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Friday, March 23, 2018

Meet the Colonial Journeyman

The colonial system of apprenticeships worked to train young men - and occasionally young women - in a trade. It was a good system to produce workers needed in the community. But what happened to the apprentice upon completion of their contract?

Most apprentices became a journeyman in their craft. The name comes from the French for "day man." They no longer had a master who provided bed and board in exchange for their education into the craft. Now they hired on to work for wages and lived on their own or moved back in with their family. These journeymen were the up and coming masters of the future.

First, they needed to earn the endorsement of a master in the craft. The journeyman labored to produce the best product of their craft that they could. They submitted this to the master who then submitted it to the craft guild. The guild masters would evaluate the piece and render it master-worthy - or not. If it was, the journeyman was accepted into the guild and given the title of master craftsman.

In my latest release, In Sheep's Clothing, part of A Bouquet of Brides collection, my hero is a journeyman fuller who wants more than anything to attain the level of master fuller. At least, that was his heart's desire until he met a certain local maiden with hazel eyes and an orphan lamb.

PeggThomas.com


9 comments:

  1. I know we have a few vocational schools left in this country, it would be nice to see master craftsmen at work again.

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  2. Enjoyed your post Pegg. It would be nice to see a master craftsman program come back the way it was all those years ago and teach our young (or not so young) a craft. I imagine the Amish do this in a similar way from what I have read/learned about them.
    I recently finished reading A Bouquet of Brides collection, enjoyed it and your story, In Sheep's Clothing.
    Blessings,Tina

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  3. master craftsman is needed. I wish it would come back also.

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    Replies
    1. I think in some areas, like maybe electricians, it's still alive in some form.

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  4. It is nice to see it still offered some in my area.

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  5. Really i found this article more informative, thanks for sharing this article.
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