History What a smith did
Almost every village had a smith. Farmers needed plowshares, sickles and scythes; builders needed nails and hinges; horses needed shoes. The smith made and mended them all.
The word "black" refers to iron, the black metal, while goldsmiths and silversmiths worked with bright metals.
History How it worked
The smith heated iron in a charcoal fire, blowing air in with leather bellows to make it hotter. When the iron glowed orange it became soft enough to shape. On the anvil, the smith hammered it, bent it and cut it, then plunged it into water to cool it.
Two pieces of hot iron could be joined by hammering them together, called forge welding. A good smith could judge the heat just from the color of the glowing metal.
Art In this artwork
This forge with its glowing furnace, anvil and tools on the wall is drawn in an open, cozy style.
Look closer
- Find the anvil.
- Where is the fire?
Think about it
- Which iron things would a village need most?
- Why do you think "Smith" became such a common name?
- What metal objects do you use every day?
Key words
- Anvil
- A heavy iron block on which metal is hammered.
- Bellows
- A tool that blows air into a fire.
- Forge
- A furnace for heating metal, or a smith's workshop.
Use it in class
- Medieval market day: a lesson on guilds and trade (Lesson, grades 3-7)
Sources
The history on this page is a short summary based on these sources:
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Blacksmith" and "Wrought iron"
