Soundscape of Medieval Europe

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In this study, we tried to illuminate the significance of sounds in Medieval Europe, especially those of bell and trumpet. As for original documents, we used municipal statutes, guild statutes, as well as documents concerning to confraternities and monasteries. In order to evaluate the historical meaning of these data, we situated them in the cultural and social milieu in which secular and ecclesiastical powers commit themselves.We pointed out that medieval men and women observed the bells to have a legal status and therefore they played an important role in communal movements. And to punish rebellious cities, kings or dukes confiscated the bells. In contrast, rebellious people made use of bells to communicate each other and devised a special grammar of sounds effective only within themselves.Among several sounds, there existed a certain hierarchy. For example, in late medieval cities on the top of it situated the Bancloche------the principal bell of a city------, which was aided by other small bells. Below them, for the use of less distant message, trumpets were used. Sometimes human cries gave a supplementary explanation to these sound messages.Our study will play the part of a starting point to a comparative study on the soundscapes of Europe, Asia and Islamic Worlds.