Keywords
Architecture
General Terms
A master carpenter. A title applied to carpenters from the 16th century onward whose experience qualified them to be leaders of craftsmen, artisans, and ordinary carpenters. The master carpenter's duties included all aspects of construction including planning, designing, drawing, and supervision of workers. Master carpenters came from families that had gained expertise and fame in the construction of castle fortifications, temples, and shrines. During the first half of the 17th century, a bureaucratic system for the construction industry was devised. Its organization into departments was clearly designed and posts became hereditary and therefore, controlled by powerful families of master builders.