This thesis seeks to examine the role of the gild in Dunfermline in the fifteenth century. While some comparative study is essential, emphasis is placed on the use of local contemporary sources, and in particular, the 'Gild Book of Dunfermline', 1433-1597 and the 'Burgh Court Book of Dunfermline' 1488-1584. A common thread may be seen in burghal development throughout western Europe, but each burgh and gild has its own history. Some attempt has been made, therefore, to place the gild within the wider context, but the main aim of this study is to consider the Dunfermline gild and its role in its own local society. The gild as an institution may be seen as a significant facet of the emergence of burghs into self-determining communities. Fifteenth-century sources confirm that in Dunfermline the gild formed an integral part of the municipal organisation. The aim is, therefore, to consider, and at times question, the traditional view of the gild, as an institution; and its relationship to other groups within the burgh, and also to the burgh as a whole. It is clear that the gild was not, however, merely an inanimate municipal department. This study, therefore, looks more intimately at the gild and its members. While accepting that a full comprehension of the thinking and values of a group of medieval men can not now be achieved, an attempt is made to consider the fraternity and its members in their daily routine within the gild, and in their more private lives. By approaching these aspects it is hoped not only to gain a deeper knowledge of fifteenth-century burgesses in Dunfermline, but also to come a little closer to an understanding of the reality of the medieval gild.