garnusur--garnisher grom--groom gunir, gynur harpour--harper haukerus, hawkerus, hawker--hawker justice--judge leche--leech loxmith, locker, lok--locksmith mason--mason mercer--mercer, merchant or retailer of small wares molendarius--miller palmer-- pannarius--draper, clothier petler, ? pelterer--seller of skins piscator--fisherman potter--potter prest, presbyter--priest sadeler--saddler scriptor--transcriber sherer, shearman--clothworker tabernarius, taverner--tavern-keeper teynterer-- walker or waller--? builder webbe--weaver wodemon--woodman wolbyer--wool-buyer CHAPTER III. THE CRAFT GILDS. [Sidenote: _The Merchant Gild and the craftsmen._] We have seen how the Merchant Gild consisted of all the traders whose business lay in the town. Such an association, though nominally open to all whether landowners or not who could afford to pay the requisite fees, was in essence oligarchical, and this feature became in course of time its most apparent characteristic. We saw, also, how there grew up a large class extraneous to the privileged Merchant Gild. This body of outsiders became continually larger and more important. The Welsh ravages in the exposed country would induce numbers to seek the friendly shelter of the town, which by this continuous infusion of fresh blood, found its trade become more and more flourishing, and consequently its attractions to "foreigners" more and more powerful. Each branch of industry was also incessantly receiving large accessions of strength in the shape of fugitive villains from the country-side, who, by residence during a year and a day were released from fear of a reclaim to serfdom. These new settlers, some of whom the advance of time found making considerable strides towards prosperity, seeing themselves shut out from the Town Gild both by the exclusive spirit of that body and by the fact that they themselves were not owners of land within the town[50], but (even in the case of the wealthiest of them) only renters of their shops, were naturally drawn, by the spirit of the times, towards amalgamation[51]. [Sidenote: _Tendencies to union among the latter: Religious,_]