y and their power to enforce their
standards, perhaps throughout the country. The Goldsmiths, the
Mercers, and the Saddlers became the first guilds to receive, in
1394-5, charters of incorporation, which gave them perpetual
existence. As such they could hold land in "mortmain" [dead hand],
thus depriving the king of rights that came to him on the death of
a tenant-in-chief. They were authorized to bestow livery on their
members and were called Livery Companies. The liverymen [freemen]
of the trading companies elected London's representatives to
Parliament.

In all towns, the organization of craft associations spread
rapidly downwards through the trades and sought self-government.
Craft guilds were gaining much power relative to the old merchant
guilds in governing the towns. The greater crafts such as the
fishmongers, skinners, and the corders (made rope, canvas, and
pitch) organized and ultimately were recognized by town
authorities as self-governing craft guilds. The building trade
guilds such as the tilers, carpenters, masons, and joiners, became
important. Masons were still itinerant, going to sites of
churches, public buildings, or commanded by the king to work on
castles. The guild was not necessarily associated with a specific
product. For instance, a saddle and bridle were the result of work
of four crafts: joiner (woodworker), painter, saddler (leather),
and lorimer (metal trappings).

In London in 1392 craft guilds included: baker, fishmonger (cut up
and sold fish), fruitier, brewer, butcher, bird dealer, cook,
apothecary (sold potions he had ground up), cutler (made knives
and spoons), barber, tailor, shoemaker, glover (made gloves),
skinner (sold furs), girdler (made girdles of cloth to wear around
one's waist), pouchmaker, armorer, sheathmaker, weaver, fuller,
painter, carpenter, joiner (woodworker who finished interior
woodwork such as doors and made furniture), tiler, mason (cut
stone for buildings), smith (made metal tools for stonemasons and
builders), tallow chandler (made candles and sometimes soap from
the fat and grease the housewife supplied), wax chandler (made
candles), stirrup maker, spurrier (made spurs), and hosteler
(innkeeper). However, the merchant guilds of the goldsmiths,
vintners (sold wine), mercers (sold cloth), grocers, and drapers
(finished and sold English cloth) were still strong. It was a long
custom in London that freemen in one company could practice the
trade of another co