The economic and political roles of towns in the Nordic late Middle Ages -- with Lübeck as the major hub in an extensive network -- have long been recognised and studied: be it in histories of nations, the Hanse, or individual towns. In such accounts, however, the regional web of urban culture is not always given its due. And as most manifestations of urban culture were anchored in the social and business corporations generally designated as guilds, these provide the natural point of departure for an attempt to appreciate this dynamic segment of northern Europe's cultural history.