Bell Products: Cast Bronze Bells
Peals, Chimes and Carillons Digital BellsPhoto Gallery
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Overview |
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History |
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Casting a Bell |
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Collection of American Bells |
| HISTORY OF BELLS Bells have played a major role in our lives for several centuries, long before Christian churches made bells an important part of their ceremony. The ancient Egyptians used bells in the worship of their god Osiris. Moses, educated in Egypt, introduced bells into the ceremony of the Jewish religion. And the Romans used bells to express gratitude to the gods for success in battle, fastening them to their chariots. In medieval times, the ringing of bells was believed necessary to chase evil spirits from doorsteps, to quiet storms at sea, or to protect a person's soul at death. It was during this time that the custom of affixing symbols and inscriptions on bells was born. Bells were used as early timekeepers telling villages when to eat and when to sleep and, as necessary, alerting them of dangers such as imminent invasion from opposing camps. Bells tolled whenever someone lay near death to remind the community to pray for the sick, and upon death, the bell tolled out his age. It is said that a person never forgot the sound of his village bell, no matter how many years he was away from home. As the role of bells expanded, inscriptions appropriate to each specific use were inscribed. During WWII bells were melted down and made into weapons. After the war ended, many became bells again and in their original form were used to announce the celebrations that followed. Bells no longer order our lives as in years past, but they continue to inspire. The traditions of bell ringing live on. |
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