Incorporated Trades of Edinburgh

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The Incorporated Trades of Edinburgh are the trade and craft bodies of the City of Edinburgh, Scotland, in much the same way as the Livery companies are in The City of London, but on a much smaller scale.^[1] The Incorporations are not "guilds", that term being properly reserved in Scotland for the merchant bodies in the various burghs. The Incorporations have never referred to themselves as guilds; indeed they came into existence, mostly in the latter part of the fifteenth century, in order to counter the growing power of the merchant guild, known as the Royal Company of Merchants of the City of Edinburgh.

By 1562 the Incorporations formed what became known as The Convenery of Trades of Edinburgh, an umbrella body that still exists and which looks after the interests of all the Incorporated Trades of the burgh. The Convenery consists, in the narrow sense of the word, of the Deacons of each of the Incorporations, plus the two Trades Councillors. In the broad sense of the word, however, the term "Convenery of Trades" embraces all the Freemen of all the Incorporated Trades of the Burgh, together with their journeymen and apprentices, in a convivial fellowship of mutual support.

Historically it was necessary to become a Burgess of the Burgh before one could be admitted as a Freeman of one of the Incorporations. Once an applicant had submitted his essay and been accepted as a Freeman, he was expected to set up his own business and to employ journeymen and train apprentices. The Incorporations were able to prevent any outsiders from practising their trade in the Burgh until they had paid their dues to the appropriate incorporated trade.^[2] Along with the Royal Company of Merchants it forms part the Burgess Association of Edinburgh, an umbrella organisation for the trade bodies of the City of Edinburgh, who are discharged to propose individuals to the Edinburgh Lord Dean of Guild and Deacon Convener of the Trades to be made a Burgess of Edinburgh.

Although no longer forming an official part of the City of Edinburgh Council, the Convenery of Trades maintains links and participates in a number of ceremonial events across Edinburgh.