Page:The history of medieval Europe.djvu/384

 334 THE HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL EUROPE greatly in different places. Florence, one of the most popu- lous of medieval cities, had only twenty-one gilds, but they were very influential in town affairs. On the other hand, by 1500 Hamburg had a hundred, Cologne eighty, and Ltibeck seventy. The number of crafts in a medieval town, considering its relatively small population, was often surprisingly large Medieval and indicates a minute specialization among the industries artisans. Sometimes an entire gild devoted itself exclusively to the manufacture of a single part of a suit of armor, such as the helmet or hauberk. One gild might make harness and another polish it. Metal-workers in general were minutely subdivided. At Paris, for example, where at the close of the thirteenth century from four to six thousand persons were enrolled in tax lists as engaged in mechanical arts, we find farriers, cutlers, locksmiths, men who make handles for knives, coppersmiths, beaters of brass, beaters of tin, workers in tin, wire-drawers, makers of copper lamps, makers of seals, makers of nails and rivets, makers of pins, makers of buckles, makers of clasps, and so on. The manu- facture of woolen and linen goods occupied a great many men in the Middle Ages; others manufactured hemp, flax, rope, and thread; tanners and furriers were numerous; a smaller number was engaged in making silks and other fabrics. There were special gilds for particular articles of clothing, such as tailors, hatters, glovemakers, beltmakers, shoemakers, cobblers, slipper-makers, stocking-knitters, ho- siers, button-makers, sheathmakers, comb-manufacturers. Then there were the various dealers in articles of food, in beverages, and in spices. There were carpenters, masons, plasterers, mortar-makers, potters, porringer-makers, glass- makers, beadmakers, jewelers, goldsmiths, makers of gold thread and gold leaf, workers in wax, toymakers, and vari- ous other artisans and artists. But the gilds were important in social and political as well as in industrial and economic life, as indeed is shown by their power in town politics and the mystery plays which aome of them presented for the general entertainment. We