Bell tower

File:Elizabeth Tower 2014-09-21 205MP.jpg|Elizabeth Tower, London completed in 1859; better known as Big Ben.

File:Italy - Pisa - Leaning Tower.jpg|The Leaning Tower of Pisa, campanile of the Duomo di Pisa, Italy

File:Venezia - Panorama 010, Campanile San Marco.jpg|St Mark's Campanile, Venice

Bells are rung from a tower to enable them to be heard at a distance. Church bells can signify the time for worshippers to go to church for a communal service, and can be an indication of the fixed times of daily Christian prayer, called the canonical hours, which number seven and are contained in breviaries. They are also rung on special occasions such as a wedding, or a funeral service. In some religious traditions they are used within the liturgy of the church service to signify to people that a particular part of the service has been reached.{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=XSOyfy061SQC&pg=PA76 |title= Church Words: Origins and Meanings|publisher=Forward Movement|date=1996|access-date=16 August 2012|quote=There are two sorts of liturgical bells in the history of the Christian Church-church bells in spires or towers used to call the faithful to worship, and sanctuary bells used to call attention to the coming of Christ in the Holy Eucharist.|isbn= 978-0880281720}}

File:Ball-state-university-bell-tower.jpg at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana]]

A bell tower may have a single bell, or a collection of bells which are tuned to a common scale. They may be stationary and chimed, rung randomly by swinging through a small arc, or swung through a full circle to enable the high degree of control of English change ringing. They may house a carillon or chimes, in which the bells are sounded by hammers connected via cables to a keyboard. These can be found in many churches and secular buildings in Europe and America including college and university campuses.{{cite web|url= http://www.carillon.org/|title=The World Carillon Federation (WCF)|publisher=Carillon.org|access-date=2012-02-19}}

A variety of electronic devices exist to simulate the sound of bells, but any substantial tower in which a considerable sum of money has been invested will generally have a real set of bells.

File:Clocher_d'Ivan_le_Grand.jpg in the Kremlin in Moscow, built in 1508]]

File:Iglesia de Santo Tomás - Campanario y cúpula2.jpg has an exconjuratory for weather prayers in its bell tower.]]

Some churches have an exconjuratory in the bell tower, a space where ceremonies were conducted to ward off weather-related calamities, like storms and excessive rain. The main bell tower of the Cathedral of Murcia has four.

