Just came across a version of the Blacksmith & the Devil folk tale that I had not heard before.

The one I am familiar with is the one dealing with why does a blacksmith hang Ox Shoes over the door for luck and not a Horse Shoe. The long and the short of it is that the blacksmith sells the devil on the idea of getting a set of shoes installed, so the smith installs them hot and they shrink as they cool and hurts the hooves of the devil so much that he leaves the smith alone and the Ox Shoes are hung as a reminder to the devil of that event. Probably someone can write the full version to complete my cliff note one.

Here is the other one, in a well told way: The Devil And The Blacksmith - Video

How many other Devil & Blacksmith tales are there, including ones dealing with the other gods that were equivalent to the devil and/or his minions.

Rich C.

There's a bunch of irish ones including the one where the dissolute smith gets three wishes and "wastes" them on a chair that anyone who sits in it can't get out without the smith's permission. And a purse that nobody can remove money from without his permission, etc

End result is that when the smith dies he's too much a sinner for heaven and Hell won't take him so his soul wanders the earth

There's some story about the blacksmith grabbing the devil by the nose with his hot tongs.

Thanks for sharing I enjoyed the story. William

Thanks for sharing the link, that was a new one for me.

Nice Story, thanks for that! :)

"St Dunstan as the story goes,
Once grabbed the Devil by the nose,
With red hot tongs which made him roar
Which could be heard 5 miles or more"

From an old book of nonense verse