1. MEDIEVAL GUILDS
Bradley Richey & Jeremy Bonar

2. What was a guild?
• Exclusive, regimented organizations
• Created to preserve the rights and
privileges of their members.
• Separate from civic governments, but often
overlapped the purposes of civic
governments; guild members were often
prominent in civic government
• Similar to modern-day unions

3. Merchant Guilds
–First to appear
–Formed as mutual organizations to
protect members’ horses, wagons,
and goods while traveling
–Usually would found a town by
obtaining a charter

4. Craft Guilds
• Came about by increased specialization of industry
• Made up of groups of artisans from the same
occupation who banded together for mutual aid and
protection.
• As they became more prominent, guild leaders
would demand more civic leadership.
• It got to the point where people couldn’t practice a
trade without being in a guild, similar to modern-day
certification
• Used to maintain a monopoly of a specific craft
from outsiders.

5. Consumer and Worker Protection
• Protected their consumers and their
workers
• Regulations prohibited poor workmanship
• Each product had to be stamped by a
board member of the guild to ensure
quality.
• Prohibited working at night due to lack of
artificial light
• Forbade advertising (no competition) and
regulated prices

6. Services Performed by Guilds
• Performed services for their members and
consumers
• Provided funeral expenses for poor
members and aided survivors
• Assisted members with caring for the sick
• Built chapels and donated to local churches
and cathedrals
• Regulated morals and ethics of the
members

7. Guild & Community Interrelationships
• City Council could intervene in the
case of affairs between guilds.
• A council could regulate and establish
hours of work and pay rate.
• Guild officials were often appointed to
serve in civic government because
guilds often voted as a unit

8. Hierarchy of Guild Members
• Apprentice
• Male teenager who lived with his master; family paid to have him
taken on my the master.
• Not allowed to marry
• Took 2-7 years to learn the trade
• Once master felt the apprentice was ready, he was advanced to a
journeyman.
• Journeyman
– Entitled to earn salary
– Ultimate goal was to create a masterpiece to satisfy the guild
master in order to assume the title of master craftsman
• Master
• Once the masterpiece was completed and the journeyman was
voted upon by the guild, he could obtain the title of master.

9. Bibliography
• http://www.public.iastate.edu/~gbetcher/373/guilds.htm
• http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/guilds.html
• http://employees.oneonta.edu/farberas/arth/arth200/artist/
guilds.html
• http://www.boisestate.edu/courses/westciv/medsoc/24.sht
ml