In Christianity, many churches ring their church bells from belltowers three times a day, at 9 am, 12 pm and 3 pm to summon the Christian faithful to recite the Lord's Prayer;{{cite book |author= George Herbert Dryer|title=History of the Christian Church|publisher=Curts & Jennings|year=1897|quote= …every church-bell in Christendom to be tolled three times a day, and all Christians to repeat Pater Nosters (The Lord's Prayer)}}{{citation |author= Joan Huyser-Honig|title=Uncovering the Blessing of Fixed-Hour Prayer|publisher=Calvin Institute of Christian Worship|year=2006|quote=Early Christians prayed the Lord's Prayer three times a day. Medieval church bells called people to common prayer.}}{{cite web |title=Church bells |url=https://wels.net/faq/church-bells/ |publisher=Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod |accessdate=8 August 2020 |language=English |date=25 July 2017}} the injunction to pray the Lord's prayer thrice daily was given in Didache 8, 2 f.,{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BqnmVGo6jA8C&pg=PA225 |title=Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Volume 8|author=Gerhard Kittel|author2=Gerhard Friedrich|page=224|publisher=William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company|year=1972|accessdate=26 October 2012|quote=The praying of the Lord's Prayer three times a day in Did., 8, 2 f. is connected with the Jewish practice --> 218, 3 ff.; II, 801, 16 ff.; the altering of other Jewish customs is demanded in the context.|isbn=978-0802822505}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PVCUZ7BTD2gC&pg=PA193 |title=Calendar, Chronology, and Worship: Studies in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity|author=Roger T. Beckwith|page=193|publisher=Brill Publishers|year=2005|accessdate=26 October 2012|quote=The Church had now two hours of prayer, observed individually on weekdays and corporately on Sundays – yet the Old Testament spoke of three daily hours of prayer, and the Church itself had been saying the Lord's Prayer three times a day.|isbn=9004146032}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m_OShrBh0I0C&pg=PA91 |title=Matthew: A Shorter Commentary|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|year=2005|accessdate=16 August 2012|quote= Moreover, the central portion of the Eighteen Benedictions, just like the Lord's Prayer, falls into two distinct parts (in the first half the petitions are for the individuals, in the second half for the nation); and early Christian tradition instructs believers to say the Lord's Prayer three times a day (Did. 8.3) while standing (Apost. const. 7.24), which precisely parallels what the rabbis demanded for the Eighteen Benedictions.|isbn=978-0567082497}} which, in turn, was influenced by the Jewish practice of praying thrice daily found in the Old Testament, specifically in {{bibleverse||Psalm|55:17|KJV}}, which suggests "evening and morning and at noon", and {{bibleverse||Daniel|6:10|KJV}}, in which the prophet Daniel prays thrice a day.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MURUzRlz-hoC&pg=PT104 |title=Introduction to Christian Worship, 3rd ed.: Revised and Enlarged|author=James F White|publisher=Abingdon Press|date=2010|accessdate=12 October 2012|quote=Late in the first century or early in the second, the Didache advised Christians to pray the Lord's prayer three times a day. Others sought disciplines in the Bible itself as ways to make the scriptural injunction to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17) practical. Psalm 55:17 suggested "evening and morning and at noon," and Daniel prayed three times a day (Dan. 6:10).|isbn=978-1426722851}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cymM4xEM76wC&pg=PA588 |title=Catechism Of The Catholic Church |publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|year=1999|accessdate=2 September 2014|isbn=0-860-12324-3|quote=Late in the first century or early in the second, the Didache advised Christians to pray the Lord's prayer three times a day. Others sought disciplines in the Bible itself as ways to make the scriptural injunction to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17) practical. Psalm 55:17 suggested "evening and morning and at noon," and Daniel prayed three times a day (Dan. 6:10).}} The early Christians thus came to pray the Lord's Prayer at 9 am, 12 pm and 3 pm;{{cite book |last1=Beckwith |first1=Roger T.|author-link=Roger T. Beckwith |title=Calendar, Chronology And Worship: Studies in Ancient Judaism And Early Christianity |date=2005 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-14603-7 |language=English |quote=So three minor hours of prayer were developed, at the third, sixth and ninth hours, which, as Dugmore points out, were ordinary divisions of the day for worldly affairs, and the Lord's Prayer was transferred to those hours.}} as such, in Christianity, many Lutheran and Anglican churches ring their church bells from belltowers three times a day: in the morning, at noon and in the evening calling Christians to recite the Lord's Prayer.{{cite web |title=Church bells |url=https://wels.net/faq/church-bells/ |publisher=Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod |access-date=8 August 2020 |language=en |date=25 July 2017}} Many Catholic Christian churches ring their bells thrice a day, at 6{{space}}a.m., noon, and 6{{space}}p.m., to call the faithful to recite the Angelus, a prayer recited in honour of the Incarnation of God.{{cite book|author=John P. Anderson|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XVktuDe1aHUC&pg=PA93 |title=Joyce's Finnegans Wake: The Curse of Kabbalah, Volume 2 |publisher=Universal Publishers|year=2009|accessdate=16 August 2012|quote= The Angelus is a Christian devotion in memory of the Incarnation. Its name is derived from the opening words, Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariæ. It consists of three Biblical verses describing the mystery, recited as versicle and response, alternating with the salutation "Hail Mary!" and traditionally is recited in Catholic churches, convents and monasteries three times daily, 6:00 am, 12:00 noon and 6:00 pm, accompanied by the ringing of the Angelus bell. Some High Church Anglican and Lutheran churches also use the devotion.|isbn = 978-1599429014}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jN4wspXqHBkC&pg=PA728 |title=The Anglican Service Book: A Traditional Language Adaptation of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, Together with the Psalter Or Psalms of David and Additional Devotions|publisher=Good Shepherd Press|date=1991|accessdate=16 August 2012|quote= The Angelus: In many churches the bell is run morning, noon, and evening in memory of the Incarnation of God, and the faithful say the following prayers, except during Eastertide, when the Regina coeli is said.|isbn=978-0962995507}} Oriental Orthodox Christians, such as Copts and Indians, use a breviary such as the Agpeya and Shehimo to pray the canonical hours seven times a day while facing in the eastward direction; church bells are tolled, especially in monasteries, to mark these seven fixed prayer times (cf. {{Bibleverse|Psalm|119:164|KJV}}).{{cite web |title=What is the relationship between bells and the church? When and where did the tradition begin? Should bells ring in every church? |url=https://www.suscopts.org/q&a/index.php?qid=1484&catid=386 |publisher=Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States |accessdate=8 August 2020 |language= |date=2020}}{{cite book |author1=Mary Cecil, 2nd Baroness Amherst of Hackney |title=A Sketch of Egyptian History from the Earliest Times to the Present Day |date=1906 |publisher=Methuen |page=399 |language= |quote=Prayers 7 times a day are enjoined, and the most strict among the Copts recite one of more of the Psalms of David each time they pray. They always wash their hands and faces before devotions, and turn to the East.}}

