the dwelling-houses of the craftsmen, no establishments could be of
very considerable size, and the difference of position between master,
journeyman, and apprentice could not have been great. The craft gild
was organized with its regular rules, its officers, and its meetings.
The rules or ordinances of the fraternity were drawn up at some one
time and added to or altered from time to time afterward. The approval
of the city authorities was frequently sought for such new statutes as
well as for the original ordinances, and in many towns appears to have
been necessary. The rules provided for officers and their powers, the
time and character of meetings, and for a considerable variety of
functions. These varied of course in different trades and in different
towns, but some characteristics were almost universal. Provisions were
always either tacitly or formally included for the preservation of the
monopoly of the crafts in the town. The hours of labor were regulated.
Night work was very generally prohibited, apparently because of the
difficulty of oversight at that time, as was work on Saturday
afternoons, Sundays, and other holy days. Provisions were made for the
inspection of goods by the officers of the gild, all workshops and
goods for sale being constantly subject to their examination, if they
should wish it. In those occupations that involved buying and selling
the necessities of life, such as those of the fishmongers and the
bakers, the officers of the fraternity, like the town authorities,
were engaged in a continual struggle with "regrators," "forestallers,"
and "engrossers," which were appellations as odious as they were
common in the mediaeval town. Regrating meant buying to sell again at a
higher price without having made any addition to the value of the
goods; forestalling was going to the place of production to buy, or in
any other way trying to outwit fellow-dealers by purchasing things
before they came into the open market where all had the same
opportunity; engrossing was buying up the whole supply, or so much of
it as not to allow other dealers to get what they needed, the modern
"cornering of the market." These practices, which were regarded as so
objectionable in the eyes of mediaeval traders, were frequently nothing
more than what would be considered commendable enterprise in a more
competitive age. Another class of rules was for mutual assistance, for
kindliness among members, and for the obedience and