ABSTRACT
MIDDLE AGES Between 500 and 1500 C.E., the tools used in European daily life remained primitive. Shovels and spades were made of wood; heavier instruments like the axe and the adze, used for cutting and smoothing wood, were made of iron. Woodworkers had hammers, handsaws, and augurs for drilling holes and fitting pieces already smoothed using the plane or the lathe. Architects had the square, compass, and measuring rod, while stonemasons used mallets, crowbars, trowels, and chisels to cut, shape, lay, and decorate the stones for the great cathedrals and castles of medieval Europe. Metalworkers employed tools such as wire cutters, tongs, and hammers to shape iron implements as well as weapons. Leather workers used many sizes of awls and needles to piece together clothing, harnesses, and other items.
