Wage Labor and Guilds in Medieval Europe

Relying on a broad range of printed and secondary sources <i>Wage Labor and Guilds</i> 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.--<i>Speculum</i> <br/><br/>A thoughtful and wide-ranging contribution to the social and economic history of the High Medieval urban milieu.--<i>Journal of Interdisciplinary History</i> <br/><br/>Interesting and comprehensive. . . . A major accomplishment.--<i>Journal of Economic History</i> <br/><br/>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