ABSTRACT
The effect of the Reformation upon social and political thought has long been discussed and debated. Did the idea of the community of believers pave the way for democracy? Did the doctrine of resignation cede ground to absolutism? Did the emphasis on personal faith give rise to a general belief in liberty? Did 'worldly asceticism' promote capitalism? The question which concerns us here, however, is a somewhat different one: namely, the relation between the Reformation and the guild tradition - a subject which has not received a great deal of attention. For, at least in its early stages, the Reformation seems to have had a special affiliation with the guild ethos, especially in Germany. This topic is closely related to the question of the Reformation and civic tradition in Germany, which has occupied scholars' attention, particularly since Berndt Moller's pioneering work (1972) first appeared in 1955. Möller argued that in some respects the Reformers' teaching evoked a return to first principles among townsmen, stimulating restoration and reinvigoration of communal values and practices. It was, moreover, in post-Reformation Germany that the guild-orientated ethos of the 'home town' (Walker 1971) developed. What part, then, did guild values play in the Reformation, and how did the Reformation in turn affect those values?
