A bell is a hollow, somewhat cup-shaped, sounding instrument of metal. The metal from which bells are usually made (by founding) is an alloy, called bell-metal, commonly composed of eighty parts of copper and twenty of tin. The proportion of tin varies, however, from one-third to one-fifth of the weight of the copper, according to the sound required, the size of the bell, and the impulse to be given. The clearness and richness of the tone depend upon the metal used, the perfection of its casting, and also upon its shape; it having been shown by a number of experiments that the well-known shape with a thick lip is the best adapted to give a perfect sound. The depth of the tone of a bell increases in proportion to its size.
A bell is divided into the body or barrel, the ear or cannon, and the clapper or tongue. The lip or sound-bow is that part where the bell is struck by the clapper. It is uncertain whether the jangling instruments used by the Egyptians and Israelites can be correctly described as bells; but it is certain that bells of a considerable size were in early use in China and Japan, and that the Greeks and Romans used them for various purposes. They are said to have been first introduced into Christian churches about 400 AD by Paulinus, bishop of Nola, in Campania (whence campana and nola as old names of bells); although their adoption on a wide scale does not become apparent until after the year 550, when they were introduced into France.
Benedict Biscop, abbot of Wearmouth, seems to have imported bells from Italy to England in 680, but their use in Ireland and Scotland is probably of earlier date. The oldest of those existing in Great Britain and Ireland, such as the 'bell of St. Patrick's will' and St Ninian's bell, are quadrangular and made of thin iron plates hammered and riveted together.
Until the thirteenth century bells were of comparatively small size, but after the casting of the Jacqueline of Paris (6.5 tons) in 1400 their weight rapidly increased. Among the more famous bells are the bell of Cologne, 11. tons, 1448; of Dantzic, 6 tons, 1453; of Halberstadt, 7.5, 1457; of Rouen, 16, 1501; of Breslau, 11, 1507; of Lucerne, 71, 1636; of Oxford,7.5 1680; of Paris, 12.8, 1680; of Bruges, 10.5, 1680; of Vienna, 17.75, 1711; of Moscow (the monarch of all bells), 193, 1736; three other bells at Moscow ranging from 16 to 31 tons, and a fourth of 80 tons cast in 1819; the bell of Lincoln (Great Tom), 5.5, 1834; of YorkMinster (Great Peter), 10.75, 1845; of Montreal, 134, 1847; of Westminster (Big Ben), 15.5, 1856, (St Stephen), 13.5, 1858; the Great Bell of St. Paul's, 17.5, 1882. Others are the bells of Ghent (5 tons), Gorlitz (10.75 tons), St Peter's, Rome (8 tons), Antwerp (7.25 tons), Olmutz (18 tons), Sacred Heart, Paris (27 tons), Novgorod (31 tons), Pekin (53.5 tons).
Besides their use in churches bells are employed for various purposes, formerly the most common use being to summon attendants or domestics in private houses, hotels, etc. Bells for this purpose were of small size and may be held in the hand and rung, but most commonly were rung by means of wires stretched from the various apartments to the place where the bells were hung. Bells rung by electricity became common in hotels and other establishments around 1905.
