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A miller is a person who operates a
mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...
, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make
flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cul ...
. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents in other languages around the world (" Melnyk" in Russian, Belorussian &
Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...
, "
Meunier Meunier is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Christian Meunier (born 1967), French automotive businessman * Claude Meunier (born 1951), Canadian actor and film director * Claude Marie Meunier (1770–1846), French general dur ...
" in
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
, " Müller" or "
Mueller Mueller may refer to: People * Mueller (surname), a surname German in origin Places Antarctica * Mount Mueller (Antarctica) Australia * Mueller College, in Queensland * Mount Mueller (Victoria) * Mueller Park, in Western Australia * Mueller Riv ...
" in
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
, "
Mulder Mulder is a surname of two possible origins: Dutch and German. It may be Dutch language occupational surname. It is an archaic Dutch word for "miller" (modern Dutch: ''molenaar''). With 38,207 people in the Netherlands named Mulder, it was the 12t ...
" and "
Molenaar Molenaar is a Dutch surname deriving from the Dutch word for " miller". Molenaar is the surname of: *Beau Molenaar (born 1985), a Dutch football goalkeeper *Cees Molenaar (1928–1979), founder of the football club AZ *Dee Molenaar (1918–2020), ...
" in
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
, "
Molnár Molnár (or Molnar) is a Hungarian surname meaning "miller". The word might be a loanword from Slavic "mlynar" with the same meaning however most likely derived from the old Germanic "Mulinari”. It is the name of one of the most famous play ...
" in Hungarian, "
Molinero The Spanish-language surname Molinero literally meaning " miller" may refer to: *Abel Molinero, Spanish footballer *Abel Molinero Pons, Spanish footballer *Emilio Molinero Hurtado, Mexican potter *Francisco Molinero, Spanish footballer *Florencia M ...
" in
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
, "
Molinaro Molinaro is an Italian-language occupational surname for a miller. Notable people with the surname include: * Al Molinaro, American actor * Cristian Molinaro, Italian football player * Édouard Molinaro, French film director and screenwriter * Ge ...
" or "
Molinari Molinari is an Italian language occupational surname for a miller. Notable people with this surname include: * Adriana Molinari, American (née Argentine) pornographic actress * Alberto Molinari (born 1965), Italian actor, producer, and director ...
" in
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
etc.). Milling existed in
hunter-gatherer A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fung ...
communities, and later millers were important to the development of agriculture. The materials ground by millers are often foodstuffs and particularly
grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit ( caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...
. The physical grinding of the food allows for the easier digestion of its
nutrient A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow, and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi, and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excre ...
s and saves wear on the teeth. Non-food substances needed in a fine, powdered form, such as
building materials Building material is material used for construction. Many naturally occurring substances, such as clay, rocks, sand, wood, and even twigs and leaves, have been used to construct buildings. Apart from naturally occurring materials, many man- ...
, may be processed by a miller.


Quern-stone

The most basic tool for a miller was the
quern-stone Quern-stones are stone tools for hand- grinding a wide variety of materials. They are used in pairs. The lower stationary stone of early examples is called a saddle quern, while the upper mobile stone is called a muller, rubber or handstone. The ...
—simply a large, fixed stone as a base and another movable stone operated by hand, similar to a
mortar and pestle Mortar and pestle is a set of two simple tools used from the Stone Age to the present day to prepare ingredients or substances by crushing and grinding them into a fine paste or powder in the kitchen, laboratory, and pharmacy. The ''mortar'' ( ...
. As technology and millstones (the
bedstone Bedstone is a small village and civil parish in south Shropshire, England, close to the border with Herefordshire. The village is approximately from the railway stations at Hopton Heath and Bucknell and is situated just off the B4367 road. B ...
and rynd) improved, more elaborate machines such as
watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production ...
s and
windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in some ...
s were developed to do the grinding work. These mills harnessed available energy sources including animal, 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 mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Although some were driven b ...
s and
steel mill A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-fini ...
s. These factory workers are also called millers. The rynd in pre-reformation Scotland was often carved on millers' gravestones as a symbol of their trade.


Status

In a traditional
rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are de ...
society, a miller is often wealthier than ordinary peasants, which can lead to jealousy. Millers are often accused of associating with thieves, and were targeted in
bread riots Food riots may occur when there is a shortage and/or unequal distribution of food. Causes can be food price rises, harvest failures, incompetent food storage, transport problems, food speculation, hoarding, poisoning of food, or attacks by pests ...
at times of
famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompan ...
. Conversely, millers might be in a stronger position vis-a-vis
feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...
land owners than are ordinary peasants.


Carnival

The traditional carnival held annually in the city of Ivrea,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, commemorates a spirited "Mugnaia" (miller's daughter) who supposedly refused to let a local duke exercise his
right of the first night ('right of the lord'), also known as ('right of the first night'), was a supposed legal right in medieval Europe, allowing feudal lords to have sexual relations with subordinate women, in particular, on the wedding nights of the women. A ma ...
, and proceeded to chop the duke's head off and spark a revolution. Whatever the historical validity of the story, it is significant it was the daughter of a miller to whom folk tradition assigned this rebellious role.


Miller's thumb

As an important part of his job, the miller repeatedly takes into his hand samples of the ground meal coming out of the spout in order to feel the quality and character of the product. The miller rubs the grain between his thumb and forefinger. After years of doing this, the miller's thumb changes shape and becomes broad and flattened. This is known as a "miller's thumb". Sayings such as "worth a millerˈs thumb" and "an honest miller hath a golden thumb" refers to the profit the miller makes as a result of this skill. The shape of a miller's thumb is said to have the appearance of the head of a fish. The
European bullhead The European bullhead (''Cottus gobio'') is a freshwater fish that is widely distributed in Europe, mainly in rivers. It is a member of the family Cottidae, a type of sculpin. It is also known as the miller's thumb, freshwater sculpin, common bu ...
(''Cottus gobio''), a freshwater fish, is commonly called a miller's thumb for this reason.''The Athenaeum'', Issues 375-426 (London, 1835) p. 297


Surname

Miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalent ...
(also known as Millar) is a common surname derived from the old English surname ''Milleiir''. The name, and its many other variants, can be found widely across Europe in countries like the UK, Ireland, and many other countries across the world.


See also

*
Gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...
, a name for grain mills * Medieval watermills, a list of early medieval watermills * Belgian Millers


References

{{Authority control Industrial occupations Grinding mills fr:Moulin#Métiers autour du moulin