Afonso, Prince of Portugal

Getting around

Daily travel distances and pace

A hurried group with riding animals could travel about 40 kilometers per day, provided they were not using oxen, which were much slower. Travelers often measured distances in leagues, though these were imprecise and often determined by how many taverns the muleteers wanted to stop at.

What it cost

Higher Bread Costs in Cities

In urban centers like Lisbon, Funchal, and Algarve towns, the cost of daily bread was twice as high as it was in rural agricultural areas.

What people wore

Ceremonial dress and mourning attire

Ceremonial clothing in the early sixteenth century was often heavy, uncomfortable, and designed solely to be looked at, intentionally preventing the wearer from performing simple daily tasks. During this period, mourners wore coarse fabrics like burel, almáfega, and vaso as a form of penance.

Daily life

Cooking depended on hearths and stored fuel

Household cooking relied on a fire area and stored goods within the same domestic space, with hearths/brazier-type setups as everyday equipment.

Work

Memorable fact: The sea chest

Sailors often stored their precious belongings, such as navigational tools or pewter utensils, in a shared wooden sea chest that was passed down through generations.

Music

Common musical instruments in 16th-century Portugal

Common musical instruments in Portugal before 1500 included cordophones like lutes and harps, wind instruments such as flutes, bagpipes, and organs, and percussion like tambourines and adufes. Many instruments were used in secular and religious contexts, though some were banned from religious ceremonies by the church.

At the table

Dietary Staples and Substitutes for Meat

While bread, wine, and soup were staples for ordinary people, meat was considered a luxury, often replaced by vegetables like chickpeas, fava beans, and lentils in their daily diet. Vegetables were typically served boiled as accompaniments in soups or stews rather than eaten raw in salads.