Medieval Guilds

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Guilds in Medieval Europe The growth of towns in Medieval Europe had a lot of factors but guilds were perhaps the greatest contributor . Guilds were groups of individuals with common goals. The two main guilds were merchant and craft but, there are others like manufacturing guilds and non- occupational guilds. Merchant, craft, and manufacturing guilds manage labor markets, lowered wages, and also advanced their own interests. During the 11th and 12th century trade increased and it brought the craftspeople together. The earlier craft guilds appeared in cities and towns along major trade routes in Europe.Guilds regulated the quality of worked by a crafter in order to maintain the reputation of a town. Merchant guilds were organizations of…show more content…
The members of craft guilds typically owned and operated small businesses or family workshops. They were operated in many sectors of the economy. Merchant and craft guilds acted to increase and stabilize members’ income. Guilds of Victuallers bought agricultural commodities and converted them to consumable. They sold finished foodstuff. Guilds of manufacturers made durable goods and when the good was profitable, they would export them from their towns to consumers in distant markets. Manufacturing guilds tended towards the modern. Occupational organizations engaged in a wide range of economic activities. Some manipulated the input and the output markets to their own advantage while others established reputations for quality.They would foster the expansion of anonymous exchange and making almost everyone better off. The non-occupational guilds also managed in medieval towns and…show more content…
The aldermen directed guild activities and supervised the lower ranking officers. The stewards kept the guild funds and their accounts were periodically audited. Deans were summoned members to meeting, feasts, and funerals, and in a lot of cases policed member’s behavior. The clerks had more of a simple job and kept the records. Apprentices in a guild could be as young as twelve years old. They were taught a trade by a member of the guild. They would live with their masters up to fourteen years. The guild member had made a promise to teach the boy well and it could take many years for that to happen. Apprentices were not allowed to go to an inn and were not expected to get married during the apprenticeship.. Members of the guild were chosen to keep track of other members of the guild and make sure they were staying on task. The guild members who were found to be cheating the public would be fined or made to do work again but at their own cost.Punishments in guilds varied across transgressions, type of guild, time, and space, but a pattern existed. First time offenders were lightly punished for example suffering public scolding and paying a small financial fines and repeated offenders punished harshly. The ultimate threat to a person in a guild was expulsion. Guilds couldn't do anything harsher because of laws that protected a person and property from irrational expropriation and physical abuse. The legal
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