Fiodor Sanguszko

What people wore

Carrying Essentials Without Pockets

Because ordinary clothing lacked pockets, both men and women carried small, pouch-shaped leather purses attached to their belts to keep needles, threads, and other small essentials.

Daily life

Water-driven mills and cash dues

Manor mills were water-driven and situated on streams; some, known as spring mills, only operated during flood seasons in spring and autumn. Peasants sometimes commuted their labour requirements for a payment of 12 groshi.

Work

Daily Rest Periods for Peasants

Peasants working with draught animals were entitled to three mandatory rest periods during their workday: before dinner, at midday, and before evening. Other workers not handling livestock were granted three shorter rest periods of half an hour each.

Music

Festivals and funeral feasting customs

Folk festivals and life-cycle celebrations like weddings and births were marked by feasting, mead drinking, and merry-making. During funeral rituals, families visited ancestral graves in forests to feast and leave offerings to honor the spirits.

At the table

Fresh fish was a vital supplement

Ordinary people caught and ate a wide variety of fish from local lakes and rivers, including pike, perch, and occasionally sturgeon, as a vital supplement to their diet.

Getting around

Common transport and horse traction methods

Transport relied on wooden four-wheel carts and horse-drawn sledges, with sledges sometimes being preferred even in summer in wet regions. Because roads were not stone-paved, horses were not typically shod with iron horseshoes, but instead used iron thorns nailed into hooves for better traction on ice.

What it cost

Cost of fur garments

In the ruler's court, fox fur garments for attendants were valued at prices ranging from 22 to 100 groshi, depending on quality.