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In a series of papers
obtained by the Royal Commission of 1880 from different authorities on
the Continent on the origin and development of Guilds in France,
Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Norway, Sweden,
Italy, Spain, Portugal, Russia, and Turkey, much valuable historical
information is to be found; and it brief summary of their main
historical features may be given for the purpose of showing the striking
resemblance that exists between the Continental Guilds and the Craft
Guilds in our own country. One of the most interesting papers is that
furnished by M. E. Levasseur, of the French Institute, on the Guilds in
France, where at the close of the 12th century the Trades had in most of
the large towns their organised Corporations. The Hundred Years' War
proved very disastrous to the Corporations, and although there was a
revival of them from 1450 to 1550, many passed out of existence
altogether. In 1673 an ordinance was issued by which all trades were
formed into communities, and at this time the number of Corporations was
again increased, the system of Trade and Craft Guilds becoming in the
municipality the recognised mode of industrial organisation until the
Revolution of 1189, when, by an Act of the Assemblee Constituante, the
regimen of Corporations was finally made to give place to the system of
free labour. Before admission to the Corporations it was necessary to
have been received as master, the qualification for which was the
execution of a masterpiece, and its acceptance by a jury. In most of the
trades the candidate before attempting the masterpiece had to show that
he had served for a certain term as a journeyman. In many trades the
number of freemen (maitrise) was limited by statute, and, with few
exceptions, admission to the freedom could only be made where there was
a vacancy. The king could under certain circumstances make grants of the
freedom of any of the Corporations, and these, being sold to the highest
bidders, considerably augmented the Royal revenues. Although the sons
did not necessarily succeed their fathers, nevertheless, in almost all
the Corporations they enjoyed special privileges, such as exemption from
the masterpiece, reduction of the fines payable on admission to freedom,
dispensation from the probationary clause, and right of admission by
special favour on a vacancy arising, in preference to the other
journeymen. In a small number of Corporations the sons alone, or with
them the sons-in-law and some other relations, were allowed to succeed.
But membership in the Trade Guild was always conditional on the exercise
of the trade. After the suppression of the Corporations in 1791 the
State took possession of their real property, refunding to the freemen a
part of their freedom fine, and charging itself with the winding-up of
their affairs. At one time some of the French Guilds were very wealthy.
Besides the common fund, they owned property consisting of houses which
served as meeting places, or the headquarters of the Corporations ; but,
in the 18th century they fell into decay, and the liquidation of their
debt, which was not completed until 1789, absorbed the whole of their
funds.
Several valuable papers
were furnished regarding the Guilds of Italy. "The Craft Guilds (Corti,
d'arte) in Italy," says Allessandretti, "are of great antiquity, and, in
addition to their original purpose, more especially during the mediaeval
period, they acquired a purely political character." In the Middle Ages
they served to counterbalance the power of the nobles; but in course of
time, owing to reforms effected by the State, this became less
necessary, and the associations (sodalia) in question "devoted
themselves to the regulation of their crafts and the performance of
friendly offices to their members." The right of entry into a
Corporation was not hereditary, but was conferred on any one actually
following the trade, provided that he was of good reputation and
character. The craftsmen were divided into apprentices and masters, with
occasionally the intermediate grade of journeyman; and before passing
from one grade to another, a period of service was at least necessary,
and more commonly the production of a masterpiece was also required. The
Craft Guilds also formed in most cases religious brotherhoods, who chose
for themselves a patron saint whose effigy they bore on their standard.
As they came into existence first in Italy, so also they appear to have
been the first to disappear. From the time that they began to lose sight
of their primary purpose, and to undertake industrial enterprises on a
large scale, they began to decline. The Italian economists of the
eighteenth century frankly pronounced themselves opposed to the regium
of Corporations of Arts and Misteries, which were finally abolished in
Tuscany in 1841, in Naples in 1821, and in Lombardy, Venetia, and Parma
in 1813. But, although legally abolished, several of them still survive,
especially at the ports and frontier towns. At Genoa, for instance,
there still exists the Corporation of the "cadrai" or bumboat men (vivanduri),
in whom is vested the right of selling eatables to the ships in the
port; the "calafati " (calkers) of the canal, whose duty it was to
remove and stow in the warehouses all the merchandise; the porters (imballatori),
barrel porters (barillari), box carriers (cassari), and the porters at
custom-houses or free ports—a society somewhat similar to the Pynours or
Shore Porters of Leith and Aberdeen. The by-laws of all the Guilds were
originally taken from one model, which was in great part based on the
Communal Ordinances. Every Corporation had its chief or master, "capo,"
"ill massaro," a vice-master, "sotto massaro" or syndic, and two
assistants who acted as the Syndic's Deputies. No citizen could aspire
to the Council and Magistracy, or any public office, unless affiliated
to one or other of the Corporations or Colleges. As Lucca had what was
known as a Guild of the Seven Arts (the same number as now exist in
Aberdeen), it will be of interest to quote entire what is said regarding
them:-
They existed from very
ancient times, and were inaugurated in the 12th century. Of one,
entitled the Guild of the Seven Arts (intillotata Belle Bette Arte),
which included all the arts concerned in the building and finishing of a
house, we have records which go back to the year 1194. The origin of
others was considerably less ancient, but it is certain that there was
no handicraft, trade, or profession in Lucca which had not at one time
or another a society or company where its members might meet. The
administration of these societies varied according to the times. Their
chief object was originally the imposition on the members of certain
trade regulation-, but with their growth or reorganisation they acquired
the aspect of religious associations, recreative assemblies, or mutual
aid societies, while interference with the trade in most cases either
became a secondary consideration or was altogether neglected. By the law
of 1808 these harmless societies were legally suppressed, but on the
downfall of the Napoleonic rule a few of them recovered their former
standing, and resumed the possession of their property. This remnant of
the ancient Corporations, reduced in number and activity, and limited to
the performance of certain devotional functions, have survived to the
present day. Judging from those statutes which remain to us, the old
societies in Lucea had a great variety of regulations, but in none of
them is it expressed that the right of membership descended from father
to son. Sometimes, however, to a son who followed his father's trade (il
mestiere paterno), and wished to enter the Guild of which his father had
been a member, certain advantages were conceded.
