Question

What do we know about the guilds during the Medieval times in Europe during the years 1100-1500?

Were they trade unions or professional organizations of professional people?

Please respond with a few facts in detail or a 3-4 sentench paragraph.

Answer 1

If business people and traders wanted to conduct business in any town, they have to pay tax to the landlord who owned that city. The landlord was able to tax whatever amount he liked and whenever he wanted. This made the traders think of a solution and Merchant Guild was the result of such oppression or control of the landlord. Another reason is that a single merchant cannot do anything against a wealthy landlord, so forming an association which was strong enough to stand against the landlord was very important. Merchant Guilds were associations of merchants who paid an annual subscription to the landlord rather than paying him every time. The members of the guild became so powerful that few of them became the city mayors and regulated the trade within the city. So, they at one point of time operated professionally but they formed the basis for modern trade unions.