Jonstown crafterworker guilds from Ingo Tschinke on 1997-10-28 (Glorantha Digest Vol 05)

From: Ingo Tschinke <Tradetalk_at_t-online.de>
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 15:31:39 +0200

Lee R. Insley asked about the Guilds of Jonstown:

> I was reading parts of the Jonstown Guide and it mentions that in 1525,
> local clans formed guilds which they control and which are based on the
> special craft to the clan.

I have written the Jonstown guide so I will try to explain my idea I have had abou the craftworkers guilds of Jonstown. The concept of a city in this time was brought to the tribes of the Cinsina, Malani, Culbrea and Torkani through Sartar was mostly new for them. Sartar forced them together in one confederation which very center is still the city of Jonstown. First this city was mostly a trading post and nothing else. But some crafters from different clans made the expierence that it was much more easier to sell their products if they settled down in Jonstown. But they still have had very strong bounds to their clans from which they have had their roots. So they started in the oncoming years after their settlement to build up crafter worker guilds in the kind of structure they did know from their clans they have the upspring from. They haven't had the same time the develop a kind of structure we have had in the workers guilds as we know it from the medivial ages on the real world. They still think as clans and behave as such.

Over the years they still hold on this structure as well as the name of the clans the founders of this guilds come from. But they also accepted over crafters form different clans and tribes if they accept to follow the rules of the clan-guild.

I was wondering if anyone knew if this applied
> to the clans listed in the guide (which are only a handful), or if all
> clans associated with the Jonstown ring have guilds (which would amount to
> a few dozen guilds)?

I don't have mentioned all clans as you can see in the guide. There are much more clans then guilds. In 1620 the crafter worker guilds are more or less tottally independend from the clans they have their name from.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Also, are these
> guilds something that is unique to Jonstown, or are they something which
> applies to all the cities of Sartar?

IMO this kind of founding crafter worker guilds is unique to Jonstown because the communication between the different cities was not that good that other clans/tribes/conferderations get the idea for founding of guilds from Jonstown.

Cheers

Ingo