The Cobbler's Journeyman Analysis

Merchants

All the way to the left there is a cobbler which can be identified by the shoe on the counter and above him on a rod, probably to dry or for show. The cobbler probably makes good money since mostly all the people in the place seem to have the same style of shoe. A little bit to the right of the cobbler is a woman who seems to be working, but may just be browsing through the clothes. Working women did earn less than a working man back then and still in many places now. All the way on the right there are two men that seem to be potters and the one on the right is the master and the one next to him is a journeyman. This can be supported by the height similarity and lack of distinguishing apprentice features other than them standing next to each other. Also the master’s hand seems to be giving the journeyman some money for a salary. If anything I believe the real apprentice is the short man in orange because he may be a child that is restocking in the front. However, he could just be a short man who is buying something and the men are inspecting the coins or giving back change. But that seems unlikely since the Master is looking into the other man’s eyes and that would mean the transaction is with him, likely his journeyman salary. All this reflects the late medieval period in both economic and social ways. The merchants were using coins and they all seemed to be middle class.
This reflects the social changes of the medieval period since the class came to be during the middle ages, and has stayed ever since then. The middle class is the most populated class in today’s world.