Journeyman?

[mollymoo43]

I am researching our family tree & the occupation Journeyman has featured several times. Does anyone know what a journeyman was in the past 300 years? We have a journeyman baker & a journeyman mason for example.

[Sproutstick]

Hi mollymoo43,

A Journeyman is a person who has served an apprenticeship in a trade or craft (such as baking or masonary in the cases of your ancestors) and is a qualified worker within another person's employment.  Although the Journeyman was  experienced and competent, he was usually classed as an undistinguished worker.  As such, the title of 'Journeyman' seemed an appropriate phrase to use in order to describe some one who was 'experienced and competent' and therefore a 'man', yet still on a 'journey' of reputation - an undistinguised 'fledgling' worker who has yet to build his reputation.

 

Hope this helps?????  

[Clanad]

The name journeyman comes from the fact that after being employed by a master for several years, and after producing a qualifying piece of work, the journeyman was given a letter which entitled him to travel to other towns and countries to learn the art from other masters. These journeys could span large parts of Europe and was an unofficial way of communicating new methods and techniques.

After this journey and several years of experience, a journeyman could be elected to become a master craftsman. This would require the approval of all masters of a guild, a donation of money and other goods, and in many practical handicrafts the production of a so-called masterpiece, which would illustrate the abilities of the aspiring master craftsman....

[Quizmonster]

Actually, the 'journey' part of the word 'journeyman' has nothing to do with travel or journeys of any sort. It is a corruption of the old French word 'journ�e' meaning 'a day'. Thus, a journeyman was a tradesman who had completed his apprenticeship and - even though not yet a fully experienced master of his trade - was, therefore, entitled to be paid 'by the day'.

[mollymoo43]

Thank you all. I also did some other checking & together with your help now have a clear idea of what our ancestors were. Thanks for taking the time to help me out. Mollymoo