The Lugoni Trade Guild
Structure
The Lugoni Trade Guild is the largest mercantile organization in Northeastern Kornôgel, a decentralized alliance of various merchant houses and craftsmen guilds in cities and ports across Anjev, Gallia, La Manche and Letha. It is headquartered in the city of Ar Mans in the County of Cenomannie.
Organizational Structure
The Grand Council
The Guild is administered by the Grand Council, made up of 12 representatives from local chapters of the Guild and headed by the Grand Guildmaster, a position elected by the membership (Masters and Journeymen) every three years. On the Grand Council, representatives from Ar Mans, Per-Ys, Rotomagus and Tours hold special, permanent positions, while the next largest cities or companies enjoy automatic appointment to the next 4 seats. The final 4 seats are made up of a rotating election among the remaining membership, granting a voice to the smaller chapters on the council. Seats are cycled along with the Grand Guildmaster. All other chapters are granted observer status and welcome to attend, but not vote, on council meetings. As a result, factions often form behind each seat, with the elected seats being used to shift the balance of power on the Council. The Grand Council sets out the overarching policies of the organization, handles inter-chapter disputes and administers the divisions of resources among the chapters.Regional Councils
While Ar Mans controls a great deal of policy and arbitrates agreements and disputes among the local chapters, it is the cities and ports that truly control the Lugoni Trade Guilds. Chapters are centered in metropolitain areas, some confined to cities proper and others extending outward in larger networks of villages and towns. Each chapter is made up of representatives of the local craftsmen guilds, trading companies and merchant families, all holding positions in the 12-person council. Unlike the "Stone Four" of Ar Mans, Per-Ys, Rotomagus, and Tours, there are rarely any de jure permanent positions on the council, although factions may establish de facto permanence controlling voting blocs. On paper, each chapter is equal to its neighbors and operates independently, although economic reality shifts the balance of power in spite of, or often because of, the maneuvers of the Grand Council.Ranks
Guild membership is divided into four ranks: Apprentices, Journeymen, masters and grandmasters. The last are reserved for the leadership of the member guilds.Apprentices
Apprentices are the lowest level of guild members, junior craftsmen and merchant just beginning their training in the trades. Apprentices are typically attached to a particular master until they are elevated to journeymen. They are often provided with food, lodging and a small stipend in exchange for their labour, where they are trained in the skills that are needed in thir given craft. Apprentices have no rights within the guild themselves, but are treated as beneficiaries of their master, receiving the protections due to them. Apprentices are the lowest level of craftsmen and merchants, just beginning their careers. Apprentices are typically attached to a particular master until they are elevated to Journeymen. Apprenticeships are highly sought after, a source of social mobility, and families will often pay large amounts to secure these lucrative opportunities.Journeymen
Journeymen have greater freedom than apprentices, able to contract with a master of their choosing in exchange for wages, rather than attached to a particular master. They can work freely, but only while attached to a master and they may not advertise their services independently.Masters
Journeymen are elevated to masters with the completion of a "masterpiece", a showcasing of the ultimate level of their skill. These works are judged by the guild masters, and, if approved, allow a tradesman to operate their own workshop or business, operating it under their own name and taking on apprentices and journeymen of their own.Culture
The Arms of the Guild are a set of silver scales on a field of green and blue. These colours also serve for its livery.
Public Agenda
The Lugoni Trade Guild is dedicated to the free-flow of commerce, the autonomy of its membership and ensuring equitable business practices in cross-regional trade. While the leadership in Ar Mans will focus its influence on specific policies, such as the adoption of the Livre Tournois as a recognized benchmark of currency exchange and the standardization of weights and measures across its vast regional membership, it typically will take a hands off approach on day-to-day operations, leaving that to the local chapters.
The Guild provides a forum of arbitration for contracts and disputes between members, and provides support for its membership in opposition to government or third parties. Furthermore, in exchange for membership, fees and political support, the guild assists in setting cross-industry guidelines, negotiates deals to facilitate trade between cities, provides transportation security, banking services and warehouses for inter-regional shipping. Members gain access to these resources, with smaller merchants normally unable to afford ships to sell their goods outside of their home regions. The Lugoni are said to possess the largest civilian fleet of ships in the North.
Politically, the Guild represents a loose coalition of mercantile free cities, merchant houses and powerful guilds, pushing for rights for the bourgeois classes and autonomy from interference from non-merchant mobility and other government oversight.
The Guild operates in the Northwest of Kornôgel, but seeks to expand into the lucrative markets of the Grand-Duchy of Akitainia and the Cloth Cities, using its connections within Gallia and Anjev to steer policy to make inroads in these markets. The Guild is less powerful in Letha, largely consolidated in port cities like Naoned and Montroulez. It also seeks opportunities further afield, seeking trade agreements with the Fortunate Isles and Tevenn Du to offset its inability to gain an economic foothold in the Mor Kreizdouar, the domain of the Golden Sea.
History
The Lugoni Trade Guild first arose around 735 SI, following The Battle of Brissarthe. At this time, a wealthy class of skilled labourers, tradesfolk and merchants began to rise from the peasant classes, collecting greater economic and political power. These tradesfolk began to organize themselves into guilds to promote and standardize their respective industries.
Following Brissarthe, the formerly independent Sovereignties of Angers, Cenomannie and Touraine were unified under the Duchy of Anjev, collecting them and several smaller Sovereignties into a geopolitical whole. With this unification, the merchant and trade guilds of the great merchant cities saw an opportunity to increase their collective profits and preserve their monopolies with several economic cooperation pacts.
In 1100 SI, an crucial agreement was struck between the Anjevin clothiers and Manchais boatbuilders, the organization growing in both geographic size and the scope of their subject matter. This agreement brought the Lugoni into an alliance with the powerful Lavigerien Guild, a group of navigators holding a virtual monopoly on aerial trade. With this connection secured, the Lugoni spread to cities across the North in La Manche, Gallia and Letha. At this time, the Tempestarii, powerful within the Lavigerian Guild, were granted membership opportunities, which was soon extended to other Sidhe Tuath.
Lethan, still in the fever of Konstanza's war, joined the partnership formally shortly after, but demanded equal membership for Korrigan Tuath, specifically the Kriores of Ker-Malastred and the Teuz. Unwilling to let the economic powers in Letha and La Manche slip away, the Bediz organization capitulated to these demands for Fae inclusivity.
Following the destruction of the Urzh Kroashent in 1208, the Guild became the largest banking industry outside of the Golden Sea, one of the few creditors of King Philippe Le Bel to escape retribution during The Black Crown Affair. The guild continued to evolve, formalizing its membership and organization structure, increasingly consolidating its power over its member organizations.
Balancing the Scales of Trade
Founding Date
735 SI
Type
Financial, Merchant League
Alternative Names
Les Balanciers d'Argent, The Merchantmen, Conclutchers (Derogatory)
Leader
Location
Related Ethnicities
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