Master, student, journeyman in a medieval city. Masters, apprentices, apprentices
Workshops
Patricians against lords, guilds against patricians, plebeians against guilds
City merchants and artisans often united in partnerships: merchants in guilds, and artisans in guilds. Guilds and guilds first of all had to protect the interests of their members. So, say, a craftsman, even the most skillful one, but coming from another city, did not have the right to practice his craft if he was not a member of the local workshop. It was impossible to allow some stranger to enter into competition with local craftsmen and take away customers from them.
Members of the workshop helped each other learn new techniques in their craft. But at the same time, they carefully hid the secrets of their profession from all outsiders. The shop management took special care to ensure that all members of the shop were on equal terms, so that some did not get rich at the expense of others, so that no one lured away buyers and customers from their neighbors. Therefore, strict rules were introduced: how many hours a day you can work, how many machines you can use, how many assistants you can hire. Anyone who violated these regulations was threatened with expulsion from the workshop. The same could happen to a craftsman whose products did not meet the standards accepted in the workshop. Special people meticulously monitored the quality of cloth and buns, armor and lace...
The quality of goods brought to the city for sale was no less strictly controlled. When a certain John Russell from London tried to sell 37 pigeons (“rotten, rotten, stinking and disgusting to any person”), a court of seven respected citizens sentenced John to a terrible punishment. He was tied to a pillory for everyone to see and his rotten goods were burned right in front of his nose.
The workshops were not only engaged in production. Members of the workshop together built a church in honor of the patron saint of their craft. The guilds supported widows and orphans of their professional colleagues who died untimely, and helped “their” disabled people. Lush celebrations and simply feasts were held on the occasion of the admission of a new member to the workshop, on weekends, and on general church and workshop holidays.
The workshops also had responsibilities to the city. For example, they had to field a certain number of soldiers to defend the city, and guard some gates or towers assigned to a given workshop.
Members of the workshop went into battle as a single unit under their own workshop banner. In some cities (for example, in Paris in the 13th century), the number of workshops numbered several hundred, while in others it did not exceed a dozen. There are also known cities where there were no workshops at all.
The members of the workshop were craftsmen. They elected the head of the workshop or the workshop council. The masters were assisted by apprentices. They were not considered members of the guilds, and therefore did not enjoy many of the advantages of craftsmen; they did not have the right to open their own business, even if they were fluent in their craft. To become a master, one had to pass a serious test. The candidate presented a product to the chief craftsmen of the workshop, which certainly indicated that he had completely mastered all the tricks of his craft. This exemplary product was called a masterpiece in France. In addition to making a masterpiece, an apprentice who wanted to become a master had to spend a lot on treating the members of the workshop. From decade to decade, becoming a master became increasingly difficult for everyone except the sons of the masters themselves. The rest turned into “eternal apprentices” and could not even hope to ever join the workshop. Dissatisfied apprentices sometimes conspired against the masters and even started rebellions.
Even lower than the apprentices were the apprentices. As a rule, even in childhood they were sent to be trained by some master and paid him for training. At first, the master often used his students as household servants, and later, without much haste, he shared with them the secrets of his work. A grown-up student, if his studies benefited him, could become an apprentice.
In European cities there were also workshops in which only women worked. Of course, they were not gunsmiths or even jewelers, but made, say, silk fabrics, lace, fine linen...
Workshops are to a large extent reminiscent of a village community: this is also an association of small owners to protect their interests and regulate the entire inner life- from production to spending time together. This is not a coincidence, but clear evidence that people, having gathered in such partnerships, felt more reliable and confident. Associations like a village community or a craft guild, with their rigid regulations, seriously limited the personal freedom of their members, but at the same time provided them with protection. And for the people of that time, the protection of a strong organization was much more important than personal freedom.
The members of the workshop were craftsmen. They elected the head of the workshop or the workshop council. The masters were assisted by apprentices. They were not considered members of the guilds, and therefore did not enjoy many of the advantages of craftsmen; they did not have the right to open their own business, even if they were fluent in their craft. To become a master, one had to pass a serious test. The candidate presented a product to the chief craftsmen of the workshop, which certainly indicated that he had completely mastered all the tricks of his craft. This exemplary product was called a masterpiece in France. In addition to making a masterpiece, an apprentice who wanted to become a master had to spend a lot on treating the members of the workshop. From decade to decade, becoming a master became increasingly difficult for everyone except the sons of the masters themselves. The rest turned into “eternal apprentices” and could not even hope to ever join the workshop. Dissatisfied apprentices sometimes conspired against the masters and even started rebellions.
Even lower than the apprentices were the apprentices. As a rule, even in childhood they were sent to be trained by some master and paid him for training. At first, the master often used his students as household servants, and later, without much haste, he shared with them the secrets of his work. A grown-up student, if his studies benefited him, could become an apprentice.
