Folk-Ore: Dawn of the Iron Age

Magical Powers were attributed to ancient Blacksmiths as they mastered prehistoric technology… and their stories endure

Folklore and Fairy Tales have led to discoveries about the earliest development of iron technologies, uncovering an intricate cultural network that spans the globe. Some stories are older than any of the languages used to tell them… and the oldest ‘folk-tale’ of all seems to be that of a blacksmith forging a deal with the devil.

These findings were made known in an article published in the Royal Society Open Science Journal, in which Sara Graça da Silva and Jamshid Tehrani traced population migrations and linguistic commonalities to determine that the oldest tale of all was generally known as The Smith and the Devil.

Such a story ‘as old as time’ has of course mutated and diverged through innumerable retellings, and been adapted to fit varied cultural values. The basic story is that of a blacksmith who outwits the devil, causing him to be fixed to a spot and only given leave when he had shared the dark magical arts of smelting and metalworking with the smith.

The association between iron and magic is widespread, and stems from long before what became known as the Iron Age. One of the oldest iron artefacts is a dagger…