ommunities of artisans had, to a certain extent, the character and
position of private individuals. They had the power in their corporate
capacity of holding and administrating property, of defending or bringing
actions at law, of accepting inheritances, &c.; they disbursed from a
common treasury, which was supplied by legacies, donations, fines, and
periodical subscriptions.

These communities exercised in addition, through their jurors, a
magisterial authority, and even, under some circumstances, a criminal
jurisdiction over their members. For a long time they strove to extend
this last power or to keep it independent of municipal control and the
supreme courts, by which it was curtailed to that of exercising a simple
police authority strictly confined to persons or things relating to the
craft. They carefully watched for any infractions of the rules of the
trade. They acted as arbitrators between master and man, particularly in
quarrels when the parties had had recourse to violence. The functions of
this kind of domestic magistracy were exercised by officers known under
various names, such as _kings, masters, elders, guards, syndics_, and
_jurors_, who were besides charged to visit the workshops at any hour they
pleased in order to see that the laws concerning the articles of
workmanship were observed. They also received the taxes for the benefit of
the association; and, lastly, they examined the apprentices and installed
masters into their office (Fig. 242).

The jurors, or syndics, as they were more usually called, and whose number
varied according to the importance of numerical force of the corporation,
were generally elected by the majority of votes of their fellow-workmen,
though sometimes the choice of these was entirely in the hands of the
great officers of state. It was not unfrequent to find women amongst the
dignitaries of the arts and crafts; and the professional tribunals, which
decided every question relative to the community and its members, were
often held by an equal number of masters and associate craftsmen. The
jealous, exclusive, and inflexible spirit of caste, which in the Middle
Ages is to be seen almost everywhere, formed one of the principal features
of industrial associations. The admission of new members was surrounded
with conditions calculated to restrict the number of associates and to
discourage candidates. The sons of masters alone enjoyed hereditary
privileges, in consequence of which t