Our Legal Heritage, King AEthelbert, 596 to King George III, 1775Reilly, S. A.
History
Our Legal Heritage, King AEthelbert, 596 to King George III, 1775
Reilly, S. A.
Law -- England -- History
There were craft guilds in the towns, at least 65 in London. In
fact, every London trade of twenty men had its own guild. The
guild secured good work for its members and the members maintained
the reputation of the work standards of the guild. Bad work was
punished and night work prohibited as leading to bad work. The
guild exercised moral control over its members and provided
sickness and death benefits for them. There was much overlapping
in the two forms of association: the craft guild and the religious
fraternity. Apprentices were taken in to assure an adequate supply
of competent workers for the future. The standard indenture of an
apprentice bound him to live in his master's house, to serve him
diligently, obey reasonable commands, keep his master's secrets,
protect him from injury, abstain from dice, cards and haunting of
taverns, not marry, commit no fornication, nor absent himself
without permission. In return the master undertook to provide the
boy or girl with bed, board, and lodging and to instruct him or
her in the trade, craft, or mystery. When these apprentices had
enough training they were made journeymen with a higher rate of
pay. Journeymen traveled to see the work of their craft in other
towns. Those journeymen rising to master had the highest pay rate.
Occupations free of guild restrictions included horse dealers,
marbelers, bookbinders, jewelers, organ makers, feathermongers,
pie makers, basket makers, mirrorers, quilters, and parchment
makers. Non-citizens of London could not be prevented from selling
leather, metalwares, hay, meat, fruit, vegetables, butter, cheese,
poultry, and fish from their boats, though they had to sell in the
morning and sell all their goods before the market closed.
In the towns, many married women had independent businesses and
wives also played an active part in the businesses of their
husbands. Wives of well-to-do London merchants embroidered, sewed
jewelry onto clothes, and made silk garments. Widows often
continued in their husband's businesses, such as managing a large
import-export trade, tailoring, brewing, and metal shop. Socially
lower women often ran their own breweries, bakeries, and taverns.
It was possible for wives to be free burgesses in their own right
in some towns.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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