Life in medieval times must have been a strange combination of difficult yet simple. Not that the art of smithing is easy in any way, it's hard work all the way back to the quarry, but you knew if you took this rock, smashed it up, built a really hot fire and threw it in, you'd end up with some metal that you could then shape (yes, I super simplified the art of smelting). And you could sell or trade that metal stuff for goods or food you didn't make or grow yourself, like the smith depicted in this beautiful MOC by Julandrius, seems pretty blissful. Sure the average life expectancy was 31 years and every other small country around you wanted you dead, but at least when you sat down at a meal everyone didn't pull out their damn iPhone.