Constance of Austria

What people wore

Jewish population faced discriminatory dress regulations

Discriminatory laws compelled Jewish men to wear specific identifying markers on their clothes, such as beards or stigmatizing symbols.

Daily life

Strict rules for school discipline

Teachers were strictly forbidden from hitting students with their fists, pulling hair, or striking heads, though the rod remained an approved disciplinary tool.

Work

Moonlighting militia in the cities

City militia members, whose military pay was meagre, often supplemented their income by working as bakers, cobblers, or innkeepers.

Music

Boisterous folk-style dancing at festivals

During feast days and festivals, dances often included boisterous styles like the branle, which involved circles or lines of people jumping and kicking until the musician was exhausted.

At the table

Beverages and Fasting Rules

Commoners frequently drank beer, which was often brewed locally by inns or breweries and was typically darker and lower in alcohol than modern beer. During fast days, which could number up to 150 annually, consumption of meat was restricted, leading to a reliance on fish, vegetables like cabbage and turnips, and legumes.

Getting around

Couriers covered up to 150 kilometers daily

Professional couriers could cover up to 150 kilometers a day using a relay system of horses and riders established by the Taxis Post.

What it cost

Cost of beef and bread

In 1575, the price of beef in Vienna was approximately 3.14 kreuzer per kilogram, increasing to 5.14 kreuzer by 1599. During the same period, bread prices rose from about 0.86 to 1.47 kreuzer per kilogram.