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Medieval Blacksmithing



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Fri Oct 03, 2014 3:14 pm
Castiel says...



okay, so say a typical blacksmith had a 15-16 year old daughter. What would she do? would she help her father make metal weapons and tools?
Also, what did the teens wear then? what type of fabrics and stuff?
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Fri Oct 03, 2014 4:25 pm
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Holysocks says...



She could help her father, but I doubt he would let her actually do a whole job by herself. You have to remember that back then they thought women were only useful for cooking, cleaning, and making babies ( basically ). Her father probably would be more concerned about finding her a husband than teaching her to blacksmith.

Clothes would most likely be made out of things like linen, wool, skins, silk... all depending on what your characters can afford, and what's avalible in their town/village/etc. I'm not sure that a teen would wear anything different from an adult, except some times I think they might do their hair differently for younger girls vs married women.

When in time is your story taking place?
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Fri Oct 03, 2014 5:01 pm
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birk says...



When you say 'medieval', that's a fairly broad timeframe. When I hear 'medieval times', I immediately think of the rise of Islam, the black death, and the Crusades. All fairly late in the time era.

As for blacksmithing, I don't think the specific timeline would have that much to say. If you had said son instead of daughter, it would be pretty easy to say that he would help his father out. As a lot of sons would apprentice with their father and the blacksmithing trade and skill were often passed down the generations through father and son.

A daughter, however, doesn't have such an easy answer. Females weren't generally blacksmiths, though there are records of female blacksmiths thoughout history. The medieval times were generally dominated by men, and women had little to nothing to say.

In towns, woman were expected to just support their husbands (which was the main goal; get a husband! O.o), and in villages they would also do varied farm labor etc. Though with lesser pay and worth!

There's a lot of backstory when writing historical fiction, especially with females. As with your hypothetical fifteen to sixteen year old blacksmith daughter, there's a lot of things to consider.

Children would essentially begin honest work when they reached puberty, at 12-14. Girls were also considered ready for marriage at the age of twelve (because getting a husband was very important! O.O). Maybe the blacksmith's daughter would have helped her father out and he would have trained her, sure, that'd be cool. But maybe a bit earlier though. At such an age she might not be home anymore, betrothed to a guy or already married away.

A lot of that would also depend on the blacksmith himself. And his location. Whether he is a wealthy blacksmith within a village or town etc. They were considered quite important within society.

As for clothing, that's where the timeline comes more into play. In general, I'd say it was a lot of dresses. Most likely made of chaper materials such as woolen cloth, linen and fur. More expensive garments could be silk, etc. Corsets were a pretty big thing in the late middle ages. Trying to get that hourglass figure, I guess.

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Fri Oct 03, 2014 5:13 pm
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Rosendorn says...



Another thing to consider:

Women were legally people unless they got married in medieval Europe, according to a university prof of mine (who is a historical sociologist so I am inclined to believe her). Therefore, women could own property, have a job, and generally do everything men did (including have affairs— the whole "monogamy" thing wasn't exactly that big a deal until the church got really heavily involved in day to day life. Which means you could have kids but not get married for quite a long time without social stigma). Once they got married, women became their husband's ward, which meant everything went to him. However, they didn't have to get married at all if they thought they could make due on their own.

Therefore, what she does depends on whether or not she has a husband. Honestly, depending on the nuances of the time period (namely, how involved the church was), you could have her be a blacksmith no problem.

When it comes to fabrics, nuances of day to day life, and others, I'd suggest getting this book. It is an absolute lifesaver when it comes to European historical research, even if you're not writing fantasy. It gives you a place to start.
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