Medieval Society

Guilds

A guild was a sworn association. That's about the only thing that can be said universally; everything after that has to have "usually" in front of it. So, consider everything that follows to have "typically" or "usually" qualifying the statements.

A guild was a professional association, a drinking club, a charitable society, and an economic agency. The word itself is German, but the Germans don't use it—only the English call a guild a guild; the Germans call it a Zunft.

Guilds were found everywhere in Europe in the Middle Ages, but they were most common in the cities from the twelfth century and later. The older guilds were generally more limited in character, being primarily religious or social in nature. In the towns of the central Middle Ages, however, they increasingly were organized around a trade and this is how they appear in their most common form.

Economic functions

The main concern of a guild was the regulation of its trade or craft. No one not a member could sell at retail in the town. A foreign merchant had to sell to a guildsman, who would then re-sell to the citizens. In some cases foreigners were allowed to sell directly, but they had to pay a very heavy tax for the privilege. Foreign merchants were usually limited to one year's stay in the town or less - they could not set up shop permanently. Craft guilds operated on the same principal: no one not a member could manufacture goods or sell such goods within the town walls.

Diversification

At first, there was just one guild; very soon, merchant guilds and craft guilds separated. There were usually only one or two merchant guilds, but many craft guilds. In Augsburg, for example, there were 17 guilds in 1350, 38 guilds by 1450, and over 60 guilds by 1550.

In certain crafts there might be a guild for every step in a process. In cloth making, for example, there were spinners, weavers, fullers, dyers, and wool merchants.

Craft Guilds

Guild rules governed the price and the quality of the goods made, as well as the method of manufacture. The guild controlled how many men could enter the guild.

The Career of an Artisan

An artisan began his career as an apprentice, at age 7 or so. He served with a master; his father signed a contract with the master and the apprentice lived in his home. There he did menial work. The master was obliged to teach him the trade and was not to use him as a servant. The boy was usually apprenticed to a friend or to a reputable man. The guild set the length of the apprenticeship.

When he was of age, the young man, knowing his trade, left the home of his master and went out into the world as a hired hand. He took with him a letter of recommendation from his apprentice master and sought work with other masters. He journeyed from town to town, which is why he was called a journeyman.

As a journeyman he was expected to work for several masters in various towns. In this way he learned different techniques and further refined his skill. Eventually, he chose a specific town to settle in, where he applied to the local guild to be admitted as a master.

The Wanderjahre lasted around seven years, if a fellow were competent and of a good family. The normal expectation was that the journeyman would return to his home town, to become master there. He had to have letters of recommendation from the masters he had served. Journeymen eventually formed their own societies, and had hostleries in various cities to house their members—like a union hall

A master was a full citizen of a town, and some towns were very picky about their citizens. A master was expected to be a family man, so he had to find a wife. He was expected to be respectable, so he had to have an established business or the means with which to start one. These hurdles alone were enough to keep some men in perpetual journeyman status, forever working in another man's shop.

Beyond these requirements was the master piece. This was a finished product—a shoe, an armoire, a silver salt cellar—that demonstrated skill in the guild's craft. The applicant had guidelines he had to follow regarding materials and time taken. The masters of the guild then inspected the work and decided whether the guild would have a new master.

The guild hall

By the late Middle Ages, most guilds had built or had leased a building of their own. These were primarily meeting halls, but they might also serve as storage places. Some were extremely grand, depending on the wealth of the guild.

Developments in the Late Middle Ages

Speaking very broadly, the late Middle Ages were the golden age for guilds. They increased in number, became more specialized, and extended their control economically, socially and politically.