THE CRAFT GUILDS OF FRANCE.
196
with the assent of the said mayor and 6cluvins, by Sire Fremin Piddeleu, Mayor of Amiens,
Jacque Clabaut, Jehan Plantehaie, Jacque de Gard, Pierre Waignet, Jehan Liesse, Thumas
de H^nault, Jehan Lecomcte, Jacque de Cocquerel et Thumas de Courchelles, dchevins the xv
day of June in the year one thousand four hundred and seven."
be advantageously supplemented by two articles from tbose of
one of which exhibits a curious regulation touching their religious
services, whilst the other indicates that the constant endeavours of the authorities to put
down the abuse of the banquets had not been entirely fruitless, inasmuch as the statutes
The above
statutes
the masons of Eheims
may
;
outwardly conform to the royal commands.
of this date, though
drawn up in
We
all cases for
must not
forget,
however, that the statutes
the perusal of the king or his ministers, the
royal approval being necessary to render them valid, still it by no means follows that they
The
were not systematically evaded by a private understanding amongst the masters.
statutes referred to are dated 26th
"
XVI. The masters
July 1625, and the clauses are as follows
^
:
of the said craft shall be required every year, at the procession of the
Holy Sacrament of the
according to their invariable custom, to carry four torches of
the weight of ten pounds each one, which torches shall be borne by the four junior masters of
altar,
tlie craft.
"
XXI. And we
forbid the said wardens (j'urez) to accept
any banquet from those who
and the said companions to
under penalty of arbitrary fine
such under penalty of being deprived of the masterpiece [i.e., not allowed to benefit
any
by its successful completion], and without the faculty of being admitted under three years
shall achieve their masterpiece,
;
offer
ensuing."
Of
all
the Prench handicrafts, the building trade of the Middle
us the most interest.
for
Without pausing here
to touch
Ages naturally possesses
on the disputed point as to the
country in which the Gothic style of architecture originated, we may safely assert that as
regards boldness of conception and dexterity of execution, the French artists were not behind
their contemporaries in other parts of Europe.
The churches, cathedrals, town-balls, and other
monuments
scattered throughout France, testify to their skill.
It should
familiar tradition of bands of builders wandering from
be noticed that the
one country to another has also
obtained credence in France, and even misled so careful a writer as Ouin-Lacroix.
He says,
"
The corporation of masons
offers a
—
proof of its early regular organisation as far back as the
twelfth century, in the grand manifestation of zeal which
it
displayed about 1 145 in proceeding
which has since become so
to Chartres to take part in the construction of the cathedral there,
There were to be seen, as wrote Archbishop Hugues of Eouen to Theodoric of
immense Norman companies, organised in vast corporations under the conduct of a
Amiens,
chief named Prince, emigrating in a crowd to the Chartres country. On their return, according
to Haimon, Abbot of St Pierre-sur-Dive, these same
companies built and repaired a great
number of churches in Eouen and that province." ^
famous.
Levasseur has not allowed himself to be led astray, but gives us the true interpretation of
'
Collection de
de Keiins," part
-
ii.,
Documents
vol.
ii.,
inedits sur I'Histoire de France, Section "Pierre Varin, Archives Legislatives de la Ville
p. 483.
Ouin-Lacroix, Histoire des Auciennes Corporations,
etc., p.
227.