The Collegia: Ancient Rome's Guilds
A Brief Essay on Organized Labor and Production in the Roman World
I. Introduction
It has been said by many that the guild tradition of the Western world has its origin in the medieval era. Others have said a distributive or corporative economic structure is purely “organic” in origin. Though this is all true, many overlook the fact that this guild tradition dates back to ancient Rome. Arguably, Rome was the greatest empire to ever exist, if not, certainly the most influential on later thought and movements. In this very brief article, I will seek to describe the Collegium system, craftsmanship, and labor more broadly in the 1st-4th centuries AD in the Roman Empire.
II. Education, Apprenticeship
If one wished to learn a craft, the primary method was through apprenticeship. This was arranged through a private contract between a master craftsman and a prospective student. It was common for members of the rural nobility to send their sons to a larger town or city to learn a trade, even if their family had no history or connection to that particular field.
The apprentice essentially became an adopted son of the master. He would live, eat, sleep, and work in his master’s household. Through apprenticeship, the student hoped to learn the craft, gain recognition through his association with the master, and build connections with customers and other members of the trade. The relationship between apprentice and master was both unique and deeply personal.
Because of these benefits, apprentices clearly understood the debt they owed to their masters. Their future livelihood and professional prospects were largely dependent upon the training and opportunities provided by the master. As a result, apprentices occupied one of the lowest positions within the household hierarchy. Excavated inscriptions that list entire households often place apprentices at the end of the list, even after the household slaves.
When apprentices first began their training, the value of their labor was considered minimal. Both master and student viewed the rewards of apprenticeship not as wages or positions within the workshop, but as the opportunity to gain proficiency in the craft while being housed and supported by the master’s generosity. Despite this lowly status, apprentices generally held great respect and admiration for their teachers.
The bond between master and apprentice was often so strong that craftsmen commonly signed their work with both their own name and the name of the master under whom they had trained, even after the master’s death. In some cases, the gravestones of master craftsmen included the name of their teacher as a way of honoring and expressing gratitude for the skills they had been given.
Once the craft had been mastered, the newly trained craftsman would either return to his hometown and become the local master of that trade or continue his career in an urban setting. The available evidence suggests that neither path was significantly more common or more desirable than the other. (1) If one of these proven craftsmen sought to optimize his market, find a higher position in the local social life, or have an economic safety net for hard times, he would seek to join a collegium.
III. The Collegium System
Voluntary private associations had long existed throughout Rome’s history. In previous centuries, collegia had often posed difficulties for the Roman state. During the late Republican era, these organizations frequently functioned as private militias that could be mobilized at a moment’s notice. As a result, the endorsement and promotion of such worker associations represented a notable shift in policy by the Imperial government.
The collegia only began to experience significant growth during the final decades of the 1st century AD. Initially, these associations operated primarily as fraternities for men practicing the same craft, while also serving as organizations for public cult worship, in a manner somewhat similar to a Christian order. (2) Though Roman law allowed free men to do as they pleased with their labor, many chose to join collegia for a variety of reasons. Membership fees varied depending on the association, but both the entrance fee and monthly dues appear to have been substantial. In the case of a miner’s guild in 136 AD, the entrance fee amounted to nearly two and a half months’ worth of wages. This was particularly significant for miners, who were not employed year-round.
Despite these high costs, the collegium provided numerous benefits to its members. These included tax exemptions granted by the imperial government, access to clubhouses and association property, seats of honor at public urban functions, burial services, low-interest loans, financial assistance from fellow members in times of need, and opportunities for customer networking. (3) In essence, a collegium sought to unite the various craftsmen of a locality into a single economic and social body. This helped reduce personal rivalry and competition while providing both a social safety net and opportunities for fraternal activity. The vocation of craftsmanship was commonly associated with the gods. Possessing particular skills or inclinations toward certain crafts was often viewed as a gift bestowed by the divine. Likewise, success within a craft was frequently understood as the result of divine favor.
Religion played an important role in the activities of the guilds. Throughout the empire, particularly in Italy, guilds commonly built and owned temples. Although these temples were open to the public, their construction and maintenance depended entirely upon the guilds themselves. Monuments and statues were also characteristic features of the Roman world, and these, too, were often erected by guilds on their own initiative. (4) Lavish clubhouses and townhouses could be found throughout Roman cities across the empire during the 3rd century AD. These guilds quickly developed into organizations that carried considerable influence. Within these associations, there were several levels of organization.
The basic unit consisted of a craftsman and his associates, apprentices, and other workers. The next level was the decuria, which was composed of roughly twenty workers. Above this was the centuria, made up of five decuriae and totaling approximately one hundred men. In 2nd-century AD Milan, the collegia fabrum (guild of craftsmen and clothworkers) had twelve centuriae at its disposal. (5) It should be noted that this 1,200-man guild represented only one of the many crafts present in Milan. Based on this evidence, it is reasonable to estimate that as much as one-third of the male population in a typical Roman city was organized into and participated in a guild of some profession.
IV. State and Association Relations
Though the formation and functions of a collegium were private and voluntary, the state became increasingly present in the inner workings of the guilds. These worker associations first began to grow in the late 1st century AD. By the 3rd century AD, the imperial government was not only highly involved in certain collegia but also increasingly dependent on them.
It can be seen that the respect, recognition, and efficiency of the guilds were so fundamental to the functioning of the state that the Roman government sought to protect and maintain large-scale forms of this institution. Although the creation of a guild remained a private act, by the 3rd century AD, the state made membership in certain guilds compulsory for workers of particular crafts. This meant that guilds increasingly lost the ability to control their local economies, as they had to choose between dissolution or function as monopolized groups of craftsmen.
Emperor Caracalla, for example, made membership obligatory for workers in the food industry in the city of Rome, and he even appointed certain individuals to guild positions himself. In 396 AD, it became illegal to leave the clothworkers’ guild after joining. Similarly, certain craftsmen were considered so essential to their communities that individuals were prohibited from leaving their cities.
In the case of the bakers’ guild in Rome, the production and distribution of bread was carried out by the guild and then paid for by the state. (6) In the case of most crafts, licenses were required and had to be obtained from the imperial government to practice. Roman law also imposed restrictions on the number of licenses available within each locality. This meant that certain guilds could purchase licenses for all their members, effectively making membership in the guild a de facto necessity in order to work in a given town or locality. (7)
V. Final Thoughts
The Roman collegia were a highly organized economic system, predicated on subsidiarity and state collaboration. It is this environment that Chrisendom was born into and perfected. This essay is extremely brief, but I plan to address the subject in much greater detail in the future.
Bibliography
Verboven, Koenraad, and Christian Laes. Work, Labour, and Professions in the Roman World. Brill, 2016.
Wilson, Andrew, and Miko Flohr. Urban Craftsmen and Traders in the Roman World. Oxford University Press, 2016.
Footnotes
1 Andrew Wilson, Miko Flohr, Urban Craftsmen and Traders in the Roman World, pgs 183-196.
2 Koenraad Verboven, Christian Laes, Work, Labour, and Professions in the Roman World, pgs 173-202.
3 Koenraad Verboven, Christian Laes, Work, Labour, and Professions in the Roman World, pgs 206-212.
4 Koenraad Verboven, Christian Laes, Work, Labour, and Professions in the Roman World, pgs 188.
5 Koenraad Verboven, Christian Laes, Work, Labour, and Professions in the Roman World, pgs 179.
6 Koenraad Verboven, Christian Laes, Work, Labour, and Professions in the Roman World, pgs 186-188.
7 Koenraad Verboven, Christian Laes, Work, Labour, and Professions in the Roman World, pgs 183.