Merchant Guilds Research Paper

Guilds served as important people during the Middle Ages. Guilds performed many tasks. For example, they provided funeral expenses and aid to poorer members, built chapels, helped in the actual construction of the churches, watched over the morals of the members, and donated windows to local churches and/or cathedrals. Guilds were a huge part of medieval Europe. The two types of guilds were craft guilds and merchant guilds. Guilds did services for community and its members. Guilds provided protection for its members and the consumers. Guilds were required to do community services. Guilds provided consumer and worker protection. Guilds would not accept sloppy work of their members, so they had to get a stamp of approval by a board member of

The guild banned advertising. All prices had to regulated. Members could only do work outside the guild if it was visible. Members were strictly forbidden from cutting prices. Monopolies existed within individual guilds. One type of guild in medieval Europe was the merchant guild. Merchant guilds were probably the first to appear. They made up the main part of civic organization. As early as the tenth century, merchants constructed organizations to shelter their horses, wagons, and goods when traveling. A merchant guild would often obtain a town by securing a charter. They applied rules and regulation on how trade was to be conducted in towns and cities in the middle ages. Merchant guild members were regarded as very important members of the community. The introduction of merchant guilds led to the town hierarchy and involvement in civic duties. Members of a merchant guild tended to be wealthier and of a higher social status than craft guild members. With merchant guilds being known as an association of traders, they often negotiated with the Lords of the land to regulate trade. The

The system of feudalism during the Middle ages allowed the lords and owners of the land to tax the people of their trades. As trades increased taxes became excessive. A single person had no chance of making any objections to the amount of tax the lord demanded. The idea of merchants was created, and this was the promise that they would be the most powerful. The merchants were extremely important in maintaining the economy of the town they worked in. The most exalted members of a town were merchant guilds because they controlled town government. They regulated nearly everything to do with trade from prices to business practices. They also regulated quality weights and measures. So needless to say, when you have control of all of this situations, you will be the most powerful in the town. With agreeing to these concessions of power, the Kings had less stress on them. They guilds basically controlled the government, therefore the King did not to handle or deal with much