In Portugal nearly all
the trades were organised as societies (embandeirados). Under one flag
and one patron saint were united several trades. Each band chose one or
more representatives, amounting in all to 24, who were elected annually,
and forming together a corporation known as "The House of the 24;" they
chose from amongst themselves the judge of the people, their notary; and
the trades, which in Lisbon were four in number, formed part of the
Council and assisted at its deliberations, though their vote was not of
equal weight with that of the municipality.
The Guilds in Holland
were abolished in 1798. The right of membership was not hereditary qua
talis, but was dependent upon the actual practice of the craft or trade.
The freedom of the town was also a condition precedent to admission to a
Guild. The children born in lawful wedlock to a free citizen were, from
the moment of their birth, free citizens likewise. "Burgerrecht,"
however, was obtainable in more ways than one, and he who had it not by
birth-right might petition the magistrates of the town to be pleased to
grant him the freedom. Citizens thus created were called "cooked"
burghers. After the suppression of the Guilds, the funds in a few
instances were allowed to remain in their possession, and were
administered for charitable purposes by a committee under the inspection
of the local authorities. By a decree issued in 1820, it was directed
that the money should be employed for the support, in the first place,
of necessitous ex-members of the former Guilds and their widows and
children, and in the next place, of other indigent craftsmen.
Special interest attaches
to the information supplied concerning the Guilds in Germany on account
of an attempt, begun in 1881, to revive a number of their ancient
privileges. The Guilds, or Zunfte and Innunaen, were abolished in
1859-60, but a reaction was caused by the fact that on account of the
removal of the old laws and customs new evils sprang into existence. A
large number of young men established themselves in business with
neither the requisite technical knowledge nor a sufficiency of capital,
and, consequently, were soon obliged to go into liquidation. The
adherents of the old system made use of the stagnation of trade caused
by the crisis in 1873 as a ground for demanding a revision of the
statutes relating to trade. In consequence of this agitation a change
was made in the commercial laws of Germany, by which the system of
Guilds and masterpieces became again operative, though not compulsory.
Owing to this change, by the spring of 1883, no fewer than 500 Guilds
were re-founded and their statutes registered by the Courts. The right
of membership in Germany is not hereditary, but is acquired by
fulfilling the necessary conditions—the apprentice test, the three
years' "wanderzeet," and the masterpiece. When the original Guilds were
abolished they had little property to dispose of, and it was never
looked after.
The first Guild
ordinances granted in Norway are dated 4th Nov., 1682, but the Guilds
were in existence in very early times. The members were required to be
thoroughly trained in all manual skill and dexterity belonging to their
trade. On the one side were exclusive privileges connected with the
pursuit of their industry; and, on the other, all approach to an
alliance with other organised bodies was forbidden. In the country
districts, industries were as a rule only free in the case of the most
necessary crafts, such as the tailors, the shoemakers, the blacksmiths,
and the carpenters. In the towns the manual industries were affiliated
to a particular Guild composed of freemen, journeymen, and apprentices,
and to pass from one grade to another, it was necessary after a certain
period of service in the subordinate position to produce a
"masterpiece." In 1539 it was decreed that no new Craft Guild might be
established, and that every Guild should be abolished when all the
masters or freemen admitted to the Guilds previous to 1840 were dead, or
the survivors were agreed to dissolve the Guild. Craft masters are now
compelled to enter into a written contract to teach any apprentice they
may take, which contract must not last more than five years, and to
provide at the same time for his perfecting himself in the trade, so
that at the end of his apprenticeship he can exhibit the above-named
voluntary masterpiece or test work. The insignia, plate, cash, and
furniture owned by the Guilds have been given, some of it to the public
museums, and the remainder sold. There are still, however, voluntary
associations of craftsmen who, even now, appear in religious processions
with banners and the emblems of their craft displayed.
Russia seems to have been
as far behind in the matter of Guilds as in everything else. The Guilds
in that country were founded in the first instance in the 18th century,
in the reign of Catherine the Great. They did not spring up concurrently
with social progress, but by legal enactment. They are not a national
institution, and have not the characteristics of those in Western
Europe. In instituting the Guilds, we are told by Professor Yanson that
the Empress wished to encourage industry in the towns by granting a
quasi-monopoly, their introduction being in fact a political measure.
The principle of the Russian legislation is that persons applying for
membership must have previously exercised a trade in order to qualify
themselves. Admission to the Guilds in Russia is free, on compliance
with the following conditions:—(1) Service of three years as a
journeyman; (2) age must be not less than 21; (3) the applicant must
possess sufficient means to open a shop and (4) qualify as a "master" by
showing a specimen of his work. |
