The Jasper news., 1907-07-25
IRISH CHUR CHI BELLS.
THE EARLIEST ONES WEIGHED
ONLY Anew OUNCES.
First Adopted About fhe Time o. 81
Patrick Ii lthS Fifth Century n
Were Made Of Ham
.Ay nered iroris

U0kHn 10 Dc adopted IN tue Curistidu
church, though their use In other di.
rectlops was long anterior to Chris
tianity, az Mr.. Layard records having
found some in the palace OF Nimrod.
The firBt Christian bells, like st. Pat
rick's, weighed only q few ounces, and
from that they gradually increased
till the greatest weight was reached
at Moscow with 1913 tons Of beautiful
" enriched work, a strange contrast
To- humble "CloE- E-an-eadhaehta Petra
TO-" or "bell OF Patrick's WELL" some
times referred to as the bell Of Ar
magh, with its diminutive dimensions
81 six inches deep, made Of thin sheets
OF hammered iron, bent into a four
sided form, fastened with rivets and
brazed or bronged. This bell is at
once the most authentic and the old,
eat Irish relic of. Christian metal work
that has descended to us, and is men.
toned in the Annals under the date
OF 552.
Such as this were the bells OF the
early apostles Of Ireland, but the age
was progressive one, and advancing
art soon claimed the bells to work on,
and the hammered iron gave way to
bronze castings, more skillful work
manship and to more perfect reson.
ance. We, are fortunate enough to
have on loan the finest example In
the Bangor bell OF what the craft OF
bell making had advanced to by the
time the tenth century had dawned.
The same story applies to many
other famous bells Of Ireland and
their. shrines. but the church loved
these ancient bells, and their associa.
tions rendered them most precious
relics. They must be preserved, and
the far famous gold workers Of Ire
land came to the rescue and brought
the national art, then in the zenith Of
its perfection, to bear on the ..cases"
to hold them called "shrines" and by
far the most beautiful of all was thai
for the bell Of the great patron saint
of Ireland ss.l
The early church builders and
artiflcers of Ireland were skillful and
bold and fearless in their creations )
, with an independence Of thought, they
struck out original lines to work on
We see 1t in the stone.roofed
churches, the stately round towers
the great crosses-a model of one, the
finest cross on earth. stands near the
case containing the bells--and by the
preservation of the bells themselves
We see In the reliquaries or shrines
another master thought, repeated no
where else, and these remain a purely
Irish characteristic. A few found Q
resting place In Scotland, but great
authority says they are attributed tc
Irish saints, and we naturally turn tc
Ireland in search of the parent
group"
The Shrine" was made to inclose
the rude. iron bell. This fine example
of the goldsmith's work must have
been executed between the years 1901
and 1105. when Donell McAuley,
whose name is given in the inscrip-
/ ton, filled the see OF Armagh. The
shrine is made OF brass, on which the
ornamented parts are fastened down
with rivets. The front is adorned with
silver gilt plated, and knot work in
golden fligree. The silver work is
partly covered with scrolls, some in
alto.relieyo and some In bas-relief. II
Is also decorated with gems and crys.
tails. and on the sides are animal
( forms. elongated and twisted into in.
terlaced scrolls. Since the original
shrine was made. In 1921, 1t has never
been lost sight of, but has been hand.
ed down from custodian to custodian,
generally of the same family.
Made Hit With Women.
Two men who had heen friands %,