Clear as a Bell

Bells have a long and surprisingly mathematical history.

As anyone who’s ever heard a peal of bells in full flight can attest, the sound is at once wondrous, majestic, holy and a bit deafening. While bells are renowned for calling the faithful to prayer, it’s interesting to learn that bells actually came from China, where they were the measure of all things. Their sound helped to find the correct pitch, their diameter was considered a measure of length, their hollow space a unit of measurement for corn and their weight even used to calibrate scales. Even today, you’d be surprised just how versatile a bell can be.

Gloriosa, the Glorious, is one of the largest free-swinging bells in the world. Several of its predecessors were destroyed, often by fire. The present-day Gloriosa has been hanging in Erfurt Cathedral in Germany since the 15th century. She is also no stranger to damage. On December 24, 1984, for example, a 60-centimetre-long crack temporarily silenced the bell. It took expert welding to give Gloriosa back her voice.

 The Almabtrieb is a marvellous Alpine event that takes place every autumn in Switzerland, Austria and Germany to celebrate the return of cattle from their mountain pastures. The lead cows are singled out to wear the most elaborate headdresses as they make their way down into the valley. The large cowbells around their necks herald the coming of the herd far and wide. As these massive bells are extremely heavy, the cows only wear them for a matter of hours. The bells they wear on the mountain pastures during the summer are much smaller and lighter. Their clanging noise lets the herdsman know where the herd is and helps them find injured animals.

 Setting the beat is easy for Indian dancers because whenever they perform, they always have their metronome with them – on their feet. Ghungroos are leather or cotton ribbons covered with lots of small bells and tied around the ankles. Every dance step creates its own particular sound, and as the tinkling bells barely resonate, they help define the rhythmic movements of the dance for the audience.

 How do you keep your feet dry while enjoying the fascinating underwater world of the Baltic Sea? Inside one of the largest diving bells in Europe, that’s how. Up to 30 visitors at a time can descend beneath the waves inside the bell-shaped gondola in Sellin, north-east Germany. With a bit of luck, you will be able to spot some grey seals, flounders and eels. The pressure inside the diving bell remains the same on land and under water, even at a depth of four metres.

 These delicate little bells not only thrive in warm climates, the colourful flowers also grow in Arctic regions. There are about 500 different species of Campanula and they all have one thing in common – the flared shape of the flower’s head. Which, no doubt, gave rise to their romantic name – bellflower.

 A carillon is a musical instrument that contains at least 23 stationary bells. Australia’s National Carillon, located on Aspen Island, Lake Burley Griffin, Canberra, has 57 bronze bells each weighing between seven kilograms and six tonnes. A gift from the British Government to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the national capital, it is played regularly, its 50-metre-high tower allowing the sound to drift over the lake to nearby parks.

 Altar bells ring three times during a Catholic mass, immediately before the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. In earlier times, the bells were rung to let the worshippers know when they ought to kneel as mass was read in Latin right up until the 1960s. The priest would stand with his back to the congregation as he performed the holy rite and the ringings of the bell signalled the moment in which this transformation took place.