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 GUILDS

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GUILDS

of the nineteenth century that the guilds were suc- cessively abolished in the different States of Germany. In the last twenty-five years, there were enacted in that country a number of laws whose aim was not the re-establishment of the old corporations, which had each its special domain and privileges, but the protec- tion of the labourers, who had been left without organ- ization and defence by the abolition of the guilds.

For the establishment of the guilds in Germanv. Stieda in HiLDEBRAND. Jahrbuch fur Nationalukononiif, II (Jena, 1S76J, pp. 1-133: Eberstadt, Dcr Urspning des Zunftwesens {heipzi^, 1900). The following will also give valuable infoniiation; Jan.ssen. History of the German People at tfie Close of the Middle Ages (tr.. London, 1896) ; Wilda, Das Gildwesen im Mittel Alter (Halle. 1831); Nitzsch. Ueber die Niederdeidschen Genossen- schaften des XII und XIII Jahrhunderts in Monatsberiehte der Akad. der Wissenschaften (Berlin, 1879); Hegel, Stadte und Gilden der germanischen Volker (Leipzig, 1S91); Lappenberg, Urkundliche Geschichte des Ursprungs der deiUscfien Hansa (Leipzig, 1S54); Hofpebaum, Hansisches Urkundenbtich (HaWe, 1876-84); Hansische Geschichtsblatler (Leipzig, 1S7I-82).

In Italy. — " Of all the establishments of Numa ", says Plutarch, " no one is more highly prized than his (listriliution of the people into colleges according to trade and craft. " From these words we should infer that the first well-known Italian corporations date from the seventh century b. c, but some authors, whose contention is foun^led on a text of Florus, have claimed that Servius Tullius, and not Numa, was the founder of the Roman colleges of artisans (e. g., Heineccius, " De collegiis et corporilms opi- ficum", 138). Whatever may be the truth on this point, it is certain that the collegia opijicum existed in the sixth century b. c, because they were incorporated in the constitution of Servius Tullius which remained in force until 241 B. c. There were but few of these corporations in the Republic, but their numbers in- creased under the emperors; in Rome alone there were in the third century more than thirty colleges, private and public (Theodosian Code, XIII and XIV). The latter were four in numlier: the navicularii, who supplied Rome with provisions, the bakers, the pork butchers, and the calcis cociarcs ct I'ertorcfi, who sup- plied Rome with lime for building. The members of these corporations received a fixed salary from the State.

Among the private colleges were numbered the argentarii, or bankers, the negotiatores vini, or wine merchants, the medici, or physicians, and the profes- sores, or teachers. On the whole it might be said that the collegia were prosperous until the end of the third century b. c, but in the course of the next century they began to show signs of decline. The few privi- leges they enjoyed had ceased to be a compensation for their responsibilities to the State, and it was only by the most drastic measures that the last emperors succeeded in keeping the artisans in their collegia.

And now arise the questions: What remained of these corporations after the invasions? Is there any connexion between them and the Italian guilds of the thirteenth century? We can only answer this query by conjecture. The period extending from the fifth to the eleventh century is extremely poor in docu- ments; the few annalists of those days have limited their work to a bare enumeration of events and a drj' list of dates. Mention is made here and there of the existence of a guild, but we are not told whether these guilds are new associations or the development of an older organization. Since we know, however, that the Roman law was to a large extent incorporated in the codes of the Goths and Lombards, we have good ground to believe that many of the municipal institu- tions survived the fall of Rome. In support of this view, we have the well-known fact that the Barbarians usuaUy dwelt in the country and left the government of the cities in the hands of the clergy, most of whom, being Italians, were naturally inclined to retain the Roman institutions, all the more readily as a better education enabled them to appreciate their value. All this leads to the conclusion that, in most cities,

enough of the old Roman corporation must have been preserved to form the nucleus of a new organization which slowly but steadily developed into the guild of the Middle Ages.

The mercanzia, the earliest well-known type of these guilds, existed in Venice, Genoa, Milan, Ver- ona, Pisa, and elsewhere in the tenth century; it somewhat resembled the merchant guild of Northern Europe, being an association of all the mercantile in- terests of the community without any professional distinction, but, as the increase of trade which fol- lowed the First Crusade brought about an increase of intlustrial activity, the arts found it more convenient to have an association of their own, and the mercanzia was split into craft guilds. As an example of this evolution, we may take the Roman mercanzia. Al- though it had been in existence at least since the be- ginning of the eleventh century, it received its final constitution only in 128.5. At that time it was com- posed of thirteen arts, all united into one common association, but in the course of the following century we see these arts withdrawing successively from the mother guild and formmg independent corporations until finally the mercanzia was merely a merchant guild.

The Italian arts were not all placed on the same footing. Some, being more important, had a right of precedence over the others and a larger share of the political rights. This hierarchy varied, of course, from one city to another; in Rome the farmers and drapers came first; in Venice and Genoa, the mer- chants. In Florence we find the most striking illus- tration of this type of organization. The arts were divided into major and minor. The former were, in the order of importance, the judges and notaries, the drapers, the bankers, the wool-manufacturers, the physicians and apothecaries, the silk-manufacturers, and the skin-dressers. They formed the popolo grosso, or l.iurgesses, and governed the city with the old feudal funiiiies; but in 1282 the latter were de- prived of their political rights, and the burgesses were compelled to share the government of Florence with the popolo minuto, or minor arts — the blacksmiths, the bakers, the shoemakers, the carpenters, and the retailers of wine.

In its main lines, the organization of the Italian guilds resemliled that of the French guilds. Their meml^ers were divided into apprentices, journeymen, and employers. Their life was regulated by an elab- orate system of statutes bearing on the professional and religious duties of the brethren, the relations of the corporations as a body with the local government, com])etition, monojioly, care of the sick, of the or- phans, etc. The officers were all elected usually for a term not exceeding six months. At first they were few, but their numlicr increased rapidly with the im- portance of the guild. One of the most remarkal>le illustrations of guild government is given us by the Roman corporations. At the head of each one was a cardinal protector, but the real managers were the consuls (sometimes called priori, cajntudini). Until the lieginning of the fifteenth century they were in- vested with great judicial power, but after the return of the popes to Rome their functions became merely administrative and their authority was limited by a number of other officers — assessors, procurators, dele- gates, defensors, secretaries, archivists. The second great officer of the corporation was the camerlingo, or treasurer; at one time his office was even more impor- tant than that of the consul, but little by little a large part of his powers went to computors, exactors, taxa- tors, depositors. The proveditor had the custody of the guild's furniture and was to preserve good order in the assemblies; the syndics examined the administra- tion of the officers at the end of their term ; the physi- cian and nurses attended the sick members free of charge, and the visitor had to call on those who were