Dead bell
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A dead bell or deid bell (Scots), also a 'death', 'mort', 'lych', 'passing bell' or 'Template:Lang' was a form of hand bell used in Scotland and northern England in conjunction with deaths and funerals up until the 19th century.
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Origins
Belief in the supernatural was common in the Middle Ages and special protective powers were sometimes attributed to certain objects, including bells. The Church itself condoned the use of bells to frighten away evil spirits and this ensured the practice's survival and development. Bells were often baptised, and once baptised were believed by many to possess the power to ward off evil spells and spirits.
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See also
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Dead bell" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
