Q114905159

What people wore

Working dress for women

Peasant women often worked in long linen chemises, sometimes tying a knot in the skirt to move more easily while performing daily tasks.

Daily life

Home-based learning and labor socialization

Formal schooling was not yet a dominant part of children's lives, as religious instruction took place within the home. Children were primarily socialized through labor, working as apprentices, farm laborers, or helping their families.

Work

Cottage woodcraft production

Cottage households produced daily wooden items like saucers, pails, and troughs, which were sometimes used to pay taxes or trade with cities like Stockholm.

Music

Chanting the mass to the laity

In the Lutheran Mass, priests chanted biblical passages to the congregation using melodic formulas called accentus, which helped illiterate laypeople engage with the text.

At the table

Beaver Served as Fasting Fish

Beaver was consumed as a fish substitute on fasting days because people believed it was a water-dwelling animal that swam using its tail. This allowed it to be eaten during the religious periods when meat was prohibited.

Getting around

Impersonating royal servants to secure horses

Travelers who were not on royal business sometimes impersonated royal servants to secure horses, as ordinary peasants were often unwilling or unable to provide fresh teams when the roads were poor. If they could not find transport, they had to rely on the limited hospitality of local peasants or priests, often sleeping on floors near farm animals.

What it cost

Price of bread and meat in Ångermanland

In Ångermanland, a single loaf of bread was valued at 2 öre, while 1 liter of meat cost 24 öre.