s, the wealthiest and most influential guilds were the
merchant traders of mercers, drapers, grocers, and goldsmiths.
>From their ranks came most of the mayors, and many began to
intermarry with the country knights and gentry. Next came the
shopholders of skinners, tailors, ironmongers, and corvisors
[shoemakers]. Thirdly came the humbler artisans, the sellers of
victuals, small shopkeepers, apprentices, and journeymen on the
rise. Lastly came unskilled laborers, who lived in crowded
tenements and hired themselves out. The first three groups were
the free men who voted, paid scot and bore lot, and belonged to
guilds. Scot was a ratable proportion in the payments levied from
the town for local or national purposes. Merchant guilds in some
towns merged their existence into the town corporation, and their
guild halls became the common halls of the town, and their
property became town property.

In London, the Cutlers' Company was chartered in 1415, the
Haberdashers' Company in 1417, the Grocers' Company in 1428, the
Drapers' and Cordwainers' companies in 1429, the Vintners' and
Brewers' companies in 1437, the Leathersellers' Company in 1444,
the Girdlers' Company in 1448, the Armourers' and Brassiers'
companies in 1453, the Barbers' Company in 1461, the Tallow
Chandlers' Company in 1462, the Ironmongers' Company in 1464, the
Dyers' Company in 1471, the Musicians' Company in 1472, the
Carpenters' Company in 1477, the Cooks' Company in 1481, and the
Waxchandlers' Company in 1483. The Fishmongers, which had been
chartered in 1399, were incorporated in 1433, the Cordwainers in
1439, and the Pewterers in 1468.

There were craft guilds in the towns, at least 65 in London. In
fact, every London trade of twenty men had its own guild. The
guild secured good work for its members and the members maintained
the reputation of the work standards of the guild. Bad work was
punished and night work prohibited as leading to bad work. The
guild exercised moral control over its members and provided
sickness and death benefits for them. There was much overlapping
in the two forms of association: the craft guild and the religious
fraternity. Apprentices were taken in to assure an adequate supply
of competent workers for the future. The standard indenture of an
apprentice bound him to live in his master's house, to serve him
diligently, obey reasonable commands, keep his master's secrets,
protect him from injury, abstain from dice, cards and