Journeymen and Apprentices Crafts

Text

A journeyman was a craftsman’s assistant. If he went out into the world to ply his trade, he needed to have a vocational certificate and the tools of his trade.
Rarely did journeymen stay in one workshop for an entire year. Typically they were there for just a few weeks, on one week’s notice, paid by the day (‘journée’). If a journeyman left without agreement (absconded), he was ‘proscribed’, outlawed from hire by other workshops, his identity written down and disseminated.
An apprentice was a boy accepted into apprenticeship by a master craftsman in a special ceremony before other guild masters. Entry was made possible by paying a fee in cash and beeswax. Wealthier boys might complete their apprenticeship in as little as one year, while poorer ones had to work off their debt over several years.

Artwork