Noon Bell
Pope Callixtus III ordered the bells of every European church to be rung every day at noon, as a call for believers to pray for the defenders of the city. The practice of Noon bell is traditionally attributed to the international conmemoration of the Belgrade victory and to the order of Pope Callixtus III However, in many countries (like England and Spanish Kingdoms), news of the victory arrived before the order, and the ringing of the church bells at noon thus transformed into a commemoration of the victory. The Pope didn't withdraw the order, and Catholic and the older Protestant churches still ring the noon bell to this day.
The custom still exist even among Protestant and Orthodox congregations. In the history of Oxford university, the victory was welcommed with a peals of bells and great celebrations in England too. Hunyadi sent a special courier (among others), Erasmus Fullar, to Oxford with the news of the victory.
Read more about this topic: Siege Of Belgrade (1456)
Famous quotes containing the words noon and/or bell:
“A bettre preest I trowe that nowher noon ys.
He waited after no pompe and reverence
Ne maked hym a spiced conscience,
But Cristes loore and his apostles twelve
He taughte, but first he folwed it hymselve.”
—Geoffrey Chaucer (1340?–1400)
“I was allowed to ring the bell for five minutes until everyone was in assembly. It was the beginning of power.”
—Jeffrey Archer (b. 1940)