Unguilded Freemen
Unguilded freemen are people who live in cities and towns but exist outside the monopolistic guild system that controls most trades and professions. They occupy the economic and social margins: common laborers, servants, teamsters, ratters, scribes who work for private employers, and artisans who cannot afford guild franchises.
While technically “free” (as opposed to serfs bound to land), unguilded freemen experience precarious economic circumstances, legal vulnerability, and social contempt from both guilded craftspeople and the nobility. Yet they form an essential part of the urban economy and provide services that the rigid guild system does not cover.
Legal Status
Freemen vs. Serfs
People living in cities are, by definition, freemen. However, this status has little practical meaning beyond legal terminology:
- Guilded freemen — members of a guild; protected by monopoly and guild law
- Unguilded freemen — everyone else; working outside guild monopolies
Rent & Tenure
Like rural peasants, unguilded freemen must pay rent for the space they occupy:
- Urban rent: Paid in cash (denarii), not goods or labor
- Lease term: Typically renewable annually (unlike peasant tenure, which is perpetual)
- Vulnerability: Annual renewal means eviction is always a threat
Legal Rights
Unguilded freemen have certain legal rights:
- Right to work any unguilded trade without guild permission
- Right to relocate to another settlement (unlike bound serfs)
- Right to own portable goods (but not real estate)
- Access to city courts and justice systems
However, these rights are fragile and often ignored in practice.
Population Distribution
Rural population breakdown (Kaldor):
- Serfs: ~85%
- Freemen: ~15%
Urban population breakdown (Kaldor):
- Guilded freemen: ~40%
- Unguilded freemen: ~60%
Urban settlements are dominated by unguilded freemen despite the guild system’s economic control.
Occupations
Common Occupations
Manual Labor
- Laborer/Longshoreman — dock work, warehouse labor, construction
- Porter — carrying goods and people
- Teamster — caravan driver (technically unguilded despite Mercantylers’ dominance)
- Water carrier — delivering water to homes and businesses
- Night soil collector — handling human waste
Specialized Service Work
- Cook/Servant — preparing food and serving in households
- Scribe — clerical work for private employers
- Animal trainer — breaking and training animals for private use
- Hunter/Trapper — providing game meat for urban market
- Fisherman — fishing in rivers and coastal waters
Problematic Occupations
- Ratter — catching and killing rats; pest control
- Beggar — often organized and semi-professional
- Prostitute/Pimp — sex work; often coerced
- Thief (independent) — stealing outside Lia Kavair organization
Income Levels
| Occupation | Monthly Income | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Laborer (unskilled) | 6–12d | Highly variable; day-to-day work |
| Laborer (skilled) | 12–25d | Steadier work; higher skill level |
| Teamster | 20–40d | Specialized; depends on cargo value |
| Ratter | 8–15d | Per contract; irregular |
| Scribe | 15–30d | Depends on employer and complexity |
| Hunter/Trapper | 15–35d | Highly variable; seasonal |
| Cook/Servant | 8–20d | Often includes room and board |
Most unguilded freemen earn less than journeymen in the guilds and much less than masters.
Origins
Most unguilded city dwellers are:
- Escaped serfs — fugitives from rural bondage who fled to cities seeking freedom
- Manumitted serfs — formally freed by their lords (rare; requires substantial manumission fees)
- Rural freemen — people born free in rural areas who migrated to cities
The Teamster Brotherhood
Teamsters are an unusual case: technically unguilded despite caravan work being central to commerce. The Mercantylers’ Guild controls caravan masters but does not control the drivers themselves.
Teamsters are organizing into brotherhoods — quasi-guild associations that advocate for guild recognition, negotiate working conditions, provide mutual aid, and organize collective action.
A significant political campaign exists to force the Mangai to recognize teamsters as a formal guild. The Timberwrights’ and Miners’ Guilds are sympathetic; the broader Mangai opposes, viewing teamster recognition as threatening to guild monopoly expansion.
The Ratters
Ratters are specialized unguilded workers who catch and kill rats, exterminate other vermin, clean affected areas, and sell rat fur and other by-products. They occupy the lowest economic tier of unguilded freemen.
Many ratters are devotees of Peoni — the goddess who accepts the lowly and the outcast. St. Emrys (5th century ratter) is the patron saint of ratters; his silver-banded relic is said to aid in pest eradication.
Ratters are particularly vulnerable to exploitation by the Lia Kavair: their knowledge of every building in their working areas, their legitimate access to stores and restricted areas, and their poverty make them easily threatened or bribed into intelligence work.
Social Class Interactions
| Social Class | Attitude |
|---|---|
| Noble | Contemptuous; may employ for menial work |
| Guilded Freeman | Superior; uses guild monopoly to extract fees |
| Serf | Roughly equal materially; freeman has legal freedoms serf lacks |
| Town Watch | Suspicious; default suspects for crime |
| Church of Peoni | Welcoming; actively serves unguilded populations |
| Church of Larani | Indifferent; focused on nobility and guild interests |
| Lia Kavair | Predatory; exploits, coerces, and employs for criminal work |
Economic Vulnerability
Unguilded workers are constantly pressured by:
- Guild undercutting: Guilds may deliberately lower prices to eliminate unguilded competition
- Legal harassment: Guilds use laws and courts to restrict unguilded work
- Franchise restrictions: Guilds prevent unguilded workers from owning businesses
- Chronic debt: Borrowing to survive lean periods
- Seasonal unemployment: Lack of work during certain times of year
The Unguilded Economy
Despite guild attempts to suppress it, an unguilded economy persists:
- Scriveners writing documents without guild sanction
- Healers treating patients without formal training
- Artisans creating goods outside guild oversight
- Street vendors selling goods without franchises
- Informal lending and debt collection
- Unlicensed taverns and boarding houses
The unguilded economy overlaps with outright criminality, making the distinction between “poor laborer” and “criminal” sometimes blurred.