Een timmerman zal tot zijn proeve maken…

Abstract

Between 1500 and 1800 preparing a masterpiece for carpenters, just as for other crafts, was a requirement in the Netherlands in order to be acknowledged as a free-working apprentice or master. Although this status is not always mentioned explicitly, mastership was exclusively related to the authority to train apprentices and the permission to contract for work. In order to be admitted to the guild, carpenters had to make a cross window, one or more trusses or a staircase. Depending on place and point of time, the assignment could differ considerably. The nature of the masterpiece indicates which pieces or architectural elements were considered a criterion of quality, although the description of the masterpiece was usually concise. In the 18th century oak cross-bar windows were still prescribed everywhere, whereas in practice the pine sash window was generally applied. The truss with wall posts and braces was still prescribed in many towns, but these supports had passed into disuse since the beginning of the 17th century, because the beams were directly supported by the walls. In the course of the 17th century straight flights of stairs and perrons replaced the spiral staircases prescribed by the guilds until well into the 18th century but no longer built in practice. In case of roofs and staircases it increasingly concerned a theoretical test, i.e. a test in draughtsmanship and geometry. The primary assignment of an architect consists in the early combination of drawing a wooden facade and preparing building specifications (Antwerp 1543), a method still functioning up to the present moment. The concept of “architect” is absent in the jargon of the guild system, both among carpenters and among masons. Knowledge of modern building forms and techniques hardly occurred in the examination package of craftsmen. However, since the 17th century there was an increasing emphasis on drawing and calculating, which may explain why a carpenter could develop into an architect under certain circumstances. Consequently, as opposed to the bricklayer/stonemason who in the Middle Ages could be master of the entire work, it has been customary up to this day that a carpenter acts as general foreman, administers the drawings in the site hut and supervises the dimensions. The position of the guilds changed between 1500 and 1800. It is remarkable that until well into the eighteenth century age-old guilds’ privileges were appealed to, while at the same time it was found that the related low fines did not offer the protection desired. It seems that the influence of the guilds was decreasing as the town council increasingly started to represent the interests of governors, administrators and traders, who were more remote from handiwork and practice. In the 18th century conflicts and petitions with respect to the guilds get an abstract, legal character, pushing the contents of the work into the background. In combination with the outdated character of the masterpieces and the ever-increasing admission fees the bankruptcy of the guild system was apparent well before 1795.