In European cities there were also workshops in which only women worked. Of course, they were not gunsmiths or even jewelers, but made, say, silk fabrics, lace, fine linen...
Workshops are to a large extent reminiscent of a village community: this is also an association of small owners to protect their interests and regulate all internal life - from production to spending time together. This is not a coincidence, but clear evidence that people, having gathered in such partnerships, felt more reliable and confident. Associations like a village community or a craft guild, with their rigid regulations, seriously limited the personal freedom of their members, but at the same time provided them with protection. And for the people of that time, the protection of a strong organization was much more important than personal freedom.
Urban unrest
As soon as the cities became a little stronger and richer, they began to be burdened by dependence on the lords - secular feudal lords and bishops. Most often, townspeople gradually redeemed their responsibilities to the lord. At first they got rid of corvée, which at first the lord often demanded from his townspeople. Then came the turn of other rights of the lord. The townspeople bought from him the rights of court, duties, appointment of officials in the city, everything that limited the independence of the city.
Not all lords gave up their rights peacefully. And then began a long-term struggle between the townspeople, yearning for independence, and their feudal master. Often matters were decided by force of arms. Strong cities, as a rule, managed to overthrow the power of the lord. The liberated cities became communes, that is, they acquired self-government.
In the communes, all power belonged to the city council - the magistrate. As a rule, the magistrate was not elected by the townspeople; seats in it were occupied from generation to generation by members of the same patrician families. The magistrate owned not only power in the city, but often also in the nearest rural district, which the townspeople managed to subjugate. Some large cities in Italy and Germany extended their power so far beyond the city walls that their possessions were as large as some counties or duchies. It is no coincidence that such powerful cities are called city-states. Among the largest city-states were Venice, Florence, and Milan.
Urban uprising. Engraving (XV century)
But peace did not last long in the cities that had achieved independence from their lords. The guilds, which gained strength over time, began to fight for power with the old patriciate. And again it came to uprisings, armed clashes, and expulsion of the losers from the city. In some cities, the guilds were able to completely seize seats in the magistrates, in others they shared power with the old patricians, in others everything remained as before. Where members of the magistrate began to be elected, city republics arose.
The republican system, based on the election of members of the “government”, originated in Ancient Greece. IN medieval Europe it is represented primarily by city-states. So, along with the monarchies that prevailed in medieval Europe, another form of state appeared - the republic.
Even in cases where guilds came to power, the reasons for intra-city unrest remained. The fact is that the guild elite did not want to share power with the rest of the townspeople, for example, with apprentices and hired workers. And over time, they also raised uprisings, trying to overthrow the “guild” magistrate.
"There is no limit to perfection!" - so says the famous saying. However, there are always those who can do any job better than others. They are admired, they are idolized, they are hated... But few people know that behind the work of a master there is often the painstaking work of his assistant - an apprentice.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
A journeyman is a student of a master. In the old days, this was the name of any person working for hire. As a rule, boys from poor families who did not have a chance to make a career on their own or receive an inheritance were sent as apprentices.
Initially, an apprentice could reach the level of a master. However, everything was complicated, firstly, by the fact that the origin of the assistant was important to the master: only close relatives were taken as students, who often might not have the necessary talent. Secondly, the fact that truly talented young people who did not belong to the master’s family were required to pay a huge entrance fee, which not everyone could afford.
It is for these reasons that an apprentice is a failed master. Most of these folk nuggets were never able to reach the top of their careers, even despite their talents and talents.
Eternal Apprentices
A bad soldier is one who does not dream of becoming a general, and therefore a bad apprentice is one who does not dream of becoming a master. Of course, most apprentices always aspired to the position of master.
However, no matter how skillful the master was, most of the work always fell on the shoulders of the assistant. To reach the level of a professional, an apprentice needed to create a “masterpiece.” Of course, only a few could cope with this task.
Most hired workers remained eternal students. However, this is quite natural. In the old days it often happened that an apprentice was a gypsy, a nomadic peasant, a master of a narrow specialty in search of better life. However, even in a new place, students rarely found recognition.
Riot of the Apprentices
Slave status was often a factor for the unification and unification of apprentices into groups defending the rights and freedom of free workers. However, not a single association, be it a community of artisans or workers, achieved due success. Moreover, many rebels and apprentices who lost their jobs were left penniless, which means they were doomed to beg.
Be that as it may, the rebellious workers began to wander, becoming a special class. They became one of the main driving forces of the revolutionary masses.
Journeyman today
Today, an apprentice is any hired worker. At this stage, such workers are called students.
The most talented, diligent and attentive candidates today can reach the highest levels of the career ladder. The best of them easily master the path: student-apprentice-master.
