The Guild system

1. -Raghav

2.  During the 14th and 15th centuries, guilds were
established.
 These were associations of craftsmen within a craft.
 The guild system spread from Germany to the Nordic
countries during the 15th century.
 Every occupational group had their own guild.
 Example: The painters belonged to the painters’ guild,
The carpenters to the carpenters’ guild and so on.

3.  The guilds decided whether a journeyman would become a
master. To be allowed to work as a master, the Town Council had
to accept you as a citizen of the town.
 A citizen was a contribution to the town, since he paid tax.
 The guilds made sure that there were not too many masters and
that there would be work for all.

4.  The guilds had a social task as well.
1. They took care of their sick members.
2. Provided education for fatherless children.
3. Helped widows who were not able to support themselves.
4. If a widow was familiar with the craft, she had the right to
inherit her husband’s business.
 During the Middle Ages, this was the only possibility for a
woman to become economically independent

5.  The guilds had detailed rules of how the crafts should be
conducted.
 They also set the rules for training.
 Small boys started as apprentices to a master at the age of
eight or nine. To begin with, they only did the simplest work.
When they got older, they were gradually given more
responsibility.
 After seven or eight years, an apprentice usually knew enough
to prove his skill by making a qualifying piece of work. This piece
of work was often complicated and richly decorated - the young
man wanted to show how clever he was.
 If his work was approved of, he became a journeyman.

6.  Most journeymen travelled to learn more. The journeys could
last for a long time and could be taken to foreign countries.
When the young man returned, he brought home new ideas and
techniques.
 When the journeyman came back, he could take an examination
for the master. If he passed the examination, he became a
master himself, and could apply for complete membership of the
guild. The new master was accepted into the guild at a grand
ceremony. One of the most important rituals was to drink with
the others from the so-called "välkomman" (the welcomer), a
richly adorned cup. If there was no need for a new master in the
town, he had to go to another town or continue as a journeyman

7. ANY QUERIES ?