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Ye Olde Professions Quiz

Guess the names of these professions from the Middle Ages.
Last updated: August 18, 2014
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Description
Profession
Works with iron or steel
Blacksmith
Makes bread
Baker
Makes clothes
Tailor
Grinds grain into flour
Miller
Turns base metals to gold
Alchemist
Builds using stone or brick
Mason
Amuses the king
Jester
Makes beer
Brewer
Makes leather
Tanner
Makes barrels
Cooper
Traveling poet/singer
Bard
Sells fish
Fishmonger
Herds sheep
Shepherd
Cares for horses
Groom
Description
Profession
Cuts timber into boards
Sawyer
Works with lead
Plumber
Makes candles
Chandler
Makes wagons
Wainwright
Milks cows (female)
Milkmaid
Assists in the birth of a child (female)
Midwife
Manages household servants
Butler
Prepares and sells meat
Butcher
Drives a team of animals
Teamster
Sells medicine
Apothecary
Makes, sells and repairs fur
Furrier
Carries luggage
Porter
Repairs shoes
Cobbler
Sews clothes (female)
Seamstress
BuckDonk
+1
level 44
Jan 24, 2012
what about "apothecarist" - I've heard that in addition to apothecary.
Quizmaster
+5
level ∞
Jun 25, 2014
Ok
Sifhraven
+1
level 46
Apr 20, 2019
Im not sure what I think, but I think apotheker among other things... didnt know what to make of it in english
azucarita
+1
level 69
Jan 24, 2012
great quiz
tschutzer
+4
level 82
Jan 24, 2012
It's cool how many of these old professions are now common last names. A bit surprised that the world's oldest profession didn't make its way into the quiz, though. :)
NDVidYuAll
+1
level 10
Jan 4, 2014
Whats the oldest?
noodles
+3
level 66
Jun 26, 2014
Prostitute
Jerry928
+2
level 71
Aug 10, 2014
I just checked my phone book and it lists 75 Hookers.
ruudsje
+1
level 71
Aug 10, 2014
that's really very funny
kalbahamut
+1
level 75
Aug 10, 2014
Hooker was a name before it was an alias for a prostitute. Legend has it that Maj. General Joseph Hooker of the American Civil War was so fond of the working gals that they became known as "Hooker's girls" and then hookers. Another story maintains that the red light district of Washington DC at the time was known as "Hooker's Division." But though there is some dispute over whether or not this is really the genesis of hookers being called hookers, the last name in any case predates this usage.
ThirdParty
+1
level 49
Aug 18, 2014
And the name, like many English names (Smith, Cooper, etc.), derives from a profession: in this case, someone who makes hooks.
Sifhraven
+1
level 46
Apr 20, 2019
I think subconsciously I ve allways linked it to the standing on the corners by street-walkers. Since in dutch it is hoek (the corner of the street)
kalbahamut
+1
level 75
Aug 10, 2014
Farmer is a very common last name.
Poosetifer
+1
level 44
Jul 13, 2015
How did people pay for prostitutes if it was the oldest profession I wonder.
kalbahamut
+2
level 75
Mar 14, 2018
it's not. The oldest occupation in the world is hunter/gatherer. The oldest profession amongst civilized humans is farmer. Agriculture gave rise to the concept of wealth since for the first time it was possible to accumulate more than you needed to survive (in this case, grain). It's possible that the first person to receive payment for work was receiving payment for sex. If that's the case then it's likely payment was made in surplus grain. Barter systems prevailed after that for a variety of different things. Currency was not invented until thousands of years later.
PacoGee
+2
level 49
Mar 14, 2018
with teeth
someone2018
+1
level 67
Jun 25, 2018
With bones.
DonTheLamplighter
+1
level 70
Sep 25, 2016
If I had a dollar for everybody I've ever met with the last name Fishmonger....
musiclistsareus
+1
level 61
Mar 14, 2018
no, but Fisher and Fischer are pretty common.
typhon
+1
level 53
Aug 2, 2018
What about T.J. Hooker?
RogerM
+1
level 78
Jan 24, 2012
what about cordwainer - a person who makes rather than repairs shoes
mwierenga
+1
level 75
Jan 24, 2012
very fun!
Tramp
+1
level 68
Jan 24, 2012
An old professions quiz that doesn't even include the oldest profession of them all? Pfft.
BlendedCow
+1
level 50
Jan 24, 2012
LOL tramp
thetrashman
+1
level 38
Jan 24, 2012
Isn't Apothecary the place where you buy medicine and not a profession? I also agree that Minstrel should be accepted.
