THE APPRENTICESHIP IN CRAFT GUILDS IN PREINDUSTRIAL EUROPE: A MODEL FOR ENGINEERING EDUCATION IN THE EUROPEAN HIGHER EDUCATION AREA

This work aims to carry out a comparative study between the apprenticeship system in the craft guilds in preindustrial Europe and the educational methods used in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), with the aim of highlighting the role, within the field of engineering education in the EHEA, of the practice-driven approach (learning by doing), which yielded excellent results during centuries to craft guilds, since their institutionalized apprenticeship system was one of the reasons for their long-term survival. The transmission of technical skills and associated innovation were effectively supported by craft guilds but not as a main objective and even, sometimes, as a cause of undesired effects (formation of future competitors, revelation of secrets or shift of control over the production process from the owners of skills to the owners of capital. It has been demonstrated that both the organizational modalities or scenarios and the educational methods of the EHEA (except the binomial scenario-method formed by the theoretical class and the master lecture) used in engineering education, have a clear precedent in the preindustrial craft guilds, which emphasize the learning process instead of the teaching process and established, several centuries in advance and without intending to, a model for the EHEA. Keywords: Craft guilds; Apprenticeship; Learning by doing; Engineering education; EEES

The licensing of surgeons by RCS England and its predecessors

This article originally appeared in the print version of this issue. An online-only extended version can be found at https://publishing.rcseng.ac.uk/doi/full/10.1308/rcsbull.2021.55 . Preserved records suggest that the first licences to practise surgery in England and Wales were issued by craft guilds from the 14th century and probably earlier. A brief chronicle is presented of the training, examining, qualifying and licensing of surgeons by The Royal College of Surgeons of England and its direct predecessors, now a part of history. The context in which these organisations were founded and evolved is outlined along a timeline of almost 700 years. The landmark Medical Acts of 1858 and 1886 are briefly reviewed. Mention is also made of the abolition of the two non-university qualifying examinations that were still being offered in England at the end of the 20th century and of the sale of both jointly owned Examination Halls.

The licensing of surgeons by RCS England and its predecessors (extended online version)

This article appeared in the print version of this issue in a shortened form, which can be found in Bulletin May 2021, Volume 103, Issue 3, pp144-148. DOI: 10.1308/rcsbull.2021.60. Preserved records suggest that the first licences to practise surgery in England and Wales were issued by craft guilds from the 14th century and probably earlier. A brief chronicle is presented of the training, examining, qualifying and licensing of surgeons by The Royal College of Surgeons of England and its direct predecessors, now a part of history. The context in which these organisations were founded and evolved is outlined along a timeline of almost 700 years. The landmark Medical Acts of 1858 and 1886 are briefly reviewed. Mention is also made of the abolition of the two non-university qualifying examinations that were still being offered in England at the end of the 20th century and of the sale of both jointly owned Examination Halls.

Women, town councils, and the organisation of work in Bilbao and Antwerp: a north-south comparison (1400–1560)

In this article, I compare women's work opportunities in Bilbao, in northern Castile, and Antwerp, in the Low Countries, from 1400 to 1560. I argue that the different organisation of work in the two towns had a great influence on women's economic opportunities. Whereas women in Antwerp often worked alongside other members of their household because of the town's dominant craft guilds, Bilbao's informal trades were open to women on their own, independent of their husband or another male relative. As a result, women in Bilbao are more visible in the sources and were able to exert more influence on the town council.

Commons and the nature of modernity: towards a cosmopolitical view on craft guilds

This paper argues that historical research on late medieval and early modern craft guilds fails to escape teleological and anachronistic views, including when they are addressed as commons or ‘institutions for collective action’. These present-day conceptual lenses do not only create idealized views on guilds, but also of the contexts in which they operated, especially the state and the market. This is especially the case with neo-institutional views on the commons, which fall back on a transhistorical rational actor, who can choose between three options for the allocation of resources and surpluses, namely the state, the market and the common. The paper shows that guilds were fundamentally entangled with both the state and the market and that their ethic implied a less utilitarian and instrumental attitude towards natural resources. The consequence of this is that the history of the guilds offers different lessons to present-day commoners than those implied by present-day research. With an eye at launching a reflection on that, I argue in favour of a cosmopolitical perspective, which invites to take fundamentally different worldviews seriously. This includes questioning our own conceptual and analytical abstractions like the state, the market and the individual, up to and including the very distinction between nature and society or nature and politics, which are at the very basis of modern science itself.

