The Dickinson press., 1905-02-11
OLD TRADE BALLADS

OLD TRADE BALLADS
soNos OF THE ENGLISH WEAvERs,
MERGERS AND 1AiloRs.
.Azasng the Lays Of the 0ailds the
Ditty Of the weavers Held First
Place-TAe soutar's Tribute to the
Importance sf HIS Craft.
In the social history Of Europe dur
ing the middle ages the craft guilds
played a very important part. The
powers conferred upon them were
such as to provoke the envy Of the
modern trades unions, and, although
the guilds and the governing citizens
did not always work harmoniously to-
gether, the victory at last rested with
the guilds. By the time of Edward Ill.
the craft guilds had become so fash
ionable that the king himself became
member Of one, the linen armorers.
Some reflection of the strong corpo-
rate feeling among members Of a trade
may, be expected to be found in the
popular literature of the time, and
among the old ballads which hare
come down to us are interesting exam
pies Of the medieval trade song, which
have been collected by the Percy soci-
ETY.. Among the craft guilds the weav-
ers ranked first. In the library at Berne
Is an old French ".Song of the Weav-
ers." The poet declares himself close
observer of men. "By right duty" he
says, II ought to make you know those
who do most good. say, according to
my understanding, from here to the
Seine one could not find people who are
more necessary than the weavers."
There is in human nature tendency
to measure worth by the standard Of
ones own profession. Mr.. Lillivick, the
water rate collector, it will be remem-
bered, measured France by its water
rate and found his poor opinion of the
country confirmed by hearing from
Nicholas Nickleby" that water was
reau in France.
And the poet Of the weavers contin-
ues: II say that the weavers have the
most beautiful avocation that any man
could exercise. and as well as beauty it
has so much goodness as no one could
recount, for say that by clothes is a
man high or low, according as he has
plenty of them. Nuns and abbesses,
queens and countesses could not be
without clothes; clerks, burghers or
peasants without clothes, you may be
sure, would not be very handsome" If,
the writer continues, with a touch of
the grim humor that finds later devel-
opment In "Sartor Resartus," a mer-
chant were to go barefoot on the public
way he would find no one to traffic
with him. On the other hand, "you
may be very certain that there is no
peasant so wretched or so clownish
but IL he had beautiful clothes every
one would call to him and would say
buy" But 1t is want that makes us
know the true worth Of clothes. '"They
who are In their shirt In the wind and
the gale, as God may save me, may
well perceive, If they have any power
Of perceiving, the worth Of good robe.
No man can know what robe may be
worth who is always at his ease" The
song ends with moving appeal. "Of
Gll who are weavers, for Gods sake I
tell and relate to them and pray and
ask them for God and for honor some
thing of theirs. My need is come, for
can neither 60 nor take nor steal
without a weaver"
In MERGERS song Of the thirteenth
century, reprinted in Paris, the poet
retails at great length all his stock in
trade, and his enumeration Of the art-
cles in demand is valuable to the an
tiquary as giving an insight into the
fashions and customs of the middle
ages. "Now, If it please you to listen,"
he says, II can easily describe the
mercery that carry, but find it very
heavy. I have handsome kerchiefs for
ladies, with ties that sell to the pref
ty maids and of silk to match; hats
with gold embroidered fronts. have
also some of linen for young beaus.
with flowers or birds, very smooth and
very well polished, to colt themselves
in presence Of their sweethearts. I
have also hempen ones for the clowns
and muf11es for their hands.
II have little bells for monasteries.
I have boiling cloths for the bakers. l
have rolling pins for pastry. I have
laces for surcoats with knots. I have
tables memorandum books with leaves
Of ivory, skin or wax), styles and style
cases, for which l receive the good
pence and halfpence of the clerks. l
have also all the utensils necessary for
a lady's toilet, razors, forceps, looking
glasses, toothbrushes and toothpicks
and bandeaux and crimping irons, trail
neaux, combs, mirrors and rosewater,
with which they furbish themselves. l
have cotton with which they rouge and
whitening with which they whiten
themselves, and have laces for lacing
their sleeves" The mercer ends by
complaining that at his low prices he
cannot make livelihood out of his
mercery. II cannot obtain any good
from it, and never from anything that
! carried did gain enough to eat.
Therefore will set my pack down. I
will not meddle any more with it."
A song of the shoemakers in the
Berne library belongs to the same date.
The poet indulges, like the weaver, in
a disparagement of the less worthy in
order to heighten the claims Of the
shoemaker. ''There is no man, neither
high nor low, however greedy and
avariclous he may be, but he must
have shoes, unless he is Of such an or
der Of monks or hermit or holy man
who for the sake of God will go bare
footed, for no man who is without
shoes would ever carry with him the
appearance Of much work. If he had