Quizmaster
+2
level ∞
Jan 24, 2012
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apothecary
Kylienh
+1
level 14
Jan 25, 2012
Skyrim ftw;) hahaha bard
maxd98
+1
level 33
Nov 12, 2013
Agreed.
kalbahamut
+1
level 75
Nov 14, 2016
I've got a friend who is a busker. Maybe the closest contemporary equivalent. Those are those guys who go around to tourist areas and play an instrument or sing on the side of the street with a hat out to collect money.
Gildarts
+3
level 55
Nov 15, 2016
In my country, beggars or broke tourists go on buses and sing or play and instrument. We call them annoying.
kalbahamut
+1
level 75
Feb 11, 2019
Yeah that's my friend. He can't sing or carry a tune but somehow still makes 10 euros an hour doing this.
Nyneve922
+1
level 42
Feb 11, 2012
A person who makes wagons is also a wagoner (waggoner, wagner) or a cartwright, and a person who drives animals is also a drover.
Quizmaster
+1
level ∞
Jun 25, 2014
Cartwright would have worked
ander217
+1
level 75
Oct 11, 2016
I think wagoner is someone who drives wagons, isn't it? I tried wright, millwright, wheelwright, - I knew I was close but just couldn't go the last mile. Great quiz, BTW.
kurtk
+1
level 55
Mar 13, 2012
i thought monger should work
ColoHarpare
+1
level 53
Apr 13, 2014
"Monger" is usually a suffix, as in "fishmonger" or "ironmonger".
plattitude
+1
level 82
Jul 11, 2014
Also rumormonger. The -monger suffix denotes one who deals in the commodity it is affixed to, so monger by it's own wouldn't answer the clue.
svitapeneela
+1
level 62
Feb 5, 2017
Or "Costermonger" :)
hirsutebodkin
+1
level 47
Nov 9, 2018
cheesemonger
gravyfury
+1
level 28
Jun 30, 2012
I am not a middle age expert but... works with beer : brew master? And also I am thinking on the drug one: chemist or dispenser should work.
Nobody
+1
level 20
Sep 14, 2012
Somehow didn't figure out tailor
Cwej
+1
level 58
Jan 20, 2014
Clothier should work too.
sillie
+1
level 80
May 16, 2014
I didn't either. And I knew or could've guessed several of the others I didn't get. Possibly. Only a couple I hadn't heard of, but Taylor is the one that annoys me. Possibly Sawyer as well. (Both being bodyguards in 50 shades of Grey.. :P)
Ozchris
+1
level 40
Jan 5, 2013
For works with iron or steel I believe ironmonger should also be acceptable.
Cwej
+1
level 58
Jan 20, 2014
Ironmonger would be someone who sells or trades iron or steel, not the person actually working with or making it.
Sifhraven
+1
level 46
Apr 20, 2019
wrong, what you say it means is its later added meaning.
cariad
+1
level 45
Jun 4, 2015
No such thing as steel in Mediaeval times.
hellodrew
+2
level 46
Nov 14, 2016
yes there was!
Sifhraven
+1
level 46
Apr 20, 2019
I beleive you are thinking about the stone age? The knights sure didnt fight with wooden swords :D
Zola25
+1
level 48
Feb 19, 2013
Is that why Pb is symbol for lead?
Cwej
+1
level 58
May 27, 2013
Not quite. Pb is the symbol for lead because it comes from the latin word plumbum, which relates to soft metals (plumbum nigrum means "black" lead, whereas plumbum candidum meant tin). Plumber and plumbing derive from this same latin root word.
beetboy12
+1
level 44
Aug 10, 2014
Why is tin Sn then?
Freestatebear
+1
level 75
Feb 6, 2015
The Latin word for tin is stannum.
ranbob
+1
level 47
Feb 22, 2013
No thatcher or fletcher?
Orsaminor
+1
level 13
Apr 28, 2013
very nice :) you could add carpenter and sailor...
buck1017
+1
level 73
May 23, 2013
Based on your "female equivalent words quiz" I am slightly disappointed that "Fishwife" was not acceptable for the "Sells fish" question.
Quizmaster
+1
level ∞
Jun 25, 2014
That will work now.
098
+1
level 35
Oct 1, 2013
A lot of these are first names which entertains me. Cooper, Tanner, Mason, Sawyer, Tailor (obviously spelt Taylor)... Some of them are even last names too.
kalbahamut
+1
level 75
Aug 12, 2014
all of those were last names before they became first names.
awilli91
+1
level 12
Nov 1, 2013
should allow barwench ;)
gordian12
+1
level 35
Feb 25, 2014
I put "sartor" for the first one, thought it was old-fashioned-er than "tailor".
typhon
+1
level 53
Mar 2, 2014
A groom is also a farrier or an ossler; a person who builds fortifications was an engineer (a fortification builder was differentiated from a bridge builder by calling the latter a "civil" engineer); a teamster is also called a drover or driver.
courthousedoc
+1
level 72
Mar 9, 2014
A farrier also cares for horses.
