Starting as loose agreements between merchants, they developed into powerful political organizations that shaped medieval society and paved the way for modern Europe…🧵
First off, what were guilds?
Popular in medieval Europe, guilds were groups of craftsmen or traders who got together to protect mutual interests. This could mean quality control, reducing competition, or helping each other financially.
Sort of an “alliance” of business folk.
There were two main types of guilds: merchant guilds and craft guilds.
Merchant guilds comprised all or most of the merchants in a particular town or city. These could be local traders or wholesale/retail sellers dealing in various types of goods.
Craft guilds, on the other hand, centered around a certain industry.
For instance there were guilds of weavers, masons, architects, painters, metalsmiths, bakers, butchers, leatherworkers, etc.
Pretty much every industry had a guild of some sort.
The history of guilds goes back to ancient Rome, where they were called ‘collegia.’ These were mostly hereditary organizations sanctioned by the government.
With the fall of the Western Roman Empire, though, guilds disappeared from European society for several centuries.
Traders during the early middle ages were mostly wandering peddlers who traveled from town to town, sometimes banding together to protect themselves from bandits.
But as larger cities developed in the 10th and 11th centuries, more complex organization was possible.
Merchants began delegating certain tasks like transportation of goods to others while they based themselves in cities as their hubs.
Eventually, town governments recognized the associations, and guilds became intimately involved in regulating and protecting members’ commerce.
By the 12th century, guilds were everywhere.
In Britain, well over 100 guilds represented traders and craftsmen from industries like weaving and metalwork. Florence boasted 21 guilds while its clothmaking guild represented some 30,000 workers. Paris had 120 guilds.
Their sheer numbers allowed them to have immense political influence.
In the 13th century, guilds were made up of wealthy and influential citizens. Town councils were dominated by guild members, and legislation usually favored guild activity.
In Paris, guilds grew so powerful that they monopolized trade on the River Seine and had authority over petty crimes and the city's grain quotas.
In many cities it was nearly impossible to have a political career without being a guild member.
Guilds achieved great influence through the power of collective bargaining, but their organizational structure also played a role.
They were organized into a strict hierarchy that’s still used in many industries today.
To enter a guild, established merchants or craftsmen had to “buy in”—in fact the name ‘guild’ comes from the Saxon word ‘gilden,’ meaning 'to pay.'
However, young unskilled workers could enter a guild by becoming apprentices in exchange for their labor.
Apprentices would work unpaid for a master, though they were often provided with food, shelter, and an education in their craft. After roughly 5-9 years, they would be competent enough to become journeymen.
Journeymen had the right to be paid for their labor. They still worked for a master, but once a journeyman provided proof of technical expertise in the form of a ‘masterpiece,’ he would join their ranks and start his own establishment.
Guild masters were the inner circle of the guild. They managed the other members and ensured high production standards for their industry.
Sometimes they even performed random checks to make sure their members’ products were up to snuff.
One Parisian baker recorded the process:
“If the master determines that the bread is not adequate, he can confiscate all the rest of it, even that which is in the oven. And if there are several types of bread in a window, the master will have each one assessed.”
Besides ensuring quality products and assisting their members, guilds contributed to their local communities.
They donated to the poor and helped build churches, and their guildhalls often served as centers of organization for entire towns.
The Florentine church Orsanmichele was constructed by the city’s guilds in the late 14th century. Each guild filled one of its 14 exterior niches with a statue of their patron saint.
They commissioned the best artists of the day: Ghiberti and Donatelllo to name a couple.
Despite wielding great power during the high middle ages and early renaissance, guilds began to decline in the 16th-17th centuries as merchants began to form companies.
And as technological innovation quickened, craft guilds lost their hold over industries.
The most lasting effect of guilds was their influence on the economic organization of Europe.
They bolstered the base of craftsmen, merchants, artisans, and bankers allowing a transition from feudalism to rudimentary capitalism.
Guilds caused a power shift by creating a distinct merchant class in societies that previously only had three basic classes: clergy, lords, and peasants. Merchants became a new “middle class.”
