Campanology

Would you sign up for a lesson in campanology?

My glamping friends are no doubt whooping “YES!” with cabin-fevered fervor.

We’re all chomping at the bit in anticipation of our first spring camping trip,

but campanology really has nothing at all to do with tents or teardrop trailers.

Speaking of which …

Photo by Don Stucke via Wikimedia Commons

Trailer envy!

Wait—what am I saying?

Ah, yeah, back to the point:

Does “campanology” ring a bell with anyone?

(Hint: that was an intentional pun.)

The term campanology refers to the study of REALLY BIG bells, like these:

Photo by Brian Webster via Wikimedia Commons

By study, I mean all facets of bell construction and tuning to the art of ringing these behemoths, an age-old practice that doesn’t command a lot of attention these days, especially here in the U.S.

Derived from the Latin word for bell, campana, campanology was coined in the Campania region of Italy, which is known for the mining of bronze that was used to cast bells.

These days, though, much of the talk of campanology resounds from the hallowed halls of English churches, and I was surprised at how many young people are chiming in.

Take, for instance, Becky Dunnet. She’s the teen star of this fun bit of campanology promotion:

I never would have guessed that campanology is considered cool.

Now, about that camping trip … have you made any plans yet?