The medieval craft guilds had tremendous power in urban society. They controlled what could be sold, who could sell it and at what price.
Craft guilds were an important part of town life in the Middle Ages. The guilds came into operation throughout this period as part of the transition from mainly rural to urban life. The craft guilds had an important part to play in regulating the medieval economy.
Tradesmen in the Medieval Craft Guilds
The most humble of the medieval tradesmen was the apprentice. An apprentice began learning his trade around his early teens and lived in the house of his master, who would teach him all aspects of the trade. The apprentice didn’t receive a wage but got his board and lodgings while he learnt his trade. The length of an apprenticeship varied depending on the trade, but was usually between two and seven years.
Once an apprentice had learnt the trade and could practise it independently, he could apply to become a journeyman. To do this, he had to produce a piece of work to prove he was competent in the skills of the trade he’d been learning. For example, an apprentice jeweller might produce a bracelet, or a brewer a vat of ale.
The journeyman worked for a master and was paid on a daily basis. He could move about between masters depending on the state of trade in a particular area. Many men never moved on from working as a journeyman to becoming a master. To qualify as a master, a man had to be able to afford to set himself up in business and the guild had to approve his promotion. If there were already enough masters in a guild, he may have had to stay a journeyman for years.
The master was the most senior class of worker and was usually the only type of tradesman allowed to sell the goods in which he specialized. He could employ both apprentices and journeymen and had his own trading premises. Masters of a trade often held official office in their medieval town, acting as town mayor or council officer.
The Purpose and Organization of the Medieval Craft Guilds
Craft guilds in the middle ages were a form of social control. Only the members of a specific craft guild were allowed to produce and sell a particular product in their town. They could prevent outsiders from coming to the town and attempting to sell their own products.
Because the craft guilds controlled trade, they could specify the quality of their products. Each guild had its own stamp, similar to today’s trademark. The stamp, which could be a badge pressed into leather goods, or a pattern in a loaf of bread, was a guarantee of quality to the buyer.
Each guild had its own rules to govern its particular trade. Night work was often forbidden; poor light could produce poor quality work which would reflect badly on the guild. The guild set a price on its product and often governed the size and materials which made up the product.
The Craft Guilds in Medieval Life
The craft guilds, as well as regulating and controlling trade, played a big part in everyday town life. The guilds were an early form of social security, with members paying a fee each year, which ensured they would have a decent funeral and that their family would be looked after when they died. Some guilds paid a pension to members who were no longer able to work and some paid a grant to allow a member to travel elsewhere to seek work during times of hardship.
Religion also played its part in guild life with many trades having their own patron saint, for example, St Augustine for brewing and St Adrian for butchers. The patron saint might also appear on livery and banners used by the guild.
Some large medieval towns like Paris and London had a specific trading area for each profession. This made it easier to govern a guild and to check on the work that members were producing. This legacy lives on today, with streets, such as Bread Street in London, being named after a particular profession.
Because guild members often held office in the town, the guild would play a part in processions and festivals during the year. Many guilds had their own livery, usually with a badge relating to the goods they produced and they would wear their livery at parades and feasts.
Source
Epstein, Steven, Wage Labor and Guilds in Medieval Europe [University of North Carolina Press,1995]
