Part 11 (1/2)

CHAPTER III

GILDS AND VOLUNTARY assOCIATIONS

At an early stage in the developlish nation there became manifest a tendency for persons who possessed certain interests in coanise themselves into a species of club or association To such associations the terild” has been applied Mr Toulilds caether, for assisting the needy and proilds were inspired by religious motives, and were closely associated with the Church[418] The first three English gilds of which records are now available, are those of Abbotsbury,[419]

Exeter, and Cailds appears to date fro particulars of the gilds of that date in France states that they ”unite for offerings, for mutual assistance, for funeral services for the dead, for alms, and for other deeds of piety”[420] The number of these associations rapidly increased Brentano states that at one tiilds in Norwich and Lynn respectively

Gallienus counts 80 gilds in Cologne, Melle about 70 at Lubeck, and Staphorst over 100 at Ha[421] Gilds were so very numerous and so marked a characteristic of the social life of the period that it is not to be wondered at if exaggerated statements were made as to their number

”In Norfolk, the land, Taylor is said to have counted no less than 909 gilds, and in Lyis alone 75”[422]

It is important to reilds was the religious element As a anisation which was entirely divorced fro at this time Hartshorn states ”No ild, it necessarily had a religious aspect Each had its patron, in whose honour candles were burnt Some had as their object the aid of poor scholars, the maintenance of schools or the payious plays, as even to-day that of Oberaes The Frith Gilds had rules for helping the gild-brothers in every need The statutes of the English gilds frequently mention loans made to needy brothers with but one condition, that it be repaid when there was noto consider the educational significance of the gilds, we may refer here, for the sake of convenience, to two subsequent developild

In the years which immediately followed the Conquest the reatly, partly on account of the chances of war and partly on account of the policy of castle-building associated with the English kings of the Norman period However, as soon as the Norman rule was firmly established, an internal peace, such as had not been previously enjoyed, was secured for this country; the towns, consequently, ress, and in one coild-ild-merchant caht into being the religious and social gilds There was a consciousness of a community of interest, and a coh co-operation It is foreign to our purpose to atteilds-merchant, and so it must suffice for us simply to state that their history has been traced back to corporations of merchants and artisans, which existed in Roia” or ”corpora opificuild-merchant was formed in 1070, and ca the free townsainst the oppression of the nobility Gradually their nurowth in their number their purposes becaild should receive fornised authority Thus the traders of Paris fores they claimed were confirmed by Louis VII in 1170

The first purposive land dates froeneral line of developradually came into existence at various centres; they defined their purposes, their claies they desired When a favourable opportunity presented itself, they secured frorant of a charter which was necessary for legal recognition Henry I seeranted these charters; during the reign of Henry II, charters were obtained by many of the principal towns of the country, notably Bristol, Durham, Lincoln, Carlisle, Oxford, Salisbury, and Southaild-merchant was an important feature[427] Ashley writes: ”In spite of the paucity of evidence, the existence of a ild can be definitely proved in 92 towns out of the 160 represented at one time or other in the parliaments of Edward I No considerable name--with two exceptions, na from the list It is impossible not to conclude that every town, down to those that were not ild This fact of itself is enough to prove the great part it must have played in the town life of the tiins to appear early in the twelfth century These gilds become more numerous as the century advances

In the thirteenth century they are a common feature of industrial life

The circuilds of this character are still in dispute The popular view is that the gilds-merchant came into existence, first of all, in order to secure protection against the feudal lords Gradually they became exclusive and so rendered necessary the forilds for the protection of the coed in crafts in opposition to the interests of those ere concerned in the sale of the commodities produced

Ashley points out the difficulties involved in this theory,[429] and suggests an alternative hypothesis He states that originally membershi+p of the town assembly was bound up with the possession of land within the town boundaries, and that ild-merchant was practically identical with citizenshi+p In course of time, there came into existence a class of landless inhabitants of the toho consequently could not be regarded as burgesses, and therefore could not be adild-merchant without the payment of fees Some of these people would turn to handicrafts The saious gilds and the gilds-merchant respectively would also operate to induce the craftsilds which come into notice, were those of the weavers; the weavers of London date their charter froilds of weavers in London, Lincoln, and Oxford in existence before 1130[431]

Just as the gild-nition of their existence, so the craft gilds also in course of tiilds which were not authorised were amerced as ”adulterine” No attempt, however, seeilds

The only definite provision contained in these charters of recognition was, that no one within the specified area should follow the craft unless he were a ild This provision, however, involved the ieneral power of supervision over the members of the craft

We are concerned in this thesis only with the educational significance of the gilds; hence we need not discuss further their econo to note that the social value of these gilds survived their econoan to degenerate during the fourteenth century They had co out of a vague sense of the value of association of ainst this spirit, the sense of individualism, which particularly manifested itself at the time of the Reformation, asserted itself and ultiild system was of considerable importance froild spirit anised themselves into a form of association Gradually, they laid down the conditions of nition was received froradually obtains general recognition ”The rise of the universities,” says Rashdall, ”was reat an to sweep over the cities of Europe in the course of the eleventh century”

We ilds we have described proved to be thesocial consciousness of the nation evinced an interest in education The ter variously defined The origin of the phenoarious instinct, when the resulting consciousness is s' phrase A higher stage of developnises the relationshi+p in which he stands to the other ether with a realisation of the duties which such relationshi+p involves A still higher degree of developroup as a whole recognises that it possesses social duties and responsibilities

We rowth of a national social consciousness First, there is the stage at which the individual cares only for hinised, a still higher stage when a duty to a social group is perceived, a fourth stage is reached when social organisations are for more effectively social duties

The earliest of these social organisations in point of time--and the most iilds These gilds, as we have shoere essentially religious They were a ious impulse” The ter froious duties apart froe scale we can see this force at work in the movements initiated by St Francis of assisi and St

Dominic respectively, or, to take a more recent exaland To return to our period, we find that men and women, impelled by a spirit of association, forild in order to carry out ious and social responsibilities We particularly wish to note that, in so of provision for the education of the young

It is not possible yet to indicate the full extent to which these social gilds made such provision, but it is probable that they did much more for education than is co as accomplished, is by an exailds were being dissolved From an examination of these records, we are led to the conclusion that, after an association or gild had been foreneral ild made certain payments to secure the services of one orout such objects as the gild had in view These ai of a school

We can find this illustrated by a consideration of the inforard to the Gild of Kalendars, Bristol In 1318 the Bishop of Gloucester issued an inquisition as to the rights and privileges of this gild The report of the co of the fraternity exceeds the memory of man,” and it was established that it existed before the Conquest The gild was formerly called the ”Gild or Brotherhood of the Coy and people of Bristol” and received a licence fro other works carried out by this association is mentioned the ers, to be brought up and instructed in christianitie under the said fraternitie”[433] Here then is established the fact that gilds, as apart from churches, conceived themselves as responsible for education at least as early as the thirteenth century

We may also consider the Palild supported a ”warden, 7 priestes, 4 singyng men, twoo deacons, syx Queristers,32 pore Almes people” as well as a schoolmaster to teach Latin[434]

As additional instances of schools which were established through the agency of gilds we may enumerate the school at Maldon which is supposed to have been founded by the Fraternity of the assuh, which was founded by the Trinity Gild in 1388-9[436] The chantry certificate relating to this gild states that ”lands were put in feoffement by diverse and sundry persons to ffinde a priesteto teach a fre schole their to instruct youth Which seide town of Raleigh is a very greate and populous towne”[437] These instances readily demonstrate the de the purposes for which people joined theether in voluntary association was the provision of facilities for education