306 GUILD is to be chosen yearly." At the present day there are 89 such guilds in London, 39 of which have halls of their own, the others meeting in Guildhall or in certain taverns. The freemen or liverymen of " the city " elect two candi- dates for the mayoralty, one of whom is chosen by the court of aldermen ; the liverymen also elect the sheriffs and chamberlain. Many rel- ics exist in other English cities to attest the importance of guilds in the middle ages. Once in 20 years, toward the end of August, Pres- ton celebrates " guild day "by a solemn pro- cession, in which the corporation and all the local guilds take part. Throughout Norfolk, in Norwich, Aylesham, Lynn, and Worstead, survive memories of the numerous and power- ful guilds of woollen workers (carders, spin- ners, weavers, fullers, shearers, &c.), who con- tributed so much in their day to the commer- cial prosperity of England. In Great Brit- ain, in spite of the severe control exercised by the crown, the establishment of guilds and the exercise of independent trade were not subjected to the tyrannical restraints which existed on the continent. All trades were equal in England; every individual was free to choose the craft to which he wished to belong; and the road to apprenticeship and mastership was equally open to all. Besides, as membership in an English borough soon came to be coupled with the right of suffrage, numbers of men who did not belong to the craft sought to obtain the freedom of the guild. But the common law, the watchful jealousy of the civil courts, and the spirit of the nation did not allow these organizations to cover the land with their network as they did in France and Germany. Beyond the limits of the boroughs, which were the centres of the great industrial guilds, labor and trade flour- ished in freedom over a wide domain. Still, ever since the time of Edward I., they had their distinctive liveries and banners, lived or- dinarily in the same street, and not unfre- quently occupied an entire ward or quarter, and were, in fact, so many close corporations. Many of the guilds in England and Scotland maintained up to a recent date their character- istic exclusiveness ; no person who was not free of the borough or of certain of these guilds was permitted to open a shop for mer- chandise, or exercise certain trades within the borough. These restrictions were abolished in 1835; and their place has since to a large extent been taken by the trades' unions. In France the guilds were under the immediate control of the high officers of the crown. Thus the high chamberlain governed all the trades which bore a relation to his office, such as clothiers, upholsterers, &c. ; the master of the horse was head of the farriers, &c. ; and so with the other officials. They disposed of the masterships in each trade, delivered patents, and collected the heavy fees attendant on master- ship. This authority was delegated to lieuten- ants, who had a superintendence of their re- spective trades throughout the kingdom, and were called " kings of guild." They main- tained in the 14th century a courtly retinue of subordinates at the expense of the trades- men, decided all civil and criminal questions among their subjects, visited merchants' and tradesmen's houses and workshops to discover frauds, imposed fines, levied taxes, and exacted pleasure money for their own use. Between the kings of guilds themselves arose frequent conflicts of jurisdiction, in which rival preten- sions were sustained by armed force; while the provosts of the various cities strenuously resisted all exercise of authority over the guilds by these officials as a usurpation of their own. The tradesmen were invariably called upon to support these conflicting claims, which led to continual riots and bloodshed. However, the authority of the provosts prevailed in the end, because their interests were identified with those of the workmen. Each craft or " mys- tery " had, besides the officers thus imposed upon it by the crown, its own chosen chiefs, designated as masters, deans, wardens, syn- dics, &c. It was the duty of these to visit at all hours the workshops of members of the guild and their salesrooms, to enforce the strict rules of the craft, and to examine candidates for apprenticeship and mastership. In France the exclusive esprit de corps permitted but few to find admittance into a craft. The children of a master workman were alone free from the usual restrictions. Each trade was divided into three classes, masters, companions, and apprentices. Apprenticeship began between the ages of 12 and 17, and lasted from 2 to 10 years. In most trades a master was allowed only a single apprentice besides his son. Tan- ners, printers in color, and jewellers might have a second apprentice, provided he were, if possible, a kinsman. Butchers and bakers were permitted to have any number of appren- tices they required. Candidates for a master- ship underwent a most trying ordeal. They had to work alone, under the supervision of the syndics or judges, in order to produce a " masterpiece," or faultless piece of handicraft, besides fabricating all the tools and machinery in use in the craft. A mastership was only recognized within the borough limits. No work was to be done by night, because the trade required all workmanship to be thorough- ly good. Morality and concord were secured by stringent regulations. Illegitimate children could never become apprentices ; and a stain- less reputation was also necessary. Known immorality or irregularity of conduct was suffi- cient cause of expulsion from the guild. Each guild had its patron saint. Crispin and Cris- pinian were the patrons of shoemakers, and St. Joseph of carpenters. The patron saint had a special chapel dedicated to him in the nearest parish church or cathedral ; it was furnished and decorated by the guild, and served for all ceremonies in which the craftsmen were inter- ested. The guilds aided sick members, and
