A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Europe, with many surviving today in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in some cases museums while retaining their original names.
In the United Kingdom, a guildhall is usually a town hall: in the vast majority of cases, the guildhalls have never served as the meeting place of any specific guild. A suggested etymology is from the Anglo Saxon "gild", or "payment"; the guildhall being where citizens came to pay their rates. The London Guildhall was established around 1120. [1] For the Scottish municipal equivalent see tolbooth. [2]
A type of guild was known in Roman times. Known as collegium, collegia or corpus, these were organised groups of merchants who specialised in a particular craft and whose membership of the group was voluntary. One such example is the corpus naviculariorum, the college of long-distance shippers based at Rome's port, Ostia Antica. The Roman guilds failed to survive the collapse of the Roman Empire. [3]
Merchant guilds were reinvented during Europe's Medieval period. In England, these guilds went by many different names including: fraternity, brotherhood, college, company, corporation, fellowship, livery, or society, amongst other terms. In Europe, merchant guilds were known as "natie", "consulado", or "hansa". [4] A fraternity, formed by the merchants of Tiel in Gelderland (present-day Netherlands), in 1020 is believed to be the first example of a Medieval guild. The first instance of usage of the term, "guild", was the gilda mercatoria used to describe a body of merchants operating out of Saint-Omer, France in the 11th century and London's Hanse was formed in the 12th century. [5] The merchants of Cologne had their house in London as early as 1157 and the Guilda Teutonicorum (German merchants warehouse) was located at Cosin Lane and Thames Street in London on the 12th century. [6]
These guilds controlled the way that trade was conducted in their region and codified rules governing the conditions of trade. Once established, merchant guild rules were often incorporated into the charters granted to market towns. By the 13th and 14th centuries, merchant guilds had acquired sufficient resources to erect guild halls in many major market towns. [7]
Medieval guild halls were used to store goods and as places for celebratory events. When not required for guild members' events, the hall often became place where townspeople could hold entertainments such as Passion plays. Guild members often cleaned streets, removed rubbish, maintained a nightwatch and provided food relief to the poor. [8] Some medieval guilds allowed market trading to occur on the ground floor of the guildhall. [9]
In the City of London, the guilds are called "livery companies", and their guild halls are called livery halls. [10] [11]
The Low Countries used to have guildhalls in every city, often one gildenhuis (Dutch, literally "guild house") for each trade. They were often elaborate, ornate buildings, demonstrating the guild's status. Occasionally a single hall would be used by all the city's guilds. [12]
The guildhall was used as the offices of the deken (deacon) and other guild officers, and for meetings by the overlieden (board of directors). The guild members would occasionally be called to the guildhall for meetings on important matters. [13] [14]
The guildhall of the merchants' guild also served as de facto commodity market. Therefore, there was no need in the Middle Ages for a separate building for this purpose. [13]
In the Low Countries, each guildhall was marked by the coat of arms of that guild, hanging from the facade of the building. Occasionally, the coat of arms was replaced with a gable stone depicting a member of the guild, surrounded by the tools of his trade. [15]
In Amsterdam, every guildhall had its gildeknecht (guild servant), often the guild's youngest member, and was guarded by a gildehond (guild dog). Every evening, the guild brothers gathered in the tavern room of the guildhall to discuss the events of the day while the gildeknecht served beer. Once a year, the guildmen would gather in the guildhall for a communal meal. [13]
A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated in ancient Babylonia, Assyria, China, Egypt, Greece, India, Persia, Phoenicia and Rome. During the European medieval period, a rapid expansion in trade and commerce led to the rise of a wealthy and powerful merchant class. The European Age of Discovery opened up new trading routes and gave European consumers access to a much broader range of goods. By the 18th century, a new type of manufacturer-merchant had started to emerge and modern business practices were becoming evident.
The Grand-Place or Grote Markt is the central square of Brussels, Belgium. It is surrounded by opulent Baroque guildhalls of the former Guilds of Brussels and two larger edifices; the city's Flamboyant Town Hall, and the neo-Gothic King's House or Bread House building, containing the Brussels City Museum. The square measures 68 by 110 metres and is entirely paved.
A livery company is a type of guild or professional association that originated in medieval times in London, England. Livery companies comprise London's ancient and modern trade associations and guilds, almost all of which are styled the "Worshipful Company of" their respective craft, trade or profession. There are 111 livery companies in total. They play a significant part in the life of the City of London, not least by providing charitable-giving and networking opportunities. Liverymen retain voting rights for the senior civic offices, such as the Lord Mayor, Sheriffs and Common Council of the City Corporation, London's ancient municipal authority with extensive local government powers.
