The Success Rate and Most Frequent Mistakes of Journeymen at Master Tailor Examination in the 17th and 18th Centuries on the Example of the Guild of Tailors in Česká Kamenice

The protocols recording the course of master examinations are a unique source to understand guild issues, yet historical and ethnological research has not paid much attention to them. From the environment of tailor guilds in the Czech lands, three quite large sets of these protocols were found; these were conceived as books in the cities of Aš, Krnov, and Česká Kamenice. While the first two books contain brief protocols that do not allow for a too deep insight into the course of the examination, the one from Česká Kamenice is unique in terms of its thorough nature and connection to other and similarly rare sources (the book of patterns), and it offers a detailed insight into the course and complexity of the tailors’ master examination. When analysing mistakes mentioned in the case of presented garments, we can imagine the demanding character of particular master pieces, when some of them were beyond the abilities of four of the five journeymen tested. The frequently repeated mistakes indicate insufficient preparation and the inability of journeymen to access drawing and measuring of cuts − the greatest secrets of master tailors. The conclusion of the treatise raises the question of the success rate of master and non-master sons, whereby the limited sample of tailors from Česká Kamenice demonstrates that the second group was more successful during the examination.