Karin Nilsdotter

At the table

Beaver as fasting food

To preserve food for winter, people salted or dried meat and fish, and the beaver was considered fish because it lived in water and used its tail to swim. This allowed it to be eaten during the religious fasting days when meat was otherwise prohibited.

What people wore

Essential Tools Carried on Belts

Peasants often carried essential daily tools like knives and leather pouches on belts; women additionally kept the keys to their farm on their belts.

Getting around

Costs and customs of travel accommodation

Travelers could obtain food and shelter from appointed hosts in parishes roughly two Swedish miles apart for a cost of two 'Rondstuckh' (about four Kreuzer) per meal. However, foreign travelers were often charged double and had to rely on the willingness of the local host to provide transport.

What it cost

Price of bread and meat in Ångermanland

In Ångermanland, a single loaf of bread was valued at 2 öre, while 1 liter of meat cost 24 öre.

Music

Chanting in the Swedish Mass

During the Reformation, priests began chanting the Mass in the Swedish vernacular instead of Latin. Congregations started to participate in ritual singing, using hymnals like Een liten song-book, which was published in both large and smaller formats.

Daily life

Open hearth cooking with simple diets

Cooking was done using open fireplaces, and common staples included porridge, bread, turnips, cabbage, and salted or dried fish and meat, usually washed down with beer.