in
Tennessee (US). Archaeological evidence of bells dates back to more than 5000 years ago, from the 3rd millennium BC in Neolithic
China. During this era, there is evidence of early forms of pottery cowbells, which were likely used to track goats, sheep, and cattle. The pottery bells were later replaced by metal bells. In West Asia, the first bells appeared in 1000 BC. Bells for shepherding were expanded from the
Fertile Crescent to Celtic, Carthaginian, Greek and Roman cultures. The earliest depictions of bells used for livestock in Britain appear on
Pictish carved stones of the 7th to 9th centuries AD at Eassie, Angus and Fowlis Wester, Perthshire. Small iron bells of 8th or 9th century date, argued to be for cow or sheep, have been excavated from upland farm settlements at
Crummack Dale and Gauber High Pasture in the
Yorkshire Dales. An early depiction of a
bellwether, the leading sheep of a flock, on whose neck a bell is hung, is in the Carolingian
Stuttgart Psalter of the ninth century. In Europe, the earliest written evidence of bells used for livestock dates to the late 14th to early 15th century. Grimm's
s.v. "Kuhschelle" points to a 1410 mention in a
Frankfurt archive; the
OED lists 1440 as the earliest attestation of a
'bell-wether'. The OED also attributes the phrase "to bear the bell" in the sense "to take the first place" as originally referring to the leading cow or sheep of a drove or flock to
Chaucer's
Troilus and Criseyde, 1374. In 15th-century Germany, a cow bell was worn only by the best and leading piece of livestock. The wider distribution of the bell worn by livestock was a gradual process of the
Early Modern period. In France in the mid-16th century,
Francois Rabelais makes this practice explicit in his
Gargantua and Pantagruel, stating that The importance of the cow bell is highlighted in
Swiss folklore, which reflects a period when a great Trychel, or large cow bell, was a rare and much-coveted item. The legend of the
Simmental tells how a young cowherd strays inside a mountain, and is offered by a beautiful woman the choice between a treasure of gold coins, a golden Trychel, or the fairy herself. He chooses the Trychel. As opposed to regular cast-metal bells, 'trychlen' are made of hammered sheet metal. This results in a clanking, less crisp sound, but at the same time results in a bell that is lighter and thus easier to carry. Modern-day manufacturing of cow bells continues today in Korea, Indonesia, and India, many created as village handicrafts. Despite a May 2012 fire that destroyed its factory, the Bevin Brothers Manufacturing Company continues to make cow bells in East Hampton, CT, as it has since its founding in 1832; it is the only remaining U.S. company making just bells.
Examples of cow bells in ceremonial traditions In Western Europe, when the snow has melted in the spring, villages
send the cows to the high alpine meadows to graze. This event, called , is celebrated in each village with a procession through the village to the high pastures. The cows are decorated with floral wreaths woven through the horns. The best milk-producing cow in the village leads the procession and wears the largest bell. The bells are made in various sizes, and are awarded to the cows according to their milk production that year. In the fall, the event is repeated, but is called an , as the animals return from the high meadow. The best cows (each referred to as a , "crown[ed] cow", after the ornamental headwear with which it is adorned) from each herd again lead the procession. The traditional festival is called in Southern Germany, and has other names in the Alpine regions. ==Animal welfare concerns==