Jan van Ruysbroeck was a Flemish architect of the early 15th century. He served as official architect to the Duke of Brabant. His best known work was the tower of Brussels' Town Hall. The Brabantine Gothic building, which stands in the city's Grand-Place/Grote Markt, is widely regarded as a masterpiece of medieval European secular architecture. It was designed by Jacob van Thienen some time around 1402 and van Ruysbroek's tower was added between 1444 and 1463.
The Town Hall of Leuven, Flemish Brabant, Belgium, is a landmark building on that city's Grote Markt, across from the monumental St. Peter's Church. Built in a Brabantine late-Gothic style between 1439 and 1469, it is famous for its ornate architecture, crafted in lace-like detail.
The Town Hall of the City of Brussels is a landmark building and the seat of the City of Brussels municipality of Brussels, Belgium. It is located on the south side of the famous Grand-Place/Grote Markt, opposite the neo-Gothic King's House or Bread House building, housing the Brussels City Museum.
The Merchant Adventurers' Hall is a medieval guildhall in the city of York, England. It is a Grade I listed building and scheduled ancient monument.
During the Nine Years' War, the French Royal Army carried out a bombardment of Brussels from August 13–15, 1695. Led by King Louis XIV and the Duke of Villeroi, French forces bombarded the city in an attempt to divert Grand Alliance troops from reinforcing the concurrent siege of Namur. The bombardment ultimately proved to be the most destructive event in the history of Brussels, destroying a third of the buildings in the city, including the Grand-Place/Grote Markt.
The Grote Markt is the central square of Leuven, Flemish Brabant, Belgium. It is situated between the Oude Markt and the Rector De Somerplein and near both the Bondgenotenlaan and the Muntstraat.
A cloth hall or linen hall is a historic building located in the centre of the main marketplace of a European town. Cloth halls were built from medieval times into the 18th century.
The Ommegang of Brussels is a traditional Ommegang, a type of medieval pageant, celebrated annually in Brussels, Belgium.
Brabantine Gothic, occasionally called Brabantian Gothic, is a significant variant of Gothic architecture that is typical for the Low Countries. It surfaced in the first half of the 14th century at St. Rumbold's Cathedral in the city of Mechelen.
Sculpture in Brussels has been created since the Middle Ages to the present day. It began to shine in the second half of the 14th century with Claus Sluter's arrival in Brussels and the construction of the city's Town Hall. It continued without interruption and reached its momentum during 15th and 16th centuries. Until the end of the Ancien Régime, sculptors in Brussels were members of the Quatre Couronnés Guild of the Nation of St Nicholas and then the Royal Academy of Fine Arts.
The Brussels City Museum is a municipal museum on the Grand-Place/Grote Markt of Brussels, Belgium. Conceived in 1860 and inaugurated in 1887, it is dedicated to the history and folklore of the City of Brussels from its foundation into modern times, which it presents through paintings, sculptures, tapestries, engravings, photos and models, including a notable scale-representation of the town during the Middle Ages.
The Grote Markt is the central square of Antwerp, Belgium, situated in the heart of the old city quarter. It is surrounded by the city's Renaissance Town Hall, as well as numerous guildhalls with elaborate façades, the majority of which are reconstructions from the 19th and early 20th century, approximating paintings of the square by Flemish artists. A few of the guildhall façades, such as that of Sint-Joris's are intact originals entirely dating back to the 16th century.
The Guilds of Brussels, grouped in the Nine Nations of Brussels, were associations of craft guilds that dominated the economic life of Brussels in the late medieval and early modern periods. From 1421 onwards, they were represented in the city government alongside the patrician lineages of the Seven Noble Houses of Brussels, later also in the States of Brabant as members of the Third Estate. As of 1421, they were also able to become members of the Drapery Court of Brussels. Together with the Seven Noble Houses, they formed the city's bourgeoisie. Some of their guildhouses can still be seen as part of the Grand-Place/Grote Markt, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The following is a timeline of the history of the municipality of Bruges, Belgium.
The Belfry of Brussels was a medieval bell tower in central Brussels, Belgium. Built long before the city's current Town Hall on the Grand-Place/Grote Markt, whose tower it should not be confused with, it formerly stood in front of the Church of St. Nicholas until its collapse on 25 July 1714. It was never rebuilt.
The Place Anneessens (French) or Anneessensplein (Dutch) is a square in central Brussels, Belgium. It is named in honour of François Anneessens, dean of the Nation of St. Christopher, who was beheaded on the Grand-Place/Grote Markt during a period of uprisings within the Austrian Netherlands.
Media related to Guildhalls at Wikimedia Commons Media related to Guild houses at Wikimedia Commons
The dictionary definition of guildhall at Wiktionary