Jobs+and+Guilds

 __Jobs and Guilds__

By: Jordan Kopras    Jobs and Guilds were very important to life in the Middle Ages. At first, it was just everybody for themselves and they provided for themselves and their family. Soon, after when towns started to grow and get larger, people needed other people to do the work for them. At first, in the early times, common jobs were just for a person's necessities. This included clothing, shoes, food, and water. Sometimes there would be a tanner (butcher) and a blacksmith who made metals, tools, and weapons. Most of the hard working jobs went to the peasants who worked for their lord in order to live on his land. Most of the peasants and serfs that worked on the land were farmers. When it was time to pay the lord, they would give a portion of their crops or livestock for the lord's table.

As towns started to grow, more jobs were needed in order to meet the towns people and the town's needs. Soon people were establishing guilds which were associations formed by people. Guilds helped jobs majorly because they regulated the prices of goods, people's wages, the qualities of products, the conditions in which people worked, or anything else to do with that craft or trade. Guilds helped keep towns in order, and helped keep the people following the rules. As more and more guilds were established, towns and people were getting more than just necessities; they would get luxurious things which helped with their lives a little more.

In Europe, the Middle Ages were seperate countries located in present day Europe. It was very hard for merchants to travel throughout Europe because if merchants traveled outside of their city or town, it would be very dangerous because of the bandits, robbers, and weather. The only way a merchant could be safe when he traveled is if he had a knight or knights to escort him on his trip. The weather contributed to why merchants didn't travel as much because sometimes the weather could be too harsh to travel in.

Some of the jobs that were performed in the Middle Ages were quite interesting. If you were in the lower class in the Middle Ages, you might have a job that concluded of either working in the fields, being a tanner or blacksmith, or you might work in the lord's house as a servant or nanny for the children. If you were in the higher class that concluded of the lord, the pope, nobles, or a knight, you would have a very important job. The king and

or lord would rule the town and had all authority. The pope was the head of the church and at times had more power than the king or lord because he could excommunicate or ban the king from the church. Once excommunicated, the king would eventually be abidicated from the throne. Nobles governed others and dispensed justice. Knights could own land, were respected men known in their town, and supported their city by fighting in battles.

During some rough times, jobs and guilds improved. During the Black Death, which killed over 1/3 of Europe's population helped many of the people who weren't affected by the plague to have better jobs, and get paid fairly. When King John was forced to sign the Magna Carta which is a document that stated the laws and requirments that King John had to follow so that he couldn't do whatever he pleased. When the Crusaders came back from the Crusades, they brought back many ideas and luxuries for their towns. This helped the workers invent many new things, become smarter at their jobs, and start new things.

Jobs and guilds helped the Middle Ages greatly because not only did the people have something to work for, but they got the resources and things they needed in order to survive. This kind of started the idea of jobs and contracts of our world today and has helped us in many ways.

Works Cited [] (first picture)

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(book)- Galloway, Priscilla. __Archers, Alchemists, and 98 other Medieval Jobs You Might Have Loved or Loathed__. Buffalo, New York: Annick Press, 2003. (Website)- __Medieval Professions.__ 1998. Geocities.com. 4-16-09 .

