Blacksmithing Through the Ages: The Beginnings
(Image credit: Ancient Origins)
The term “blacksmith” is Old English in origin and consists of two parts. “Black,” refers to the reaction of the iron when it is heated, and the word “Smythe,” meaning to strike. Throughout the world, blacksmiths are called by different names: Herrero in Spain, Forgeron in France, Schmid in Germany, and Demir in Turkey, are a few examples. No matter what name they go by, each of these men and women is known for one thing; their metal working skills.
But what are the origins of the blacksmith? Who were they and where did they come from? How did they evolve? These are some of the questions we hope to answer in this series as we begin to explore blacksmithing through the ages.
“The origin of the blacksmith could be traced back even further. During the Stone Age... when people roamed the land in search of food, toolmakers were an important part of society.”
When considering the origins of blacksmithing, it is widely accepted that early blacksmiths first appear in historical contexts during what is considered to be the Bronze Age. At this time, they would not have been called “blacksmiths,” as the title was a product of the Iron Age, but they would have certainly been early blacksmiths. They likely were simply called armorers, bladesmiths, or metalworkers by their contemporaries. But it is during the Bronze Age, that historians and archeologists begin to have an abundance of texts and artifacts that illustrate just how industrious these early blacksmiths were.
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But, the origin of the blacksmith could be traced back even further. During the Stone Age, in the time of the hunter/gathers, when people roamed the land in search of food, toolmakers were an important part of society. Although they were not yet working with metal, toolmakers used the natural resources accessible to them and shaped and pounded early tools from quartz, obsidian, and flint. They made hammer-like objects, spears, and other sharp-pointed weapons for hunting and protection from predators. As hunter-gatherer societies became less common and nomadic people settled, these toolmakers began to evolve their craft. Like the early blacksmiths that would come after them, their central role was creating objects for use in everyday life.
During the Bronze Age, which would last from 3300 BC to roughly 1200 BC, early blacksmiths began to learn skills beyond that of the toolmaker's rock shaping. They began to use fire in different ways and practiced techniques such as melting, smelting, and casting. In some instances, archeologists have found early evidence of forging, though those are rare instances.
These early blacksmiths worked primarily with bronze, which is an alloy created by heating and combining copper with tin, lead, or other naturally occurring metals. The molten bronze liquid would then be poured into a sand mold or cast in the shape of the object the smith was creating. Unlike iron, which undergoes heat treatments, bronze goes through a cooling treatment to harden. While bronze is not as strong as properly treated iron, it does have some benefits. For example, it has high corrosion resistance, which was a key factor in the preservation of many artifacts.
(Image credit: Liberty Biblical Museum)
While bronze was the predominant metal used at this time from Greece to China and everywhere in between, there is evidence that suggests some cultures were beginning to experiment with iron well before the Iron Age.
“Make no mistake, just because these early blacksmiths were working primarily with bronze as opposed to iron, their work should not be viewed as lesser.”
For example, the Hittites, an Anatolian people whose empire flourished from circa 1750 BC to 1650 BC, are generally credited as the first group of people to begin consistently experimenting with iron. There is evidence of Hittites carrying iron swords in battle and other iron-made objects have been discovered at archeological sites. Furthermore, charcoal fire-pits, known as bloomeries, used for smelting iron out of rock have also been uncovered at Hittite sites.
(Image credit: National Geographic)
The use of iron was few and far between at this time, however, and for good reason. Iron was hard to supply and would have been expensive to trade. Pure iron can only be found in meteorites that fall from the sky, and those are rare. Iron-ore is the most abundant source of iron, but for the iron to be extracted successfully, it needs to be smelted out of the rock. Smelting iron would have been difficult and time-consuming for early blacksmiths who had no access to furnace technology and had not yet fully embraced bloomeries.
(Image credit: World History Encyclopedia)
Make no mistake, just because these early blacksmiths were working primarily with bronze as opposed to iron, their work should not be viewed as lesser. The shift to bronze from copper and wood had a significant impact on everyday life, especially on the battlefield. Bronze changed war completely. In Greece, for example, bronze armor, which was created by overlapping plates of bronze, was considerably lighter to wear. Swords, daggers, and battle axes were much lighter to wield, allowing their soldiers to be faster and more accurate with their weapons. Shields too, which had been made of wood up until the bronze age, were able to withstand more blows during combat.
While it is true that major advancements in metal techniques occurred during the Iron Age, the work of the Bronze Age blacksmiths was just as important. Their work with metals and experiments with iron set the tone for later advances. As these early blacksmiths continued to work and experimented with their craft, their knowledge of heat and iron expanded. As 1200 BC neared and the Iron Age set it, the art of blacksmithing began to change in big ways.
Want to know the rest of the story? Stay tuned to BRUTE de FORGE for our next installment in our series Blacksmithing Through The Ages. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter and you’ll never miss a thing.
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