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Article: Medieval way to ensure safety in numbers; Chris Upton looks back to the days of town guilds while, below, Ross Reyburn investigates the present-day remains of the Knowle institution.(News)
- Article from:
- The Birmingham Post (England)
- Article date:
- October 9, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Birmingham Post & Mail Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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AA life without pensions, the NHS, maternity leave or income support seems just a little bit vulnerable. Yet all these are inventions of the 20th Century.
In the Middle Ages, if you were lucky enough to belong to one, you relied upon the guild. Indeed, you could say that membership of such a body was even more "value added" than that.
Not only did the guild care for you from cradle to grave, they would also pray for your safe passage into the next life as well. Even a trade union can't guarantee that!
Coventry had a fine one - the Guild of St Mary ...