The Guild is a Medieval institution that in some ways has survived to this day in the form of professional associations and unions. The Guilds were organizations of people who practiced the same craft. Their principal (and official) reason for being was to make sure incompetant practitioners were kept from working at a certain business. Masons, weavers, barbers (who did minor surgery), and those engaged in many other trades ("Butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers.") organized guilds in urban areas. They passed judgement on an applicant's skills before certifying the fellow (few women belonged to guilds) as competent, through the apprentice/journeyman/master "hands-on" training process. A second, less loudly proclaimed, function of Guilds was to keep competition to a minimum. Guilds often had the power to set prices, as well as quality levels. The guild members worked closely with town officials to assure their well being and that of their community. The local feudal lord often got involved by granting (for a hefty fee) the guild the exclusive privilege to regulate their craft in an area. Some of the original guilds survive to this day, and many of their ancient, and quite magnificant, Guild Halls still stand in many European cities.