Florentine Wool Guild (1340s)

Timeline

1. 1341–1345Florence · FlorenceThe Arte della Lana purchased English and Low Countries raw wool through agents in London and Bruges; guild statutes strictly regulated weighing, quality inspection, dyeing processes, and apprenticeship, ensuring the reputation of "Florentine cloth" in Europe's high-end market.
2. 1343–1346Florence · FlorenceGuild members were deeply tied to banking families such as the Bardi and Peruzzi through raw material purchases, exchange, and papal orders; the banking crisis of 1343–1346 left some wool merchants facing broken funding chains, but the guild as a whole kept the industry running.
3. 1348–1350Florence · FlorenceThe 1348 plague killed many skilled workers and apprentices in Florence, forcing the guild to adjust working hours and wage regulations to cope with labor shortages, laying the groundwork for structural changes in the textile industry later in the 14th century.