The Decline Of Craftsmanship?

Ælfric of Eyesham (A.D. 955-1010) was a late 10th century/ early 11th century monk and author in Anglo-Saxon England.  A Benedictine monk (and later abbot) he had a passion for writing and for teaching; many Old English works or translations from Latin we have are thanks to him (he is considered by some to be the most prolific author in Old English, at least one who is historical and not anonymous).  

As part of an instruction manual to teach Latin, he created a work called "A Colloquy on the Occupations".  An interlocuter asks about various occupations in late 10th century/early 11th century England.  The concept was that this was a "song and response" exercise:  the students would memorize all the responses and provide them and by so doing, learn all major grammatical parts of Latin.  Later, the work was translated into Old English.

The interlocuter asks the various occupations:

"Hwlecne cræft canst þu? Hwat dest þu?  Hwæm fremþ þine cræft?"  "Which craft can you do?  What do you do?  What benefit is your craft?"  

Each craft - monk, ploughman, shepherd, oxherd, hunter, merchant,  fisherman, fowler, shoemaker, salter, baker, cook - gives a description of what their craft does and how it benefits the community.  At the end, they ask an older, wiser monk "Which craft is most important?"  Perhaps unsurprisingly, the first answer given is "monk", drawn from the verse "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these things may be added unto you".  The second is "ploughman" (Eorthtilþ), because without the farmer, no-one else eats and therefore practices their craft.

Interestingly, at the end of this work the wise man gives the following statement:

"And ic gelære eallam wyrhtum þisne ræd: þæt anra gewelc his cræft geornlice bega.  For þæm his cræft forlætt, se biþ fram  þam cræft forlæten.....And beo þæt þæt þu eart!  For þæm hit is micel demm and micel scand gif man nyle beon þæt þæt he is and he þæt þæt beon sceal."

("And I give all this advice by way of example: let every one practice his craft eagerly.  For he that forsakes his craft will be from his craft forsaken...And be that which you are!  For there is great misfortune and great disgrace if a man will not be what he is and what he shall be.")

(Note:  All translations are my own.)

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In re-reading this text, I was struck by the fact that one of the things presumed by this statement, and one of the things that we seem to be losing in the modern world, is the idea of craftsmanship.

I know - it is a long way from an 11 Century monk talking to salters and oxherds (and a longer prologue) to a decline of craftsmanship in the modern world.  But his instruction at the end leapt out to me.

Once upon time - prior to the Industrial Revolution - most people did what their parents did.  This was likely just as much about security as it was about "imprisoned" in a job category:  in a world where a single bad season or single business failure can signal starvation, "risk" is carefully weighed and often avoided.  But with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, individuals could do other things than what their parents did (maybe not more interesting things, but different things)  And that, in turn, held - almost up to the current era, where suddenly the concepts of "job hopping" and "skills-based employment" came into vogue.  Suddenly, one not spend one's entire career at one job or even in one field.  The work world was a vast meadow of flowers, all to be sampled by some.

What we lost in all of this is years in the field.  Years that one could develop experience.  Years that one could develop craftsmanship.

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Craftsmen and Craftswomen come in all forms.  Some are the sorts we might think of immediately, individuals working in seemingly archaic industries as a cooper or blacksmith or wheelwright.  Others are in the trades or blue collar jobs, running pipes or electric wire or industrial production.  Others are white collar workers (we do not think of them as often), individuals in knowledge based industries where that knowledge is deep and often applied.  And others are amateurs (The root word coming from Latin, "Amator", meaning "one who loves, an enthusiastic admirer, devotee") who do all of these things have specializations in things they love:  Early Roman Republic Armor, garden railroads, weaving, black power riflery.

All of them experts in their own way.  And that expertise, that craftsmanship, comes by nothing else than years of learning and years of doing.  Two things that are denied those that are always moving from one place or thing to another.

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One can successfully argue that industrialization and the technology revolution has rendered much of craftsmanship obsolete, or at least an expensive option.  And at some level, I suspect that is true:  once any technological genie is out of the bottle, all we can do is navigate it - it is not going away.  But even in that navigation, there does not need to be a wholesale abandonment or the need to constantly find something else.

On the one hand, many deplore the "cost" of a craftsman or craftswomen when we can just it get more cheaply at Big Box Mart or Generic Service Provider.  But inevitably, the differences stand out in ways that are as noticeable as they are not spoken of.

When you pay for craftsmanship, you pay for the years of experience and knowledge.

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Does this continue to decline or even reverse?  It is ridiculous to claim "all is lost"; there are millions of people out there who do care and are becoming exponents of craftsmanship in their own right.  In one of the few uses of social media I completely endorse, there are thousands of them showing off their crafts.

Ultimately, I wonder if they are not the ones at risk.

The ones most at risk are those who do not have that level of expertise in a single thing, certainly a single thing that provides something of value.  The journey to craftsmanship always involves the development of a mindset and learning that makes one useful no matter where one is.  The journey of the job hopper always leads to "What is the next, newest thing"?

I have come to greatly admire those that work to develop and grow in the craft - after all, Ælfric would counsel us not just to be what we are, but be what we will become.

(Author's note:  Matthew Crawford is a deep thinker on these matters and has influenced my own thinking.  I cannot recommend his books Shopcraft as Soulcraft and The World Beyond Your Head enough.)