John of Habsburg

What people wore

Clothing as a valuable, shared asset

Clothing was a long-term investment that was rarely discarded, often circulating through society via pawning, inheritance, auctions, and second-hand markets. To keep garments clean, peasant women wore functional aprons, often nearly as wide as the skirt itself.

Daily life

Cooking and Daily Meals

Ordinary cooking relied on hearth equipment, iron pots, and durable pottery to prepare staples like pottages, bread, and porridge. Ingredients were often managed carefully to stretch meals across several people, with meat eaten less frequently than grain-based foods.

News and letters

Private Access to Postal Services

By the 1520s, ordinary people and private merchants began using the Taxis postal service, paying set charges for their mail to be delivered alongside official letters.

Music

Role of school choirs

Schoolboys from parish churches were a staple of musical life, frequently performing polyphonic compositions for both religious and public state occasions.

At the table

Everyday grain-based gruels

Ordinary families relied heavily on grain-based gruels, which were made by crushing cereals in a mortar, soaking them, and cooking them with water and fat. This simple, calorie-dense dish was preferred over flour-based meals because milling grain into flour at home was labor-intensive and flour spoiled quickly.

Getting around

The high cost of wagon travel

In 1516, traveling by hired wagon from Dvur Kralove to Prague cost a passenger 20 Meissen groschen, plus 10 groschen for the driver's tip and 30 groschen for meals, totaling one kopa (60 groschen). This was a significant expense, considering an annual teacher's salary was 16 kopa.

Work

The rhythm of the working day

A typical working day was governed by season, religion, and light rather than fixed hours, often involving physically demanding labor that left little room for leisure. Many urban dwellers and laborers relied on low-alcohol beer for hydration because it was safer than raw water.