appointed for each craft as its responsible
representative. By and by these crafts or "offices" claimed the right of
electing their master and of assisting him in examining the goods, and
even of framing by-laws regulating the quality of the wares and the
process of their manufacture. The bishops at first resented these
attempts at self-management, as they had done in the case of the town
council, and imperial legislation in their interests was obtained. But
each craft at the same time formed a society for social, beneficial and
religious purposes, and, as these were entirely in accordance with the
wishes of the clerical authorities, the other powers could not in the
long run be withheld, including that of forcing all followers of any
craft to join the gild (_Zunftzwang_). Thus the official inspection of
markets, community of interests on the part of the craftsmen, and
co-operation for social and religious ends, worked together in the
formation of craft-gilds. It is not suggested that in each individual
town the rise of the gilds was preceded by an organization of crafts on
the part of the lord and his officers; but it is maintained that as a
general thing voluntary organization could hardly have proceeded on such
orderly lines as on the whole it did, unless the framework had in the
first instance been laid down by the authorities: much as in modern
times the working together in factories has practically been an
indispensable preliminary to the formation of trade unions. Much less
would the principle of forced entrance have found such ready acceptance
both on the part of the authorities and on that of the men, unless it
had previously been in full practice and recognition under the system of
official market-control. The different names for the societies, viz.
_fraternitas_, _Bruderschaft_, _officium_, _Amt_, _condictum_, _Zunft_,
_unio_, _Innung_, do not signify different kinds of societies, but only
different aspects of the same thing. The word _Gilde_ alone forms an
exception, inasmuch as, generally speaking, it was used by merchant
gilds only.[7]

From an early date the towns, more particularly the older episcopal
cities, took a part in imperial politics. Legally the bishops were in
their cities mere representatives of the imperial government. This fact
found formal expression mainly in two ways. The _Vogt_, although
appointed by the bishop, received the "ban," i.e. the power of having
justice executed, which he pas