tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16981893.post257641700630737595..comments2024-03-23T15:35:20.874-05:00Comments on Tudor Q and A: Question from Peter - Occupation of a FaberLarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630629272030282584noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16981893.post-28652684363224840672015-10-14T11:39:08.707-05:002015-10-14T11:39:08.707-05:00There was no Ur-source that completely covered the...There was no Ur-source that completely covered the topic of smiths and social mobility. But I found interesting paragraphs in a number of sources on Google Books (there were even more potentially valuable ones, but those were restricted to "snippet view").<br /><br />Try searching "smith" and/or "faber" in these books, of varying vintages:<br /><br /><i>Urban Assimilation in Post Conquest Wales</i>, Matthew Frank Stevens<br /><i>The Surname Detective</i>, Colin D. Rogers<br /><i>The Smith Family: Being a Popular Account of Most Branches of the Name</i>, Compton Reade<br /><i>The Yorkshire Coiners: 1767-1783</i>, by Henry Ling Roth (briefly discussing the Richard “Peke” of 1379)<br /><i>After the Black Death</i>, George Huppert (just one paragraph, really, in this one)<br /><i>English Medieval Industries: Craftsmen, Techniques, Products</i>, ed. John Blair, Nigel Ramsay - includes an intriguing section on female blacksmithsFoosenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16981893.post-84121613790941267182015-10-13T14:20:56.128-05:002015-10-13T14:20:56.128-05:00Many thanks Foose for this. Was there a particular...Many thanks Foose for this. Was there a particular source you could give me that you used?<br /><br />Many thanks.<br />PeterAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05091033984969117733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16981893.post-82210989757946656362015-09-22T15:33:45.926-05:002015-09-22T15:33:45.926-05:00Peck needn't be the cheerful village blacksmit...Peck needn't be the cheerful village blacksmith on the village green, horny of hand and vulgar of speech, sweatily hammering at his forge. I did some rummaging through histories of surnames, the 1379 Yorkshire rolls for the Poll Tax, and English colonization of Wales in the 14th century, and there were some interesting nuggets about smiths.<br /><br />The key point was that smiths were skilled metal workers - not just blacksmiths, but also whitesmiths, obviously goldmsmiths, etc. Described as "indispensable," they appear to frequently work themselves up to the level of town burgesses and moneylenders. Peck could have been a proto-venture capitalist type, which might explain how he could marry an heiress. Smiths are consistently a group described as having wealth to invest.<br />Foosenoreply@blogger.com