Word for the Wise : Bell, book, and candle
We heard from a listener who wondered how the phrase bell, book, and candle came to be a formula for cursing. The term isn't all that common nowadays, but literary types may still recognize it.
Sir Thomas Malory used the phrase as an angry vow in his Morte d'Arthur, when he wrote "I shall curse you with book and bell and candle." William Shakespeare borrowed the phrase in King John when a young man pledged "Bell, book and candle shall not drive me back."
Back in the days of Sir Thomas and the Bard (and as long ago as the 9th century) bell, book, and candle named the ceremony used to pronounce anathema (or major excommunication) on Roman Catholics. The bell represented the public character of the act; the book, the authority of the words spoken by the presiding bishop, and the candle symbolized the possibility that the ban might be lifted by the repentance and amendment of its victim.
The bell, book, and candle ceremony must have been a frightening experience. The reprobate stood before a public assembly supervised by a bishop and 12 priests, all holding candles. The purple-clothed bishop would formally banish the sinner from Christian society and damn him to eternal fires. Members of the public then cried out So be it! and the ceremony ended after all 13 candles were extinguished by being dashed to the ground. Although the religious ceremony has itself been banished, its name still crops up occasionally.
Send us your word questions. Our e-mail address is wftw@aol.com. Our street address is Word for the Wise, 318 Central Avenue, Albany, New York 12206.
Shawn Dudley is our audio engineer. Production and research support for Word for the Wise comes from Merriam-Webster, publisher of language reference books and CD's including Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition.
Sir Thomas Malory used the phrase as an angry vow in his Morte d'Arthur, when he wrote "I shall curse you with book and bell and candle." William Shakespeare borrowed the phrase in King John when a young man pledged "Bell, book and candle shall not drive me back."
Back in the days of Sir Thomas and the Bard (and as long ago as the 9th century) bell, book, and candle named the ceremony used to pronounce anathema (or major excommunication) on Roman Catholics. The bell represented the public character of the act; the book, the authority of the words spoken by the presiding bishop, and the candle symbolized the possibility that the ban might be lifted by the repentance and amendment of its victim.
The bell, book, and candle ceremony must have been a frightening experience. The reprobate stood before a public assembly supervised by a bishop and 12 priests, all holding candles. The purple-clothed bishop would formally banish the sinner from Christian society and damn him to eternal fires. Members of the public then cried out So be it! and the ceremony ended after all 13 candles were extinguished by being dashed to the ground. Although the religious ceremony has itself been banished, its name still crops up occasionally.
Send us your word questions. Our e-mail address is wftw@aol.com. Our street address is Word for the Wise, 318 Central Avenue, Albany, New York 12206.
Shawn Dudley is our audio engineer. Production and research support for Word for the Wise comes from Merriam-Webster, publisher of language reference books and CD's including Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition.
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