Bell

The bell of Avignon-lès-Saint-Claude: a historical witness

For more than three centuries, this bell was the soul of Avignon-lès-Saint-Claude, a small village in the Jura Mountains (Eastern France). With its ringing, it watched over the surrounding woods and fields. It was cast in 1664 and hung in the tower of a chapel erected some years earlier, in 1649, in gratitude after the village had escaped the plague epidemics that hit the area in 1629 and 1636. The chapel was devoted to Saint Roch, the patron saint against the plague. The inscription STE ROCHAE ORA PRO NOBIS on the bell bears testimony to this.

The body of the bell bears several images: a large crucifix adorned with vegetal garlands, a baroque calvary crowned with the sun and the moon, effigies of the Virgin Mary, of Saint Roch himself with his dog, and of a blessing bishop with a child at his feet. This is Saint Claudius, who was reputed to revive stillborn babies for the duration of their baptism.

Cracked, the bell was replaced in 1975 by a new one, after which it was donated to the MIM.

The founder and the itinerant bell-founding tradition

This bell was made by Michel Jolly, a bell-founder from the village of Breuvannes-en-Bassigny, who was succeeded by his four sons. The Bassigny is an area near Langres. At that time, it was a hotbed of highly reputed wandering bell-founders. From the 16th century onwards, they travelled all over eastern France and the neighbouring Swiss cantons from spring to autumn. They set up their workshops wherever their services were required. Permanent workshops only arose late in the 19th century. Until then, bells were cast on site, in front of and sometimes even inside the church. Two casting moulds are still visible in the basement of the nearby church of Saint Lupicin.

The casting of a bell was an important occasion in the life of a village community. The extant contracts of parishes with bell-founders often show the enthusiasm the event sparked, and they also provide surprising details about the bulk of materials the client had to provide: up to 30 cartloads of stone and clay to make the mould and the oven, and up to 30 cartloads of coal and firewood. Workers had to be hired to mould the clay, cleave the wood, and hang the finished bell in the tower. The bell-founder could count on the passionate help of the local community.

The casting ritual and the consecration of the bell

When the mould was ready, it was buried in a hole and carefully covered with earth. Then the bell-metal - an alloy containing around 80% copper and 20% tin - was heated to 1200°C. Every maker had his own ‘secret’ recipe, which added to the mystery around bell-founding. When the metal was liquid, the trapdoor of the oven was opened. Through a channel, the metal slid into the mould like a fire snake and disappeared into the earth. The whole process only took a few moments. In old times, bell-makers liked to wait until nightfall. Then the scene looked even more magical and spectacular in the eyes of the excited villagers gathered to witness the ‘miracle’.

Once the cast was taken from the mould, it was washed and consecrated - or ‘baptized’ in popular speech - as it was given godparents and a Christian name. This bell was baptized Marie-Joseph, and F. Iaillo and Denise Colin were named as godparents. We don’t know exactly who they were. However, both surnames were well attested in the village at the time.

‘F. Iaillo’ undoubtedly refers to a member of the Jaillot family, which produced two brothers who made careers at the court of Louis XIV: Hubert (1640–1712), a prominent geographer, and Pierre Simon (1631–1681), a famous ivory sculptor. Some other Jaillots from Avignon-lès-Saint-Claude were also successful in Paris. In a village of barely 120 souls at the time, all these Jaillots must have been relatives of the godfather of our bell. Further investigation could clarify this.

Text: Stéphane Colin