Despre prerogativele disciplinare ale breslelor din Transilvania în secolul al XVI-lea. Breslele din Sibiu și Brașov
About the Competencies of the Guilds in Transylvania in Disciplinary Matters in the Sixteenth Century. Guilds of Sibiu and Braşov

Summary/Abstract: This paper aims to complete these opinions, analyzing the competencies of the guilds in disciplinary matters using the example of the two most important Transylvanian Saxon towns, Sibiu and Braşov. It will discuss how the courts of the guilds work, what relationship they had with the town council, what misbehavior and disciplinary deviations were punished by the guilds, even complementary with the municipal authorities, and how this actions fit to the measures taken by the authorities to maintain public order in the city. Our position is that there is little evidence in order to prove the fact that the courts of the guilds had worked autonomously even before the regulation their statutes. The lack of sources not offers the possibility to determine to what extent they depended on the town council. The relationship between the guilds and the town council was already tight at the beginning of the 16th century. However, the guilds functioned as courts of limited jurisdiction. The new statutes of the guilds brought change not primarily in limiting disciplinary attributions of the craftsmen’s unions still they transferred only the greater offenses to the town’s regular courts, such as the assault and frauds. In our opinion authorities maintained public order in the city, relying on the traditional organization of society, including the guilds.

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