The Christian tradition of the ringing of church bells from a belltower is analogous to Islamic tradition of the adhan (call to prayer) from a minaret.{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=XSOyfy061SQC&q=church+bell+ring+anglican&pg=PA76|title= Church Words: Origins and Meanings|publisher= Psychology Press|date=1996|access-date=2012-08-16|quote= But even for Muslims who pray infrequently, the adhan marks the passage of time through the day (in much the same way as church bells do in many Christian communities) and serves as a constant reminder that they are living in a Muslim community.|isbn= 978-0880281720}}{{cite book|url= https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780761479260|url-access= registration|page= [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780761479260/page/77 77]|title= Islamic Beliefs, Practices, and Cultures|publisher= Marshal Cavendish|date= 2009|access-date=16 August 2012|quote= Muslims living in predominantly Islamic lands, however, have the benefit of the call to prayer (adhan). In the same way that much of the Christian world traditionally used bells to summon the faithful to church services, so the early Muslim community developed its own method of informing the entire community that the time for prayer had arrived.|isbn= 978-0761479260}}

Old bell towers which are no longer used for their original purpose may be kept for their historic or architectural value, though in countries with a strong campanological tradition they often continue to have the bells rung.

In 400 AD, Paulinus of Nola introduced church bells into the Christian Church.{{cite book|title=Clip Notes for Church Bulletins – Volume 1|year=1997|author=Kathy Luty, David Philippart|quote=The first known use of bells in churches was by a bishop named Paulinus in the year 400.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j-nmAinYFJ0C&q=paulinus+church+bells&pg=PT133|isbn=978-1568541693}}{{cite web|title=Church Bells|year=1997|author=Roger J. Smith|quote=Bells came into use in our churches as early as the year 400, and their introduction is ascribed to Paulinus, bishop of Nola, a town of Campania, in Italy. Their use spread rapidly, as in those unsettled times the church-bell was useful not only for summoning the faithful to religious services, but also for giving an alarm when danger threatened. Their use was sanctioned in 604 by Pope Sabinian, and a ceremony for blessing them was established a little later. Very large bells, for church towers, were probably not in common use until the eleventh century.|publisher=Sacred Heart Catholic Church and St. Yves Mission|url=http://www.awakentoprayer.org/church_bells.htm|access-date=2012-10-26|archive-date=2021-12-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207150201/http://www.awakentoprayer.org/church_bells.htm|url-status=dead}} By the 11th century, bells housed in belltowers became commonplace.

Historic bell towers exist throughout Europe. The Irish round towers are thought to have functioned in part as bell towers. Famous medieval European examples include Bruges (Belfry of Bruges), Ypres (Cloth Hall, Ypres), Ghent (Belfry of Ghent). Perhaps the most famous European free-standing bell tower, however, is the so-called "Leaning Tower of Pisa", which is the campanile of the Duomo di Pisa in Pisa, Italy. In 1999 thirty-two Belgian belfries were added to the UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites. In 2005 this list was extended with one Belgian and twenty-three Northern French belfries and is since known as Belfries of Belgium and France. Most of these were attached to civil buildings, mainly city halls, as symbols of the greater power the cities in the region got in the Middle Ages; a small number of buildings not connected with a belfry, such as bell towers of—or with their—churches, also occur on this same list ([https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/943/multiple=1&unique_number=1100 details]). In the Middle Ages, cities sometimes kept their important documents in belfries. Not all are on a large scale; the "bell" tower of Katúň, in Slovakia, is typical of the many more modest structures that were once common in country areas. Archaic wooden bell towers survive adjoining churches in Lithuania and as well as in some parts of Poland.

