Archery and Crossbow Guilds in Medieval Flanders, 1300-1500

by Laura Crombie

First full study devoted to the archery and crossbow guilds which grew up in Flanders in the middle ages.

The notion of "guilds" in civic society might conjure images of craft guilds, the organisations of butchers, bakers or brewers set up to regulate working practises. In the towns of medieval Flanders, however, a plethora of guildsexisted which had little or nothing to do with the organisation of labour, including chambers of rhetoric, urban jousters and archery and crossbow guilds.
This is the first full-length study of the archery and crossbow guilds, encompassing not only the great urban centres of Ghent, Bruges and Lille but also numerous smaller towns, whose participation in guild culture was nonetheless significant. It examines guild membership, structure and organisation, revealing the diversity of guild brothers - and sisters - and bringing to life the elaborate social occasions when princes and plumbers would dine together. The most spectacular of these were the elaborate regional shooting competitions, whose entrances alone included play wagons, light shows and even an elephant! It also considers their social and cultural activities, and their important role in strengthening and rebuilding regional networks. Overall, it provides a new perspective on the strength of community within Flemish towns and the values that underlay medieval urban ideology.

Laura Crombie gained her PhD from the university of Glasgow; she is currently a teaching fellow in medieval history at the University of Leicester.

Genres: Medieval

269 pages, Hardcover

Published June 16, 2016

Reviews

[The Old Woman of All Hallows · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this perceptive analysis of medieval shooting guilds in late medieval Flanders, Laura Crombie describes the membership of the guilds; their martial, social and devotional activities together with roles beyond archery. The book is derived from her PhD thesis and as such it is written in scholarly style but her writing is crystal clear with much to engage the casual reader of medieval history. Dr Crombie gives texture and colour to her subject by enriching the text from a wide assortment of primary documents such as guild registers, civic and princely records and literary sources.
It seems that while medieval authorities might frown on leisure pursuits such as ball games, archery practice with traditional bows or crossbows was encouraged. In times of war or civic unrest the advantages of having a committed layer of citizens skilled in the use of weapons is obvious but according to the author, the purpose of shooting guilds went beyond military service or occasional militia duties. The guilds fostered the idea of peaceable brotherhood (and sisterhood: apparently about ten per cent of guild members were female.) Guild values about good behaviour and honour helped to produce strong communities which were proud of their origins and ancient traditions. Perhaps most of all, the guilds contributed to that most elusive but vital quality - a sense of identity, both collectively and individually. The guilds held regular, convivial meetings and yearly shooting competitions with prizes for the best shot and other categories of excellence. Drama and alcohol seems to have played a considerable part in these festivities. As the author reminds us, “…community and drinking in recreational assembly by all ranks of society” is one of universal, timeless appeal. The descriptions of these events in the book are entertaining.
Strangely enough, since medieval people were acutely aware of social stratification, guild membership does seem to have been open to all ranks; nobles and wealthy merchants fraternised with cobblers and tin-pot-makers. The brotherhood was hierarchical but precedence was based on shooting skill and different kinds of support for the guild rather than social or financial considerations. Dr Crombie has assembled a fascinating table showing the many different crafts and professions involved. It is notable that one priest is listed as a crossbowman. (Table 3, p. 84.) Whereas one would expect that priests would be guild members as chaplains of guild chapels and perhaps administrators of alms, it is odd to see one apparently involved actively in the martial arts. If, even by accident, a fully ordained priest cut and killed anyone, (even in the practice of surgery, far less in shooting) he would have lost his faculties as a priest, meaning that he could not say Mass which was a mortally, serious matter for him and all the souls in his care. (Council of Tours, 1163. ) Perhaps the general pardon given to shooters by local authorities for wounding or killing a bystander would supersede Canon Law in this instance?
The devotional practice of the guild and its socially cohesive and spiritual benefits is another area strongly highlighted by Dr Crombie. Most guilds had a patron saint, their own chapel and regularly heard Mass together. The names of dead guild members were entered in a book of remembrance and thus through prayer and requiems had the foreknowledge and consolation of continuing to share in the spiritual benefits of the community. Readers and researchers interested in the history of old age and women’s studies will be engaged by Dr Crombie’s account of a guild hospital, which was staffed by female, guild members. It is touching to hear of aged guildsmen with no biological heirs treating their hospital, as the author puts it, ‘as a collective heir’. In return for shelter and care at the end of their lives, the childless might leave their entire estate to further the charitable activities of the guild much like, perhaps, the purchase of corrodies from monasteries and convents.
“Archery and Crossbow Guilds in Medieval Flanders: 1300-1500” is a fresh, meticulously researched piece of work which certainly hits the mark.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book offers a clear and cogent analysis of the position of shooting guilds throughout medieval Flanders and neighbouring regions.

Things the book did well:
- The main thesis is subdivided into several smaller arguments, each of which usually takes up a chapter. These chapters can all be read independently of one another, and the author always made sure to include relevant contextual details from other chapters to help guide further reading as well.
- All of the chapters extensively cite archival sources, both what is there and what is (conspicuously) not, in order to support the author's interpretation.
- The author also constantly and consistently cite a wide variety of secondary sources to compare and contrast shooting guilds to other civic organisations, such as devotional brotherhoods, craft guilds, urban jousters, and chambers of rhetoric, which helps sketch the wider connective threads of mediaeval society.

Things the book did not as well:
- Because the chapters are meant to be read independently, if you read the book cover-to-cover, prepare for some significant repetition and retreading of certain points. Ultimately, this is the compromise the author chose to make the book more accessible to less-commited readers.
- The author seemed operate near exclusively in a mediaeval framework, more specifically, the two centuries specified in the title. While she certainly developed her arguments in an engaging and persuasive manner, I was left wanting for a greater sense of continuity with both what came before and especially after this arbitrarily chosen (as the author herself admitted) period.

[Stephen Ede-Borrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb and wonderfully researched study of a relatively obscure topic. The study covers all aspects of the guilds from their membership to their purposes, their rules and if particularly good on the competitions, which could sometimes last very many weeks!
I found the note of the messenger delivering invitations for these competitions who received rewards from the towns he visited who 'lost' (quote) the quantities if wine he was given, albeit he still had the various silver items, to be highly amusing and I can just imagine the conversations. The book is full if such anecdotes among the detailed discussions and it brings much of the period to life.
If the era is at all of interest in either military or, more especially, social aspects then I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
(I must comment that the book could have done with better editing with some very annoying spelling mistakes and punctuation errors - not really acceptable in a book of this cost. The author deserved better.)