[Bell Historians] Re: Oldest Christian Bell

[Kevin Jones]

Dear RAS, 

 The bell in Tarragona is 6" wide with a sound bow, Cast in Bronze, Weights 4lbs, It is strange design but it was probably held by a priest
as ceremonial bell with a Latin iscription. a bell cast in Bronze of this size is quite rare.
 
Kev 



To: bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com
From: edward.w.martin at Fu6QXLuUsF9cbuEMWstbA4IRsBjOV5NrZSUnkBxht-65PjolwdzD2W6Hs19ebxXT6ct_5dpDYqmPMpRnBozgIg.yahoo.invalid
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2012 13:40:23 +0000
Subject: [Bell Historians] Re: Oldest Christian Bell

  





--- In bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com, Richard Smith <richard at ...> wrote:
>
> Kevin Jones wrote:
> 
> > There is a 2nd Century bell at Tarragona Museum in Spain.
> 
> 2nd century bells are not especially rare. A quick internet 
> search suggests you can buy one yourself for less than £200 
> (from genuine-looking antiques dealerships or auction 
> houses: I'm not referring to items of dubious provenance on 
> eBay). Almost invariably they're small enough to fit 
> comfortably in one hand, and generally they're either 
> hemispherical or have a cylindral waist and a hemispherical 
> crown. If the one at Tarragona doesn't fit this general 
> type, I would be interested to know more. In particular, 
> I've heard of an extant Roman bell with anything resembling 
> a sound bow, nor anything large enough to be heard over any 
> distance, and certainly nothing to prove Christian use in 
> Roman times.
> 
> RAS
>

That bells, at any rate, portable bells, were familiar to all nations of antiquity is indisputable. Nevertheless, it seems to me to be very doubtful that non- portable bells, i.e., anything approaching the size of a modern church bell, was used west of Asia in pre-Christian times. The ancient Romans used small bells or tintinnabula and one may find references to what may have been gongs or large cymbals (signa) used as time markers or warnings of up-coming events, but they do not seem to have had any use for what could be reasonably described as being large bells. 

Neither does it seem possible to state definitely when such bells were first introduced into the Christian Church. However, I am certain that it was not until well after the first three perhaps four centuries of Christianity simply because early Christian congregations under constant threat of very real persecution, had neither the need nor the desire for a loud public signal to summon them when or where they intended to meet. Even after A.D. 313 when the Roman Emperor Constantine, with his co-emperor Licinius, proclaimed religious tolerance of all religions throughout the Empire, including Christianity, things did not change straight away. Constantine was not baptised until his old age, Roman coins retained pictures of the old Roman gods and even though he and his mother erected churches and monuments in the Holy Land, pertaining to events in the life of Christ, Constantine's new church (San Giovani) was built on the edge of the city of Rome presumably to avoid upsetting any pagans who lived in the city. 

There is a tradition that large church bells were first cast in Italy and that this process gradually spread westward. Without certain proof, this seems to be reasonable and to fit such known facts that do exist; I would speculate that this was possibly during the 5th and 6th centuries when church buildings that were being erected began to include a tower specifically intended to house large bells. Along with this we must include the introduction all over Europe of monastic life and the subsequent building of bell towers attached to monasteries. I have not been able to investigate thoroughly, but there is also a tradition that Pope Sabinian (604-606) may have been the first to sanction the ringing of bells at the canonical hours and during the celebration of the Eucharist.

Eddie 




 		 	   		             
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