How to become a master's student
Today everything is much simpler than in the Middle Ages, and anyone who has the data necessary for a certain type of activity can become a student. Moreover, today everyone can say about themselves that they are a student. Apprentices are necessary links for any type of activity; today this is the starting point of a career. And it is right! Everyone can achieve a certain level of skill.
For example, a student of a construction site foreman may well be considered a person. A person in a creative profession may well count on a senior patron, and for a large businessman or politician, his closest assistant may become a student.
However, the best teachers were and remain natural talents. This means that no masters are capable of raising a genius if they do not find in him a gift given by nature.
Mastery cannot be bought, taught or developed. It can only be revealed and improved throughout your life.
“The most important conquest of the cities was the recognition of a free state for all citizens.
In France, free cities received the name “bourgeois” from the word “burg” - a fortified city (the right to build fortifications was an indispensable sign of freedom here). No one could foresee, of course, what meaning this word would acquire in the future. Another essential feature of a free city was a free market. “If a serf,” said the city charters, “lives a year and one day within the city walls, and if during this time the master does not lay claim to him, then he receives complete freedom forever.”
A common saying was: “The air of the city makes a man free.” In order to protect themselves from the robber nobility, as well as to more evenly bear the city's burdens, the population of cities united into unions. Craftsmen created guilds, merchants created guilds.
In France, associations of artisans were called “crafts”, in England - “guilds”. A medieval guild is a union of artisans of the same profession, a union of masters. Each member of the workshop worked at home. The workshop's intervention in production activities was active and constant, but was limited to establishing the rules and conditions for the production and sale of goods, as well as monitoring the implementation of these rules.
The word “workshop” often gives rise to completely incorrect associations with the current workshop. There is nothing in common between them except the name.
Prostitutes also had their own “workshop” (in Paris, Frankfurt am Main and other cities).
There was no division of labor within the workshop; it existed between the workshops. Each craftsman made the product from start to finish. He had to be able to make himself and all the tools he needed.
Each workshop ensured that no one else invaded its area. A carpenter could not make a lock for a cabinet; that was a job for a locksmith.
In an effort to avoid destructive competition, since the number of orders was limited by relatively small demand (the village bought almost nothing on the market), the guilds ensured that no master worked longer than usual, did not have a larger number of apprentices and apprentices than others, bought more raw materials than was allowed by the workshop charter, and so that the quality of the goods and its price corresponded to the once established standard. And, of course, the use of any better tools and rationalization in general were considered completely unacceptable.
The city authorities monitored the workshops with particular zeal: how the goods were produced and especially how the goods were sold.
In England, anyone who refused to sell goods at the local price was punished. People were put in the pillory for even one attempt to ask for more than the allotted amount.
There is a known case when one baker was driven around London in a cage all day for trying to reduce the established weight of a bun.
The emergence of guild organizations dates back to the 11th century (the workshop of candle makers in Paris was created in 1061). At first they were organized on democratic principles. Members of the guild helped their poor brothers, gave dowries to their daughters, took care of decent funerals, etc. There was no differentiation within the workshop.
But all this did not last long. Already in the 13th century, many important restrictions were introduced for those wishing to become masters, unless they were the sons of masters.
From an apprentice who wanted to become a master, they began to demand the presentation of a masterpiece - a thing made from the most expensive material and according to all the rules of art. In addition, it was necessary to pay significant sums in favor of the examiners, organize expensive meals for members of the workshop, etc. In the 12th and 13th centuries little is said about apprentices. The difference between them and the master is still small. Quite often it was unprofitable to keep an apprentice. The master himself worked at the customer’s home and from his materials.
The situation changes in the 14th and especially in the 15th centuries. For the first time in history, a “labor issue” is on the agenda.
The relationship between a master and an apprentice was seen as a relationship between a “father” and a “child.” The apprentice could not bargain about working conditions. Neither the length of the working day nor wages were the subject of discussion. All these issues were resolved by the shop foremen.
Masters already then learned to conspire against their workers. The charter of the workshop of goldsmiths in Ulm prescribed: “If a servant comes to the master and asks for a payment higher than usual, no master should take him into the workshop.” The apprentice's working day lasted 11-14 hours. Parisian fulling mills, for example, worked from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. In other workshops, work began even earlier. More than once, city authorities had to prohibit the start of work before 4 a.m. (due to fires and poor quality of products).
The following fact is interesting. Parisian glovers complained to Louis XI that in winter, when their products were in greatest demand, they could not work at night. “Thanks to this,” they wrote, “our students and apprentices indulge in idleness... without anything to do, they spend their time in games and debauchery and completely lose the habit of working well.” The king allowed work to begin at 5 a.m. and finish at 10 p.m.
Even worse was the situation of the disciples. Typically the apprenticeship period was seven or even ten years. Since the apprentice did not receive pay, his exploitation was especially profitable, and therefore the apprenticeship period was sought not to be shortened, but to be extended.
