Handbell

Handbell, small bell—usually of brass or bronze but sometimes of copper, clay, porcelain, glass, wood, or other hard material—with an attached stem, loop, or leather strap for a handle; most have a clapper, though some are struck externally. The earliest handbells were probably of beaten copper, but since the Bronze Age most metal bells have been cast.

Handbells have been part of rituals from ancient times to the modern Roman Catholic Angelus and Buddhist altar bells. The latter have a lotus flower design on the end of their handles, a symbol of creation that is also present on the handles of Hindu bells. Such handbells are used to punctuate segments of a ceremony. Other handbells have been used in ceremonies meant to exorcise demons or cure sickness.

To signal and to attract attention, handbells have served street vendors, town criers, and night watchmen in the West. In ancient Greece they announced the opening of the fish market, and in Rome, that of the public baths. The common practice of ringing handbells during funeral processions (often to ward off demons) was recorded on the 11th-century Bayeux Tapestry. Medieval European peasants rang handbells in the fields as fertility charms.