From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Miller
Miller
A man dressed as a medieval miller at a festival in Monselice. A bedstone and rind. Dalgarven Mill, Scotland.
For other uses, see: Miller (disambiguation) The rynd in pre-reformation Scotland was often
carved on millers’ gravestones as a symbol of their trade.
A miller usually refers to a person who operates a mill,
In a traditional rural society, a miller is often wealthi-
a machine to grind a cereal crop to make flour. Milling
er than ordinary peasants, which can lead to jealousy and
is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller",
to millers being targeted in bread riots at times of famine.
"Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are
Conversely, millers might be in a stronger position vis-a-
their equivalents in other languages around the world
vis feudal land owners than are ordinary peasants.
("Müller" or "Mueller" in German, "Molinari" in Italian
The traditional carnival held annually in the city of
etc.). Milling existed in hunter gatherer communities,
Ivrea, Italy commemorates a spirited "Mugnaia" (miller’s
and later millers were important to the development of
daughter) who supposedly refused to let a local duke ex-
agriculture.
ercise his right of the first night, and proceeded to chop
The materials ground by millers are often foodstuffs
the duke’s head off and spark a revolution. Whatever the
and particularly grain. The physical grinding of the food
historical validity of the story, it is significant it was the
allows for the easier digestion of its nutrients and saves
daughter of a miller to whom folk tradition assigned this
wear on the teeth. Non-food substances needed in a fine,
rebellious role.
powdered form, such as building materials, may be
processed by a miller.
The most basic tool for a miller was the quern-stone - References
simply a large, fixed stone as a base and another movable
stone operated by hand, similar to a mortar and pestle. As
technology and millstones (the bedstone and rynd) im-
proved, more elaborate machines such as watermills and
windmills were developed to do the grinding work. These
mills harnessed available energy sources including ani-
mal, water, wind and electrical power. Mills are some of
the oldest factories in human history, so factories making
other items are sometimes known as mills, for example,
cotton mills and steel mills. These factory workers are al-
so called millers.
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Categories:
• Flour
• Occupations
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Miller
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