In the struggle to improve their lot, apprentices resorted to strikes. The masters responded to them with repression.
The Strasbourg Charter on Apprentices of 1465 prescribed:
2) all types of strikes and walkouts are prohibited, as well as all types of obstruction of strikebreakers;
3) all disagreements with the master must be resolved by the court of the masters, and the apprentice must swear that he will submit to this decision;
4) in case of any violation of these rules, no one can give the apprentice work. The charter prohibited apprentices, under pain of punishment (4 weeks in prison), from remaining on the streets after nine o'clock in the evening or staying in taverns (which were a kind of clubs of that time): they were afraid of collusion!
Each guild, like the merchant guild, had its own charter, its own elders (this position was for life and was even inherited), and its own court. The workshop was also a military unit, and each member had to have weapons to protect the city.
Let us note, by the way, that it was in the cities that a regular army consisting of mercenaries began to take shape first. They became peasant sons, who turned out to be “superfluous” during the division of property, the lumpen proletariat, etc. This army served for money, which means for those who paid. In Germany they were called "Landsknechts". In Italy, serving condottiere leaders, mercenary soldiers were the support of dictatorships.
Relations between the workshops were most often hostile. They fought for benefits, for a place in city government. The poor and weak guilds were hated by the rich and powerful. The struggle between the guilds, on the one hand, and the merchant guilds, on the other, was especially intense.
The guild system was a natural outgrowth of feudalism, and therefore we find it not only in Europe, but also in Japan, China and many other countries of the world.”
Chernilovsky Z.M., General history State and Law, M., “Yurist”, 1995, p. 151-153.
The townspeople had fields and vegetable gardens, gardens and vineyards in the city and its surroundings, kept cows and pigs, and were engaged in beekeeping and fishing. But unlike the peasants, they were first of all artisans: blacksmiths, coopers, shoemakers, barbers, bakers, brewers, weavers, tailors, carpenters, masons, etc. They were also distinguished from the peasants by the fact that they produced their products for sale, worked for the market.
Craftsmen united in professional organizations - workshops (“unions”). Why did they do this? Together it was more convenient to defend against the willfulness of the lords, and most importantly, against competitors who arrived from other cities. The demand for most handicraft products was then small, because the peasants provided themselves with almost everything they needed, so competition was a formidable danger for the master. In most Western European cities, membership in a guild was mandatory for those wishing to engage in a craft. Unorganized artisans (they were called partachs) were driven out of the city.
The number of workshops in cities grew. New specialties arose - corresponding workshops appeared, so in individual cities there were dozens or even hundreds of workshops. But there were cities without workshops.
The masters were guided shop charter . This was monitored by the elected foreman of the workshop, who fined the violators. In order for the workshop products to be sold and trying to avoid competition among craftsmen, the charter introduced certain restrictions on production. Thus, he determined what tools and what raw materials should be used, what quality the product could be, forbade working at night and on holidays, keeping students above the norm, etc. These restrictions ensured the high quality of products, but in general they slowed down production.
XIV century From the guild regulations of Frankfurt clothmakers
... None of the members of our workshop should make cloth with a border, unless by order of the police officers, who, together with members of their families, can wear such cloth.
... It is prohibited for anyone who is not a member of our workshop and does not live in the city to use the seal attached to the cloth.
... If cloth is found with a border or cut in places, or they are corrected with light yarn, such cloth must be taken away from the master, and the latter will pay... a fine.
...The fine will be paid by those who work on more than two looms.
...From each piece of cloth, a coin is given to two craftsmen who inspect the cloth to determine the quality of its washing.
The most powerful force in the city was patrician - rich merchants and moneylenders. The power belonged to them, they benefited from it. When the guilds became stronger, artisans, small traders and other ordinary townspeople began to fight against the omnipotence of the patriciate. In those cities where craft flourished (Cologne, Basel, Florence, etc.), the guilds won, while in the trading cities (Hamburg, Lübeck, Rostock, etc.), the victory was celebrated by the city elite. Material from the site
In the XIV-XV centuries. The situation of apprentices and apprentices began to deteriorate. If earlier they could become masters, then at the end of the Middle Ages many of them lost this opportunity. To become a craftsman, you had to pay an entrance fee to the workshop cash desk and make it at your own expense. masterpiece , organize a banquet for the masters and their wives. Many people couldn't afford it. Therefore, the number of “lifelong” apprentices and apprentices, that is, hired workers, increased. To protect their interests, they united in brotherhoods, sought a reduction in the working day (it lasted 14-16, and sometimes 18 hours), and increased wages.
Shop — an association of artisans of the same or similar specialties.
Journeyman - an assistant to a shop foreman, preparing to become a foreman.
Shop charter - the rules that determined the life of the workshop.
Patrician - the city elite, consisting mainly of merchants.
Masterpiece - an exemplary product.
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