Wandering Artisans? The Mobility of Smiths in Early Post-Roman England

Abstract

This article seeks to re-evaluate the evidence for the itinerancy of smiths in the early medieval period, focusing especially on England between the fifth and the early seventh century. The »itinerant smith« is a well-known model to explain metalworking in north-western Europe during these centuries. Yet the idea of a totally itinerant smith relies heavily on outdated theoretical models, and on literary images that cannot be considered to represent reality at face value. Geographical mobility is to some extent inherent in metalworking, and it was also a way through which smiths could expand their networks and gain upward socioeconomic mobility and social standing. However, it is profitable to consider a more complex model, in which various forms of mobility and sedentism coexisted. Given the severely fragmentary state of the evidence, both written sources and archaeological remains from the Continent will be considered, including fundamental insights from early medieval technical treatises. A re-evaluation of the mobility of the smiths – this article holds – may also have theoretical consequences for broader questions about early post-Roman England, especially concerning the landscape of settlement, the connections between elites and crafts, and the mechanisms of construction and reproduction of hierarchical relationships.