The Emille Bell
The great bronze bell of Silla is said to cry 'emille', 'mother', in its long fading hum. The legend behind the sound is one of Korea's darkest.
What was reported
The Bell of King Seongdeok is a huge bronze temple bell, more than three metres high, finished in 771 in the Silla kingdom's capital, Gyeongju. When it's struck, it hums for more than a minute, rising and falling in waves.
Legend says the bell wouldn't ring properly until a child was offered into the molten bronze, as a monk had been told in a dream. After that, the bell's voice seemed to call 'emille, emille', an old word for 'mother', and the name stuck.
Explanations offered
Analysis of the bell's metal has found no trace of anything human in it, and historians see the legend as a story added later. Its long, pulsing sound comes from its shape and slight unevenness, which make two close tones beat against each other. It's kept in the Gyeongju National Museum.
- When
- Cast in 771
- Where
- Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, South Korea
- Witnesses
- Korean legend, and listeners for 1,250 years
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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