Thieves' Guild
Encyclopedia
A thieves' guild is an association of criminals who participate in theft
-related organized crime
, usually in a fictional context. A thieves' guild is a common feature of old-fashioned urban
locations in various types of fiction.
' story Rinconete y Cortadillo, set in 16th Century Seville
, is the city's strong and well-organized thieves' guild built to the model of the medieval guild
. As in any other profession, a young thief must start as an apprentice and slowly work his way to become a master craftsman
—in this case, a master thief. No one could come into a city and start on a career as a thief without belonging to the local guild (as Cervantes' protagonists soon find out), which would have been in many cases true also for a medieval tailor
or carpenter
wandering into a strange city. And the thieves have their own church where they go to pray (shared with prostitutes)—which indeed was often the case with respectable professions in a medieval city.
Using this novel to claim that such Thieves' Guilds are historically based faces difficulties. Rinconete y Cortadillo is a picaresque novel — a work of satire. The 'Thieves' Guild' being the analog of the ruling class - all the outer show of piety, respectability, even charity and ideals of justice, but robbing and killing all the same. Given this context any attempt to link this novel with a historical social reality is problematic.
The Medieval Underworld
by Andrew McCall gives historical accounts of various historical criminal organizations. The closest to fictional Thieves' guild tropes arose in France - the Cours des Miracles. From this group the concept of the "King of Thieves" or "King of Beggars", who supposedly held power over all criminals in a given city, may have its origin.
Andrew McCall also gives a historical view on the life of a thief in the period. Theft was rarely a career, most often it was opportunistic. Due to brutality of medieval justice, habitual thieves would tend to have short careers. A first offender might be maimed or branded. A second offence (attested by the marks of the first) typically led to execution. A maimed man would often become a beggar and so the association between beggars and thieves existed. However, associations like the Cours des Miracles were exceptional and associations like the one described in Rinconete y Cortadillo are fictional.
Modern fantasy fiction and role-playing games took up the concept extensively, starting with the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser
story "Thieves' House" by Fritz Leiber
, in 1943, and further stories set in Lankhmar
.
Theft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
-related organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
, usually in a fictional context. A thieves' guild is a common feature of old-fashioned urban
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
locations in various types of fiction.
Depictions
A central feature of CervantesCervantes
-People:*Alfonso J. Cervantes , mayor of St. Louis, Missouri*Francisco Cervantes de Salazar, 16th-century man of letters*Ignacio Cervantes, Cuban composer*Jorge Cervantes, a world-renowned expert on indoor, outdoor, and greenhouse cannabis cultivation...
' story Rinconete y Cortadillo, set in 16th Century Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, is the city's strong and well-organized thieves' guild built to the model of the medieval guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
. As in any other profession, a young thief must start as an apprentice and slowly work his way to become a master craftsman
Master craftsman
A master craftsman or master tradesman was a member of a guild. In the European guild system, only masters were allowed to be members of the guild....
—in this case, a master thief. No one could come into a city and start on a career as a thief without belonging to the local guild (as Cervantes' protagonists soon find out), which would have been in many cases true also for a medieval tailor
Tailor
A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers,...
or carpenter
Carpenter
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
wandering into a strange city. And the thieves have their own church where they go to pray (shared with prostitutes)—which indeed was often the case with respectable professions in a medieval city.
Using this novel to claim that such Thieves' Guilds are historically based faces difficulties. Rinconete y Cortadillo is a picaresque novel — a work of satire. The 'Thieves' Guild' being the analog of the ruling class - all the outer show of piety, respectability, even charity and ideals of justice, but robbing and killing all the same. Given this context any attempt to link this novel with a historical social reality is problematic.
The Medieval Underworld
The Medieval Underworld
The Medieval Underworld is a 1972 publication authored by Andrew McCall. It is still in publication with Barnes & Noble Books of New York....
by Andrew McCall gives historical accounts of various historical criminal organizations. The closest to fictional Thieves' guild tropes arose in France - the Cours des Miracles. From this group the concept of the "King of Thieves" or "King of Beggars", who supposedly held power over all criminals in a given city, may have its origin.
Andrew McCall also gives a historical view on the life of a thief in the period. Theft was rarely a career, most often it was opportunistic. Due to brutality of medieval justice, habitual thieves would tend to have short careers. A first offender might be maimed or branded. A second offence (attested by the marks of the first) typically led to execution. A maimed man would often become a beggar and so the association between beggars and thieves existed. However, associations like the Cours des Miracles were exceptional and associations like the one described in Rinconete y Cortadillo are fictional.
Modern fantasy fiction and role-playing games took up the concept extensively, starting with the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are two seminal sword-and-sorcery heroes appearing in stories written by Fritz Leiber . They are the protagonists of what are probably Leiber's best-known stories....
story "Thieves' House" by Fritz Leiber
Fritz Leiber
Fritz Reuter Leiber, Jr. was an American writer of fantasy, horror and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theatre and films, playwright, expert chess player and a champion fencer. Possibly his greatest chess accomplishment was winning clear first in the 1958 Santa Monica Open.. With...
