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Master craftsman
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A master craftsman (sometimes called only master or grandmaster, ) was a member of a guild. In the European guild system, only master craftsmen were allowed to be members of the guild.
An aspiring master would have to pass through the career chain from apprentice to journeyman before he could be elected to become a master craftsman. He would then have to produce a sum of money and a masterpiece before he could actually join the guild.
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A master craftsman (sometimes called only master or grandmaster, ) was a member of a guild. In the European guild system, only master craftsmen were allowed to be members of the guild.
An aspiring master would have to pass through the career chain from apprentice to journeyman before he could be elected to become a master craftsman. He would then have to produce a sum of money and a masterpiece before he could actually join the guild. If the masterpiece was not accepted by the masters, he was not allowed to join the guild, possibly remaining a journeyman for the rest of his life.
Today's master craftsman in different countries
United Kingdom
continues a great tradition established by the guilds of medieval Europe. The earliest of these were "frith" or "peace" guilds - groups bonded together for mutual protection following the breakdown of the kins, which were groups related by blood ties.
Merchant guilds - associations of international trades - were powerful in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, but lost their ascendancy with the rise of the craft guilds - associations of master craftsmen, journeymen, apprentices and the various trades connected with a particular craft.
The world-renowned College of Arms in London awarded the coat of arms of The Guild of Master Craftsmen in 1992, after four years of assessment. Designed by heraldic expert Peter Greenhill to reflect the many categories of Guild membership, it features: three escutcheons (shields) to represent artists, painters and stainers; a pair of compasses opened in chevron for building, construction and carpenters; a dovetail (separating the top third of the shield from the rest) to represent cabinetmaking, woodworking and joinery; and a gavel and chisel for masons and stoneworkers. The southern keep of Lewes Castle, which overlooks the Guild’s headquarters, is featured above the helmet as the crest.
United States
While guilds as such do not exist, many trades continue the apprentice-journeyman-master model. Electricians, pipefitters and plumbers are notable examples. Even in academia, the tradition survives, with PhD students as apprentices, post-docs as journeymen and professors as masters.
The paper which needs to be presented in order to get an academic degree, proving the student's proficiency in the chosen subject and whose quality is examined by existing lecturers, is in effect a form of the medieval masterpiece which needed to be prepared by anyone seeking to be accepted as a master in any professional guild.
The terms Master Mariner and harbormaster reflect the fact that the holders of such positions were originally Master craftsman in the Seamen's Guild. Further derived from "harbormaster" is "stationmaster", though guilds no longer existed when railways came into being.
Germany
While guilds have also been abolished in Germany, the ranks of apprentice, journeyman (German: Geselle, literally a person with whom you share living accommodations (German:sal => hall), translates as companion, a person with whom you share bread (eat with)) and master craftsman have been retained until today. For many crafts one still has to be a "Meister" to be allowed to run a business of that craft. Journeymen and masters are automatically by law members of their regional Chamber of the skilled crafts which is a self governing public body. The Chamber is the organiser of the technical vocational educational training and oversees the examination of the masters examination. (Strictly speaking: a company that offers services in a craft needs to employ a master of that craft, so it's not a legal requirement that the owner be the master craftsman.) The justification for this is the (perceived or actual) higher quality which is achieved by businesses run by master craftspeople. Some people claim that this restriction limits free enterprise initiative and thus fosters the current high unemployment rate in Germany. Lately several crafts have had the requirement for businesses to have a master of the craft removed; however, any craft that is perceived as being security relevant, like for instance electricians and chimney sweeps, still has it and is unlikely to have it waived anytime soon.
The master craftsman is the highest professional qualification in crafts and is a state-approved grade. The education includes theoretical and practical training in the craft and also business and legal training, and includes the qualification to be allowed to train apprentices as well. The status of master craftsman is regulated in the German Gesetz zur Ordnung des Handwerks, HandwO (Law of crafts).
The requirements to become a master craftsman are usually an education in the crafts in which the examination should be taken (a successfully completed apprenticeship and examination, called Gesellenprüfung) and experience of at least 3 years as a journeyman (Geselle). Only then training courses for the Meisterprüfung ("master's examination") can be followed. The duration of the courses depends on the craft and can take some years. The examination includes theoretical, practical and oral parts and takes some days (depending on the craft). In most crafts the creation of a masterpiece is still part of the examination.
Master craftsmen who are not running their own business usually have a leading position in a company, not only in crafts. Many companies prefer a master craftsman instead of a university graduate as a technical manager as the education is more practical and they are also supposed to possess good theoretical skills and business knowledge. German master craftspeople are accepted in many countries of the world because of their good education.
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