although many important records concerning them were destroyed in the great fire of London. The name "guild" is derived from the Saxon gilden meaning to pay, and the original guilds were formed to comply with the exactions of a Saxon law, called "frank-pledge," by which it was ordained that every freeman over fourteen years of age should give securities to keep the peace. To afford such securities, groups of ten families entered into association, and bound themselves to produce any of their members who had committed offence, or, in default of this, to make satisfaction to the injured party. To provide for the payment of fines each guild maintained a common purse. Meantime, in order to better identify the members, as well as, probably, to keep a closer watch upon them, each association assembled at stated periods at a common feast. It is in these associations that we see the germ of the present trade guilds; and to this day the common purse and the feast at stated intervals are invariable institutions among them.

Even during the Anglo-Saxon period a change in organization came about, and instead of being banded together by families they combined, as a more natural form of association, by trades; and such trade associations not only fulfilled their original purpose, but added other features for mutual protection and commercial advantage. At the time of the advent of the Normans so firmly were these trade guilds established in London that they forced William the Conqueror to recognize their corporate existence by giving them the first royal charter which is extant; and this charter still remains in the city archives, beautifully written in Anglo-Saxon characters on a slip of parchment. It may be thus translated:—

"William, the king, friendly salutes William the bishop and Godfrey the portreeve, and all the burgesses within London, both English and French. And I declare that I grant you all to be worthy, as you were in the days of King Edward; and I grant that every child shall be his father's heir, after his father's days; and I will not suffer any person to do you wrong. God keep you."

CARVED ARM-PIECE OF CHOIR STALL

CATHEDRAL OF GENOA

SIXTEENTH CENTURY

Under the Norman rule, however, the growth of guilds was much interfered with at first. Henry I. commanded that all should receive royal license; and he subjected several guilds to heavy fines because they had been established without license, or exercised their functions independent of it. This penalty fell heavily on London, where the confraternities were very numerous. They were encouraged by Henry II.; but as they increased under this patronage, and were much given to parading with their respective uniforms or "liveries" and banners, collisions between rival trades became so frequent that at length, under Henry IV., they were forbidden to wear their liveries. In subsequent reigns they were permitted to appear in them at coronations, and finally it became necessary to obtain the royal license for appearing in public with their insignia.

PLATE LXII

BREWER'S HALL: COUNCIL ROOM

During the reign of Edward III. the fraternities or Companies of Liverymen as they had now