Wage Labor and Guilds in Medieval Europe

By Steven A. Epstein

Wage Labor and Guilds in Medieval Europe

320 pp., 6.125 x 9.25

  • Paperback ISBN: 978-0-8078-4498-4
    Published: February 1995

Buy this Book

To purchase online via an independent bookstore, visit Bookshop.org
"Relying on a broad range of printed and secondary sources, Wage Labor and Guilds charts the history of guilds from their antecedents in the Roman Empire to their 'crisis' in the fourteenth century. . . . As a much-needed synthesis, [the book] will serve students well."--Speculum

"A thoughtful and wide-ranging contribution to the social and economic history of the High Medieval urban milieu."--Journal of Interdisciplinary History

"Interesting and comprehensive. . . . A major accomplishment."--Journal of Economic History

"Epstein takes a fresh look at the organization of labor in medieval towns and emphasizes the predominance of a wage system within them. He offers illuminating comment on a wide range of subjects--on guilds and guild organization, on women and Jews in the work force, on the value given labor, and on the sources of disaffection. His book presents a feast of themes in medieval social history."--David Herlihy, Brown University

About the Author

Steven A. Epstein, professor of history at the University of Colorado, Boulder, is author of Wills and Wealth in Medieval Genoa, 1150-1250.
For more information about Steven A. Epstein, visit the Author Page.

Reviews

"Relying on a broad range of printed and secondary sources, Wage Labor and Guilds charts the history of guilds from their antecedents in the Roman Empire to their 'crisis' in the fourteenth century. . . . As a much-needed synthesis, [the book] will serve students well."--Speculum

"A thoughtful and wide-ranging contribution to the social and economic history of the High Medieval urban milieu."--Journal of Interdisciplinary History

"Interesting and comprehensive. . . . A major accomplishment."--Journal of Economic History

"Epstein takes a fresh look at the organization of labor in medieval towns and emphasizes the predominance of a wage system within them. He offers illuminating comment on a wide range of subjects--on guilds and guild organization, on women and Jews in the work force, on the value given labor, and on the sources of disaffection. His book presents a feast of themes in medieval social history."--David Herlihy, Brown University