Catherine Telegdi

What people wore

Ornate festive clothing and accessories

Festive attire featured more ornate elements such as gold or silver-trimmed belts, jewelry like necklaces and rings, and intricately embroidered shirts or hats with feathers. In some regions, women's festive skirts were lavishly pleated or featured specific colors like blue for young wives and black for older women.

Daily life

Limited Education for Children

Ordinary children rarely received formal schooling, though talented youths could attend church-supported schools to learn reading, writing, and Latin. Wealthier children often had private tutors or were sent to study at foreign universities in cities like Vienna or Krakow.

Work

Workplace Hiring and Hours

Workers were often hired at designated marketplaces; they were paid daily or weekly, but never received higher wages for night or Sunday work, and they generally did not work on Sundays or holidays.

Music

Bagpipes were popular for all social classes

The bagpipe was a popular instrument at all levels of society, heard at weddings, festivals, work parties, and noblemen's balls.

At the table

Fish as a daily staple for farmers

Fish was a staple in the diet of many people, with prepared fish like salted, dried, or smoked varieties often serving as daily sustenance for farmers.

Getting around

Requirement for a safe-conduct document

Travelers needed a formal document called a salvus conductus, or safe-conduct, to ensure safe passage through private noble estates. These documents were not valid for the whole country but had to be requested from the specific landowner controlling the territory.

What it cost

Daily Wages for Workers

In 1501, a common daily wage for workers in Nagyszeben was 10 denars.