Elisabeth of Austria

What people wore

Daily versus festive peasant wear

Peasant women wore a fine linen blouse called a harbene Pfoad on feast days, but used a coarse linen blouse known as a rupferne Pfoad for everyday work. Many peasant dresses were notably shorter than town styles, frequently stopping at mid-calf to allow for easier movement.

Daily life

Sleeping arrangements for children

People often slept together in one room, and children sometimes slept in roll-out beds tucked under the large, curtained beds of their parents.

Work

Rural Servants and Their Year-Long Contracts

Most rural households employed farm-hands and maids who worked for wages, board, and lodging; leaving before their one-year contract ended often meant forfeiting all wages.

Music

Paying Musicians for Weddings

City wedding regulations in 1489 set specific fees for musicians, such as two guilders for brass and wind players or half a guilder for bagpipers, fiddlers, and drummers. Status often dictated which musicians could be hired for celebrations.

At the table

Weekly routine of peasant meals

In rural areas, families frequently followed a set weekly schedule, such as Monday for dumplings, Tuesday for noodles, and Wednesday for strudels. Friday and Saturday were designated fast days in accordance with religious tradition.

Getting around

Most people traveled on foot daily

Most people traveled on foot, covering between 20 and 40 kilometers per day.

What it cost

Vienna day laborer wages, 1525–1549

In 1525, a daily laborer in Vienna earned 6.83 Kreuzer per day. By 1549, this wage had decreased to 6.00 Kreuzer per day.