The
semantron or
semanterion (σημαντήριον); also called a
xylon (ξύλον) ' onMouseout='HidePop("21135")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Russian_language">Russian
Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe...
: било,
bilo; ,
klepalo) is a
percussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration...
made of a long, well-planed piece of timber, usually heart of
mapleAcer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as Maple. Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification, favour inclusion in Sapindaceae...
(but also
beechBeech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.The leaves of beech trees are entire or sparsely toothed, from 5–15 cm long and 4–10 cm broad...
), from 12 feet and upwards in length, by 1½ feet broad, and 9 inches in thickness. It is used chiefly in monasteries to summon the brethren to prayer, or to lead
processionA procession is, in general, an organized body of people advancing in a formal or ceremonial manner....
s.
Origins and use
Of
LevantThe Levant describes, traditionally, the Eastern Mediterranean at large, but can be used as a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia formed by the lands bordering the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, roughly bounded on the north by the Taurus Mountains, on the south by...
ine and Egyptian origin, its use flourished in the
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
and on
Mount AthosMount Athos is a mountain on the peninsula of the same name in Macedonia, of northern Greece, called in Greek Agion Oros , or in English, "Holy Mountain". In Classical times, the peninsula was called Aktí...
before spreading among
Eastern OrthodoxThe Orthodox Church, also officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to in English speaking countries as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the world's second largest Christian communion, estimated to number 225 million members...
in what are now
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
,
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
,
MoldovaMoldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east and south....
,
SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country located in both Central and Southeastern Europe. Its territory covers the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and central part of the Balkans...
,
MontenegroMontenegro , is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast, Kosovo to the east and Albania to the south...
,
Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( or (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian Latin: Bosna i Hercegovina; Serbian Cyrillic: Босна и Херцеговина) is a country in Southeast Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula...
and the
Republic of MacedoniaMacedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country in the central Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
. Though used less frequently in the
Russian Orthodox ChurchThe Russian Orthodox Church ; or The Moscow Patriarchate , also known...
, there are still
monasteriesMonastery , a term derived from the Greek word μοναστήριον, neut. of μοναστήριος - monasterios denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer Monastery (plural: monasteries), a term derived from the Greek word μοναστήριον, neut. of μοναστήριος - monasterios...
and even some
parish churchA parish church, in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
es that use them. It both predates and substitutes for
bellsA church bell is a bell which is rung in a church either to signify the hour or the time for worshippers to go to church, perhaps to attend a wedding, funeral, or other service...
(first introduced to the East in 865 by the
VenetiansVenice is a city in northern Italy, the capital of the region Veneto, a population of 271,367 . Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area . The city historically was an independent nation...
, who gave a dozen to
Michael IIIMichael III the Drunkard , , Byzantine Emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Phrygian Dynasty.-Life:...
), being used to call worshipers to prayer. They are sometimes made of iron or brass (ἁγιοσίδηρα,
hagiosidera / клепало,
klepalo); formed of slightly curved metal plates, these give out a sound not unlike that of a
gongA gong is an East and South East Asian musical instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet.Gongs are broadly of three types. Suspended gongs are more or less flat, circular discs of metal suspended vertically by means of a cord passed through holes near to the top...
.
In the wooden form, at the centre of the instrument's length, each edge is slightly scooped out to allow the player to grasp it by the left hand, while he holds a small wooden
malletA mallet is a kind of hammer, usually of wood, smaller than a maul or beetle and usually with a relatively large head.-Tools:Tool mallets come in different types, the most common of which are:...
in the right, with which he strikes it in various parts and at various angles, eliciting loud, somewhat musical sounds (κροῦσμα,
krousma). Although simple, the instrument nonetheless produces a strong resonance and a variety of different intonations, depending on the thickness of the place struck and the intensity of the force used, so that quite subtle results can be obtained. A metal semantron is not carried, but is suspended on chains or rope from an overhang, and is struck with a metal mallet. Some larger wooden semantra are also suspended rather than being carried. These tend to be thicker and shorter than the hand-held variety.
In the traditional monastic
ritualThe Byzantine Rite, sometimes called the Rite of Constantinople or Constantinopolitan Rite, is the liturgical rite used currently by all the Eastern Orthodox Churches and by the Greek-Catholic Churches...
, before each service the assigned monk takes a wooden semantron and, standing before the west end of the
catholiconCatholicon may refer to:* Katholikon, the primary church in an Orthodox or Eastern Catholic monastery* Catholicon , written in 1286 by Johannes Januensis de Balbis...
