The Guild system was compulsory with the force of law. For example, the locksmiths in Siegen once sued one of the Rectors for working on locks (he was a toolmaker) without being a member of the Locksmith's Guild. The Guilds regulated trade under the supervision of the civil authorities.
During the Middle Ages, the Guilds did little damage to anyone. By 1600, the Guilds had developed into narrowly exclusive societies, especially with respect to the admission of new members. They became benefit societies for a small number of Masters and their associates. After 1600, the abuses prevalent in the Guilds became known to the Imperial Government. Some modest reforms were made. In the course of the nineteenth century, the Guilds were abolished in the German lands.
The Guild Master was a small-scale proprietor who owned the raw material and the tools, who made a useful product, and who sold the product for a profit. His labor supply consisted of Apprentices and Journeymen. The Apprentices, beginners at the craft, learned the trade under the direction of a Master. They received board and room with the Master and little in the way of pay.
When an Apprentice completed his training, he became a Journeyman and was paid a fixed wage for his labor. The Journeyman would hope to become a Master someday; however, the Masters were not always anxious to increase the number of Masters because that would be increased competition for them. So, often the Masters made it very difficult for Journeymen to advance to the Master level.
To engage an Apprentice, the Master had to obtain the approval of the officers of the Guild as to the soundness of the Apprentice's character. If approved, the Master became responsible for the boy's professional and moral education. The Apprentice might start at a very young age, perhaps in his early teens. Perhaps his first assignment would be to sweep the floor. His second assignment could be to sweep the floor. Perhaps, he would even have to do it a third time. This was a way of developing discipline and character. Eventually, the Apprentice would be capable of doing work on his own.
To make his training as complete as possible, and to be exposed to a maximum number of techniques and methods, the Apprentice would then serve a time as a Journeyman, where he would travel around and work for several different Masters. This did have the advantage of increasing the skill of the Journeyman, and it did give the Masters a supply of cheaper labor.
The first step in becoming a Journeyman was to obtain letters of testimony from his Master that he had completed his time of Apprenticeship in an orderly and structured fashion.
(30 Sep 02)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.