fjt_700417 - CORPORATIONS Orfèvres 1700

CORPORATIONS

The bodies or corporations were groups of people dedicated to the exercise and defense of the interests and privileges of a trade. In Paris, among these bodies, a hierarchy had not taken long to form with on the one hand the six “great” bodies, then then 127 various corporations. Among the six major corps, the first was that of drapers and woolen weavers. The arms of the six corps were adopted in general assembly in 1629, and in agreement with the city of Paris, each corps adopted the ships for its arms. In order to distinguish themselves, each corps took the number of ships corresponding to its order: one ship for the drapers, two for the grocers, three for the haberdashers, four for the furriers, five for the hosiers, the goldsmiths kept their old weapons..