(the monastery's main church), strikes on it three hard and distinct blows with the mallet. He then proceeds round the outside of the church, turning to the four quarters and playing on the instrument by striking blows of varying force on different parts of the wood at uneven intervals, always winding up the "tune" with three blows similar to those at the beginning. Depending on local custom, a second, metal semantron may be sounded just before the service begins. The semantron is sounded every midnight for night offices (
Midnight OfficeThe Midnight Office is one of the Canonical Hours that compose the cycle of daily worship in the Eastern Orthodox Church...
,
MatinsMatins is the early morning or night prayer service in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. The term is also used in some Protestant denominations to describe morning services.The name "Matins" originally referred to the morning office also...
); this is done by the candle-lighter (κανδηλάπτης,
kandilaptis). The semantra are usually suspended by chains from a peg in the
proaulion (porch of the catholicon) or perhaps outside the
refectory**For the Cypriot village see Trapeza, Cyprus.A refectory is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places it is most often used today is in graduate seminaries...
door, or on a tree in the courtyard.
History
While continuing in daily use at monasteries and sometimes featuring at
funeralsA Christian burial is the burial of a deceased person with specifically Christian ecclesiastical rites; typically, in consecrated ground.-Early historical evidence:...
for their deep notes sounded at long intervals, as well as at other services, semantra have also played a part in Orthodox history. Their origin has been traced to at least the beginning of the 6th century, when the semantron had replaced the
trumpetThe trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC...
as the agent of convocation in the monasteries of
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
,
PalestinePalestine is a conventional name used, among others, to describe a geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands.As a geographical term, Palestine can also refer to 'ancient Palestine,' an area...
and
SinaiSaint Catherine's Monastery lies on the Sinai Peninsula, at the mouth of an inaccessible gorge at the foot of Mount Sinai in Saint Katherine city in Egypt. The monastery is Greek Orthodox and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site...
; the rhythms struck on wood were soon vested with the aural memory of rhythmic blasts from earlier trumpets, an iconography of trumpeting that was eventually transferred to the
zvon of
Russian bellsRussian Orthodox bell ringing has a history starting from the baptism of Rus in 988 and plays an important role in the traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church.-Theology:The ringing of bells is one of the most essential elements of an Orthodox church...
. The joy shown at
ConstantinopleConstantinople was the imperial capital of the Roman Empire , the Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire , the Latin Empire , and the Ottoman Empire...
on the occasion of the
translationIn Christianity, the translation of relics is the removal of holy objects from one locality to another...
of the
relicA relic is an object or a personal item of religious significance, carefully preserved with an air of veneration as a tangible memorial. Relics are an important aspect of some forms of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Shamanism, and many other religions....
s of St.
AnastasiusAnastasius is derived from the Greek ἀνάστασις meaning "resurrection". Its female form is Anastasia.-Byzantine Emperors:*Anastasius I -- Byzantine emperor from 491–518*Anastasius II -- Byzantine emperor from 713–715...
was shown by the beating of xyla. In the
Life of St. TheodosiusTheodosius is a name which might refer to one of several people:* One of three emperors of ancient Rome and Byzantium:** Theodosius I , son of Count Theodosius...
the ArchimandriteThe title Archimandrite , primarily used in the Eastern Orthodox and the Eastern Catholic churches, originally referred to a superior abbot whom a bishop appointed to supervise...
, by
MoschusMoschus , ancient Greek bucolic poet and student of the Alexandrian grammarian Aristarchus of Samothrace, was born at Syracuse and flourished about 150 BC...
, one reads of some
EutychianEutychianism refers to a set of Christian theological doctrines derived from the ideas of Eutyches of Constantinople . Eutychianism is a specific understanding of how the human and divine relate within the person of Jesus Christ...
monks of the party of
Severus*Septimius Severus, a second century Roman emperor*Alexander Severus, a third century Roman emperor*Flavius Valerius Severus, a fourth century Roman emperor*Sextus Julius Severus, a second century Roman general*Severus Ibn al-Muqaffa *Septimius Severus, a second century Roman emperor*Alexander...
who, to disturb the
saintSaints, individuals of exceptional holiness, are significant in many religions, particularly Christianity.-General characteristics :Though the term is mostly used for Christians considered holy or virtuous, many religions use similar concepts to elevate people worthy of respect, e.g. see Hindu...
at his devotion, "beat the wood" at an unwonted hour. St. Sabas rose for his devotions "before the hour of striking."
Larger and smaller semantra have been used, the smaller being sounded first, followed by the larger, then by those of iron.
Theodore BalsamonTheodore Balsamon was a canonist of the Greek Orthodox Church and 12th century Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch.Born in the second half of the twelfth century at Constantinople; died there, after 1195...
