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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
After working with Irish towers- round and square I tend to feel that its not the tower but the sacred shapes of the square and circle that are important-
if one looks upon round towers as small baptisteries and to a certain extent relate them to the apsidal chapels added to basilica structures to house sacred relics one
could imagine the use of the round form as a sacred form. Square rather than basilica forms (rectangles) have also been found in pagan sacred contexts as well as in
tomb and memorial contexts. So possible link there as well- emphasis on possible. Note that cells of monks were passages to God and these while sometimes rectangular were often round beehives, or square.
 
Towers functioned also to extend the extent of territory where bells could be heard. Traveling monks and saints would carry bells and those who could hear them came under their jurisdiction.
Rent was calculated as being owed by those residing where the bells could be heard.
 
I think the security aspect is ever present but its importance is often over stated-
 
It takes more than one concept to raise and maintain a bell tower.....
 
Conrad Bladey
 
From: [log in to unmask] href="mailto:[log in to unmask]">Thomas Izbicki
Sent: Tuesday, July 31, 2012 11:22 AM
To: [log in to unmask] href="mailto:[log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [M-R] Origin of church towers/minarets
 
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
I've seen a reference in a visitation to the bells of a parish hanging in trees.

However, Westlee had no tower; and Twyford had two bells hanging from trees.[1]


[1]  Visitations of Churches belonging to St. Paul's Cathedral, p. xxvi.


Tom Izbicki

From: "Christopher Crockett" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Tuesday, July 31, 2012 11:17:48 AM
Subject: Re: [M-R] Origin of church towers/minarets

medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture

From: Anne Willis <[log in to unmask]>

> Towers must have been in England since before 680, when Bede heard the bells
of Whitby Abbey toll on the death of the Abbess Hilda.

being blissfully unencumbered by any actual knowledge of the subject, i
wouldn't think that the Bells ==> Towers supposition is valid at all.

among other things, bells needn't be placed in towers.

just think of their placement in bell walls (clocher-mur)

http://eluardamicale.free.fr/atelierpatrimoine/IMG/jpg/Beaulieu.jpg

http://www.azurs.net/photographies/cloches_espanes.jpg

http://storage.canalblog.com/94/66/503751/30369486.jpg

http://www.culture.gouv.fr/Wave/image/memoire/1391/ivr74_82191763x_p.jpg

http://tinyurl.com/dxwswkk

i believe that this was the dodge that the early Cistercians used to get
around grumpy ole Bernie's pesky prohibition against towers and other
"luxuries."  (doesn't a Cistercian example or two survive, somewhere?)


they are a quite ubiquitous feature in colonial Spanish architecture

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mission_San_Juan_Capistrano_Facade2.JPG

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mission_San_Miguel,_California_-_rock_wall_and_bell.jpg

reflecting, perhaps, a certain emphasis on "economy" in building practice
(which would have been true in Bede's time as well).

or, for that matter, in free standing settings

http://www.svtempest.com/Mission%20San%20Juan%20Capistrano.jpg

somewhere i've seen relatively small timber structures beside churches,
purpose built to hold the bell(s).

i would imagine that such Ad Hoc arrangements were once much more common than
the relatively few number of survivals into our own Benighted Epoch might
suggest.

architecture in Bede's time --even "major" architecture like (i assume)
Whitby-- was considerably more "modest" than which came later, and
extrapolating backwards from that later period into texts from the earlier one
is a risky business.

> As James Bond (the archaeologist) said 'towers bother me'.

obviously, evidence of a fear of heights --which is why the guy went into
archeology (before finding his true calling in MI-5 --or was it 6?).

c

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