answersLogoWhite

0

Certainly, the rise of towns and cities in the Middle Ages made guild masters very important people, and made apprentices young people with great potential.

Guilds existed throughout most, and possibly all, of the Middle Ages. The earliest medieval guilds of which we have records, stonemasons guilds in Italy, seem to have quite possibly survived since Roman times. The apprentice probably was also a part of the system from the earliest times, though the formal system of apprenticeship, with specified times of service, came into being later.

The earliest guilds were did not have a great deal of power. As towns and cities became more numerous and populous, however, they came to be very important politically. The reason for this was that the town and the city were both market oriented. Naturally, tradesmen and craftsmen needed to have a voice in the organization of the marketplace, and the market was the defining feature of a town. So such towns and cities were nearly always run differently from feudal society. Since the political system was market oriented, the towns and cities benefited financially, and the guild members were able to get quite wealthy and powerful.

The result was the appearance of republican governments, in which the ideas of aristocracy or nobility were not particularly relevant. The dominating political system in many towns and cities was guild based. Guilds or confederations of guilds came to rule whole communities. This made the individual guild members, especially the masters, sometimes the most important people around. An apprentice, under such a system, was a young person who was up and coming.

Towns and cities of this type were called free, meaning that their citizens were not serfs and were free to go where they chose. They are also called medieval communes.

Some towns and cities were within kingdoms and owed their allegiance and support to a monarch. Others, such as Venice, were independent and governed the surrounding territory. Some had authoritarian governments headed by a single, very strong, individual, and others came very close to modern democracy. There was a lot of variation.

Members of trade guilds traveled from one city to another a lot. This put them into constant contact with people of other countries who had lives much like their own. Free towns and cities, both those within monarchies and those that were independent, signed treaties with each other, binding themselves into confederations of guild run communities. The Hanseatic League is an example of one such confederation. It was quite capable of raising its own international military forces and going to war, independently of any country its members might be in. The people who governed the Hanseatic League were guild masters.

There are some source links below.

User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago

What else can I help you with?

Related Questions

How did the guild influence business practices in medieval towns?

Guilds are an earlier form of Unions so they are very similar to what they are know. They help control prices for their labor and they made sure each person was properly certified.


What were the guilds and why were they so powerful in medieval society?

guilds are dum


What were the guilds and what role did they play in medieval Europe?

guilds are dum


What is a guild in the middle ages?

Nearly every craft or trade that required any skill had a guild. There were stonemasons' guilds, silk workers' guilds, carpenters' guilds, jewelers' guilds, merchant guilds of all sorts, and many others. There is a link below to an article on medieval guilds.


Were medieval towns richer than medieval villages because their were guilds?

No. Neither was really "rich". Guilds didn't determine wealth in an area. Guilds were unions of people with like jobs.


What are symbols for medieval guilds?

Guild signs


Who has power over a medieval craftsman?

Guilds


What is another word for trades people group?

The medieval organizations of tradesmen were called trades guilds or mercantile guilds. There were also crafts guilds.


What are examples of craft guilds in medieval Europe?

Some examples of guilds craft's is shoe making. Chaosleon321


What were basic rules in a medieval town?

Merchant Guilds


Is a modern descendent of the medieval guilds?

Labor Unions


What are some examples of craft guilds in Medieval Europe?

Some examples of guilds craft's is shoe making. Chaosleon321