gildsmen

Backed by the combined forces of all the gildsmen, it was able to assert itself against the lord who claimed manorial rights over the town, and to insist that a runaway serf who had lived in the town for a year and a day should not be dragged back to perform his servile labor on the manor, but should be recognized as a freeman.

A Political and Social History of Modern Europe V.1. Carlton J. H. Hayes 1923

That the business of the gild might be increased, it was often desirable to enter into special arrangements with neighboring cities whereby the rights, lives, and properties of gildsmen were guaranteed; and the gild as a whole was responsible for the debts of any of its members.

A Political and Social History of Modern Europe V.1. Carlton J. H. Hayes 1923

English towns were prohibited from buying or selling in any way that might interfere with the interests of the gildsmen.

An Introduction to the Industrial and Social History of England Edward Potts Cheyney 1904

"And when a gildsman dies, all those who are of the gild and are in the city shall attend the service for the dead, and gildsmen shall bear the body and bring it to the place of burial."

An Introduction to the Industrial and Social History of England Edward Potts Cheyney 1904

It was from this prominence of the liveried gildsmen, that the term "Livery Companies" came to be applied to the greater London gilds.

An Introduction to the Industrial and Social History of England Edward Potts Cheyney 1904

It was not only at the periodical business meetings, or on the feast days, or in the preparation for the dramatic shows, that the gildsmen were thrown together.

An Introduction to the Industrial and Social History of England Edward Potts Cheyney 1904