<P> The practice of sending children away to act as servants was even more common in towns than in the countryside . The inhabitants of towns largely made their livelihood as merchants or artisans, and this activity was strictly controlled by guilds . The members of these guilds would in turn employ young people--primarily boys--as apprentices, to learn the craft and later take a position as guild members themselves . These apprentices made up part of the household--or "family"--as much as the children of the master . </P> <P> Towards the end of the Middle Ages, the functions and composition of households started to change . This was due primarily to two factors . First of all, the introduction of gunpowder to the field of warfare rendered the castle a less effective defence, and did away with the military function of the household . The result was a household more focused on comfort and luxury, and with a significantly larger proportion of women . </P> <P> The second factor that brought about change was the early modern ascendancy of the individual, and focus on privacy . Already in the later Middle Ages castles had begun to incorporate an increasing number of private chambers, for the use both of the lord and of his servants . Once the castle was discarded to the benefit of palaces or stately homes, this tendency was reinforced . This did not mean an end to the employment of domestic servants, or even in all cases a reduction in household staff . What it did mean, however, was a realignment whereby the family--in a genealogical sense--became the cornerstone of the household . </P>

High officials in the household of a medieval king cody crossword