Merchants Bartering
After the Roman empire left Great Britain, the British reverted to bartering. Even though coins were minted, they didn’t become common until after the 12th century when the British monetary system became fully functional.
Throughout the period, fairs as well as peddlers played important roles. During the early part of the century, roads were full of potholes and crumbling, and traveling was dangerous because of renegades and bandits. Even so, courageous merchants ventured out to ply their trade. At
Medieval Cart
first, merchants used mules and horses to transport their goods. Carts were reserved for farmers–besides, the disrepair of the roads caused carts to turn over easily. Another disadvantage of using carts was that any good that fell from a cart could be claimed by a Lord. In the 12th century, merchants began using carts, and as trade increased, lords began repairing their portions of the roads to help bring goods to their castles. One rule of the road was to take the left side when they saw somebody approaching.
As the times settled, fairs became more important to the medieval economy. Once they started gaining popularity, a variety of levies and taxes became common to use against travelers and merchants. Some lords even forced travelers to pay for protection–something of which they never really got.
With the rise of trade during the 11th century, guilds became more prevalent, which were first formed by the clergy a century earlier. Guilds played an important part in trade because they controlled the quality of the goods and the price. Apprentices were assigned on to a trade or skill early in life for seven years at which point they would become a journeyman or a journeywoman.
Depending on their contract, a journeyman would have to pay a small or large fee before he could leave. Women apprentices usually stayed on with their masters until they married. To gain mastership a journeyman/woman would have to produce a masterpiece of workmanship. Only if the guild deemed it worthy could the journeyman/woman become a master.
Though there were several women dominated guilds such as weaving, brewing
Masonry Guild
and spinning, most of these were overseen by men. Guilds provided protection for the workers, similar to unions today. For various reasons, not all trades formed guilds.
Guilds gave town the power to barter their freedom from the lords or king who ruled them and allowed them to form their own laws. Because of this power, some lords refused to relinquish control so there were also towns that never had guild merchants.
Traditionally, guilds aligned themselves with the church and chose a patron saint. Most of them held religious ceremonies at the beginning of their meetings. Again, people then as now were motivated by a variety of reasons to form and get involved in guilds and guild ceremonies. The agenda and function of each guild depended on the aldermen leading it.
Reference
Kenyon, S. (1995). Everyday Life in the Middle Ages: The British Isles from 500 to 1500; Writer’s Digest, Cincinnati, OH.