, in 1943, and further stories set in Lankhmar
Lankhmar
Lankhmar is a fictional city in the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories by Fritz Leiber. It is situated on the world of Nehwon, just west of the Great Salt Marsh and east of the River Hlal, and serves as the home of Leiber's two anti-heroes....
.
In popular culture
- Quest for GloryQuest for GloryQuest for Glory is a series of hybrid role-playing/adventure computer games designed by Corey and Lori Ann Cole. The series combined humor, puzzle elements, themes and characters borrowed from various legends, puns, and memorable characters, creating a 5-part series of the Sierra stable.Although...
series has a thieves guild that the player can join, and plays a prominent role in completing the game, depending on the player's career path - Ankh-Morpork Thieves' Guild (Discworld)
- In the works of Raymond E Feist set in MidkemiaMidkemiaMidkemia is a fictional world created by a fantasy role-playing group and popularized by Raymond E. Feist where most of the Riftwar books take place...
a thieves guild, known as the Mockers, based in the Kingdom city of Krondor features in many of the novels, often playing a significant role in the story. The guild is run by a mysterious figure known as the 'Upright Man', the identity of whom is at one point revealed to be Jimmy the HandJimmy the Hand (fictional character)Jimmy the Hand is a fictional character appearing in the novels of Raymond E. Feist. He is first introduced in the first Riftwar novel Magician. He also appears in the rest of the Riftwar Saga and is a key character in the Riftwar legacy novels....
. - The Guild of ThievesThe Guild of ThievesThe Guild of Thieves is an interactive fiction game by Magnetic Scrolls first published by Rainbird in 1987. The game also takes place in Kerovnia like the previous game The Pawn....
, a computer game exclusively about a thieves' guild - The Black Magician (novel series)The Black Magician (novel series)The Black Magician trilogy is a fantasy novel series by Australian author Trudi Canavan. The books follow a slum-dwelling girl named Sonea who, although born and raised in the slums of Imardin, discovers that she has natural magical abilities usually restricted to the upper classes...
involves a thieves' guild as a central plot element - David EddingsDavid EddingsDavid Eddings was an American author who wrote several best-selling series of epic fantasy novels.-Biography:...
' series tend to include Thieves' Guilds, such as in The EleniumThe EleniumThe Elenium is a series of fantasy novels by David Eddings. The series consists of three volumes:* The Diamond Throne* The Ruby Knight* The Sapphire RoseThe series is followed by The Tamuli....
and The TamuliThe TamuliThe Tamuli is a series of fantasy novels by David Eddings. The series consists of three volumes:# Domes of Fire# The Shining Ones# The Hidden CityThe Tamuli is the sequel to The Elenium...
. The BelgariadThe BelgariadThe Belgariad is a five-book fantasy epic written by David Eddings.The series tells the story of the recovery of the Orb of Aldur and coming of age of Garion, an orphaned farmboy. Garion is accompanied by his aunt Polgara and grandfather Belgarath as they try to fulfill an ancient prophecy that...
and The Mallorean imply that the intelligence services of Drasnia and Mallorea are analogous to thieves guilds, particularly in the characterization of Prince Khelder of Drasnia (aka Silk, Ambar of Kotu or Radek of Boktor). - The Assassin's CreedAssassin's CreedAssassin's Creed is an award-winning historical third person, stealth action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. The bulk of the game takes place during the Third Crusade, with the plot revolving around a sect known as the Secret Order of...
video game also has a thieves guild - The Elder Scrolls series has a thieves guild
- Thief Gold has a thieves guild level as well
- GambitGambit (comics)Gambit is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero that has been a member of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Jim Lee, the character first appeared briefly in Uncanny X-Men Annual #14 , weeks before a more comprehensive appearance in Uncanny X-Men #266...
is a member and heir of the New Orleans thieves guild, adopted son to Jean-Luc LeBeau, the King of Thieves - Featured to varying degrees in several installments of the Might & Magic series of computer games, but most conspicuously in Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of HeavenMight and Magic VI: The Mandate of HeavenMight and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven, commonly abbreviated to Might and Magic VI or simply MM6, is a role-playing video game developed by New World Computing and published by 3DO in 1998...
, where the High Priest of the kingdom of Enroth does double-duty as head of a state-run thieves guild with a very similar ethos and modus operandi to that in Ankh-Morpork as mentioned above. - The Rattlebone Brotherhood, uniting "thieves, swindlers and cutthroats" is a major force in the society of Arvanneth—a New Orleans surviving thousands of years into the future of an Earth gripped by a new Ice AgeIce ageAn ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
, in Poul AndersonPoul AndersonPoul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories...
's novel, The Winter of the World