High Middle Ages
Article

Merchant Guilds vs Craft Guilds in Medieval Towns

What was the difference between a merchant guild and a craft guild?

Last revised · reviewed by The editorial team at High Middle Ages

On this page
  1. The Merchant Guilds
  2. The Craft Guilds
  3. The Relations Between Merchant and Craft Guilds
  4. The Decline of the Guilds
  5. Sources
  6. Related Articles

The merchant guilds and craft guilds were the two principal types of guild in medieval European towns, and they played distinct but complementary roles in the urban economy. The merchant guilds were associations of the merchants who dominated the wholesale trade of the medieval town, while the craft guilds were associations of the craftsmen who produced goods for the local market and for export. The two types of guild had different structures, different functions, and different relations with the town government, and their relations with each other were often marked by tension and conflict. Understanding the differences between merchant guilds and craft guilds is essential for understanding the structure and dynamics of the medieval town.

The standard English-language treatment is Steven A. Epstein, “Wage Labor and Guilds in Medieval Europe” (1991). The Livre des métiers of Étienne Boileau (c. 1268) is the primary source for the Parisian craft guilds; the Florentine and English ordinances are the comparative material.

The Merchant Guilds

The merchant guild was the older of the two types of guild, and it emerged in the early medieval town as an association of the merchants who dominated the wholesale trade of the town. The merchant guild was typically composed of the established merchants of the town, who had paid an entrance fee and met the other requirements of membership. The guild elected officers — a master, wardens, or aldermen — to manage its affairs and to represent it in its dealings with the town government and foreign merchants. The guild maintained its own hall, chapel, and treasury, and it often played a major role in the government of the town itself.

The merchant guild of the medieval town had a number of important functions. It controlled the right to engage in wholesale trade, regulating who could buy and sell goods in bulk and who could trade with merchants from other towns and regions. It regulated the quality and price of goods, ensuring that the goods sold in the town met certain standards and that the prices were fair. It maintained the commercial privileges of the town, defending the town’s rights to hold markets, to collect tolls, and to trade freely with other towns. It represented the town in its dealings with the lord of the town and with the king, presenting the town’s interests in the courts and councils of the realm.

The merchant guilds of the major Italian cities — Venice, Genoa, Florence, Milan, Pisa, Siena — were major economic and political forces. The merchant guild of Venice, the Arte dei Mercanti, was a major institution of the Venetian Republic, and it played a role in the government of the city and the management of the Venetian trade. The merchant guild of Florence, the Arte di Calimala, was a major institution of the Florentine Republic, and it played a role in the government of the city and the management of the Florentine wool and silk industries. The merchant guilds of the Flemish cities — Bruges, Ghent, Ypres, and Lille — were major economic and political forces in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and they played a major role in the production and export of woolen cloth.

The Craft Guilds

The craft guild was an association of the craftsmen of a particular trade in a town. The tailors’ guild, the smiths’ guild, the bakers’ guild, the weavers’ guild, the goldsmiths’ guild, the masons’ guild, the carpenters’ guild, the tanners’ guild, the cordwainers’ guild, the brewers’ guild, and many others were among the most common. The craft guilds regulated the quality of goods, the training of apprentices, the standards of workmanship, and the prices that could be charged, and they played a major role in the social and religious life of the town.

The craft guilds had a number of important functions. They regulated access to the trade, controlling the number of masters, the number of apprentices, and the terms of employment. They regulated the quality of goods, specifying the materials to be used, the techniques to be employed, and the standards of workmanship to be maintained. They regulated the prices of goods, preventing unfair competition and ensuring a reasonable return to the masters and the journeymen. They supported their members in times of need, providing financial assistance to the sick, the poor, the widowed, and the orphaned. They maintained their own chapel, procession, and feast day, and they supported the religious and cultural life of the town.

The craft guilds of the major Italian cities — Venice, Florence, Milan, Siena — were major economic and political forces. The Arte della Lana (Wool Guild) and the Arte della Seta (Silk Guild) of Florence were major institutions of the Florentine Republic, and they played a major role in the government of the city and the management of the Florentine industries. The craft guilds of Venice — the Arte dei Vetrori (Glass Guild), the Arte dei Tintori (Dyers’ Guild), and many others — were major institutions of the Venetian Republic, and they played a major role in the government of the city and the management of the Venetian industries.

The Relations Between Merchant and Craft Guilds

The relations between the merchant guilds and the craft guilds were often marked by tension and conflict. The merchant guilds typically dominated the government of the medieval town in the early period, and they sought to maintain their dominance as the craft guilds grew in wealth and power. The craft guilds, in turn, sought to challenge the dominance of the merchant guilds and to gain a greater share of the political and economic power of the town.

The conflict between the merchant and craft guilds was a major feature of the politics of the medieval town in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. In many towns, the craft guilds eventually succeeded in overthrowing the dominance of the merchant guilds and in establishing a new political order in which the craft guilds shared power with the merchant guilds. In Florence, the craft guilds overthrew the dominance of the merchant guilds in 1282, and they established a new political order known as the Second Florentine Republic. In Ghent, Bruges, and other Flemish cities, the craft guilds gradually gained a greater share of the political power of the town in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

The conflict between the merchant and craft guilds was not always a zero-sum game. In many towns, the merchant and craft guilds cooperated in the government of the town and in the management of the town’s affairs. The guilds shared a common interest in the prosperity of the town and in the defense of the town’s commercial privileges, and they worked together to promote these interests. The cooperation between the merchant and craft guilds was a major factor in the success of the medieval town as a commercial and political institution.

The Decline of the Guilds

The decline of the guilds in the late medieval and early modern periods was a major feature of the European economy. The guilds were challenged by a variety of factors, including the rise of capitalist production, the growth of national markets, and the development of new forms of commercial organization that bypassed the guilds. The guilds were also challenged by the state, which sought to break the monopolies of the guilds and to establish a more flexible commercial system.

The decline of the guilds was a gradual process that unfolded over several centuries. The guilds began to decline in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, as the commercial revolution of the late medieval and early modern periods transformed the European economy. The guilds were eventually abolished in most European countries in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as the Industrial Revolution and the rise of capitalism transformed the economy and society. The decline of the guilds was a major feature of the transition from the medieval to the modern economy, and it is a major subject of modern historical and economic study.

The legacy of the guilds is complex and multifaceted. The guilds were major institutions of the medieval town, and they played a central role in the economic, social, and political life of the medieval period. The guilds were also major patrons of the arts and learning, and they contributed to the development of the cultural and intellectual life of the medieval town. The legacy of the guilds lives on in the modern economy and society, and it is a major subject of modern historical and economic study.

Sources

Principal sources used in this article:

Further reading:

For a recent single-volume synthesis with full scholarly apparatus, see the relevant chapter of Barbara H. Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages (University of Toronto Press, 2014).