, in a treatise on the subject, compares the sounding of the little, great and iron semantra to the preaching of the
LawThe term "Torah" , refers either to the Five Books of Moses or to the entirety of Judaism's founding legal and ethical religious texts...
and of the
GospelIn Christian tradition the Four Evangelists refers to the authors attributed with the creation of the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament that bear the following titles:*Gospel according to Matthew*Gospel according to Mark*Gospel according to Luke...
, and the
Last TrumpetThe seven seals is a concept of Christian eschatology, which comes from the Book of Revelation in the Christian Bible, where a book with seven seals is described in . The seven seals wereopened by the Lion of Judah...
. He also says that the congregations were summoned by three semantra in monasteries, and only by one large one in parish churches. Moreover, he emphasises the persistence of the semantron in the East as a symbolic manifestation of difference with the
LatinThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
West (it remains unclear if some isolated practices in the West such as the
BasqueThe strict classification of Basque music remains a controversial issue, complicated in part by the growing diversification of such music, but by and large it may be argued that it is made in the Basque Country, that it reflects traits related to that society/tradition, and that it is devised by...
txalapartaThe txalaparta is a specialized Basque music device of wood or stone, similar to Romanian toacă. In Basque, zalaparta means "racket".-Communication:...
are associated with the pre-
schismThe East–West Schism, or The Great Schism, divided medieval Christianity into Eastern and Western branches, which later became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, respectively. Relations between East and West had long been embittered by political and ecclesiastical...
liturgy); in
ByzantiumByzantium was an ancient Greek city, which was founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas or Byzantas . The name "Byzantium" is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
, the use of bells did not really gather momentum until after the
Fourth CrusadeThe Fourth Crusade was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire...
, and at the
Fall of ConstantinopleThe Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire which occurred after a siege laid by the Ottoman Empire, under the command of Sultan Mehmed II. The siege lasted from Thursday, 5 April, 1453 until Tuesday, 29 May, 1453 , when the city fell to the Ottomans...
semantra still outnumbered bells by a five-to-one ratio. Semantra, from their size and shape, furnished formidable weapons, and were sometimes so used with fatal effect in a church brawl. One reason why semantra continue to be used in southeastern Europe in particular is that the ringing of bells was outlawed during
OttomanThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
times, forcing monasteries to use the semantron instead; the practice then became customary, though in Bulgaria it largely fell into disuse after independence.
In
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, the techniques for playing the
bilo were retained in bell-ringing rubrics, and it could still be heard in more remote, rural areas at the time of the Revolution. Today, its use is restricted to the
Altai regionThe Altai Mountains are a mountain range in central Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their sources. The Altai Mountains are known as the Turkic peoples' birthplace...
and
SiberiaSiberia , is the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving as the massive central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, having served in the same capacity previously for the USSR from its beginning, and the Russian Empire beginning in the...
, as well as
Old BelieverIn the context of Russian Orthodox church history, the Old Believers became separated after 1666-1667 from the official Russian Orthodox Church as a protest against church reforms introduced by Patriarch Nikon...
sketeA skete is a community of Christian hermits following a monastic rule, allowing them to worship in comparative solitude, while also affording them a level of mutual practical support and security....
s, the latter retaining the aloofness toward outsiders that has characterised the group since it broke away from the main body of the Russian Orthodox Church (
see RaskolRaskol was the event of splitting of the Russian Orthodox Church into an official church and the Old Believers movement in mid-17th century, triggered by the reforms of Patriarch Nikon in 1653, aiming to establish uniformity between the Greek and Russian church practices.-The Raskol: result of...
). Also, a semantron may be in use simply because the monastery cannot afford a bell.
The
SyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest....
n Orthodox hold the semantron in great veneration, based on an ancient tradition that
NoahNoah was, according to the Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs; and a prophet according to the Qur'an...
invented it. According to the story, God told him: "Make for yourself a bell of
box-woodBuxus is a genus of about 70 species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood ....
, which is not liable to corruption, three cubits long and one and a half wide, and also a mallet from the same wood. Strike this instrument three separate times every day: once in the morning to summon the hands to the ark, once at midday to call them to dinner, and once in the evening to invite them to rest". The Syrians strike their semantra when the liturgy is about to begin and when it is time to summon the people to public prayer. Their tradition also links the sound of the wood to the wood of the
Garden of EdenThe Garden of Eden is a location described in the Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God. Literally, the Bible speaks about a garden in Eden...
that caused Adam to fall when he plucked its fruit, and to the nailing to the wood of the
crossA cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run diagonally, the design is technically termed a saltire....
of
Jesus ChristJesus of Nazareth —also known as Jesus Christ or occasionally Jesus the Christ—is the central figure of Christianity. Within most Christian denominations...
, come to atone for Adam's transgression.