<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif;font-size:12pt"><span>See <a target="_blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqpqXPccxJM">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqpqXPccxJM</a> for footage of the bourdon at St. Denis being rung in this way. Doesn't seem to take 32 operators!</span><br><br>Bryan McCahey<br><div style="font-family: times new roman,new york,times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br><div style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); margin: 5px 0px 5px 5px; padding-left: 5px; font-family: times new roman,new york,times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><font size="2" face="Tahoma"><hr size="1"><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">From:</span></b> Richard Smith <richard@LycGGEagnbXMM0L-FSXRugI59HMKpbFSrLZmOwelNv3ZDG2LdAtNznWxeFv39zpVBn32hWoYQtD3mH-t.yahoo.invalid><br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">To:</span></b> bellhistorians@yahoogroups.com<br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sent:</span></b> Sat, November 7, 2009
9:26:15 AM<br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Subject:</span></b> Re: [Bell Historians] The sound of bells in 1170<br></font><br><meta http-equiv="x-dns-prefetch-control" content="off">
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<p>Chris Pickford wrote:<br>
<br>
> The idea that these bells were rung by treading beams <br>
> certainly seems plausible - but do we know anything from <br>
> elsewhere about how many people (e.g. per ton of bell) it <br>
> took to operate this system. If they weren't that heavy, <br>
> why were so many ringers needed?<br>
<br>
The Sigmund bell at Kraków cathedral in Poland weighs <br>
somewhere in the region of 9 to 10 tons (Dickon has the <br>
exact figure) and was cast in 1520. It is hung with two <br>
long wooden beams fastened to its very large wooden <br>
headstock. The beams probably extend about 10 feet either <br>
side of the bell, and the bell is rung by people hauling on <br>
ropes hung from the end of these beams. So far as I could <br>
see, the fittings seemed well maintained. However even <br>
today, ten to twelve ringers are required to ring it (or so <br>
they claim; I didn't actually see it done). That's <br>
approaching one-and-a-half ringers per ton.<br>
<br>
I guess that bells rung by treading on the beams would <br>
require more ringers as it seems to me that is a less easy <br>
way of putting the bell into motion. Add more friction to <br>
the bearings and clapper, and I could easily believe as many <br>
as three ringers per ton, maybe even four. Even so, this <br>
would make Wybert's bell weigh six to eight tons. The <br>
question is, how unbelievable is this? From memory (I'm <br>
writing this en route to the ASCY dinner), Prior Henry's <br>
14th C bell at Canterbury weighed 64 cwt. Are any larger <br>
bells of this era known?<br>
<br>
RAS</p>
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