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The Adolescent Apprentice in European History

© Rachelle Hughes

From the Middle Ages to the 1700s, the son of an artisan or craftsperson often left his home and family to join another household as an apprentice. It was an interesting familial situation as a son, and less frequently a daughter, left their hearth as young as ten years old to begin training for a craft. Even if the father was a master craftsman himself he very rarely apprenticed his own children. Very few craft enterprises were handed down from father to son. In fact, it was more common for a son-in-law or the master's widow's second husband to inherit an enterprise. The artisan guilds encouraged children of master artisans to acquire their training away from home. The initiation of a child as an apprentice into a guild was a binding contract between parents and the future master. The parent paid a stipend and stood surety for the child, while the master provided lodging, food and guardianship for the apprentice. "From the moment that the trainee was admitted into the guild, he belonged to his master's household and had to submit unconditionally to its discipline. The master stood in loco parentis to the young pupil. . ." (Mitterauer, Sauder 105). Apprentices were not allowed to leave the house without the permission of the master. While this absolute authority could occasionally lead to very strict labor or discipline violations, the master was bound by his association with the guild. He was expected to behave in an honorable manner towards his apprentices and to provide a stable household for his young pupils. In many ways the master-apprentice relationship was semi-paternal.

Children were entered into apprenticeships anywhere between ten years old and 18 years. Three years was the normal duration for an apprenticeship but could be anywhere from one to six years depending on the trade. This early age of entry into training for a trade reflects the attitude that adolescents were often caught between the two worlds of adolescence and adulthood.

In many ways this farming out of children at early ages to learn a trade may seem odd to our modern day sensibilities. Yet for centuries, the guilds of Europe maintained strict control over the quality of work as well as the economic stability of their societies. For the artisan son, there was really no other alternative. Without proper training for his craft, he had no future economic earning power or standing among his class. These parents who sent their children from home chose the best course for that child. The child continued to live in a supervised situation and in some cases, a very familial situation with his master. While their work days were definitely longer than our modern day 8 hour schools, and probably more rigorous, these adolescents were usually prepared to participate in the economic and artistic success of their society in a time that was very different from ours.