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Archduchess Eleanor of Austria

Vienna, 12 Nov 1534 – Mantua, 5 Aug 1594

9 facts3 sources

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 12 Nov 1534

    Born in Vienna

  2. 1562–1566

    2 children are born

  3. 5 Aug 1594

    Dies in Mantua, aged 59

Family

See the tree

Parents

Partner

Children · 2

During her lifetime

She lived through 7 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Vienna.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1530s · Archduchess is born in Vienna

In the news1539

Record of food prices in Linz

By 1539, the price of food was recorded in Linz as 5 pfennigs for a pound of beef and 4 pfennigs for a pound of mutton.

Getting around

Travel by horse or donkey

While wealthy individuals traveled on horseback, those wishing to show humility often chose to ride a donkey.

In the news1535

Currency reform introduces the gulden

A currency reform in 1535 introduced the gulden, which was worth 60 kreuzers or 240 pfennigs.

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.

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.

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

Common beverages of the period

Beer was the common daily drink, having completely replaced mead in many areas by 1500, while apple and pear cider (Most) was also traditional. Wine was typically reserved for the upper classes and official gatherings.