Sifhraven
+1
level 46
Apr 20, 2019
Doesnt a farrier not only take cares of the hooves & horseshoes
Sifhraven
+1
level 46
Apr 20, 2019
I tried stableboy and page among other things
eoutlaw
+1
level 19
Mar 22, 2014
This is a very cool quiz. I learned a lot - 14 things to be exact. :-P
Melvosis
+1
level 42
Apr 19, 2014
What, no milliner? and what about haberdasher for the clothing maker?
brandybuck96
+1
level 76
Aug 7, 2016
Haberdashery and clothes-making are different things.
samwisegamgee
+1
level 45
Apr 19, 2014
could have had Fletcher, Mercer, Chamberlain, Thatcher, Tinker
morgoth7
+1
level 73
May 7, 2014
That was difficult! Well done.
Rokkiteer
+1
level 55
Jun 11, 2014
wrangler also works for horse tender
Packerswin14
+3
level 75
Jul 3, 2014
Look, it's the baby boy names quiz from 2004! Or the baby girl names quiz from 2009! All the same.
LarryLovage
+1
level 59
Feb 10, 2015
like ^
loganite
+1
level 78
Aug 10, 2014
Fun quiz! Based on the picture, I thought for sure luthier (one who makes stringed instruments) would be one of the answers.
Rozzi
+1
level 49
Aug 10, 2014
Fun quiz thanks. Could you accept ostler as someone who looks after horses?
seokeunshichae
+1
level 71
Aug 10, 2014
got wainwright correct because of the pitcher for st. louis cardinals...i recall hearing the announcers refer to his name meaning wagon maker
ander217
+1
level 75
Oct 11, 2016
Go Cards! (Next year.)
blindcartographr
+1
level 28
Apr 15, 2019
No way, Cubs
OfTheMountain
+1
level 51
Aug 11, 2014
One of the few things that old RPG Runescape taught me...
YamatoFans
+1
level 56
Aug 12, 2014
Loved this quiz! Thanks so much!
Zolland
+1
level 40
Aug 12, 2014
What's with the picture of Ron Weasley?
tavernmancer
+1
level 44
Aug 27, 2014
i have to disagree about prostitute being brought up as the oldest profession. A prostitute accepts pay for performing sexual services. While I'm sure that a caveman offering a haunch of dead something helped his chances with a cavewoman this isn't true payment or even a profession. Prostitution as it is commonly know couldn't have exited until humanity moved past the hunter-gatherer stage and started to become more agricultural. You would need a large community of people with a fair amount of surplus before services like prostitution could become a way to fully support oneself and therefore become a profession. I'd say that hunter-gatherer is realistically the oldest profession. Wow, I put way too much thought into this :)
kalbahamut
+1
level 75
Sep 12, 2014
The concepts of wealth, property, and being able to pay for things because you had so much of one thing that you could spare a little to get something else... all did not exist prior to farming and agriculture which marked the shift from pure subsistence living to something akin to civilization. So, necessarily, farmer predates all other professions if you're going to define profession as something you're paid to do. But hunter/gatherer I guess could be labeled the first "occupation"- as this is what occupied pretty much 100% of our time before 12,000 years ago.
redsplat
+1
level 74
Jan 20, 2015
Great idea for a quiz. But Butler is definitely not correct -- in the Middle Ages the butler was the person in charge of 'butts of beer' -- nothing to do with managing servants (this is a much later definition). Please change it to House Steward or House Keeper or something more suitable. If you feel like expanding your quiz, you could add scullion, scribe, armorer, spinster, potter, marshal, knight, squire, herbalist, fletcher (made bows and arrows), carpenter, barber (they cut hair as well as did dentistry and some surgery)....
LarryLovage
+2
level 59
Feb 10, 2015
Uhm, not "butts" of beer, but "botelier", bottles of wine and port.
LarryLovage
+1
level 59
Feb 10, 2015
Isn't someone who makes wagons, a "carter"?
cariad
+1
level 45
Jun 4, 2015
No, he just drives it.
McLerristarr
+1
level 59
Sep 6, 2015
I'm pretty sure this use of bard is incorrect. You mean a minstrel. Bards are only like that in fantasy. Historically, bards were Celtic poets and the name also gets applied to Homer and Shakespeare. They didn't travel around singing in medieval times.
nanook
+1
level 52
Oct 5, 2015
In the UK and Australia, midwives can be male.
IceBucket
+1
level 48
Nov 14, 2016
Yup. The word 'midwife' is derived from the Old English for 'with woman.' The word itself isn't gendered.
