complete rings:</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=879271610-11082008>
<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=5 bgColor=#bdd6ce border=0>
<TBODY>
<TR vAlign=top align=middle bgColor=#eff7ef>
<TD colSpan=8>Smithfield <B>London</B>, Gr Lon<BR><B>S Bartholomew
Gt</B></TD></TR>
<TR vAlign=top align=middle bgColor=#ffffff>
<TD class=label>Bell</TD>
<TD class=label>Weight</TD>
<TD class=label>Nominal</TD>
<TD class=label>Note</TD>
<TD class=label>Diameter</TD>
<TD class=label>Cast</TD>
<TD class=label>Founder</TD>
<TD class=label>Canons</TD></TR>
<TR vAlign=top align=middle bgColor=#ffffff>
<TD>1</TD>
<TD>2cwt</TD>
<TD></TD>
<TD>F#</TD>
<TD>22.00 "</TD>
<TD>c1510†</TD>
<TD>Thomas Bullisdon</TD>
<TD>Y</TD></TR>
<TR vAlign=top align=middle bgColor=#ffffff>
<TD>2</TD>
<TD>2¾cwt</TD>
<TD></TD>
<TD>E</TD>
<TD>24.00 "</TD>
<TD>c1510†</TD>
<TD>Thomas Bullisdon</TD>
<TD>Y</TD></TR>
<TR vAlign=top align=middle bgColor=#ffffff>
<TD>3</TD>
<TD>3½cwt</TD>
<TD></TD>
<TD>D#</TD>
<TD>26.50 "</TD>
<TD>c1510†</TD>
<TD>Thomas Bullisdon</TD>
<TD>Y</TD></TR>
<TR vAlign=top align=middle bgColor=#ffffff>
<TD>4</TD>
<TD>4¼cwt</TD>
<TD></TD>
<TD>C#</TD>
<TD>29.00 "</TD>
<TD>c1510†</TD>
<TD>Thomas Bullisdon</TD>
<TD>Y</TD></TR>
<TR vAlign=top align=middle bgColor=#ffffff>
<TD>5</TD>
<TD>5½cwt</TD>
<TD></TD>
<TD>B</TD>
<TD>31.00 "</TD>
<TD>c1510†</TD>
<TD>Thomas Bullisdon</TD>
<TD>Y</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></SPAN></DIV><BR>
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left>
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<FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> bellhistorians@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:bellhistorians@yahoogroups.com] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Richard
Smith<BR><B>Sent:</B> 11 August 2008 11:04<BR><B>To:</B>
bellhistorians@yahoogroups.com<BR><B>Subject:</B> RE: [Bell Historians] 16th and
17th century tuning<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
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<P>Richard Offen wrote:<BR><BR>> > Is anyone aware of any research into
how the tuning of rings<BR>> > of bells evolved during the 16th and 17th
centuries?<BR>><BR>> "<A
href="http://www.hibberts.co.uk/index.htm">http://www.hibberts<WBR>.co.uk/index.<WBR>htm</A>"<BR>>
"<A
href="http://www.kirnberger.fsnet.co.uk/">http://www.kirnberg<WBR>er.fsnet.<WBR>co.uk/</A>"<BR><BR>Interesting
though both of these are, I'm not sure either <BR>really touch on what I'm
interested on. Or perhaps they do, <BR>and I haven't managed to locate the
relevant parts, in which <BR>case a pointer would be appreciated.<BR><BR>The
only passage I can find that is slightly relevant to the <BR>introduction of a
major scale in rings of bells is the <BR>following paragraph on Nigel Taylor's
site:<BR><BR>| Until the 17th century, few churches had more than four <BR>|
bells. These rarely formed a scale; this was of little <BR>| consequence as each
bell was used for a specific purpose, <BR>| such as the curfew, sanctus, or
tolling for the dead. <BR>| Little, if any attempt was made to tune additional
bells <BR>| to sound in tune with existing ones. In the mid-17th century, <BR>|
English change-ringing was beginning to develop, and with <BR>| it the demand
for greater numbers of bells in a set. For <BR>| change-ringing to make any
sense, clearly the bells must <BR>| form a recognisable scale.<BR><BR>But this
doesn't seem wholly compatible with John Eisel's <BR>essay 'Change Ringing: The
History of an English Art, Vol 1' <BR>where he says:<BR><BR>| In the middle of
the sixteenth century we have the results <BR>| of the first surveys on the
numbers of church bells. <BR>| [...] The weights of the bells show that the
bells would <BR>| have formed a ring and this is emphasised by the returns <BR>|
of the Commissioners for the Hundred of Framland in <BR>| Leicestershire. Three
parishes each had 'iij bells of a <BR>| corde', Croxton Kerrial had 'iiij bells
of a ryng', and <BR>| Muston had 'iiij bells of one ryng'.<BR>|<BR>| A study of
the 1552 and 1553 inventories shows that most <BR>| parish churches had between
three and five bells, although <BR>| some had fewer and a handful had
more.<BR><BR>I would be interested in what is known about the tuning of
<BR>rings from this period. Heinrich Glarean didn't publish <BR>'Dodecachordon'
until 1547, and this is usually credited as <BR>the point when the major scale
(his Ionian mode) was <BR>introduced, so it would seem surprising if this was in
many <BR>mid-16th century rings of bells.<BR><BR>Richard<BR></P></DIV><!--End group email --></BODY></HTML>
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