GUILD, a fraternity, society or company, formerly active in commerce and mechanics. Guilds played an important part in public affairs• in the Middle Ages. The Romans had various mechanical fraternities, but these seem to have been merely religious and political societies; while the associations of workmen in the arse nals that existed under the empire were regular hereditary castes, enjoying certain privileges and bound to certain duties. In Italy, the cradle of the class of free citizens in the Middle Ages, and particularly in the Lombard cities, those connecting links between the ancient and mod ern civilization, some remains or these Roman institutions, or recollections of them, probably contributed to revive the guilds, which naturally presented themselves as an excellent means of supporting the citizens against the nobility by uniting them into powerful bodies. It is cer tain that small societies existed as early as the 8th century, which appear later to have been in the possession of important political privileges. In the 9th century they appeared in England, and in time the kings granted the inenthers cer tain privileges and immunities. When the ad vantages of these associations became known and felt they rapidly increased; and in the struggles of the citizens and the nobility the principal resistance against the latter was made by the corporations. As soon as the citizens acquired an influence on the administration the guilds became the basis of the municipal consti tutions, and everyone who wished to participate in the municipal government was obliged to be come the member of a guild. Guilds in Ger many possessed no political importance before the 13th century. At this time they•acquireil the right of bearing arms for the 'defense of their own inferests, and when a struggle arose between them and the citizens belonging to an cient families the guilds were victorious and be came so powerful that even persons of occupations)" joined these associations as the allodial possessors of land sometimes placed themselves under feudal lords. The by-laws of the German guilds contained regulations as to the training of apprentices, the practice of one's trade in different towns as a journeyman and the requirements of a master. Thus was laid the foundation of that excellent workmanship that characterized the Germans in later This was the real birth of what is now termed trades unionism. At •ati early 'period these workmen's associations met with opposition, but the opposition was not at first directed against them on account of the obstacles they threw in the way of commercial intercourse, and the other evil consequences of their monopoly, but simply on account of their political influence. In the 18th century several edicts were made in Germany against the abuses of the guilds, and at different dates in the 19th century freedom was granted in most of the states of Germany to all to practise any trade without being ad mitted into a guild. In Austria this was done in 1860, and in 1868 it was done for all the states of the North German Confederation.
In Great Britain •the societies of mechanics were importantprincipally in a political respect, on account of their connection with the demo cratic element of the constitution. These soc:
eties originated at the time of the development of the importance of the cities. In the towns where they long existed they had an important influence in the election of representatives and in the municipal administration. These guilds, in England, had no legal right to prevent any man from exercising what trade he pleased. The only restriction on the exercise of trades was the statute of Elizabeth, requiring seven years' apprenticeship. The guilds of the city of London (among the oldest of which are the weavers, founded in 1164; the parish clerks, in 1232; the saddlers, in 1280; the fishmongers, in 1284; the goldsmiths, in 1327; the skinners, in 1327; and the grocers, in 1345) are still very important corporations, still continuing to fulfil the chief object for which they were founded— that of giving relief to in and destitute mem bers, and also having in many cases the man agement of vast funds bequeathed for benevo lent purposes by persons who selected one or other of the guilds as trustees. Sometimes these funds are bequeathed for specific pur poses, which the guilds, as trustees, are of course bound to carry out ; but in other cases, where they are available for general purposes, the guilds have usually shown great discretion in the manner in which they have employed them. Besides the secular guilds or mechanics' associations there were from a very early period, in Great Britain, religious guilds, re sembling the religious societies of modern times, and many of these became rich and powerful institutions. From the time of Henry II, all such guilds were required to have a charter from the Crown. In 1388 a return to these guilds was ordered to be made, and it was then found that that of Corpus Christi, York, num bered 14,800 members. Some of the most ob jectionable features of the ancient guilds have aga'n been developed by some of the trades unions, their modern representatives.
In France guild privileges were sold by the state from the 10th century till the revolution of 1789, and the position of the artisan had come to be a most pitiable one; but at that date every restriction on the exercise of any trade was removed. This was done also at a later period in Belgium, Holland, Italy, Sweden (1846) and Denmark (1862). The development of machinery in the 18th century tended to break up trade up trade guilds in all European countries. The workmen unwisely fought the introduction of machinery that reduced hand labor, and employers naturally secured outside workers and were able to manufacture and sell at a lower price. Many and bitter and bloody were the riots over the new methods and ma ch'nery, but in the end the power of the old guilds largely declined until machinery came to be generally accepted. Then came the mod ern labor movement. An account of the suc cessors of the guild movements in America will be found under LABOR UNIONS. See also TRADE UNIONS for the modern European history of guilds.