Germania (guild)

Germanies (in Catalan; literally "brotherhoods") were guilds of artisans in the Kingdom of Valencia in Spain. Each germania ([dʒeɾmaˈni.a]) represented a single trade. The germanies are similar to the hermandades (also "brotherhoods", but in Castilian Spanish) of Castile, which were paramilitary law-enforcement militias. Similar to the hermandades, the Germanies at times took up arms to defend Valencia against raids from the Barbary pirates, but this privilege was revoked and the Germanies suppressed after they revolted against the royal government of King Charles I of Spain.