take the place of the antiquated derivation from the Anglo-Saxon geldan, gyldan, to pay, by which are implied contributions by friends, relatives, and associates.1 Guided by the hand of etymological and historical evidence, we may conclude that the origin of guilds is to be sought in the ancient custom of drinking at the occasion of sacrifices. The drinking-bout, convivium, was the occasion when the members of the association met; it afterward became the method for celebrating their meetings, and its very name, convivium, was applied to the guild. In a contribution of this kind to a journal of a professedly entertaining char acter, it may be pardonable if the writer in dulges in a few observations on the leading characteristics of these associations. He must recognize in the guilds the immutable law of cause and effect. Guilds had their origin in drinking-bouts, in conviviality asso ciated with idolatrous worship; and to-day trade and other unions, the legitimate de scendants of the guilds of the Middle Ages, make it an object and sign of fellowship to revive the practices of the early times, — in other words and plain English, to get dis gracefully drunk. Etymological and other analogies and conclusions like the above must not be carried too far, however; for example, demagogue cannot be construed into any relationship with demijohn, al though the observation of certain socialistic phenomena may justify the conclusion of intimate association. Omitting the consideration of those insti tutions of ancient Rome to which some of the characteristics of guilds and unions can be ascribed, we will in this paper study the guilds among the Germanic nations, the ear liest mention of which occurs in the laws of the Franks. The earliest laws on guilds apply to unions for convivial purposes; and besides, the laws are directed against the formation of unions 1 Hegel, Stadte und Gilden, i. pag. 4. 5; Grimm, Deutsche Mythologie, pag. 34, 957; Wilda, Das Gildwesen, pag. 1-25.

by oath and solemn pledge, such unions be ing considered as of a nature dangerous to the welfare of the State. (See the Capitularia regum Franconnm, the capitulary of Charlemagne, a. d. 779, and the Edict of Aix la Chapelle, a. d. 789. The latter edict is intended to suppress the growing vice of intemperance.) Ecclesiastics took part in these guilds, and the Church saw itself obliged to keep a sharp lookout on them. In the resolutions of a synod at Nantes (about the beginning of the ninth century, and contained in the laws of Archbishop Hincmar of Reims, a. d. 852), these unions are called associations, fraternities, and guilds. The laws enact that these associations are to exist only for the purposes of charity. They are, above all, to further the services of religion. Banquets and drinking were prohibited. Associations formed with the ceremony of an oath or by solemn pledge were entirely forbidden; participation in them was to be punished by death or scourging. (Capitularium of Diedenhofen, A. D. 805.) After this brief preliminary sketch, we will now direct our attention to the history of guilds in England, Denmark, Sweden, Nor way, France, Holland, and Germany, and specially consider their connection with the growth of law. Incidentally, the statutes of the various cities will also be considered.1 Guilds in England. In England the sys tem of guilds attained to a greater develop ment than in any other country, and their history is interesting in all respects, social, historical, and legal. The mention of guilds occurs in the oldest laws of the Anglo-Sax ons; and while it is impossible to reconstruct accurately the guild -system of that ancient time, we can base on these laws some con1 Intended merely to present in general outline the most interesting legal features of guilds, and especially those connected with the less-known guilds of the northern nations, it has been thought best to omit the merchant guilds of England after the Conquest. For the history of these guilds the reader is referred to the important and exhaustive work of Professor Gross, of Harvard, "The Guild Merchant," 1890.