A boy joins a master weaver in a town and stays in his house for several years. On what terms did an apprentice usually live and work?
He was paid the full wage of a trained weaver from his first day
He was bound to the soil of a manor and could not leave it
He lived with the master and learned the craft for food and lodging, not wages✓Correct answer
He rented a workshop of his own and paid the master a share of what he sold
Explanation
The bargain was instruction in exchange for labour and keep: the master fed and housed the learner and passed on the craft, while the learner worked without a wage for the agreed term of years. Confusing this with bondage to a manor fails because the arrangement was a contract of training entered into for a fixed period, not a hereditary tie to a piece of land.