Bells and time

SEU VELLA DE LLEIDA (CATALUNYA) (22-05-2004)

Clocks and bells represent two different but related ways of marking time. Religious time, based on the solar rhythm, was dividing the day according to the times of prayer: morning, noon and evening, ending with prayer for the dead, at night.

Other chimes, played by the same bells, organized community life: closing the walls, fire alarms, storm or flood. These chimes organized the weekly and annual rythms.
The chimes of the quarter and hours, played by different bells in regular temporal spaces, had little impact on daily life.