Clothes covered in soot, hands full of blisters, and lungs choked with
smoke. The real heroes of the middle ages didn’t wear shiny armor or regal crowns.
They made that stuff while flaunting leather aprons. Today on Nutty History
let’s explore how blacksmiths crafted the empires and towns of the middle ages.
Blacksmithing was perhaps the most unappreciated job in medieval times despite being the most
crucial one. Their metal was the source of every economic activity in the settlement,
be it a village, town, or city. Smiths were not only forging the lord’s greatsword and armor but
they were also responsible for producing almost everything from horseshoes, household bolts, and
hinges, and even farming tools. The blacksmiths were smeltin’ and dealin’ with everybody in town!
But working for the lords and kings had its perks unlike crafting hinges for the common folks.
The upper-class consumers would pay good money for expensive weapons and armor,
not to mention, working for them would allow blacksmith personal favors from the government.
No wonder blacksmiths soon became subject of both community leadership and envy among the
local folks. More money, more problems. Becoming a blacksmith was not part of the conventional
education of the era which was reserved for the clergy, future lords, and knights. Learning to
smith was more of an internship that started at a very young age of eleven and went on for
years into adulthood without any guarantee of becoming a master blacksmith. There were
no graduation degrees to hand out back then so your career prospects were solely relying on
“being noticed”. The competition wasn’t easy either, the master blacksmith would often
employ several apprentices from a young age. Most apprentices would grow into proper adults
before they get clearance to grab a hammer or tong and to be content with using a broom for years.
One could tell who was the blacksmith’s favorite apprentice by catching who was
operating the bellows at the forge. Masters would make apprentices run fetching water, charcoal, and
iron worth half of their weight all day for hours and there was no room for error. Every mistake by
an apprentice was a paycheck cut. The struggle of rising through the ranks of smithcraft was real!
Training for becoming a Blacksmith was no easier than training for becoming a knight.
Becoming a master smith was tough but getting there would open a multitude of career options.
If you were in a village or a town, the work offered was cheap. If you were lucky and
talented enough you might get the chance to work in the lord’s castle which came with better pay
and perks. Working in the castle didn’t mean blacksmiths were solely making weapons and armors.
The smiths of the castles were also responsible for maintaining the castle’s braziers,
chandeliers, and portcullis among the décor and furniture. They also manufactured chains, bars,
and torture equipment for the dungeons. If you were a smith in the big city,
then most likely you would be part of the guild. This was perhaps the pinnacle of a smith’s career.
Being part of the guild ensured fair payment and a steady flow of work, there was one setback though,
climbing through the ranks of smithcraft was tougher in the guilds due to the quality control.
An apprentice would live with the guild for seven to nine years before becoming a journeyman
which was like being the assistant to another master smith. A journeyman’s work would be
scrutinized for the next four years before he could graduate to become a master smith himself.
Here’s to hoping the graduation party involved more than just one toast. The poor guy earned it!
Smithcraft wasn’t just limited to becoming a blacksmith. There were red smiths, brown smiths,
and whitesmiths too! The color-coding was based on the metal type that particular smith dealt with.
Blacksmiths mostly worked with iron while red and brown smiths worked with copper and brass.
Whitesmiths were unique because they mostly did the finishing job for other smiths.
Their work consisted of filing, lathing, burnishing,
and polishing. They were also responsible for manufacturing silverware and jewelry.
And though blacksmith’s work was more demanding, whitesmiths were lucky to get paid better.
Medieval blacksmiths were loved, hated, accused of having magical powers,
and praised for warding off magic and demons at the same time. Blacksmithing was one of the
seven mechanical arts and was vital for the economy and society to be sustained.
Thus, blacksmiths were never persecuted for their magical abilities to melt solid iron and transform
it ‘magically’ into everyday tools. But that doesn’t mean people didn’t associate them with
the devil behind their backs. So do you think you have it in you to forge legendary weapons? Tell us
in the comments and do not forget to smash that like button. Thanks for watching Nutty History.