Medieval Times Blacksmith

Science and technology, that we see today has developed as a result of the immense hard work that was put in by people for many centuries together. The blacksmiths of the medieval era were one of the biggest contributors to the development of craft and science of metal working. The art of working metal is mastered by many people even today, however the significance of the position has reduced considerably.

In the middle ages, blacksmith usually served the village and fulfilled the demands of the villagers. In the feudal system, the feudal lords or their vassals. The demands of the people from the fiefs were fulfilled by the metalworkers. A village smithy, in the medieval times, thus was a very pleasant place with hard work going on and the flame of the forge blazing all the time and the hammer and anvil shaping many objects of metal.

Forging

Forging is often defined as the act of shaping metal. The metal is usually heated till red hot in the furnace and then shaped by striking it with hammers and other tools. This furnace was rather small and was powered by bellows and coal or charcoal. Sometimes, wood was also used as a fuel. The art of forging is considered as an extremely important development as it is the basis of metal working. The metalworkers of those times creatively forged a huge number of objects, that ranged from heavy plows to weapons.

Manufacture of Farm Equipment

A huge range of farm equipment like horse shoes, plows, irrigation equipment, along with tools like hammers, spades, etc, that were used by most of the farmers everyday, were manufactured. One of the basic reasons that blacksmiths were able to make advancements in the technology of their times because they kept on perfecting and upgrading their manufacturing method and process. This not only helped them to prosper, but it also contributed to the output of the farmers.

Manufacture of Arms and Armor

Medieval times blacksmiths had an important task of manufacturing arms and armor. The middle ages were full of battles, some of them small uprisings and skirmishes and other as big as the Crusades. The feudal system also politically divided every land and every single feudal lord maintained his own army, either in the form of militia, or full-time professional knights and mercenaries. These armies constantly needed arms and weapons and often, the feudal lords paid these metalworkers more in order to have this arms and armor upgraded.

Many blacksmiths run their forges and bellows even today; however, their role in society has changed drastically.