The bell of Celle.

The bell of Celle is part of our common heritage and has its own history.

We know it comes from the old church of Longeroux (destroyed), which according Marius Vazeilles, had existed in 1463 and was priory as daughter's church from Meymac. The bell was moved to Celle and remained for many years in a fork of beech, not far away.

It is said that at the beginning of the twentieth century (or at the end of the nineteenth), the inhabitants of Barsanges (neighboring village) have tried to steal the bell, but to achieve this, the thief had been caught in the hand the bag. Still, that bell never went further than where it is today...

The gantry acacia on which it is located today was installed in 1972 and was consolidated in November 2006.

In Celle, this bell was used especially to mark burials.

It is dated 1625, and has therefore been melted during the reign of Louis XIII. It measures 27 cm. high without the handle, its small diameter (top of drum), 18 cm. and the large diameter (bottom of drum), 30 cm. The thickness of the bronze, at its core, is about 2 cm. The metal is unfortunately cracked.

The irons linkages that support the rotating part appear later date and perhaps in the nineteenth century.

It appears, on the headband, the following text:

IHS AVE MARIA GRATIA PLEA DS TECVM

Attributed to the monogram "IHS" several meanings but the main one, recognized in the seventeenth century, was the capital letters of "Iesus Hominum Salvator", or "Jesus, Savior of men". Then comes without distinguishing mark of separation, the formula is also well known: "Ave Maria gratia plena Dominus tecum", or, "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee" (Luke, I-28).

We can, therefore, notice several things:

• The bell is dedicated to the Virgin Mary as the chapel which contained it was dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene.
• The spelling of "N" is inverted and forms characters . There is no meaning to certain reverse this and it is possible that is an error of the founder...
• The "U" of "TECUM" is in the shape of "V" as the distinction between the two letters do not exist in Latin.
• The word "Dominus" is abbreviated by the three letters "DNS". It is very commonly used in Latin and this is also useful to be able to wrap text around the drum.

The graphic's characters and ornamentation generally formed interlacing and lilies, are typical of the seventeenth century. A Latin cross set on a calvary of three steps is also depicted under the date of 1625.

Lesson the bell!

The fundamental sound of the bell rings in D, on a frequency of 1165.5 Hertz. If one refers to the tune of A3 to 392 Hertz, which is commonly used for the tuning to the Church in the seventeenth century, then the bell emits a E.

Ave maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum, benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

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Texts and pictures : S.M.C.J.