Georg August zu Erbach-Schönberg

What people wore

Luxury items were restricted by sumptuary laws

In the late 17th century, legal sumptuary laws in Swiss cities strictly prohibited people from wearing specific luxury items like silk clothing, intricate embroidery, and expensive accessories such as jewelry, unless worn for special honorable occasions like weddings or baptisms.

Daily life

Household habits and animals

In winter, chickens were kept inside the family's main living room, the Stübli, where they could lay eggs in a wooden cage. The youngest children were sometimes kept on wooden potties for extended periods because mothers lacked the time and cloth nappies to do otherwise.

Work

Earnings from Spinning

Families often relied on spinning silk, wool, or cotton to supplement their income, though it paid very little. In 1649, a mother and four sisters spinning together could not earn more than 16 to 20 Batzen per week.

Music

Social dancing despite religious opposition

Dancing accompanied by instruments was a central part of social life in Geneva, despite official resistance from church authorities. Itinerant musicians and dance teachers were key in spreading these practices beyond the nobility to artisans and the bourgeoisie.

At the table

Eating with knife and spoon

Before the widespread adoption of forks in the 17th century, ordinary people ate their meals using only a knife and a spoon.

Getting around

Three-day journey from Altdorf to Milan

In 1697, the courier service operated by Bernese entrepreneur Beat Fischer von Reichenbach required three days to travel between Altdorf and Milan.

What it cost

Worker wages in late 17th-century Zurich

Between 1681 and 1690, a master carpenter earned 17 shillings per day, while a mason's assistant earned 13 shillings and 6 pence per day.