Etudes balkaniques is a quarterly peer-review journal, which has been publishing research since 1964. Research papers related to the Balkan countries in French, English, German, Russian and Italian have appeared in it, thus making them available to a wide scientific community across borders.
BELLS AND BELL RINGING IN MEDIEVAL SERBIA AND BULGARIA
Etudes balkaniques (Sofia) 2021 N 3
Alex RODRIGUEZ SUAREZ
Abstract: This study looks at bells and bell ringing in the medieval Balkans by focusing on historical Serbia and Bulgaria. It provides a comprehensive view of the use of bells for religious purposes from the thirteenth century until the early Ottoman period. The evidence examined is organised in two parts; the first one deals with written sources while the second is a catalogue of church bells preserved in the region under study. Dated to the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth century, some of these instruments are recent discoveries while others are not well known among scholars. This is the first time that most extant bells from the region are analysed together, offering the opportunity to trace the development of these artefacts in the Balkans. In a third section the information from written sources and actual bells is discussed in conjunction.
Keywords: Bell ringing, church bells, medieval, Serbia, Bulgaria
