Refectory Bell

Unknown

13th century · Copper alloy · The Cloisters

The bell is inscribed in Latin TINNIO PRANSVRIS CENATVRIS BIBITVRIS (“I ring for breakfast, dinner, and drinks”). Smaller than the taller and more familiar church bell, this rare refectory bell evokes the sounds of life in the medieval cloister. In addition to the inscription, the bell is decorated with roundels depicting two angels, a winged lion and the Agnus Dei, or Lamb of God. The shape is without precedent in surviving bells, but it can be seen in a mid-thirteenth-century manuscript depicting bell ringing and other music making.

Artist

Unknown

Date

13th century

Medium

Copper alloy

Culture

German

Department

The Cloisters

Credit line

The Cloisters Collection, 2014