Administration and Social Life under Vijayanagar c8.113

c8.113

This picture of Nuniz is corroborated by the evidence of Abdur Razāk and the inscriptions of the period. The Persian ambassador writes: "Sometimes they order the criminals to be cast down before the feet of an elephant, that they may be killed by its knees, trunks and tusks."⁶⁵ An inscription at Neyvāśal in Pudukkōṭṭai State dated A.D. 1616, for instance, records the theft of a temple jewel and also the punishment inflicted on the culprit. The culprit was imprisoned; one of his hands was ordered to be chopped off; his lands were confiscated; and at last he himself was driven away The *fraternities* of the Middle Ages, which were so numerous and so varied in their objects, were not all of the same origin. Some were religious, some social, some charitable, and some industrial. The religious guilds, or *gilds*, as they were often called, were associations of laymen for the purpose of performing religious duties, such as the maintenance of a chaplain, the celebration of masses, or the support of a hospital. The social guilds were formed for the purpose of mutual aid and good fellowship, and often included in their objects the relief of the poor, the sick, and the aged. The charitable guilds were established for the purpose of supporting hospitals, almshouses, and other institutions of mercy. The industrial guilds, or *craft guilds*, were associations of men engaged in the same trade or industry, and were formed for the purpose of regulating the trade, protecting the interests of the members, and maintaining the quality of their work.