“I am the rose of the world, when struck, called Katherine.”
Most frequent of all is the Angelic salutation (S. Luke i. 28):
AVE MARIA GRACIA PLENA DOMINUS TECUM
sometimes found in an English form as—
“HAIL MARY FUL OF GRAS” (“Full of grace”).
There are said to be altogether seventy different forms of dedication to the Blessed Virgin. She is by far the favourite saint with bell-founders, though S. Katherine (possibly on account of her emblem the wheel) was their special patron. On the whole the dedications correspond fairly to those favoured for churches; but we note that S. Andrew, S. James, and S. Paul, are rarely found, whereas S. Anne and S. Gabriel are more common. We must not expect to find bells necessarily dedicated to the patron saints of their churches; it is in fact exceptional, and possibly the name was determined by that of some guild or chantry. Where they are the same it is usually the tenor; but the old ring of five at S. Bartholomew, Smithfield, has the treble dedicated to that saint.
Among texts of scripture are also found
SIT NOMEN DOMINI BENEDICTUM
“Blessed be the Name of the Lord” (Job i. 21).
IESVS NAZARENVS REX IVDEORVM
“Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews”
(S. John xix. 19).
BEATVS VENTER QVI TE PORTAVIT
“Blessed is the womb that bare thee” (S. Luke xi. 27).
But such texts become commoner in the seventeenth century. An early post-Reformation example is at Hannington, Northants:
LOVE HORTETH NOT (Rom. xiii. 10).