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Guild Based Family Structure

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
Guilds were more or less non-existent in the countryside in historical Europe. A guild isn't needed until you have at least a few practitioners of a craft, and that just didn't happen. Even when rural weaving became a whole industry in the 1400s (roughly), there were no guilds of rural weavers. In fact, in many places, the rural practitioner of a craft was forbidden to sell in town. Broadly speaking, towns wished to exert control over their rural hinterland.

That said, there's no reason in a fantasy novel *not* to have rural guilds. Just don't bother trying to make them conform to any sort of historical model. Make up what serves the story and call that a guild.
 

Mad Swede

Auror
Guilds were more or less non-existent in the countryside in historical Europe. A guild isn't needed until you have at least a few practitioners of a craft, and that just didn't happen. Even when rural weaving became a whole industry in the 1400s (roughly), there were no guilds of rural weavers. In fact, in many places, the rural practitioner of a craft was forbidden to sell in town. Broadly speaking, towns wished to exert control over their rural hinterland.

That said, there's no reason in a fantasy novel *not* to have rural guilds. Just don't bother trying to make them conform to any sort of historical model. Make up what serves the story and call that a guild.
True. However, in the UK, when the guilds evolved to become friendly societies for mutual support what developed in the smaller towns and villages was the Oddfellows, a single society made up of different craftsmen and other professionals. You could always have something similar evolve in your setting as a guld rather than a friendly society.
 

Phietadix

Auror
The use of the word Guild was chosen rather hastily, but I think I like we're it's going so I'm going to hold onto it for the moment
 

Phietadix

Auror
So what I'm thinking about right now, is how Guilds would be distributed through geography. Look at the level of a medium sized, non-island, country. This also feels like a story that best fits 1200-1600 CE, Northern Hemisphere, Eurasia.


Clearly natural resources are going to come into play.

Smithing guilds are going to cluster near mountains, with a greater number of mining communities, Smith Guild, and a tendency towards metalwork and it's related fields. I like the idea that this is not a very war focused country though, so tools will be more emphasized over weapons.

Coastal regions are going to cluster around water based resources, things like fish and sand will be more available. Perhaps mostly fishing small communites, Glassblowing Guild Towns and the like. I'm not sure if whales would be a resource yet

River cites are likely to be the main hubs of trade. A lot of manufacturing based stuff. I am thinking these are the most cosmopolitan cites. The towns are going to tend larger and more diverse, but still keep that feeling of Isolation by profession to a degree. The "capital" if one exists, probably straddles biggest major river, near the center of the plains, but not too far from the coast. I think sea trades is not as important for this nation though, it’s trade would be more internal, think China or France. Clay feels like it would be the resource here, as well as river fish.

Inland cities, lots of farming villages, medium sized towns likely form around the Grain based manufacturing jobs, Bread Towns, and Fried Dough Towns, and the like. I think I want rice to be this countries primary grain over wheat, but I’m not set on that

Entertainer’s guilds are likely nomadic among the more rural communities and more settled around the cities, (That idea gives me Romani vibes though, so I’m cautious about it)

Forest communities. Clearly lumber. Maybe Guild Towns tend to be more carpenter based? A lot of furniture towns and door towns and the like.

Herding towns. Clearly milk and Dairy are going to form some communities, I’m not sure

Not sure about Art, Science, or Spices though

Obviously certain guilds will have influence everywhere (I’m avoiding the politics for now). Clearly food will have to show up everywhere, but I like the idea that communities tend to import food a lot more than they did in history. Food can be transported easily enough, particularly with a culture this community focused. Baths are not really mobile, so those guilds probably has locations everywhere. Plus Inn towns may or may not exist, you probably already know someone wherever you’re going and would just stay with them.

With the cross pollination of skills from how the child rearing works, this should probably be a lot more fluid. But these are my initial instincts from geography

Edit: Ugh, so many typos. I'll fix them later
 
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Phietadix

Auror
Looking at Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions

Power Distance: Very Egaliatian
Collectivist and Indiviualsim: Mid-way between
Uncertainty Avoidance: I'm uncertain and thus avoiding it
Feminitity vs Masculinity: Extreme end of Feminiity
Short-Term vs Long Term Orientation: Uncertain, I think towards the middle
Restraint vs Indulgence: Tends slightly towards indulgence
 

Reaver

Staff
Moderator
WORLD BUILDING

Eildon Tree
"the intersection of the earthly and faery worlds"

(92, Tolkien: On Fairy-Stories, edited by Verlyn Flieger & Douglas Anderson)

Faërian
(63, Tolkien: On Fairy-Stories)


PLOT

Rites of passage
(Save the cat! Goes to the movies by Blake Snyder)

Institutionalized
(Save the cat! Goes to the movies)

Ascension & Descension
(20 master plots by Ronald Tobias)

Transcendency
(The plot tickets by Noah Luleman)

Luis,
If you’re going to comment in a thread, make a concerted effort to stay on the topic and / or viewpoint presented by the O.P.

Thanks!
 

Phietadix

Auror
Entertainer’s guilds are likely nomadic among the more rural communities and more settled around the cities, (That idea gives me Romani vibes though, so I’m cautious about it)

My has drifted to anthropological models of Music theory. The idea of Sea Shanties, Threshing Songs, and the like
 
My has drifted to anthropological models of Music theory. The idea of Sea Shanties, Threshing Songs, and the like
Sea chanties and threshing songs and the like are work songs. Singing them isn't anyone's work, traditionally. It's something people do while they work. Usually the song provides the rhythm for the work. It's a way to help keep the workers in sync, especially for physical tasks requiring team work. Which is why there are so many refrains of "Way hey" or "Heave ho" in sea shanties.
 

Phietadix

Auror
Sea chanties and threshing songs and the like are work songs. Singing them isn't anyone's work, traditionally. It's something people do while they work. Usually the song provides the rhythm for the work. It's a way to help keep the workers in sync, especially for physical tasks requiring team work. Which is why there are so many refrains of "Way hey" or "Heave ho" in sea shanties.
That was my point actually, Music no longer having a guild but each one just forming their own form of work songs over time
 
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