It was often a narrow oligarchy, as in Venice, or even an absolute monarchy, as in Florence, in the Renaissance period; but during the medieval period guild democracies did evolve.
Seringkali justru berupa oligarki terbatas, misalnya di Venesia, atau bahkan berupa monarki mutlak, misalnya di Firenze, pada Abad Pembaharuan; namun pada Abad Pertengahan, demokrasi-demokrasi gilda memang berkembang.