this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2026
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The past had a LOT of smiths.
Or maybe it was the sexiest profession back then.
It’s because most anvils were tuned to G. It was considered the original root scale step because anvils often worked best when tuned to G. But back in those days, it was called Sol (Solfège.) In french, Sol means ground, which is at the bottom. Ergo, every hammer driven by the smith was really just a sort of mating call that sent all the bottoms running to the smith’s doorstep. This is where the expression “she built like an anvil” comes from
So Mason = Built like a brick shithouse
Read above you thinking... You mean she's a brick.. house?
She's mighty, mighty, just letting it all hang out.
reads like a tr*mp xeet lol
Only the sexy professions reproduced
Smiths got all the tang.
Seems many did not, but I did, see what you did there
Welcome to social Darwinism
Social darwinism isn't that, although it's big with people of Netherlandian extraction, Calvinists.
Social darwinism is the belief that everything is preordained, and if you are rich, god favors you, if poor, god hates you. It would be irresponsible to help the poor because god wants them to suffer, and so forth. Like the Prosperity Doctrine.
I was kidding
Didn't someone tell you it's illegal to make jokes on Lemmy
Metalsmith, Blacksmith, Gunsmith, Goldsmith, Silversmith, Locksmith, Coppersmith, Tinsmith, Wordsmith, Songsmith
“Hey, kids! It’s time for the PokeRap!”
Gonna, gonna, gonna forge 'em all. Gonna forge 'em all, Smithemon!
Poopsmith
Also, a bunch of Wrights too: Cartwright, Wainwright, Shipwright, Wheelright, etc.
Then there's just plain occupational names: Miller, Farmer, Thatcher, and so on.
Had this tradition continued, the information age would have given us: Chipwright, Cloudwright, Videosmith, Hacksmith, Coder, Tester, Gamer, Printer, and probably a ton more.
I always found it fun to learn about these old timey professions that (basically) no longer exist, but still exist as names, like:
Man, sign me the fuck up for Hacksmith or Codewright. I'm all for nominative determinism like this
Whitesmith is also used
Smiths and millers were common enough professions that basically every village had one but rare enough to be useful as a description. John the farmer would have been way too vague, leading to names that come from physical appearance, place of origin or relatives‘ given names.
"De boer", or "the farmer" is the 10th most common surname in the Netherlands. Top three are "The young", "son of Jan" and "The Frisian".
Who's Jan
ur mom
(???)
Smiths were generally wealthier so they had a better diet and what amounted to medical care, and they were rarely put in combat because they were needed to make weapons. So more of them survived.
That's how it works for my dwarves, too.
People in cthe middle ages in ciities were wealthier and healthier, and free. People in the country were slaves or tools of the local lords. City air makes you free they would say, cities were filled with free people, and run by guilds generally, smiths chief amongst them. Other cities were more merchant ruled chiefly. The nobility forever looked down on commerce, everything except agriculture and war generally.
You couldn't just move into a city, you needed an in, like getting accepted as an apprentice in a guild.
Totally true, and there were also smiths scattered around rural areas in small towns like mechanics today.
Smith be smithing tho