Lullusglocke

The Lullusglocke is the oldest datable cast bell in Germany. According to the inscription, it was made in 1038. It is poured in a thin hive rib and hangs in the tower of the St. Catherine's monastery ruins Bad Hersfeld.

Since October 2002 she has after renovation work in the bell tower by the Society of Friends of Stiftsruine eV again läutefähig ( cable ). The original clapper was replaced by a newly forged. The original clapper hangs since the City Museum.

The Lullusglocke was rung for centuries at the beginning of Lullusfestes what she has finally received its name. Up to the renovation, the bell was also only one, rung once a year for this celebration. Since then, she heard on special occasions, such as the Lullusfest in the week of October 16th ( anniversary of the death of Lully ), on Sunday evening after the torchlight and the speech in the abbey ruins, the year to 24 clock and on religious feast days (Christmas, Easter Sunday, Pentecost Sunday ) by 12 clock.

Technical and tonal data

Inscription

The Lullusglocke has almost vertically rising edges very bulging hood. The hood has three raised ridges. Between the middle and the lower bar is an in-depth, about three inches high and poured over the entire circumference of approximately 2200 mm font. It consists of ancient Roman Lapidarbuchstaben ( capital letters ) with a total of 84 characters and character combinations. The writing is reproduced shortened by Synkopie. That is, the writer has shortened the text by leaving out letters to 30 characters. Further cuts were nine letters bundling reached ( six duets and trios three ), which the writer has shortened the text by a further twelve signs. This is also the reason why you can read at first glance only three words. They make it possible, however, to identify the inscription as one written in Latin text. In addition complicates the deciphering of the inscription that it was corrected in the mold at a point later, so that the letters were illegible in the cast there. Furthermore, there is a typo in the text is not altered, and there is no inscription marked the beginning.

Here is the original characters as they are visible on the bell:

In analogy with inscriptions of early medieval monuments, it is assumed that the text was written in the classical meter of hexameters. Substituting above text in this verse, a verse results in three hexameters to the following text:

Translated results from the fact, starting from the second part of the third hexameter, the following content:

The Lullusglocke was ordained accordingly Maria. She calls the founders and the reigning Hersfelder Dept. By the time stating his Abtschaft also the exact day ( June 24, 1038 ) determined where the bell was cast.

There are Campanologen and epigraphs, doubt the correctness of the above interpretation of the inscription. An interesting alternative posed by three hexameters, but no assumption of omissions needed, provided the Magdeburg theologian Burkhardt in his essay with

Swell

• Louis Demme: Chronicle of Hersfeld, Volume 1 Publisher of Hans Schmidt, Hersfeld 1891.
• Manfred Schaake: Lullusglocke. With new clapper to a new sound. In: Hersfeld -Rotenburg. Home calendar of the district Hersfeld -Rotenburg, Vol 45 (2001 ), pp. 94-95.
• Elisabeth Ziegler: The territory of the imperial abbey of Hersfeld from its beginnings to the Hessian district regulations of 1821, Part Pressure: The history of the territory, university book Joh Aug. Koch, Marburg 1928, page 38-58