Revisiting Companionship and the Socio-Economy of the Islamic Guilds

This chapter is an introduction to the history of the formation of guilds and how they connect them to the religious and social structures that molded them. The craft-guilds are one of the most interesting and characteristic phenomena of medieval Muslim civilization. The guild in Muslim life was built essentially on the idea of the market and based on the needs of the guildsmen. Many different countries officially claim their commitment to Islam and Islamic economics. However, Islam and Islamic economic systems differ significantly from one country to another. Analysis of the Islamic economic system is impossible without a clear understanding of the legal parameters that shaped such a system. The legal foundation of the Islamic society, known as Shari'a, is considered eternally valid and applicable to all times and places. Islamic laws not only provide society with collections of laws and prescriptions which indicate the Islamic path, they also focus on specific human activities and classify them according to their degree of desirability from God's perspective. Different viewpoints on the relationship between religion, culture, and economic performance are investigated here. Finally, the role of the central bank and Islamic banking and finance will be discussed in detail. While Islamic banks play roles similar to conventional banks, fundamental differences exist between the two models. The main difference between Islamic and conventional banks is that the former operate in accordance with the rules of Shari'a, the legal code of Islam. The central concept in Islamic banking and finance is justice, which is achieved mainly through the sharing of risk. Stakeholders are supposed to share profits and losses, and charging interest is prohibited.

Medieval London

There is no beginning or end date for medieval London. Long-term changes transformed the post-Roman city into a 16th-century metropolis. Crown and church worked with city institutions to manage the outcome, but economic, social, geographic, and demographic factors beyond their control were the determinants of London’s evolution. Medieval London owed much to a well-chosen Roman site with double-facing connectivity, providing access to mainland Europe by sea and to the interior by river. London was the lynchpin. The Roman settlement had a defensive fort and walls, an amphitheater—recently rediscovered underneath the medieval Guildhall–and an impressive road network converging on the city. This defensible hub, combining economic prosperity with popular entertainment, was the basis for London’s perennial appeal to English and alien migrants. It quite literally provided the foundation for medieval London. The early extramural Anglo-Saxon settlement relocated behind the walls as an Alfredian burh, expanding trade with nearby parts of the Continent. The Norman construction of the Tower, overshadowing the eastern aspect, demonstrated that control of London was essential to government of the realm. An economic driving force, the city was not the administrative capital until the 12th century. London generated trade revenues and ensured urban stability, in return for which the Crown granted self-government and privileges for its merchants and markets. The city’s own records survive from the later 13th century, although its institutions have earlier origins. Regarding itself as the New Troy, it engaged in public works and staged triumphant royal entries. London’s bread-basket extended to the Norfolk coast and the upper Thames valley. Apart from frank discussions at the wardmote, there were further opportunities for ordinary Londoners to express their views and participate. The craft guilds regulated the city’s trades and their members, developing separate livery and yeomanry organization. Parish fraternities were a neighborhood outlet for literate lay spirituality and accounting skills. The population, significantly reduced by the Black Death, recovered and prospered. London was above all a cosmopolitan city with thriving markets and accessible credit. Although there were recurrent demands for protection against alien competition, aliens joined the livery companies, became citizens of London and some became Englishmen. The royal Court, Parliament, and law courts a short ride away at Westminster guaranteed good business for city merchants. Most importantly, the lucrative 14th-century wool trade and 15th-century cloth trade were increasingly concentrated in the hands of Londoners who dominated English exports.

Rzemiosło żydowskie w Lublinie i jego instytucje w latach trzydziestych XX wieku

Jewish crafts in Lublin and their institutions in the 1930s The paper attempts to reconstruct the condition of Jewish crafts in Lublin in the 1930s after the new legal regulations for industry were introduced in 1927 (“The act on industry law”). Crafts in Lublin in this period were ethnically strongly polarized between the two groups. Jews owned 60 percent of all the workshops in the city, while Poles held the rest of the crafts and services. Jewish craftsmen dominated mainly in textile (tailoring) and leather (shoemaking) industries and services like hairdressing or photography. The article focuses primarily on quantitative and statistic aspects of the discussed topic. Jewish craft organizations (craft guilds), supporting institutions (credit institutions for craftsmen) and Jewish personnel of the Lublin Chamber of Crafts are also presented.