Duke Johann Philipp I, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg

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.

Daily life

Kitchen stoves and built-in water cisterns

Many modest kitchens lacked open hearths, instead using a large, soot-covered stove in a separate room that served for both cooking and heating. Some of these stoves featured built-in water cisterns that provided hot water and a place to boil food like dumplings.

News and letters

Efficient Relay System and Delivery Times

To speed up delivery, the postal system used a relay method where couriers handed off letters at fixed intervals of 15 to 35 km, allowing riders to travel day and night. On the main route between Brussels and Innsbruck, which spanned about 920 kilometers, a letter could be delivered in approximately five to six days.

Music

Town pipers performed music from towers

Civic musicians known as Stadtpfeifer regularly performed music from church towers and town hall balconies, often using loud brass and wind instruments like the cornett, sackbut, and shawm.

At the table

Grains and vegetables as staples

For ordinary families, grains served as the foundation of the diet in the form of porridges or coarse breads. Vegetables such as turnips, cabbage, and onions were essential daily staples, often cooked with lard or bacon.

Getting around

Most travel was done on foot

Ordinary people primarily traveled between towns on foot, usually covering about 20 kilometers per day. For longer distances, they relied on walking, although they occasionally hitched rides on wagons belonging to farmers or carters.

Work

Daily Wages and Bathing Habits

In South Germany, a journeyman mason or carpenter typically earned 16 to 20 denarii per day plus room and board, while bakers sometimes received additional weekly bathing money. Workers were frequently paid daily, and some trades included specific provisions for regular bathing holidays.