What is a blacksmith?
A worker who creates objects from steel or iron by forging the metal.

Etymology
In French the word « forgeron » replaced the old French word « févre ». It is to be linked to the word « forge » dating back from the 12th century. It comes from the latin word fabrica which means a workshop specialized in blacksmithing.

What is a worker in wrought in iron?
In French the word « forgeron » replaced the old French word « févre ». It is to be linked to the word « forge » dating back from the 12th century. It comes from the latin word fabrica which means a workshop specialized in blacksmithing.
What is a worker in wrought in iron?
Working under the name of « marchand mercier-ferronnier », they were iron, iron objects and hardware dealers. But the titles of ironmonger, scrap merchant or iron dealer were often misused.
In the classified of a newspaper back in 1777, Sir Lefebvre, ironmonger, announced that he could provide his costumers with « all kinds of iron fittings and iron locks for furniture and buildings, as well as all kinds of hardware from Germany, England and France ».
At that time, iron was mostly sold in round, flat or square bars, in chimes, bundles, cornets, plates and sheets.
Nail makers called themselves ironmongers.
Ironmongers' Patron Saint was Saint Lubin whom they used to celebrate in the church of Saint-Leufroy on August 16.

Etymology
In French, « ferronnier » derives from the word « fer » coming from the latin word « ferrum ». It is linked to the word « ferron » (12th century) which meant ironmonger.

The age of metals

A sorcerer blacksmith from an African tribe tells this tale :

«A thousand years ago, one night, a god walked into
The house of the Master of Heavens, the king of all gods.
His guards had been put to sleep by magic and the god
Managed to steal the treasure of this house: Fire.
Fire could melt some stones and Releas the metals imprisoned in them.
The god brought his ancestors some the burning hot brands
Thus revealing the secret of fire and of the art of blacksmithing,
A divine art which gave blacksmiths the most sacred rank after the priests. »

This legend highlights the amazement of Man for a phenomenon he was responsible for but that he could not grasp and thus considered magic.

After quite a long period of testing and making mistakes, blacksmiths managed to extract the metal contained in minerals but they still ignored why they had to use such a process.

 It was only during the last century and thanks to the development of chemistry that an explanation was found.

For over a thousand years, copper, tin and their alloy, bronze were the most commonly used metals.
Then, primitive blacksmiths discovered new ones such as gold, lead and silver and yet a really tough ore existed: iron.
Iron is about five hundred times more abundant than copper but sometimes, when minerals such as magnetite, hematite, limonite or siderite were thrown into the oven, they produced molten metal, in other words, they turned liquid under the action of heat. Instead of getting the expected flow, a black and spongy mass covered of holes was obtained.
We know today that these minerals contain iron since its melting point is very high, more than 1500°C, a temperature primitive ovens could not reach.
The tireless pioneers from ancient foundries eventually discovered that iron could also be hammered. But when red-hot and hammered, the metal turned into blade would become smooth, get blunt and lose its sharpness.

However, 3400 years ago, a group of blacksmiths determinedly continued experimenting on this apparently « useless » metals in the mountains north of Mesopotamia (between today's Turkey and Iran). There, they discovered the secret of hardening and of turning iron into steel. They would heat the metal on the hearth or « forge » until it was red-hot and immediately hammered it.
Then they would abruptly cool it down by plunging it into buckets of cold water.
By repeating this process several times, they would obtain a very strong metal, ideal to make weapons.
That process was to be jealously and secretly kept for two centuries.
The age of metals started with the work of copper 6000 years ago. Iron, which has been in use for 3400 years now, became commonly used 700 or 800 years later.
The discovery of the technique of melting metals was a remarkable event in the history of mankind.

Evolution of blacksmithing.

The Celts more than any Mediterranean peoples excelled in the work of iron. They invented the hooping of carts' wheels. These iron circles were a true revolution for mankind.
Indeed, Romans kept liquids in heavy but fragile terracotta jars. The Celts had the bright idea of assembling and hooping planks thus inventing the barrel. This ability for ironwork also helped them make weapons.

In France, the first works date back from the 11th century and show a mastered technique probably founded on a tradition (see the strap hinges of the Cathédrale du Puy dating back from the 11th century).
Like in all art work, blacksmithing evolved towards convenience and gradually abandoned their ordinary features of frankness, of perfect balance between shapes and basic technique.
In this way, hardened ornaments were replaced in the 15th century by embossed sheet metal ornaments fixed with rivets.
This evolution came to an end in 16th century France although blacksmithing blossomed in Italy,Southern Germany (the gate of Maximilian's tomb in Innsbruck (1598), filled with floral patterns, cherubs and cartouches), and in Spain (window railings, elaborate baluster church gates).

The French 17th century saw staircase handrails and balconies evolving from poverty to
magnificent simplicity with a few exceptions such as the two sumptuous doors of Maison castle (the Louvre) where molten pieces are mixed with forged elements.
Louis XVI style produced remarkable polished iron compositions (the gate of Paris courthouse -1765-) contrasting with 19th century decadence with neo-classic architects who favoured stone balusters and the spread of manufactured casting elements.
Following the action of Viollet-le-Duc, the Art Nouveau period contributed to the renaissance of iron work with such artists as Gaudi (Vicens house -1880- , the balcony with mingled seaweed shapes of Mila house -1905-), Guimard, Horta or Majorelle.
The first wrought iron works were thus closely linked to everyday life: locks, horseshoes,
candelabras, ...

Generally small, these objects are made up of several pieces spot-welded together. They are often trimmed with S or C shaped patterns and simple curls.
Then, blacksmithing widely spread into the world of Art. Most works are made for private costumers, government organizations: railings, gates, church ornaments, shutters, ...

Nowadays, wrought iron work is fashionable again.