Apprenticeship System

Members of craft guilds were divided into masters, journeymen, and apprentices. The master was an established craftsman of recognized abilities—he possessed technical competence, wealth, and a respectable social position. He took on apprentices whom he trained in the elements of his trade, providing them with food, clothing, and shelter. In return, the apprentices worked for him without payment. The apprenticeship system secured the continuity of skills, tradition, and personnel on which the welfare of guilds depended.