Showcase: Gargoyles, Journeymen's Letters, Guilds, Trade & Craft Codes, etc. @museum.de

Solid copper... from Michigan... pyrite... calcite crystals in rock ... fascinating.

None of this is fascinating!

Excuse me?! Who's that talking?

It was me. The gargoyle. Don't look at the old bits of stone, look at what they've become. Something like me!

The gargoyle, the gargoyle... Oh! There you are! Roman gargoyle, second century AD. Wow, you look great. And you're really ancient!

You can say that again. Made of the finest bronze, so practically indestructible! Displaying superb workmanship and made by gifted artisans. And today, I am, without a doubt, the oldest exhibit in the museum and living proof of the long history of metalworking.

And those gifted artisans...

All nice lads. But that was a long time ago. And they weren't called metal roofers or coppersmiths, but something like "plumbarius" or "aerarius" or whatever ... in Latin, you know?

Yes, they only got to be called metal roofers and coppersmiths later.

Much later.

Not until the Middle Ages. When the first guilds were established.

Sometime around the year 1100, the various trades here in Germany got together and organised themselves and said: we're now bakers, shoemakers, carpenters or, you know, coppersmiths. And in the 15th century, the first trade and craft codes were written down. They defined who was allowed to call themselves a baker, a shoemaker, a carpenter or a coppersmith, what skills they had to have and what rights and obligations they were entering into.

The guild statutes regulated the relationship between master and journeyman, the working hours, what was required to take the master craftsman's exam and the quality of the work. Another important responsibility was caring for the widows and orphans of late guild members. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the guilds made a significant contribution to the flourishing of the manual trades.

Without a doubt. But anyone who wasn't a member of a guild or a trade association, or who was expelled from such an organisation, was banned from working in the trade and faced significant hardship.

Quite right. Then, after the French Revolution, the requirement to belong to a guild was abolished and virtually anyone could offer any old service. With nothing like what we now call quality assurance. At that point, it became vital for tradesmen to be able to demonstrate that they were thoroughly trained and were perfect bakers, shoemakers, carpenters or coppersmiths. You can see how important that was from how beautifully designed the apprenticeship letters, certificates and diplomas were in centuries gone by. They were genuine treasures...

... that ensured your survival. Indeed. And anyone who invented something as a coppersmith or a metalworker and registered a patent, enjoyed great respect!