If you enjoyed this thread and would like to join the mission of promoting western tradition, kindly repost the first post (linked below) and consider following: @thinkingwest
What do Sun Tzu, Machiavelli, and Otto von Bismarck all have in common?
They knew that in order to rule effectively, one must shun ideology.
Instead, they embraced realpolitik: rule based on facts, not lofty ideals…🧵
So what is realpolitik?
Realpolitik, as it is understood today, is the approach of making political or diplomatic decisions based on the given circumstances of a matter, not on moral or ethical considerations.
It’s political pragmatism to the nth degree.
The 19th century German writer Ludwig von Rochau first coined the term. He described it as the implementation of the idea that “the law of power governs the world of states just as the law of gravity governs the physical world.”
If you like Greek or Roman classics, you can thank a monk.
Just as much as on any battlefield, Western civilization was safeguarded within the quiet confines of a monastery...🧵
In the 6th century, the fate of western Europe was uncertain.
Barbarians had deposed the Roman emperor; age-old institutions were left decaying; the flame of civilization almost gone…
But at a monastery in Calabria, a monk named Cassiodorus toiled to keep this flame alight.
Born into an aristocratic family, Cassiodorus’ early career was a far cry from his later vocation.
He rose through the ranks of the Roman political scene, ultimately reaching Praetorian Prefect, the highest administrative role in the empire directly under Theodoric the Great.
Despite wielding absolute power, they used their authority to maintain peace and stability throughout the Roman empire and ushered in an age of unparalleled cultural heights🧵
In order, they were:
Nerva (reign 96–98 AD)
Trajan (98–117)
Hadrian (117–138)
Antoninus Pius (138–161)
Marcus Aurelius (161–180)
Notably, they were not a bloodline. All were either adopted, or in Nerva’s case, raised to power by assassins of Domitian (the previous emperor).
Machiavelli coined the term the “good emperors,” claiming their quality as leaders was a direct result of them being adopted and not inheriting the throne via blood.
He maintained that those who were raised to power by virtue of mere blood usually ended up being poor leaders.
Rome was the preeminent engineering civilization. Its roads, bridges, and aqueducts ensured an unmatched quality of life for its citizens.
Yet its greatest engineering feat wasn’t about providing a comfortable life—the Colosseum was built for a dramatic death🧵
The Colosseum became famous for its gladiatorial contests, executions, reenactments of famous battles, and even mock sea fights.
It was a theater designed with two things in mind: death and spectacle.
Constructed between 72-80 AD under Vespasian, the Colosseum was the largest amphitheater in the Roman world. Holding a capacity of 65000 spectators, the building project required extraordinary human ingenuity.
Of course, such a massive undertaking required a lot of money…
In 1831, French aristocrat Alexis de Tocqueville traveled to the US to study democracy.
He saw some positives, but also noted a few flaws such as:
-tyranny of the majority
-isolated individuals
-materialism
He claimed religion was essential to prevent these dangers...🧵
Alexis de Tocqueville was a diplomat sent by the French government to learn about the prison system in America.
While abroad, he used the opportunity to investigate American society as a whole, penning his most famous work ”Democracy in America.”
Traveling during the height of the industrial revolution, he believed democracy and industrialization went hand-in-hand—American democracy was the embodiment of this unification.
De Tocqueville described America as “a democratic revolution caused by industrialization.”
We’ve all seen gargoyles before — ghoulish carvings set outside old churches.
But why pair such ugly images with sacred buildings?
Well, to protect something priceless, you need something *monstrous*.
They teach us a lesson about defending what we love…🧵
First off, what is a gargoyle?
The word gargoyle comes from the French gargouille meaning “gullet” or “throat.”
A gargoyle, then, is a decorated water spout. They were used for a utilitarian purpose: to prevent water from flowing down the sides of buildings, causing erosion.
Not all the monstrous sculptures outside of cathedrals are gargoyles, though. Many are technically grotesques since they don’t funnel any water. A grotesque is simply a fantastic stone carving that’s secured to the wall or roof of a building.