European Guild System

Timeline

1. c. 1100–1200Low Countries and Rhine cities · Low CountriesDriven by the commercial revival of the twelfth century, wool weavers, tanners, bakers and others formed mutual-aid bodies, beginning as religious confraternities, gradually gaining municipal recognition and drawing up internal trade regulations.
2. c. 1200–1300Paris · Île-de-FranceIn the thirteenth century guild charters in cities such as Paris and London became systematized: they specified apprenticeship terms (usually seven years), conditions for journeymen to advance to master, product inspection standards, and allocation of market stalls, with guild leaders participating in the city council.
3. 1340–1350Florence · TuscanyIn the 1340s Florence's seven major guilds (Arti Maggiori) dominated city government; the wool guild (Arte della Lana) and the cloth guild controlled export trade. Through regulations the guilds restricted competition, set wages and hours, and adjusted labor terms after the Black Death to cope with the sharp population decline.
4. c. 1600–1800France · FranceUnder mercantilist policies France and other states gradually abolished guild monopolies; the Le Chapelier Law of 1791 completely abolished the guild system. During the Industrial Revolution craft guilds could not adapt to factory production, and institutional dissolution was completed.