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CHAPTER VIII.
probable date of the invention of shoeing. employment of metals by early peoples. the 'iron age.' ancient iron mines. antiquity of iron weapons. value of legends. wayland smith and his craft. traditions. cromlechs. wayland smith's cave. the armourer and farrier of the celts and gauls. wayland's renown. morte d'arthur. smiths, their position and traditions. druid smiths. st columbus and celtic priests. smith-craft among the anglo-saxons, domes-day book. monkish smith. st dunstan and the evil one. st eloy and highworth church. zurich. abyssinia. arabia. persia. java. acadie. mysteries of samothrace and druidism. first of november. reasons for roman ignorance of shoeing. the caledonian wall. 'horse-shoe' medal. change in designation of the farrier. early mareschals and their rank. age of chivalry. apprenticeship of a chevalier. archbishop hughes of besançon. rights of the marechal. normans in france. origin of marshall and farrier. fleta. the london marescallis. seal of ralph. the marshall farrier. superstitions concerning horse-shoes in various countries. german legends. moonwort.
From the preceding inquiry, we are led to conclude that the Celts, or Gallo-Celts, were the people who most anciently employed nailed iron-shoes for their horses' feet; but we are yet left to determine the probable date of this invention—an investigation surrounded with many difficulties.
