The objective of this study is to present millers as a specific social group those image was preserved in the lyrics of cantastoria songs. By studying a few dozen songs telling of millers, we managed to identify a number of basic narratives which show millers as wealthy and influential artisans, but…

The particular nature of the milling craft, the technical complexity of milling equipment and hydraulic engineering, as well as the location of mills, ideally on the edge of towns and villages, meant that millers became a common subject of folklore and legends in particular. In these, millers took…

This paper gives a brief overview of milling topics represented in various folklore genres. It is based on research at the Vysočina folk architecture open-air museum. Documents of non-material nature linked to the medium of water-powered technical structures bring a more complete overview of the…

Besides demonstrating the gradual evolution of their competencies, written material produced through the activities of Prague’s sworn millers also show the method this unofficial ‘millers’ court’ presented itself to members of the local guild, and also to others. In a society in which a knowledge of…

This article looks at an issue not previously investigated in much depth in the Czech Republic, that of the iconographic interpretation of different images on millers’ guild objects, almost 140 of which we managed to acquire in photographic form. The most interesting examples of different types of…

In some cases, the history of specific families may help to illuminate the general history of a specific location or even region. This is the case for Příbram’s silver ore district, where a number of regional historians have attempted to localise Kocour’s mill, linked with the construction of…

The urban environment enriched sigillography with artisanal symbols and its own aesthetics, while also contributing to the vulgarisation of seals themselves. The milling trade was a part of this, its symbols being the gearwheel and waterwheel, millstone, tiller, chisel, axe and compass with…

Modern millers used and continue to use a fairly complex emblem in their presentations with numerous sections and accompanying figures. The objective of this study is to reconstruct the origin of the emblem on the basis of older coat of arms stories. This is based on mentions or stories of the…