Editing Guild (section)

=== Europe ===
In many European countries, guilds have experienced a revival as local trade organizations for craftsmen, primarily in traditional skills.<ref>{{Cite journal | title=The Return of the Guilds: Towards a Global History of the Guilds in Pre-industrial Times | first1=Jan | last1=Lucassen | first2=Tine | last2=De Moor | first3=Jan Luiten | last3=van Zanden | journal=[[International Review of Social History]] | publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=2008| volume=53 | pages=5–18 | doi=10.1017/S0020859008003581 | jstor=26405465 | s2cid=39908767 | doi-access=free }}</ref> They may function as forums for developing competence and are often the local units of a national employer's organisation.

In the [[City of London]], the ancient guilds survive as [[livery company|livery companies]], all of which play a ceremonial role in the city's many customs. The City of London livery companies maintain strong links with their respective trade, craft or profession, some still retain regulatory, inspection or enforcement roles. The senior members of the City of London Livery Companies (known as liverymen) elect the sheriffs and approve the candidates for the office of Lord Mayor of London. Guilds also survive in many other towns and cities the UK including in [[Preston, Lancashire]], as the [[Preston Guild Merchant]] where among other celebrations descendants of burgesses are still admitted into membership. With the City of London livery companies, the UK has over 300 extant guilds and growing.

In 1878, the London livery companies established the [[City and Guilds of London Institute]] the forerunner of the engineering school (still called City and Guilds College) at [[Imperial College London]]. The aim of the City and Guilds of London Institute was the advancement of technical education. "City and Guilds" operates as an examining and accreditation body for vocational, managerial and engineering qualifications from entry-level craft and trade skills up to post-doctoral achievement.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cityandguilds.com/about-us/what-we-do |title=What We Do | publisher=[[City and Guilds of London Institute]]}}</ref> A separate organisation, the [[City and Guilds of London Art School]] has also close ties with the London livery companies and is involved in the training of master craftworkers in stone and wood carving, as well as fine artists.

In [[Germany]], there are no longer any ''Zünfte'' (or ''Gilden'' – the terms used were rather different from town to town), nor any restriction of a craft to a privileged corporation. However, under one other of their old names albeit a less frequent one, ''Innungen'', guilds continue to exist as private member clubs with membership limited to practitioners of particular trades or activities. These clubs are corporations under public law, albeit the membership is voluntary; the president normally comes from the ranks of master-craftsmen and is called ''Obermeister'' ("master-in-chief"). Journeymen elect their own representative bodies, with their president having the traditional title of ''Altgesell'' (senior journeyman).

There are also "craft chambers" (''Handwerkskammern''), which have less resemblance to ancient guilds in that they are organized for all crafts in a certain region, not just one. In them membership is mandatory, and they serve to establish self-governance of the crafts.

Guilds were abolished in [[France]] during the [[French Revolution]]. Following a decree of 4 August 1789, they survived until March 1791 when they were finally abolished.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vardi |first=Liana |date=1988 |title=The Abolition of the Guilds during the French Revolution |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/286554 |journal=French Historical Studies |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=704–717 |doi=10.2307/286554|jstor=286554 |issn=0016-1071}}</ref>