Guilds and Community Interrelationships

Where they existed, guilds were neither sovereign politically, nor divorced from outside society and town organisation. As a collective unit, the guild might be a vassal to a bishop, lord, or as in Paris, the king. The extent of vassalage typically depending on the degree of independence the town enjoyed. There was always a close connection between the guilds and city authorities, and if necessary a City Council could usually intervene in any trouble between guilds.

Councils could establish the hours of work, fix prices, establish weights and measures. As guilds usually voted and paid taxes as a unit, guild officials were frequently appointed to serve in civic government.

Each guild was required to perform public services, to take turns policing the streets, to provide help in the construction of public buildings and defensive walls and in raising troops for the civic militia. By the late Middle Ages, most guilds had constructed or leased a building of their own. These were primarily meeting halls, but might also be used for storage, some being extremely grand– depending on the wealth of the guild. Guilds besides often building their own chapels, frequently helped in the erection of churches and competed for prestige with other guilds in window donation and sponsorship of religious plays.

Guildsmen, as citizens, could bear arms, although few did normally. Some towns required service in the town watch, the militia, or even contributions towards the hiring of mercenaries to protect the town.