Wandering craftsmen make their way to Malta

Wearing clothing that can only be described as ‘particular’, 24-year-old German craftsmen Dennis and Joey travel around Europe looking for new cultures to improve and enrich their crafts, often depending on the kindness of strangers for necessities such as food and shelter.

“Our aim is to offer our services to other craftsmen or individuals in order to learn more about the countries we are in. We don’t necessarily ask these people for a place to stay, but our rules state that we cannot use any money to pay for a place to sleep, or even to travel from one place to another,” they said. 

Leaving their surnames and old lives behind (including all forms of technology) the craftsmen travel from one place to another with only a small sack containing their belongings in tow.

It is a tradition dating back around 800 years for craftsmen like Dennis and Joey, to travel for a minimum of three years and a day upon finishing their apprenticeships. “Up until 1870, it was actually a rule for craftsmen to leave their hometowns and travel to other cities and learn about people and how their craft is practised abroad,” Dennis said.  

Dennis, a blacksmith, and Joey, a carpenter, both belong to a relatively young organisation in Germany called Freire Begegungsschacht (Guild of Free Encountrance). Set up in 1986, the group now accepts over 30 crafts, including carpentry, blacksmith, tailoring, confectionery and other traditional skills. 

The group is one of seven other artisanal groups aiming to encourage the tradition of journeymen in the country.

“Each group has similar practices but they all have their own sets of rules. In our group it is not important what gender, nationality or religion you are, the important thing is having any traditional craft and having completed your apprenticeship,” Joey explained, adding that other organisations were particular about what crafts were practised. 

Joey points out that some of the group’s rules were that journeymen had to be under 30 years old, unmarried, not have children and that they must have a clean criminal record.

“The journey cannot be used as a means of escapism,” he stressed. “It is a way for us to learn about different cultures and practices,” he said.

According to Joey, the tradition of travelling craftsmen was typical of Central European countries such as the Netherlands and France and, nowadays it was still alive in Germany, France and Scandinavian countries among others. 

“We cannot go within a 50km radius of our hometown during our time as journeymen, unless there are extenuating circumstances like the death of a close relative,” they told me as they showed me one of their few possessions – a book in which they collect stamps from those people or places that offer them work.

The book also contains certificates of apprenticeships and photographs of meetings where the members of these organisations can meet up and share their experiences and even recruit more people. 

“Our clothing is very recognisable, and all the organisations have pretty much the same outfits, with some small differences in the colour of the ties we wear.

The hat is particularly significant because it is a symbol of freedom,” Joey said, explaining that hats were traditionally only worn by kings and members of the upper class. 

“We are free to wear whatever style of hat we choose, and it is there to show that we are all on an equal level when we are travelling. We only take our hats off when we enter places of worship or when we are eating or preparing food, as a sign of respect,” Dennis added.

Dennis also explained that journeymen traditionally had a gold earring in their left ear, which was historically used to ensure that their families could pay for their funeral in the eventuality that they died on the road.

“Legend has it that the earring also had a more sinister function in the Middle Ages; when someone was caught stealing something, they would have had their earring torn out as a mark of shame and warning to other possible employers,” Joey said. 

“Our traditional clothing is somewhat recognisable in Germany and people often show us kindness even without our having to explain ourselves,” Dennis said, recalling an episode where a complete stranger bought them a cup of coffee after recognizing them from their clothing.

“You learn to appreciate the little things that make this journey special,” he said.

Indeed Dennis pointed out that their journey to Malta was a complete matter of chance. 

“We normally travel on foot, hitch-hiking or relying on the kindness of strangers. Today, for instance, we arrived from Valletta to the MaltaToday offices by bus because a man at a pub bought us a ticket after hearing what we do.”

The journeymen explained how their travels had started from Innsbruck in Austria, and on to Pisa, Livorno, Rome and Palermo in Sicily, where they faced various difficulties – a scarcity of jobs and even wild dogs on the roads. 

“We were very lucky to find a German tourist who booked us a flight to Malta, where we will continue to visit cities around the island in search of work,” Dennis explained. 

“This experience has taught us a lot about other people and their cultures, but it has also taught us a lot about ourselves and what we are capable of withstanding. We have learned to appreciate small things and to be content with small acts of kindness like people offering us fruit or sweets or even a hot bath,” they explained.

Having been in Malta for around three days, the craftsmen said that they were looking forward to finding work on the island, and that the people had so far proved very friendly if curious.