8 



the Merchants' Guilds since luindicraftsmen wlio 

 were fxill citizens (such citizenship depending 

 upon the possession of estates of a certain value 

 situated in the town) enjoyed pei-fect freedom of 

 trade in the towns, but there were other craftsmen 

 who were not full citizens. These had to buy 

 from the lords of the town the right of carrying 

 on ti-ade and ha(i to purchase by means of various 

 burdens and imposts the privilege of using the 

 market halls and other institutions for buying and 

 selling. 



As is not infrequent in modern societies and 

 comuiunities so it was in media-val times there was 

 a split between the two factions, the Merchants 

 and the Craftsmen ; the Guild Merchants expelled 

 the free handicraftsmen from the full citizen Guild, 

 and endeavoured to suppress them into a kind of 

 subjection. The free handicraftsmen thereupon 

 confederated with those craftsmen who were not 

 free, and the Craft Giiilds were established by 

 Charter from Henry I., and from this period till 

 the middle of the thirteenth century various 

 Craft Guilds originated as the rise of the different 

 trades in a town rendered it expedient. 



So soon as a Guild was originated and the 

 crjiftsmen were organised, further oi-dinances for 

 the regulation of the brethren were di-awn up and 

 rules were made for sevei-ely punishing any breach 

 of the regiUations, and all trade concerns were in 

 the management and under the jurisdiction of the 

 particular Guild. 



Wherever Ci*aft Guilds wero legally acknow- 

 ledged we find foremost that the riglit tc exercise 

 their craft and sell their manufactures depended 

 upon the freedom of their city. 



No one was admitted to any trade, eren to the 

 lowest, or tolerated in it, whose moral conduct and 

 honour were not stainless. No one also who had 

 not proved himself a proper workman, and no one 

 who had not served a regular apprentices'hip, the 

 dm-ation of which generally lasted seven years. 

 The admission of an apprentice was an act of 

 special solemnity corresponding to the important 

 legal consequences it involved. It generally took 

 place in the tovm hall in the presence of the town 

 authorities, or in solemn meeting of the Craft 

 Guild. The apprentice was specially instructed 

 on this occasion in his duties, both as to his moral 

 conduct and the trade. The indentiu-e was drawn 

 up. which contained the special conditions under 

 which the apprentice was placed with his master, 

 and by this admission the apprentice became a 

 member of the family of his master, who instructed 

 him in his trade and watched over his morals, as 

 well as his work, during the period of his appren- 

 ticeship. At tlie expiration of his apprenticeship 

 the lad, then a man, was received into the Guild 

 again with special forms and solemnities, and 

 became thereby a citizen of the town. 



After the care for skilful workmen the next 

 important concern of the Guild was for the use of 

 proper tools and the application of well adapted 

 pr<»cesses of manufacture. No honest member of 

 the Guild was allowed to possess tools unless the 

 same were testified to bo good and honest. There 

 were statutes containing directions and prohibi- 

 tifins entering into the most minute details with 

 rcfcn-nce t» the method of working. It was 



specially forbidden in the strongest terms to mix 

 inferior materials with a bettor sort to the detri- 

 ment of the buyer, or to sell patched up articles as 

 new. Measures were also taken to protect tho 

 public against the spoiling of materials entrusted 

 to the craftsmen for manufacture. Thus, Guild 

 brothers were enjoined to assist a member who 

 foimd difficulty in his work in'order that it might 

 not be spoilt. Such directions are frequently 

 met with among masons, one regulation appli'ing 

 to the trade of masons recording that he who 

 wishes to imdertake work in gross, that is what 

 we should call piece-work, is to bring forward four 

 ancient men of his trade as security for the proper 

 execution of the work and they.in the event of his 

 not fulfilling his duty, have to execute the work 

 themselves. Further the Guild statutes always 

 ordained, nominally to ensure the good quality of 

 their wares, that no one should work longer than 

 from tlie beginning of the day until curfew, nor 

 at night by candle light, but I cannot help 

 thinking that the i*eal ground for this ordinance 

 was rather ivgard for the well-being of the crafts- 

 men. Certainly there was a desire to give them 

 leisure for fulfilling their domestic and political 

 duties and to prevent the collective body from 

 being forced to over-exertions by a few too 

 zealous for gain. Similar considerations wero 

 also sometimes the cause of long holidays, as for 

 instance the prohibition of the London Weavers 

 to work between Clu-istmas and Purification Day. 

 This was also the origin of our present Sattu'day 

 half -holiday which is a relic of the sameconsideni- 

 tions supported, probably, by religious motives 

 which caused sti-ict prohibition of work on Sixn- 

 days and on festivals, also on Saturday afternoons. 



The custom fell into disuse at the Reformation 

 and in Puritanical times, possibly savouring too 

 much of |the old faith, and it was not till a 

 comparatively recent date that British workmen 

 were able to regain their lost holiday. 



There were also ordinances with a view to 

 preventing ruinous competition among the Guild 

 Brothers, which was held to be contrary to the 

 spirit of brotherhood. For instance, no tradesmen 

 was to entice away a brother's customers nor a 

 brotlier's servant. There were also restrictions in 

 the numlier of servants and apprentices which an 

 individual member was allowed to have, and it 

 became comm<m to make regulations with regard 

 to prices, \inder the supervision of the town 

 authorities. It was forbidden for a Guild Brother 

 to work for a customer who was indebted to 

 another brother. The Guild generally looked 

 after a member becoming poor through adventures 

 on the .sea, or thejadvanced price of merchandise, or 

 from liorrowin^ anil pledging, or by any other 

 misfortune, and such a brother might claim to bo 

 -relieved in proportion to the fraternity's funds. 

 Members of tlie Guild were entitled to have a 

 share, not exceeding a third, in any of the goods 

 coming to the city to be sold to the order of 

 another brother, and the brother so ordering would 

 have to allow abrother desiring to share with him. 

 to the extent of a third to have such goods at 

 cost price. If the ]>rother did not agree he was 

 liable to a penalty uf '^Ofi. for refusing to share. 



Besides being brotherlioods f«»r the care of tlio 



