Secular Brotherhoods: The Germanic and Anglo-Saxon Guilds 59the beginning of the fifteenth century. It is doubtful that the craftsman
guild was formed in the tenth century.
While traces of religious and social guilds are quite ancient, their
oldest known statutes—those of the guilds of Abbotsbury, Exeter, and
Cambridge—date back only to the beginning of the eleventh century.
These statutes offer an analogy to those described by the judicia: "Once
a year in Abbotsbury and three times a year in Exeter, the member fel-
ows will gather together to worship God and their patron saint. They
will share a meal together, with one portion going to the poor. Mutual
assistance will be given in the case of illness, fire, or during a journey;
the insults given by one member to another will be punished; members
will attend the funeral service of a deceased colleague."^4
Social guilds can also be found in Germany, and "in Denmark they
played an important role as demonstrated by this historic fact: Magnus,
son of King Nicholas of Denmark, had killed Duke Canut Lavard,
alderman or protector of the League of Sleswig, known as a Hezlag
oath-bound fraternity). In 1130 the king wished to visit Sleswig, and
despite being defended by the congildi, he was massacred with his entire
retinue."^5
The statutes of the Danish guilds—especially those of Saint Kanut,
Flensbourg, and Odense (which were written in 1200)—included
clauses quite similar to those of the English guilds: right of entry, close
solidarity, mandatory assistance to assemblies, a prohibition on inter-
rupting a brother (Law 33 of Flensbourg), mutual assistance among
brothers, and arbitration of other members in the event of a dispute
among congildi.
In France social guilds appeared at almost the same time as their
first appearance in Great Britain. The interdiction against them by
Charlemagne's capitulary in 779 was copied in a number of other texts,
including, in the ninth century, in a capitulary issued by Hincmar,
bishop of Reims.*
In this regard, we can make a fairly broad observation: No associ-
ation could exist at this time without authorization from the Church,
- According to some historians, the Council of Nantes condemned these guilds as early
as 658, but the authenticity of the canons issued by this council is dubious.