In Orthodox Eastern Europe bell ringing also has a strong cultural significance (Russian Orthodox bell ringing), and churches were constructed with bell towers (see also List of tall Orthodox Bell towers).

Bell towers (Chinese: Zhonglou, Japanese: Shōrō) are common in China and the countries of related cultures. They may appear both as part of a temple complex and as an independent civic building, often paired with a drum tower, as well as in local church buildings. Among the best known examples are the Bell Tower (Zhonglou) of Beijing and the Bell Tower of Xi'an.

File:Todaiji shoro.jpg|Old Belfry of Tōdai-ji, Japan (752, rebuilt 1200)

File:Glendalough Round Tower.jpg|An Irish round tower, bell tower, at Glendalough, Ireland, {{Circa|900 AD}}

File:Katunbelltower.JPG|Primitive bell tower at Katúň, Slovakia ({{Circa|12th century}})

File:Korte-Nieuwstraat Domtoren Utrecht Nederland.JPG|The Domtoren, bell tower of the St. Martin's Cathedral, Utrecht, Netherlands (13th century)

File:FeockChurchBell-tower.jpg|Separate bell tower at Feock Church, Cornwall (13th century)

File:St Medard's bells.jpg|Inside the belfry of St Medard & St Gildard's, in Little Bytham in Lincolnshire, England (13th century)

File:Beijingbelltower2.jpg|Beijing Bell Tower (1272, reconstructed 1420, 1800)

File:The Bell Tower of Xi'an.JPG|Bell Tower of Xi'an (1384)

File:Aalst belfry.jpg|Belfry of Aalst, Belgium (1460)

File:Zoravar Belfry.JPG|The belfry of Surb Zoravor church in Yerevan, Armenia (1693)

File:Kievo-Pecherska Lavra Belltower.jpg|Great Lavra Bell Tower of Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, Ukraine (1745)

File:16 21 0429 carmel mission.jpg|Bell tower at Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo (1797)

File:Belfort Brugge.jpg|Belfry of Bruges, Belgium (1240) (modified 1480s, 1820)

File:Vanha kirkko 1.JPG|Belfry of Tampere Old Church, Finland (1828)

File:Bell Tower, Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania).jpg|Bell Tower, Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania) (1894)

File:CampanileMtTamalpiasSunset-original.jpg|Sather Tower (more commonly known as "The Campanile"), Berkeley, CA (1914)

File:Lille, Belfry.JPG|Belfry of Lille, France (1921)

File:Memorial Tower, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (1).jpg|Memorial Tower at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (1923)

File:University of Northern Iowa Campanile 4-13-18.jpg|Campanile at the University of Northern Iowa (1927)

File:Bok Tower.png|The Singing Tower at Bok Tower Gardens, Lake Wales, FL (1929)

File:UT Tower - Main Building.JPG|Main Building (University of Texas at Austin), Austin, TX (1937)

File:Rainbow Carillon Tower.jpg|alt=A The Rainbow Carillon Tower.|Rainbow Tower, Niagara Falls, Canada (1947)

File:Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington.jpg|Campanile at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C., paid for by the Knights of Columbus; known as "The Knight's Tower". (1959)

File:Catedral de Brasilia - Capital do Brasil. (15330526389).jpg|The Campanille of the Cathedral of Brasília (1970)

File:Addleshaw tower.jpg|The Addleshaw Tower of Chester Cathedral, England (1973–74)

File:BYUclarillon.jpg|Brigham Young University Centennial Carillon Tower, Provo, Utah (1975)

File:Swan Bells SMC 2006 b.jpg|'Swan Bells', Perth, Western Australia (2000)

• Bell-gable
• Clock tower
• Conjuratory
• Minaret
• Octagon on cube
• Zvonnitsa

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Bell towers}}

• [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/943 Belfries of Belgium and France], UNESCO World Heritage Centre entry
• [http://beffrois.blogg.org/ Les Beffrois – France, Belgique, Pays-Bas], blog describing several bell towers (in French)
• [https://sites.google.com/site/allsaintsbells/ All Saints Bell Tower]

{{bells}}

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Category:Towers

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