jan 1, 1545 - tongs

Description:

A word which goes back to Old English with no real change in meaning. These were the tools which made the moving and handling of heated iron possible and in most smithies there would be a range of such implements: they were an essential part of ‘smithy gear’. The word is found in numerous wills and inventories: 1374 <i>unum tayng</i>, York (SS4/92); 1423 <i>pro ij par de tangys</i>, York (SS45/81); 1545 <i>one little stethie, towe pare of tanges</i>, Normanton (Th19/104).

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