A Tale of Two Theories: Monopolies and Craft Guilds in Medieval England and Modern Imagination
نویسندگان
چکیده
Popular texts typically assert that guilds of craftsmen `̀ monopolized’ ’ markets in medieval England. Norman Cantor’s Medieval Reader declares `̀ craft guilds’ . . . main purpose and activity was narrow regulation of industrial productivity in order to restrain competition’ ’ (Cantor 1994, p. 278). Douglass North’s Structure and Change in Economic History asserts `̀ . . . guilds organized to protect local artisans . . . [and their strength] in preserving local monopolies against encroachment from outside competition was frequently reinforced by the coercive power of kings and great lords’ ’ (North 1981, p. 134). Henry Pirenne’s Economic and Social History of Medieval Europe proclaims:
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Guilds, laws, and markets for manufactured merchandise in late-medieval England
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