Craft Guilds

What do you think of when you hear the word craft? Do you think of the art projects you may have completed at school or the local craft fair? In the Middle Ages, one's craft was the skill needed to succeed in a particular occupation. Craft guilds were organized to protect artisans, craftsmen, and other skilled workers. Keep reading to learn about these organizations in the middle ages.

Fig. 1: Guild Symbol

Craft Guilds in the Middle Ages

The Middle Ages saw a rise in the formation of both merchant and craft guilds. These guilds offered protection to members and consumers.

Craft Guilds: Definition

Medieval craft guilds were organizations of workers who were trained in a specialty, like a group of weavers. The guilds trained young members in apprenticeships before they could rise through the guild hierarchy to become a master.

Examples of Craft Guilds

A large, medieval city could have over 100 different guilds. Medieval guilds can be categorized into two groups: merchant guilds and craft guilds.

Fig. 2: 16th Century Guild Symbol

History of Craft Guilds

Historians have found evidence of early guilds that formed towards the end of the Roman Empire, but they did not survive the fall of the Western Empire. However, some did survive in the Byzantine Empire. These likely evolved into the guilds seen in the Middle Ages.

As guilds sprang up alongside medieval towns in the 10th and 11th centuries, merchant guilds were developed to protect themselves from danger and theft. Over time, they transitioned into powerful entities.

Merchant guilds led the way for craft guilds, which began to form in the 12th and 13th centuries. The craftsmen worked together to regulate production and competition.

City-states like Milan and Florence were hubs of craft industries. Master workers began to form associations. Sometimes they united over common materials they used (such as metals), and sometimes over the product they created.

Guild System

Guild masters managed craft guilds. If members found themselves in the middle of a dispute, a body of jurors would be deployed to aid in conflict resolution.

Skilled members of craft guilds made a good amount of money. As members became richer, entry into the guilds became more exclusive. Guilds began raising the price of their entrance fees. There were a few side effects of this. One was that it helped guilds maintain the high standards of a craft. Guilds could spend the money sponsoring apprenticeships or providing a meeting space for guild members. They could also use it for organizing social events or financial aid for hurt or deceased members. While this sounds great, keep in mind that the high cost of guild entry was often a barrier to the less privileged being able to join a guild.

Craft guilds were a hierarchy of three positions. The lowest position was an apprentice, typically filled with young men who agreed to remain in the position for a set period. When an apprenticeship was up, the young man would likely become a journeyman. A journeyman would work to create a masterpiece. When it was complete, he could be accepted as a master. A journeyman would be eligible to be paid. At the top of the hierarchy was the master, who would be able to run his own shop, train apprentices, and oversee journeymen.

Fig. 3: Guild Hierarchy

Importance of Craft Guilds

Guilds played a crucial role in society. This collective of craftspeople set and maintained production standards and reduced competition. They also created a pathway for those wishing to learn a trade.

Protection of Members

Craft guilds were essential to medieval society because they protected their members. Guilds gave protection to their members and offered support if members were ill or dealing with some other type of problem. They controlled working conditions and the hours of work. They also helped their members by making it difficult for non-members to create or sell similar products.

Guild members could expect to make a decent amount of money, which gave people the opportunity to rise in society. Some members were exempt from paying taxes.

Guilds provided a way for trade skills to be learned and passed down from generation to generation.

Protection of Community

Craft guilds not only protected their members but protected the community as well. Guilds had requirements to maintain the quality of their members' goods and pricing. Administrators of craft guilds worked to

• supervise the overall quality of their products
• that the products shared similar dimensions and weights
• they were made of the same quality ingredients

Guilds often set industry standards. Guild masters could perform random quality checks. An example of this could be guild masters examining the quality of bread from several bakers enrolled in the guild.

Another way guilds protected the community was by regulating apprenticeships. Guilds set standards for

• the length of an apprenticeship

• the skill set of the master who oversaw the apprentice

Impact of Guilds

Guilds allowed their members to control competition, quality, and pricing. This means that a guild member could not create an inferior product and then sell it for far less than his competition might. Guilds also controlled wages and the way merchants sold a product.

Guilds led to a wealthy middle class in medieval society. This led to some bias where new members are concerned. Guilds eventually got to the point where they would only accept new members into their ranks if they were related to an existing member or if a guild master sponsored them. This bias towards "outsiders" led to increased fees for those outside the guild's inner circle, resulting in hereditary professions. So if your father were a baker, you would also become a baker.

Another impact of guilds was a class divide. Guilds implemented a rule that if you were a master, you had to own your own workshop and tools. This created a division between owners and workers.

Fig. 4: Shield of a Butcher's Guild

Craft Guilds Summary

Craft guilds began forming in Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries, forming in a similar model to the merchant guilds of the time.

Craft guilds were organizations of workers who were trained in a specialty. They had a regulated training program and offered protection to workers and consumers alike. Craft guilds focused on setting and maintaining production standards and reducing competition. Guilds also controlled wages and the way merchants sold a product.

Guilds aided the formation of a wealthy middle class, but the creation of wealth also led to guilds isolating themselves from new members. Often, guilds would only accept new members who were related to existing ones—many experienced financial obstacles to becoming masters, as they had to provide their own workshops and tools.

Craft guilds were a hierarchy of three positions. The lowest position was an apprentice. When an apprenticeship was up, the young man would likely become a journeyman. At the top of the hierarchy was the master, who would be able to run his own shop and train apprentices, and oversee journeymen.