The untold story of how a medieval guild united the worlds of commerce and religion and changed local life and international influence on the eve of the Reformation.

Forging Fraternity in Late Medieval Society is the first major study of a national guild and its far-reaching influence. Rachael Harkes outlines the intricate role of the Palmers’ Guild of Ludlow, showing how its membership extended beyond urban centers into rural life and shaped local and regional governance on the eve of the Reformation. Through meticulous analysis of guild records and non-guild sources, this book confronts preconceived notions about these understudied institutions, demonstrating how they functioned as social and political networks that connected villages, households, city officials, and even the Crown.

By shedding light on the complex intersections of faith and community, Forging Fraternity in Late Medieval Society sheds new light on the forces that shaped late medieval England and Wales at a moment when traditional structures of power and belief were on the brink of transformation.

Rachael Harkes is a postdoctoral research associate on the ERC-UKRI project, MOWLIT: The Medieval March of Wales, 1282-1550: Mapping Literary Geography in a British Border Region. She has published articles in Urban History and the Journal of British Studies.