What did ironmonger mean in medieval times?

Answer 1

The ironmonger of the middle ages would have been the local blacksmith. Metal working was divided into may specialties and separate crafts, however. A blacksmith made primarily tools, horseshoes, nails, etc. Even among those working iron many items became separate skills. Knives were made by a cutler, swords by a blade-smith, armor was made a variety of specialists. Wire was made by a specialized craftsman called a wiredrawer. Those who worked with others metals were also considered separate skills, and were organized into separate guilds. Thus pewterers, plumbers (who worked lead, from the latin name for lead, plumbum), silversmith, goldsmiths, etc, were each seen as being in different disciples and were members of different guilds.