Diplomatics was originally the science of deciphering ancient ,manuscripts. It laid down certain principles for the systematic examination of public documents, and taught the forms and styles adopted in them, the titles and rank of public officers subscribing them, etc. Among the earliest exponents of diplomatics were Papebroeck, an Antwerp Jesuit in 1675, and Mabillon (De re Dipiomatica, 1681). Research Diplomatics
The Reformed Dutch Church is a Christian Protestant denomination that originated in Holland, and held its first synod at Antwerp in 1563. Emigrants from Holland took its teachings to America and a church was organized as early as 1619 in New Amsterdam. The denomination grew slowly, owing partly to persecutions from the English, but about 1737 felt strong enough to ask for a separate organization from the parent church in Holland. This was finally effected in 1772 through the agency of Dr. John H Livingston, and in 1793 the new organization was completed. At that time there were 136 churches and fifty ministers. The constitution then adopted was revised in 1842, and again in 1874. Research Reformed Dutch Church
The Swedish West India Company or the South Company, was founded in October, 1624, by Willem Usselinx, of Antwerp, under a charter granted by Gustavus Adolphus, of special trading privileges with America. The king subscribed 400,000 daler, and stock was taken by other Swedes, among them Chancellor Oxenstjerna. Combining later with certain Dutch merchants, the company effected settlements along the Delaware River. The charter extended to 1646. Research Swedish West India Company
The Laekenois is a breed of Belgian shepherddog developed in Antwerp to guard linen that was left to bleach in the sun. The Laekenois is similar to the Groenendael, but fawn in colour with black markings on the face. Research Laekenois
Adriaan Brouwer (Adriaan Brauwer) was a Flemish painter. He was born in 1605 at Oudenaarde and died in 1638. He was probably a student and associate of Frans Hals and also was influenced by Pieter Brueghel the Younger. Brouwer worked in Dutch cities and in Antwerp. One of the best of the Flemish genre painters, he is noted for his bright paintings of peasant life, especially raucous tavern scenes. Examples are Smokers and Tavern Interior. In Antwerp he produced fine landscapes, such as Twilight, in subdued earth tones. Research Adriaan Brouwer
Adriaen Brouwer was a Flemish painter. He was born in 1605 at Oudenaarde and died in 1638. He was probably a student and associate of Frans Hals and also was influenced by Pieter Brueghel the Younger. Brouwer worked in Dutch cities and in Antwerp. One of the best of the Flemish genre painters, he is noted for his bright paintings of peasant life, especially raucous tavern scenes. Examples are Smokers and Tavern Interior. In Antwerp he produced fine landscapes, such as Twilight, in subdued earth tones. Research Adriaen Brouwer
Sir Antony Van Dyck was a Dutch artist. He was born in 1599 at Antwerp and died in 1641. He studied under Hendrik van Balen, and in 1618 became a freeman of the guild of St Luke. About the latter date he entered Rubens' studio as an assistant, where he was employed in copying that master's pictures for the engravers, making large cartoons from his sketches, and painting historical pieces on the Rubens model. He had, however, embarked on portraiture with considerable success before his first visit to England in 1620. The artist returned to Antwerp early in 1621, and later in the same year went to Genoa, thence to Rome, Mantua, Palermo, and Brescia, and back to Genoa, where he remained until 1627.
After working at Antwerp and The Hague, he was induced by the offer of a pension to visit England, which he did in March, 1632. A few months later he was knighted.
Between 1635 and 1640 he was settled in England, engaged upon the many portraits of the court and its entourage, by which he is mainly remembered. His output was enormous; he is reputed to have painted Charles I 36 times. Handsome and agreeable in person, he lived, as he painted, magnificently and prodigally, his ambition ever growing with his success. The king married him to Mary Buthven of Montrose in order to check, if possible, his dissipated habits. In 1640, Rubens having died, Van Dyck hurried to Antwerp in order to secure the patronage of the Spanish king. His demands, however, were too high, and he went on to Paris, only to find that his objective, the decoration of the Louvre, had been given to Nicholas Poussin. He returned to London, seriously ill, and died on December the 9th, 1641, and was buried in St Paul's. His tomb was destroyed in the Great Fire. Research Anthony Van Dyck
Aphra Behn (born Aphra Johnson) was an English writer of plays and novels. She was born in 1640 and died in 1689. As a child she went out to Surinam, where she became acquainted with the slave Oroonoko, whom she made the subject of a novel. On her return to England she married a Mr. Behn, a London merchant of Dutch extraction, but was probably a widow when sent by Charles II to serve as a spy at Antwerp during the Dutch war. She afterwards became fashionable among the men of wit and pleasure of the time as a prolific writer of plays, poems, and stories, now more notorious for their indecency than their ability. She was buried in Westminster Abbey. Research Aphra Behn
Bollandists are the society of Jesuits which published the Actca Sanctorum, a collection of lives of the saints of the Roman Catholic Church. They received this name from John Bolland who died in 1665, and who edited the first five volumes from materials already accumulated by Heribert Rosweyd, a Flemish Jesuit who died in 1629. The society was first established at Antwerp, removed to Brussels on the abolition of the society of Jesuits in 1773, and dispersed in 1794. A new association was formed in 1837 under the patronage of the Belgian government, and the publication of the Acta Sanctorum was continued. Research Bollandists
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Diplomatics
