Anne Amélie d'Erbach

Getting around

Fast river travel downstream

Travelers could use rivers to move faster, sometimes reaching up to 150 kilometers in 24 hours when traveling downstream.

Daily life

Beer was safer than water

Drinking water was often unhygienic and contaminated, so beer was frequently consumed instead because brewing made it safer and provided essential calories.

What people wore

Sumptuary Laws Restricting Social Dress

Strict sumptuary laws restricted what citizens could wear based on their social status; for instance, common citizens and artisans were forbidden from using expensive materials like gold, silver, pearls, velvet, or silk. Wives of common citizens were allowed to wear a gold ring valued at no more than five or six guilders and a veil with a golden border no more than two fingers wide.

Music

Singing during communal round dances

People often sang while performing round dances in squares or streets, a practice sometimes restricted by city councils to prevent the singing of shameful songs.

At the table

Daily beer consumption in northern regions

In northern regions like Münster, beer was the standard everyday beverage, with people consuming between 2 and 3 litres daily. Wine was reserved only for the four most important religious feast days.