H. G. Rosedale, D.D.
A SHORT HISTORY OF
THE WORSHIPFUL COMPANY
OF HORNERS.
Origin of Gilds.
The study of Gilds, their origin and development, is amongst the most fascinating of all literary pursuits, but though many whose names rank high in the world of letters have gone deeply into the problems which the subject presents, the early days of gild life, at least, in this country, are still to some extent shrouded in the mists of speculation.
Whether Craft Gilds came to England from the far-off glories of Greece and Rome, whether they were the descendants of the early Saxon or Danish “blood brotherhoods,” or even derived partly from the one and partly from the other, is still a moot point.
There are practically no records of any importance of Craft Gilds in this country before the arrival of the Normans, though during the time of the Roman occupation there must have been many such extant. At quite an early period of the Roman occupation, we know that the Gild of Smiths, “Collegium Fabrorum,” existed in this country.
At a later period it is clear that England was covered with a network of Frith Gilds, but whether these were Trade Gilds in the accepted sense or not has yet to be shown. It seems probable, however, that they were Agricultural Gilds enforced upon the inhabitants by their Saxon conquerors, and that in the more populous neighbourhoods and towns, craftsmen and merchants were included under their own special “tything” or possibly even had their own “hundred”.
Whether this were the case or not, it will be obvious to all that in Saxon and Norman England alike, wherever several persons were plying the same trade, there must have existed some sort of organization for mutual protection and for the instruction of others. Throughout the known world from the very earliest periods, workmen of the different classes have always formed their own aggregations and have always associated themselves together for mutual assistance and protection. The need for something of this sort must have been very urgent in days when there was less security to life and property, and in days when, as we are led to suppose, the Saxon rulers felt scant sympathy for the towns where trades would be found to exist most extensively.