During the 1100's CE, merchants, artists,
bankers, and other professionals grouped themselves together in a
business associations called guilds. The bankers belonged to the
bankers guild. The bakers belonged to the bakers guild. And so on.
Purpose
of the Guilds: The purpose of the guilds was to
keep each member's territory exclusive. If you were a baker, your
guild promised you a certain amount of space before another baker
could build a shop. As well, if your shop burned down, the guild would
care for you and your family. Guilds also arranged social occasions
and festivals for its members.
Requirements
for Guild Membership: In exchange, guilds had strict rules
that you, as a guild member, had to follows. Rules included:
-
Price
Control: The guild decided on the price of each item.
All bakers, for example, changed the same price for a loaf of
bread, the price set by the guild.
-
Wage
Control: All workers had to be paid the same, so that
the best workers could not be enticed away with better wages
somewhere else.
-
Quality
Control: Everyone had to satisfy the quality standards
set by their respective guild. No one was allowed to sell shoddy
goods.
-
Advertising
Control: No guild member could advertise their wares.
The guilds wanted people to think that all wares offered the same
quality, no matter what shop sold them.
Climbing the Ladder of Success: People could
work their way up to positions of power, and ultimately own their own
shop.
-
Masters:
At the top of the ladder were people who owned their own shops.
Owners were called "masters".
-
Journeyman:
After he had learned something about his craft, a man
could move up to the level of journeyman. A journeyman was paid a
little money, along with free food and a place to sleep. He could
only work under a master. To become a master, a journeyman had to
submit a sample of his work - a "masterpiece" - to a
committee of masters in his guild. If they approved his work, he
could set up shop in a place assigned to him by the guild, and
become a master himself.
-
Apprentice:
An apprentice was at the bottom of the ladder. During the period
an apprentice was learning a skill, he received food, a place to
sleep, and training, but he was not paid.
Taxes:
The Guilds made sure that all shop owners paid taxes to the
king. This kept the kings on their side. Soon, kings began to depend
upon shop owners for many of their needs, including income from the
taxes this new middle class paid the kingdom. Kings, and in some cases
nobles, granted towns a charter that said they had the right to
control their own business and affairs as long as they continued to
pay taxes to whomever had granted the charter.
Teacher
Guilds: As the towns grew, guild leaders realized there was
a need for lawyers and courts. If they were going to rule themselves,
they needed a system of rule. But almost no one knew how to read and
write. To fix this, one of the towns created a "university",
a school of higher learning. The university was not a single place.
School was held in rented rooms and in courtyards. Books were scarce.
But classes met on a regular schedule. Not just anyone could be a
student. To study at university, you had to pass a test and be
accepted.
By the end of the 1200's, teacher guilds
(universities) had sprung up all over Europe. There were over a
thousand students at any one time studying Roman Law, Latin classics,
the teachings of Islamic scholars, and the philosophies of Aristotle.
Students who attended the universities were not the sons
of nobles. They were the sons of the new middle class. When literature
and art were added to the curriculum, there was clearly a stirring,
the beginning of the rebirth of culture. The success of the
universities showed that things were changing, and changing rapidly.
