"Gild" (geld) signifies worship, feast, con tribution. Roman trade gilds,— collegia opifi attributed to Numa (c. 700 B.c.) were numerous,-44 kinds were known to exist in Imperial Rome,— and included weavers, fullers, dyers, shoemakers, doctors, teachers, painters, flute players, smiths, goldsmiths and tanners. .Smiths are the only ones mentioned in the Roman inscriptions in England. Although they existed in nearly every municipality of the empire, it is doubtful if they survived the barbarian invasion, and became continuous with the Middle Age gilds. They are mentioned about 800 A.D. in the Carolingian Capitularies, as Conspiratians. They existed before the Norman conquest, in England, and soon after ward were widely spread trade organizations supervising the trade, conditions, processes, prices, material, tools, labor, hours, wages, ap prentices, workmanship, weights and measures, in the trading towns. There were religious, merchant and craft,— the members being bound together by social, religious, commercial or other mutual interests. They were closely identified, perhaps officially, with the towns, and were organized in a similar way with governors and associates, wardens, aldermen, assistants, and held periodical meetings for feasts, admis sion of members, electing officers and passing or revising ordinances. It was once supposed that the grant to citizens of a town to have a "gild merchant" was equivalent to incorporating the town. While the "gild merchant" finally broke up into, or was displaced by, many craft gilds in the 15th and 16th centuries, the "or ganization" was largely adopted by the regulated companies.
Company (cum, panis), a bread breaking to gether, has much of the idea of the gild. In the 13th century gilds or companies for carry ing on foreign trade sought recognition. The Brotherhood of Saint Thomas a. Becket was founded in 1216 or 1248 by John of Brabant, as a gild of English Merchant Traders, and after ward as the Merchant Adventurers, with a monopoly of trading in wools and woolen goods, received additional grants in 1407, 1505 and 1564. In 1282 a gild of German traders ob tained an exclusive right to trade in London. In 1391 Richard II granted to the communitas of English merchants trading in Prussia the fight to meet, elect a governor to rule over the traders, do justice and settle disputes between them. Henry IV, during the next 20 years, gave similar privileges to many other companies, and in 1490 Henry VII made the English merchants at Pisa a corporation. While it was not till about 1600 that English companies were incor porated in England, they had long before had substantially the powers of such under their gild organization. The members, instead of trading with a joint stock, traded separately on their own individual capital, subject to the regulations of the gild or corporation; hence the name regulated company. The great trad ing and colonizing corporations of the 16th and 17th centuries were of this kind.
The joint stock plan was the result of a combination between this regulated company and the continental idea of a joint stock. There were stringent laws against usury. Perhaps to evade these, the device of commenda,— similar to that of the Babylonian law, was resorted tb all over Europe in the Middle Ages. Two parties, one with money and one without, to gether undertook to engage in trade and share profits; the one with money stayed at home but let his partner have the money to trade on abroad, the latter to have one-fourth of the profits after the expenses were paid. Later both would contribute the funds and one do the trading, and still later several might con tribute the money, and the others do the trad ing; this differed from the Societas, in which each was supposed to be the agent of the others.
In .the commenda, only the active parties were liable. As early as 1346, various parties loaned money to Genoa, for conquest purposes, and she gave the shareholders an interest in the conquered lands. In 1407 the bank of Genoa took over the state loans, and issued a con solidated stock divided into shares, to those who had put up the money, and these were given the right to do a banking business (1408), and later (1453) to administer the colonies. In the 15th and 16th centuries these ideas began to be utilized in England for foreign trade. The Genoese Cabots probably were instrumental in introducing them. The Russia Company was incorporated with a joint stock, and shares, in 1553, as were many others soon afterward, in cluding the Levant (1581), East India (1600), Hudson's Bay (1670), Royal Africa (1672). At first joint stocks were only for particular trans actions, and it was not till 1657 that the East India Company had a permanent joint stock. In 1694, the group of persons who loaned money to thegovernment was incorporated as the Bank of England, with a joint stock, based upon the °credit fund') of the state, upon which it was to pay interest, and which the bank could use as a basis of credit for doing an ordinary banking business. It seemed possible to ex tend this idea to trading purposes, so the South Sea Company was incorporated in 1711 to take over the floating debt of the state (f9,000,000), on which 6 per cent interest was paid, issue shares therefor, and use this as a "credit fund') to borrow money for trading with Peru. Later the English debt had increased to #.31,000,000 by 1720. The Bank of England and the South Sea Company bid against one another for the privilege of acquiring this as a credit fund for enlarging their business,— the latter by a bid of f7,000,000 bonus, and accepting 5 per cent interest, and bribes, secured the privilege. The shares immediately rose enormously in value, and wild speculation began. In 1692, stock quotations began to be published; stock ex changes developed; stock jobbing began; all sorts of schemes,— for °perpetual motion," to •import jackasses from Spain,)) an °undertak ing to be revealed," were promoted; unincor porated stock companies, as well as incorporated ones with ill-defined purposes, arose on every hand,— a water company went to dealing in forfeited lands,— a banking partnership bought a charter of 1691 to make hollow sword blades. All this speculation led to the panic of 1720. To meet this the Bubble Act of 1720 was passed, forbidding the creation of joint stock companies, or transferable shares, unless they were incorporated, but making no adequate provision for the regulation of those incor porated. This was repealed in 1825, and the Crown was authorized to incorporate com panies, making the members individually liable for the corporate debts. In 1834 such joint stock companies were to sue and be sued in the name of an officer. In 1844, a general act was passed enabling companies to be formed by a of Incorporation') without special charter from king or Parliament, but with in dividual membership liable to creditors if the corporation's property was insufficient to meet its obligations. In 1855, 1856, laws enabled the formation of companies under Act of 1844, with limited liability, of members, and in 1862 these acts were superseded by the °Companies Act,P which with the amendments made since is the basis of existing English Corporation Law.