Jingle Bells: How People and Horses Rang in the Early Middle Ages - and What XRF Revealed

In December, bells are everywhere: on doors, Christmas trees, holiday markets, in songs, and in ads. It’s easy to assume that this soundscape is almost an invention of Christmas and New Year’s. But archaeology occasionally brings us stories that make our “jingle bells” tradition far older—and far more fascinating.

In the Early Middle Ages, people used small metal bell pendants with a little pellet (a “grain”) inside. As the pellet rolled and struck the inner walls, it produced a ringing sound. In English-language scholarship these objects are often called pellet bells, but the idea is simple: a small sound-making accessory that rings when you move.

Why Sound Mattered Back Then

Today, bells are mostly about atmosphere. Back then, sound could be much more multifunctional.

Researchers describe these little bells as objects that could serve at once as ornaments, audible signals (a noticeable “I’m here / I’m approaching”), and protective charms. These aren’t romantic guesses: conclusions are drawn from where the bells were found in graves, what they were associated with, and which types of burials they appeared in.

That’s the first holiday-like parallel: ringing is a way to make presence visible—or rather, audible. Only instead of a festive shopfront, the “stage” was clothing or harness.

Why This Find Is Immediately Intriguing: The Bells Were Rare

One might assume that if an item is practical, it must have been widespread. But the numbers suggest otherwise.

Across a range of early medieval cemeteries, these bells appear surprisingly infrequently: out of 3,856 burials, only 27produced such finds—about 0.7%.

Rarity is an important clue. When an object shows up so seldom, it usually points to something specific: status, role, age, a particular tradition, or a distinctive set of personal gear.

Who “Rang”: Children and Equestrian Burials

One of the most cinematic case studies comes from Avar-period sites in Central Europe. In research on cemeteries near Komárno (present-day Slovakia), scholars discuss bells found both in children’s graves and in equestrian burials where riders were buried together with their horses.

The interpretation reads almost like a ready-made scene:

In children’s graves, the bell is more often described as a protective charm and a small, personal sound object attached to clothing. In equestrian burials, bells are linked to horse harness—where the ringing could function as ornament, warning sound, and symbolic protection all at once.

So it isn’t just “the tree is ringing.” A child could ring—and a horse could ring as it moved.

A Detective Twist: What Were These Bells Made Of?

This is where the story becomes especially “scientifically cozy.” Many bells look similar on the outside, but for an archaeologist the key questions are: how were they made, and what metal were they made from?

To avoid damaging the artefacts, researchers used a handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyser (a non-destructive method). In one case, 22 bells from Komárno and one bell from Gajary were examined.

It turned out that these “jingle bells of the past” were technologically diverse. Some were cast in bronze—made by pouring metal into a mould. Others were made from sheet metal, shaped and assembled from thin metal. The material record mentions examples made from bronze sheet and copper sheet, as well as isolated finds made from iron sheet and brass sheet.

And the most holiday-worthy detail: traces of gilding were found on some bells. In other words, certain pieces were designed not only to sound, but also to stand out visually—ringing and gleaming at the same time.

How They Sounded

Another point that neatly connects past and present is that these bells were small and never meant to thunder across a whole settlement. This was sound for the immediate vicinity.

Studies provide audibility estimates that depend on background noise: in some conditions a bell would be detectable only nearby, while in others it could be heard from up to 12–15 metres; for the loudest examples, experimental data suggest audibility of up to 20–25 metres. For the Komárno bells, researchers also report a typical range of “central” frequencies of roughly 1.5–4.5 kHz—a band the human ear picks up easily.

That paints a clear picture: this wasn’t sound meant to overpower a market crowd. It was a ring that accompanied steps, movement, and everyday life—making presence audible.

Conclusion: What XRF Adds—and Why This Story Works

The best part of this story is that it doesn’t rely on pretty legends. You can imagine the ring of early medieval bell pendants—but more importantly, you can study it. And that’s where XRF becomes the bridge linking our festive “jingle bells” to a real, evidence-based past.

When an archaeologist holds a tiny bell, it may look deceptively simple: metal, slits, a pellet inside. But XRF lets us ask the right question—not “how pretty is it?” but “what is it made of, and how was it made?”—and answer it without destroying the object. Non-destructive analysis makes it clear that bells that look alike may be made from different metals and manufactured in different ways—from cast bronze to sheet-metal constructions, sometimes with traces of gilding.

And there’s a quietly holiday-like thought in that: time changes traditions, but it doesn’t change our need for “effect”—for sound, sparkle, and the feeling of movement and presence. Today we create that effect with tree ornaments and door bells. A thousand years ago, it came from small bells on clothing or harness. And XRF helps us avoid guessing—by showing, with real data, how that old ring was made, and why it mattered in people’s lives.