Minimus

In each of the standard 11 Minimus methods, the plain course is the extent on 4 bells, 24 changes, so no calls are required.

Plain Bob Reverse Bob Double Bob Reverse Canterbury Canterbury Double Canterbury
St Nicholas Reverse St Nicholas Single Court Reverse Court Double Court

There are also a number of variations of the above methods.

Grandsire Minimus is only two leads long, and needs calls to get all the possible changes. Calling a Bob every lead gives a plain course of Single Court - the Bobs, as in Grandsire Minor, involve making 6 blows behind, while the two other working bells make 3rds. But longer touches can also be rung that are not simply a different method.

Grandsire Reverse Grandsire New Grandsire Reverse New Grandsire

Some more twin-hunt methods, where the second hunt bell doesn't ring plain hunt are:

Soay Lonk Charollais Lleyn

A couple of methods with the treble plain hunting have been rung which don't have palindromic symmetry. Note also that their plain course is false, but calls were used to get true 48s.

Dusty Geraint Thomas

These principles each have a plain course which is the extent.

Erin Reverse Erin Stanton Reverse Stanton

Stedman doesn't work so neatly on 4 bells, as the treble ends up doing 6 blows behind and coming in quick again, so you get an Alliance method, rather than a principle. Each of the other three bells only every goes in slow, with 6 blows behind between each set of slow work. For more on Stedman on even numbers, see here.

Stedman Allliance

These principles have plain courses which are shorter than 24 changes. NB Llanarthne was originally named as Buzbury in Ross Robertson's "A Minimus Handbook".

Badbury Reverse Badbury Finchampstead Reverse Finchampstead Llanarthne Reverse Buzbury

In these Little methods, the treble plain hunts, but not all the way up to the back. NB Barton was originally called Ashford in Robertson. And in the last two, the hunt bell isn't the treble.

Barton Melsonby East Layton Bastow St Aelhaiarn Llanarthne Little Bob Double Trouble

There are several Differential Minimus methods, where different bells do different work. The most venerable example is St Alphege, which was produced by E. C. Shepherd in 1916. Here 1 and 4 do one line, while 2 and 3 do the same line backwards. Note that calls are needed to get the extent. The other five, though, have a plain course that is the extent.

St Alphege Ayston Lyndon Ridlington Tinwell Reverse Tinwell

You can also ring Treble Bob Minimus methods, although they were only "legalised" at the 2017 Central Council Meeting. These have a plain course which is 48 changes long (two extents). In Kent and Oxford, each change comes once at handstroke and once at backstroke. Oxford is wonderful, in that it becomes a Double method, so you get the Slow work also made at the back. There are also Treble Place Minimus methods, again with a plain course of 48 changes, where the hunt bell's path is not purely dodging. Note that in the final method below, the hunt bell is the 2, to keep the symmetry of the lead. Another variation on this theme is Hybrid Minimus methods, where the treble path does not have palindromic symmetry.

Kent TB Oxford TB Cold Ashby TP Andrew Haylor TP Swirling Vortex of Doom TP

Bristol is an interesting method, taken directly from Bristol Surprise Major. Its plain course is 96 changes, with the treble having an unusual path, including bits of 5ths and 6ths place bells from the Major. This was named in a quarter peal on Lundy Island on 13th August 2018 as Demi-Bristol Alliance Minimus, using a variable-hunt composition to give a length of 384 which included each row 16 times.

Another contraction of a method on a higher number of bells is Norwich Alliance, rung at Tulloch on 29th October 2019. Bells 2, 3 and 4 each ring what they would in a bobbed course of Norwich Surprise Minor, while the treble fills in the gaps. A true touch of 228 changes can be obtained by calling a variable-hunt Single (place notation X) at the end of each course.

And Warkworth is another Minor method which converts well, as there is so much dodging in 5-6. This was rung at Solihull on 9th November 2019.

Demi-Belfast, Glarsgow and LLonndonn were rung in a peal at Reading on 16th April 2020, using a spliced composition with a variable-hunt call (place notation X) at the end of each course.

Demi-Cornwall was rung in a quarter peal at Smithfield on 14th January 2024 and Demi-Double Dublin was named in a quarter peal at Cheltenham on 19th February 2024.

See here for these and other Alliance Minimus methods.

Similarly, Sixty is a principle, derived from Reverse Bob with a variable-hunt call (place notation X) at the end of each course, giving a plain course of 96 changes, each row being rung 4 times. This was rung at St Leonards on Sea on 16th May 2020.

Southrise is also formed by using a X place notation at the end of another method, instead of a 14 course end. In this case the base method is Bastow Little Bob, which has a plain course of 12 changes, with the treble not getting beyond 2nds place. Instead we get a 4-lead principle, with a total of 48 changes, where each bell gets a chance at doing the Bastow front-work. This was rung at Crowhurst on 12th July 2020.

Demi-Bristol Demi-Double Dublin Demi-Belfast Demi-Cornwall Norwich Warkworth Glarsgow LLonndonn Sixty Southrise