Plural of chafery; workshops or areas where metal is heated and shaped using a chafer or forge.
From Middle English chafery, derived from Old French chaufer (to heat), from Latin calefacere (to make warm). The -y suffix indicates a place where an activity occurs, similar to 'bakery' or 'forge.'
Medieval metalworking was so specialized that different heating techniques had their own dedicated spaces—a chafery was where blacksmiths used low-heat forges to finish work that high-heat forges couldn't handle.
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