Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1907-04-25
BELLS IN CHURCHES.
FIRST USED BY PAULlNUS, BISHOP
OF NOLA, ABOUT 400.

The Early British Christians USed
Wooden RattIes to Call the People
Together For Worship - Bells and
Thunder and Lightning
Church bells are of ancient origin
The ancients had bells for both sacred
and profane purposes, Strabo says
that market time was announced by
their sound and Pliny that the tomb
of an ancient king of Tuscany was
hung round with bells. The hour of
bathing was made known IN ancient
Rome by the sound of a bell. The
night Waterman carried one, and II
served to call up the servants in great
houses. Sheep had them tied about
their necks to frighten away wolves,
or. rather, by way Of amulet
PaulnuS, bishop Of Nola is general
ly considered the first person who in,
troduced bells into ecclesiastical sery-
ice about the year 400. Historians say
that in G10 the bishop of Orleans, being
at Seno, then in a state of siege, fright
ened away the besieging army by ring
ing St. Stephens church bells, which is
a clear proof that they were not at that
time generally known in France. The
first large bells are mentioned by
Bedc in the year ESQ Before that pc
riod the early British Christians made
use of wooden rattles to call the con
gregation of the faithful together.
Hand bells probably first appeared at
religious professions and were after
ward used by the seculars. The small
bells were not always held in the
hand They were sometimes suspend
ed upon a stake and struck with ham
merS.
The arrival of kings and great per
sonages was anciently greeted by ring
ing the church bells. Inguohus, abbot
of Croyland. who died about 1100,
speaks of them as being well known in
his time and says that 1.-The first abbot
of Croyland gave six bells to that mon
astery-that is to say, two great ones,
which he named Bartholomew and Bel
adine: two of medium size, called
Turketulium and Bettrine; two small
ones, denominated Pega and Bega. He
also caused the great bell to be made
called Gudla, which was tuned to the
other bell and produced an admirable
harmony not to be eQualed in Eng
land"
The bells used in the monasteries
were sometimes rung with ropes hav-
ing brass or silver rings at the ends
for the hand. They were anciently
rung by the priests themselves, after
ward by the servants and sometimes
by those incapable of other duties, as
persons who We're blind
The doctrine Of the Church of Rome
concerning bells is that they have mer-
It and pray God for the living and the
dead second, that they produce devo-
tion in the hearts of the faithful. The
dislike Of evil spirits to bells is we'll
expressed by Wynken de Worde in the
Golden Legend" The passing bell was
anciently rung for two good purposes,
one TO bespeak the prayers of all good
| Christian people for a soul just depart
ing and the other to drive away the
evil spirits who stood at the foot of the
bed or about the house. Such was the
general opinion respecting the efficacy
of bells before the reformation, but
since that period "it has been the usual
course in the Church of England that
when any sick person lay dying a
bell should toll to give notice to the
neighbors that they might pray for the
dying party, which was commonly
called passing bell, because the sick
person was passing hence to another
world, and when his breath was ex-
pired the bell rung out that the neigh
bors might cease their prayers, for that
the party was dead" 1t is now only
tolled after death.
The saints bell was not SO called
from the name of the saint that was
inscribed on it or of the church to
which it belonged, but because it was
always rung out when the priest came
to that part of the service, "Sanctus,
Sanctus, Sanctus, Domino Deus Sab
baoth," purposely that those persons
who could not come to church might