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Zelda Thuong
2021-03-01 09:03
Bell, book and candle British phrase
The final line of an incantation denoting excommunication from the Catholic church.
A method of putting a curse on someone
For those who threaten me, I'll go after them bell, book, and candle.
Items that are symbolic or indicative of the strange or miraculous.
My friend, Linda is the type of person who has a strong belief in magic and miracle, so she usually brings bell, book, and candle with her.
(Image source: THE EXCOMMUNICATION OF ROBERT THE PIOUS, 1875 BY JEAN-PAUL LAURENS (1838-1921, FRANCE) | ART REPRODUCTIONS JEAN-PAUL LAURENS | WAHOOART.COM)
The phrase Bell, book, and candle, in Roman Catholicism, a ceremony formerly used in pronouncing the “major excommunication” or “anathema”. Its origins are not clear, but it dates back certainly to the late 9th century. The bell represented the public character of the act, the book the authority of the words spoken by the presiding bishop. The candle was believed to symbolize the possibility that the ban might be lifted by the repentance and amendment of its victim.
The excommunication from the Catholic Church closed with the words:
Doe to [= shut] the book, quench the candle, ring the bell!
The phrase bell, book and candle is old and first appears, in Old English, circa 1300:
"Curced in kirc an sal ai be wid candil, boke, and bell."
Shakespeare used the phrase in King John, 1595:
BASTARD:
Bell, book, and candle shall not drive me back,
When gold and silver becks me to come on.
This phrase was also taken up as the title of a 1958 US film starring Kim Novak.
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