The Lullusglocke is the oldest datable cast bell in Germany. The inscription indicates it was cast on 24 June 1038. It hangs in the Catherine Tower (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

: Katharinenturm) in the ruins of the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

Bad Hersfeld The festival and spa town of Bad Hersfeld (''Bad'' is "spa" in German; the Old High German name of the city was ''Herolfisfeld'') is the district seat of the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany, roughly 50 km southe ...

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...

. In 2002 the bell tower was repaired by the Friends of the Stiftsruine (monastery ruins). As part of the works the old clapper was removed and hung in the Stadtsmuseum. A new clapper has been fitted and the bell can now be rung. The bell is suspended from a new yoke and is rung by pulling on ropes.

History

For centuries the Lullus bell was rung at the beginning of Lullusfest, a folk festival held in Hersfield. The festival commemorates Saint

Lullus Saint Lullus (Lull or Lul) (born about 710 AD in Wessex, died 16 October 786 in Hersfeld) was the first permanent archbishop of Mainz, succeeding Saint Boniface, and first abbot of the Benedictine Hersfeld Abbey. He is historiographically consid ...

(born about 710 in

Wessex la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons , common_name = Wessex , image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg , map_caption = S ...

, England) who was the first Abbot of

Hersfeld Abbey Hersfeld Abbey was an important Benedictine imperial abbey in the town of Bad Hersfeld in Hesse (formerly in Hesse-Nassau), Germany, at the confluence of the rivers Geisa, Haune and Fulda. The ruins are now a medieval festival venue. History ...

, Germany and the first archbishop of Mainz. He died 16 October 786 in Hersfeld. Eventually the bell acquired its name from the festival. Until the renovation of 2002, the bell was also rung only once a year, at the start of the festival. Since then however, it has been rung on special occasions. It is rung at Christmas, Easter, Whitsun and the Lullus festival.

Description

The bell is high (excluding the crown) and in diameter. The weight is approximately . The sound is principally two notes beating together: B0 and C1. The bell is approximately tubular with vertical sides and a very small sound bow. The top of the bell is domed. Around the shoulder are three ridges, between the outermost two is an inscription. A further string is cast in just above the sound bow. The bell is suspended from cannons (cast in hoops). The cannons are attached to a beam, the headstock. Fixed to the top of the beak are two poles, one of which can be seen in the attached photograph. A rope hangs from the outboard end of each pole and runs through a hole in the floor to the ringers below. The ringers pull on the ropes alternately to swing the bell to and fro.

Inscription

The inscription is not completely clear. It is based on

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, but with conventional abbreviations. There is no marked start of the inscription. In one area changes to the mould prior to casting have erased the text. The visible text reads: There is some dispute over the interpretation of the text. The "SD" in "SDANE" is thought to be an "M". Reconstructed the text appears to be three

hexameters Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English line of poetry; in Greek and Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of syllables). It w ...

: The second year of Abbot Meginhar was 1038 and the bell would appear to have been poured on the feast day of John the Baptist (24 June).

References

Footnotes

Citations

Bibliography

* * * Note: YouTube clip. Shows how the bell is swung and the attachment of the poles to the yoke. * * {{citation , last = Ziegler , first = Elisabeth , year = 1928 , title = Das Territorium der Reichsabtei Hersfeld von seinen Anfängen bis zur hessischen Kreisordnung von 1821 , trans-title = The territory of the Reichsabtei Hersfeld from its beginnings to the Hessian circular order of 1821 , work = Die Vorgeschichte des Territoriums , publisher = Universitäts-Buchdruckerei Joh. Aug. Koch , place = Marburg , pages = 38–58 , ref=none Individual bells Hesse