le, grit, and endurance, without which
the nimble brain is of little permanent value.

106. Guilds.

The inhabitants of the towns and cities had various associations
called guilds (from gild, a payment or contribution). The object of
these was mutual assistance. The most important were the Frith guilds
or Peace guilds and the Merchant guilds. The former constituted a
voluntary police force to preserve order and bring thieves to
punishment.

Each member contributed a small sum to form a common fund which was
useed to make good any losses incurred by robbery or fire. The
association held itself responsible for the good behavior of its
members, and kept a sharp eye on strangers and stragglers, who had to
give an account of themselves or leave the country.

The Merchant guilds were organized, apparantly at a late period, to
protect and extend trade. After the Norman Conquest they came to be
very wealthy and influential. In addition to the above, there were
social and religious guilds, which made provision for feasts, for
maintenance of religious services, and for the relief of the poor and
the sick.

FIFTH PERIOD[1]

"In other countries the struggle has been to gain liberty; in England,
to preserve it." -- Alison

THE NORMAN CONQUEST

THE KING AGAINST THE BARONS

Building the Norman Superstructure -- The Age of Feudalism

Norman Sovereigns

William I, 1066-1087
William II, 1087-1100
Henry I, 1100-1135
Stephen (House of Blois), 1135-1154

[1] Reference Books on this Period will be found in the Classified
List of Books in the Appendix. The pronunciation will be found in the
Index. The Leading Dates stand unenclosed; all others are in
parentheses.

107. William marches on London; he grants a Charter to the City.

Soon after the great and decisive battle of Hastings (S74), WIlliam
the Conqueror advanced on London and set fire to the Southwark
suburbs. The Londoners, terrified by the flames, and later cut off
from help from the north by the Conqueror's besieging army, opened
their gates and surrendered without striking a blow. In return,
William, shortly after his coronation, granted the city a charter, by
which he guaranteed to the inhabitants the liberties which they had
enjoyed under Edward the Confessor (S65).

That document may still be seen among the records in the Guildhall, in
London.[2] It is a narrow strip of parchment not the length of a
man's hand. It contains a few lines in Engl