Between the eleventh and twelfth centuries, we observe that Medieval Europe underwent intense socioeconomic changes with the appearance of the villages. In addition to representing the process of European reurbanization, the creation of these spaces was closely linked to the development of productive activities and the revival of trade in general. Over time, we see the formation of a social group made up of artisans and merchants who sustain themselves through this other economic activity.
Many members of this unique social group, interested in organizing and standardizing their activities, started to develop their own associations. It is in this context that craft corporations regulate craft work. Before that, activities of such a nature were coordinated in a natural way, without the need for any kind of limitation or rule.
In general, trade corporations brought together merchants and artisans who were involved in the manufacture and sale of the same type of product. Aiming at guaranteeing earnings for its members, a corporation was empowered to set prices for labor and raw material used in a manufacturing process. In addition, they took great care to ensure that manufacturing followed certain quality standards and fought against counterfeiting of goods.
In this aspect, we observed that the corporation ended up interfering in the quantity of products available for supply and controlling the price quotation of the goods they sold. In addition, they prohibited people not associated with a particular corporation from having the autonomy to manufacture the same product outside of their requirements. In this way, commercial competition was fought and consumer markets were duly preserved.
This wide range of changes ended up imposing a new conception of work and wealth for the medieval world. On the one hand, the nobles continued to base their prosperity on the possession of land and on the control of the serfs and vassals who were in their domains. On the other hand, merchants and artisans – the first formators of the bourgeois class – through the administration of their goods, combined notions of savings, investment and profit.
By Rainer Sousa
Graduated in History
Brazil School Team
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Middle Ages - General history - Brazil School
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SOUSA, Rainer Gonçalves. "The trade corporations"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiag/as-corporacoes-oficio.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
