In the news1654
Legally binding serfdom in Mecklenburg
The Servants Law of 1654 legally anchored serfdom in Mecklenburg, divesting serfs of personal freedoms and allowing them to be sold with property.
Baden-Baden, 8 Sep 1655 – Hungary, 22 Aug 1701
7 facts1 source
8 Sep 1655
Born in Baden-Baden
20 Oct 1683
A daughter is born
22 Aug 1701
Dies in Hungary, aged 45
She lived through 6 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Baden-Baden.
General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.
In the news1654
The Servants Law of 1654 legally anchored serfdom in Mecklenburg, divesting serfs of personal freedoms and allowing them to be sold with property.
Getting around
Travel speeds for foot passengers
Most travelers were foot passengers who could expect to cover about 100 kilometers in a week, accounting for rest days and potential travel obstacles like bad weather or floods.
In the news1657–1661
Between 1657 and 1661, Transylvania was repeatedly ravaged by war, leading to the destruction of entire villages and groups of 3,000 to 8,000 captives being taken.
Daily life
Limited and seasonal schooling
Schooling was not compulsory, and rural children often only attended in winter because they had to work on farms during the summer. Instruction focused primarily on memorizing the Bible to learn how to pray and read scripture.
What people wore
Wedding shirts as burial shrouds
The funeral custom was so precise that couples carefully preserved the shirts worn on their wedding day to be used as their burial garments. Additionally, deceased women were often buried with one of their caps, such as the communion cap.
Music
Musical Cradle Devotions and Festive Processions
During Christmas, Jesuits organized cradle devotions, where a constructed cradle containing a figure of the Christ child was rocked to the sound of music. Music was also used in processions, often involving bells, trumpets, military drums, and even the discharge of muskets and cannons.
At the table
Daily Porridge Habits
Because meat was expensive and rarely eaten, families often relied on a thick, long-cooking grain porridge as their primary warm meal. To stretch the food, they frequently reheated it, resulting in a thick, semi-solid consistency.