OK, We all know that barbers have the barber pole as their traditional sign. The red stripe signifies the bloodletting they used to do. Pawn shops have three yellow or gold spheres which obviously stand for money (gold). Both of these signs came about in the middle ages when few folks were literate.
What I’m wondering is what kinds of signs did other professions use? I imagine a cobbler or cooper could simply hang up a sample of their wares, but did they? What about tailors, weavers, or other shops that a medieval consumer might frequent. If anybody knows books on the subject, I would really enjoy a cite. I love learning history about common folk.
At both Pompeii and the lesser-known Herculaneum, there are phalllic symbols EVERYWHERE. But until recently, it was just never talked about in popular documentaries out of prudishness.
Sorry for the hijack, but that makes me think of this old joke (copied from this site):
A man needs to have his watch fixed in a small town he’s visiting in pre-World War II Poland. He walks down the main street and finds a shop with a window full of timepieces. Inside, there’s an old Jewish rabbi bent over a book, lost in his studies. The man with the watch approaches the storekeeper, “I need to have my watch fixed.”
“I’m sorry,” the old man answers, “I can’t help you.” He goes back to studying.
“What do you mean you can’t help me?” the man with the watch is angry, “Are you saying you don’t want my business?”
The old man glances up and says with a tired sigh, “Look, I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do.”
“There’s nothing you can do?!” The guy with the watch is now livid. “This is a watch shop. My watch is broken. I want you to fix it, now!”
Without looking up, the old man says, “It’s not a watch shop.”
“It’s not? Then what are all those timepieces doing in the window?”
“Look, mister,” the old man answers, "If you performed circumcisions for a living, what would you put in the window?"
A subcategory you might want to look into is the pub sign. Rather than being the same for all pubs, pub signs, at least in the future UK, varied widely. Pubs were required to display a sign by an act of Richard II in 1393. At first, many ‘public houses’ were just an ordinary person’s house; many medieval peasants brewed ale and sold it to their neighbors in their own homes. When the ale was ready, a sign would be displayed, and the house would become a tavern until the ale ran out. Ale-brewing was generally considered a woman’s job, and it was not taxed in England. I don’t know what kind of signs would have been displayed when pubs were temporary taverns in peasants’ houses, but remember that most peasants would have been illiterate and would have drawn a picture that would attract passers-by or say something about the quality of their ale.
Later, keeping a public house became a profession. Many pubs from the medieval era still exist, and have names today that often say something about the pub’s history. Some names are fanciful or geographical, but there are names that are historical or even political. A name like ‘The Rose & Crown’ or ‘The Lion and Unicorn’ might mean the owner was loyal to the King (no matter which king; generally a safe thing to do). Others have more political names signifying allegiance to a particular faction from English history, such as one of the sides in the War of the Roses.
I believe that a female brewer is called a Baxter and is the source of that name. One of the “government jobs” in medieval villages was Ale Taster. They were chosen each year, by village vote. Ale Tasters were in charge of ensuring quality and stopping dishonest practices such as serving small portions. Many of the fines listed in medieval rolls involve Brewing infractions. Some historians note with surprise that beer wasn’t really taxed. It seems to be too big a source of revenue for a lord to ignore. But some folks have pointed out that this was mitigated by the plentiful fines for quality infractions.
As for Pub signs, you can still hear Pubs referred to by their sign. “We’re going down to the Sign Of The Green Griffon for a pint.” The wording betrays the history.
A guy goes into a brothel and approaches the madame at the front desk. He wants a girl, but he’s kind of in a hurry. The madame tells him that all the girls and rooms are full, and he’ll have to wait. The fellow is very impatient, so she offers to take him up on the roof where they have an extra mattress, and take care of him herself.
They go up, but somehow during the course of “action”, they get too excited and careless, and end up rolling off the roof, splatting onto the pavement below.
A little while later, a drunk stumbles into the brothel, where another gal is behind the front desk. The drunk slurs something to her, but she tells him they can’t serve him because he is too drunk.
“That’s okay,” he says. I just came in to tell you your sign fell down." Ba-dump!!!
I always thought Baxter was an alternative derivation from an old pronunciation of baker - but I’m happy for eythologicadopers ( hmmm that might not be a word ) to prove me wrong. (Google didn’t help.)
Like many roles in a village, this will have hardly been a full time post. Think of it more like a parish councillor
I’ve never heard anything like that before. What region are you referring to?
Another take on the pawn shop sign is the intervention of St. Nicholas in the plights of three desperate girls. In one, Nicholas when he was still alive saved three poor girls from being forced into prostitution by selling his possessions and “buying” them for three bags of gold; in another, three similarly distressed girls pray to St. Nicholas and he turns their bundled bags of worthless belongings into gold.
A lot of religious and Masonic imagery dates to medeival times (though the Masons of course do not). Epaulets on military dress uniforms are vestiges of medeival armor (as are gorgets) and according to some (but not all) sources the military practice of saluting dates to the raising of the visor on a helmet.
From the site I mentioned previously: (Doesn’t anybody read the cites?)
*The 14th to 18th Centuries
In the 14th century, signs were optional in England except for the pubs.In 1393, Richard II required publicans (tax collectors) to exhibit a sign, but it was not compulsory for other business locations. By the 17th century symbol signs became common in Europe such as:
Bible…Bookseller
Civet Cat…Perfumer
Key…Locksmith
Mortar & Pestle…Apothecary
Red & White Striped Pole…Barber
Shoe…Shoemaker
Sugar Loaf…Grocer
Three Golden Balls…Pawn Broker
Seventeenth and 18th century England was an endless vista of colorful signboards hanging from shops and banking houses along narrow streets. The signs were quite artistic and even the posts of supports were elaborately worked in wrought iron or in wood carvings as tradesmen competed with each other for better and more distinctive identification for their place of business. When increased travel led to several shops in the same area, signs were accompanied by a name which could be identified by customers. Symbols remained important, however, for many years because many people could not read*
