106.  Guilds.

The inhabitants of the towns and cities had various associations called guilds (from gild, a payment or contribution).  The object of these was mutual assistance.  The most important were the Frith guilds or Peace guilds and the Merchant guilds.  The former constituted a voluntary police force to preserve order and bring thieves to punishment.

Each member contributed a small sum to form a common fund which was useed to make good any losses incurred by robbery or fire.  The association held itself responsible for the good behavior of its members, and kept a sharp eye on strangers and stragglers, who had to give an account of themselves or leave the country.

The Merchant guilds were organized, apparantly at a late period, to protect and extend trade.  After the Norman Conquest they came to be very wealthy and influential.  In addition to the above, there were social and religious guilds, which made provision for feasts, for maintenance of religious services, and for the relief of the poor and the sick.

FIFTH PERIOD[1]

“In other countries the struggle has been to gain liberty; in England, to preserve it.” —­ Alison

THE NORMAN CONQUEST

THE KING AGAINST THE BARONS

Building the Norman Superstructure —­ The Age of Feudalism

Norman Sovereigns

William I, 1066-1087
William II, 1087-1100
Henry I, 1100-1135
Stephen (House of Blois), 1135-1154

[1] Reference Books on this Period will be found in the Classified List of Books in the Appendix.  The pronunciation will be found in the Index.  The Leading Dates stand unenclosed; all others are in parentheses.

107.  William marches on London; he grants a Charter to the City.

Soon after the great and decisive battle of Hastings (S74), WIlliam the Conqueror advanced on London and set fire to the Southwark suburbs.  The Londoners, terrified by the flames, and later cut off from help from the north by the Conqueror’s besieging army, opened their gates and surrendered without striking a blow.  In return, William, shortly after his coronation, granted the city a charter, by which he guaranteed to the inhabitants the liberties which they had enjoyed under Edward the Confessor (S65).

That document may still be seen among the records in the Guildhall, in London.[2] It is a narrow strip of parchment not the length of a man’s hand.  It contains a few lines in English, to which William’s royal seal was appended.  It has indeed been said on high authority that the King also signed the charter with a cross; but no trace of it appears on the parchment.  The truth seems to be that he who wielded the sword with such terrible efficiency disdained handling the pen (S154).

[2] See Constitutional Documents in the Appendix, p. xxxiii.