Industry in Medieval Cities
Because of all of the trade now happening, cities became trading centers for all kinds of goods. The merchants that lived in these cities began to make things within the cities so that they could trade them. These organizations became known as guilds, where the people would specialize in making certain things. When the 13th century came around, there were guilds of all kinds. There were tanners, carpenters, bakers, cloth makers, and bankers. The city of Florence had many different guilds; over 50 to be exact.
Many of the craft guilds would be in charge of everything that happened with merchandise, virtually monopolizing the goods that were sold. Some of the things that they controlled included the method of manufacturing, what was manufactured, and the price of the objects being sold.
If someone wanted to learn how to do something, they would have to study as an apprentice to someone who was a professional at it. These apprentices lived with the master for free, but they worked for free. They normally studied for about 6 years, and then went to work for another master who then paid them. They were then called journeymen, because they were journeying towards their goal of mastering the skills. In order to become a master, they had to create a masterpiece which would be judged by another master to see if they were worthy of becoming a master in the guild.
The craft guilds were extremely popular, and were easy ways to produce everyday materials that were needed. Some things needed materials that were not locally available, so masses of people began to work to produce things, even if they weren't masters at the trade. One example of this is with the wool from Flanders. A person would buy the plain wool, and then send it to workers who would refine it for him from there. The workers used their houses to work in, and they were payed by the person who was in charge of production. The man in charge would then take back all of the refined wool and sell it to make money for the making of more woolen cloth. That is how the wool industry worked, being produced by entrepeneurs who would pay their employees very little money.
Many of the craft guilds would be in charge of everything that happened with merchandise, virtually monopolizing the goods that were sold. Some of the things that they controlled included the method of manufacturing, what was manufactured, and the price of the objects being sold.
If someone wanted to learn how to do something, they would have to study as an apprentice to someone who was a professional at it. These apprentices lived with the master for free, but they worked for free. They normally studied for about 6 years, and then went to work for another master who then paid them. They were then called journeymen, because they were journeying towards their goal of mastering the skills. In order to become a master, they had to create a masterpiece which would be judged by another master to see if they were worthy of becoming a master in the guild.
The craft guilds were extremely popular, and were easy ways to produce everyday materials that were needed. Some things needed materials that were not locally available, so masses of people began to work to produce things, even if they weren't masters at the trade. One example of this is with the wool from Flanders. A person would buy the plain wool, and then send it to workers who would refine it for him from there. The workers used their houses to work in, and they were payed by the person who was in charge of production. The man in charge would then take back all of the refined wool and sell it to make money for the making of more woolen cloth. That is how the wool industry worked, being produced by entrepeneurs who would pay their employees very little money.