In England at least as early as the middle ages all craft would have been organized in the guild system. The Guilds were forms of early associations of individuals practicing the same art/craft. A guild lied anywhere between an association, a brotherhood, a craft fellowship and a secret society. A typical taxonomy would divide guilds into two types the merchant guilds and the craft guilds. It was in fact the antagonism of the two guilds or rather the pursuit of the first for profit (along with the ingenuity of engineers) that led to the explosion of mass production.


The existence of the craft guilds was developed, on the grounds of common interest and self protection of the craftsmen ensuring independence against the city lords and authorities. Retrospecting even earlier during the formation of the first cities, people usually came to medieval towns or cities (being social and economic centers) in order to trade or sell their goods. The Towns or cities were usually owned by lords, the role of the lord was to tax the artisans and merchants in return of protection within the walls of the city. Prosperous towns would attract more merchants and artisans resulting to an increased share of taxes for the lord and the city authorities.


The guild were responsible for guarding the societies' interests and maintaining the standards and customs of the craft; they also constituted regulations and issued ordinances ensuring that they were properly executed. In order to secure independence and have the ability to assume pressure upon the authorities when needed, all practicians of a craft should belong to the same guild; when certain circumstances would provide confirmation of the guild by the constituted authorities, that guild was thenceforth legally able regulate the trade.

In the beginning of the thirteenth century the craft and trade or merchant guilds, having until that time worked together in comparative harmony, began a mutual divergence. In the early period of the middle ages it was common for the same person to act both as craftsman and merchant or tradesman; the producers of goods of the 'forge and loom' purchased their own material, and when their production were completed, they 'sold' directly to the consumer. As trade and manufacture would rise, small traders developed into merchants, now instead of manufacturing their own goods, the merchants would deal with the manufactured goods of others increasing their wealth and greed alike, wealth that enabled them in sequring special privileges from the lords,and the official authorities; privileges which would develop into monopolies which they would henceforth exercised on their former associates and co-workers 'the craftsmen' ousting them from the merchant guilds. This situation was carried on all over Europe resulting to active 'warfare' to who was to control the craft guilds. It was the craft guilds against the merchant guilds and the government,1

In England during Queen Elizabeth's I'st regime in the 16th century men and women in every village and town in the East Midlands could have been seen supplementing their income by hand knitting. 'Unwanted innovation' first came when William Lee of Calverton(1563-1614) conceived the knitting frame, the first mechanical means of knitting; a remarkable invention as early as 1589; would remain nonetheless inactive due to the Queen conviction to the result it would have for the hand knitters livelihood. All the same the knitting frame was too important a discovery and would later dominate the cloth industry for centuries to come. After William Lee passed away his brother James returned to England (from France where they had both turned to after Queen Elisabeth's repudiation) and set a workshop in London; spreading the art of stocking in the capital, leading to the formation of the 'Worshipful Company of Framework Knitters'. The center of the trade was soon to move north to Leicester and Nottingham. Unsatisfied from the controls imposed on them by the guild of London, framework knitters moved their workshops to the East Midlands (a major wool producing center);what became the country's heart of Framework knitting and this is where the story of the Luddites was untangled.

When the Britain expand its territorial dominance to become "the Empire on which the sun never sets" a vast market of raw material and trade sprung up. The merchants, 'betting on higher stakes' were lurking to accelerate manufacture and production consequently resulting in an abundance of inferior goods under these circumstances as a reaction the Arts and Craft movement was born making an attempt to return to the ethics and value of handcraft work which the Luddites were representative of. The war of the guilds still evident. The Luddites be recognized as the prolongation of this battle in one of its most dramatic curves; reminders of the value of hand craft they inspired, schools of thought, utter movements, styles, groups, artists, artisans and designers all over the world, to this very day.
1.'The Story of Manual Labor in all Lands and Ages'(1887) John Cameron Simonds, JohnT Mc Ennis. p 580