During the late medieval period, artisans and traders banded together in organisations called guilds. By the early 15th century AD, most large towns had specialised guilds for different trades. Mercantile guilds were for trades that involved selling things such as grocers, butchers, goldsmiths or vintners (wine sellers). Manufacturing guilds were for people who made things, like tailors or saddlers.

Guilds were designed to protect their members, and rules were strict. Apprentices usually had to work with a master for seven years before they could join. By limiting the number of people who could work in a trade, and ensuring that they learnt it thoroughly, guilds could control prices and the quality of goods. Most guilds did not allow women to join, but many women did skilled work with their fathers or husbands, particularly in the cloth trade. Silk-weaving in London was done almost entirely by women.

The most highly paid medieval artisans were the stonemasons. They organised themselves into guilds in the 14th century, but before that they worked in lodges – the huts they put up on their building sites. They learnt their skills on site, serving seven-year apprenticeships. Some masons specialised in carving. The most skilled could become master masons, responsible for designing and supervising the building of an entire cathedral.