Sifhraven
+1
level 46
Apr 20, 2019
Cool I didnt know that, I see it now (in most if not all germanic languages besides english a variation of - mid is still used for "with": mit, met, med, með )
TravelingMama
+1
level 55
Nov 8, 2018
It's doubtful they were male in medieval times, though.
HatemAli
+1
level 66
Oct 14, 2015
Many of these still exist though
beccimoo
+1
level 59
Nov 4, 2015
Absolutely many still exist, and I think people who work in these professions would be insulted to hear their skills referred to as being from the Middle Ages.
sillie
+1
level 80
Apr 23, 2016
A lot of people in the Middle Ages were more skilled at these things than people are today. Some methods have changed surprisingly little if at all.
MassLumpBlockClod
+2
level 67
Dec 9, 2015
A furrier doesn't make fur. Biological processes in animals do
sillie
+2
level 80
Apr 23, 2016
I find the description for "alchemist" a bit worrysome. For all the others it's what they actually do. For alchemist it is what they are trying to do. No alchemist ever succeeded in turning base metals into gold, it's just not possible.
hirsutebodkin
+2
level 47
Nov 9, 2018
Definitely, there was no such profession
PhilosopherKing
+1
level 45
Oct 15, 2016
QM: This quiz rocked! Chandler is nearly impossible, and I've never hear of Wainwright. I tried wheelwright about 5 times.
rebkw
+1
level 57
Oct 20, 2016
Stablehand also works with horses.
Elan
+2
level 60
Nov 14, 2016
Vin Baker, Tyshawn Taylor, Reggie Miller, Anthony Mason, Corey Brewer, Michael Cooper, Otto Porter, Jimmy Butler, Tyson Chandler, and Adam Wainwright are just some professional athletes I can name off the top of my head.
SundarIsaacs
+1
level 64
Nov 14, 2016
Superb quiz! All jobs still available in India!
RogerM
+1
level 78
Nov 14, 2016
A few of my ancestors were cordwainers - shoe makers.
svitapeneela
+1
level 62
Nov 14, 2016
I thought a chandler was something to do with ropes?
Cwej
+1
level 58
Nov 14, 2016
Kind of. A ship's chandler specialises in equipment for ships - including ropes and twines, as well as lots of other things such as tools and oils – so above and beyond the wax, candles and soap a traditional chandler would deal with.
dasubergeek
+1
level 67
Nov 14, 2016
I tried haberdasher and clothier for tailor... could not think of tailor.
manchesterutd10
+1
level 51
Nov 14, 2016
shoulda known the lead one cause its symbol is Pb...comes from like Plumbous or Plumbic i never paid attention in ap chemistry anyways...
GalileoS
+1
level 56
Nov 14, 2016
Butcher baker & candlestick maker?
kiwiquizzer
+1
level 59
Jan 13, 2017
I guess chandler didn't rhyme.
ColoHarpare
+1
level 53
Jan 14, 2017
Plus, a candlestick isn't the same thing as a candle....
svitapeneela
+1
level 62
Feb 5, 2017
I tried chemist, pharmacist, druggist, and dispenser, and none of them worked! So annoying! haha
Sifhraven
+1
level 46
Apr 20, 2019
I tried several too, including doctor, dealer and medicineman haha. I tried to type apothecary but didnt know the ending in englsh_
mahble
+2
level 64
Sep 13, 2017
I think I did pretty well... 20 of 28 on my first try :D now for the other components of the history badge... won't go well...
deathstrider
+1
level 21
Dec 25, 2017
first try 1:51
tbd123
+1
level 51
Jan 16, 2018
How can alchemist be a profession?
hirsutebodkin
+1
level 47
Nov 9, 2018
agreed
britinaus
+1
level 61
Jan 19, 2018
Why did I get chandler, but not mason?!
nonexistent
+1
level 47
Feb 7, 2018
"makes beer", monks, gotta be monks.... no? well, I guess monks did other then make beer, didn't they...
divantilya
+1
level 38
Feb 28, 2018
Great Quiz!
PacoGee
+1
level 49
Mar 14, 2018
lol I couldnt think of what a person who makes bread is called but I remember the people who cut wood into lumber, the lead one, etc. LOL
martay
+1
level 59
Mar 14, 2018
Stable master (or stablemaster) should also qualify as someone who cares for horses. I believe it falls under "ye olde profession" as well.
someone2018
+1
level 67
Jun 25, 2018
A farrier and a furrier would go nice back to back.
someone2018
+1
level 67
Jun 27, 2018
"Ye" pronunciation and definition in this context should be required for 5/5 points.
Master27
+1
level 69
Aug 23, 2018
Doula?
Edit
+1
level 43
Oct 5, 2018
And with this quiz done I finally have all 15 badges :D
Malbaby
+1
level 67
Feb 11, 2019
What about 'Orchardist' after all the apple in the Garden of Eden had to be grown didn't it?
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