Curfew

Curfew (Fr. couvre-feu, 'cover fire'). To William the Conqueror is ascribed the introduction of the curfew-bell into England, the object of which was to warn the people to cover up their fires, and retire to rest. The time for ringing these bells was sunset in summer, and about eight o'clock in winter; and certain penalties were imposed upon those who did not attend to the signal. The practice of ringing the curfew-bell, however, appears to have prevailed throughout Europe long before the era of the Norman Conquest, its object being the prevention of fires, which, owing to houses being chiefly composed of wood, were then both frequent and destructive. The custom of ringing the curfew-bell at eight or nine o'clock is still continued in many parts of England, though its original significance is of course lost, and a list of the various places where the custom has been kept up will be found in Notes and Queries for 1883 and earlier years. The name has passed into literature as a current synonym for nightfall—it occurs in the opening line of Gray's Elegy. The curfew survives in some parts of New England. See BELL.