Ferdinand, Prince of Asturias

What people wore

Clothing as a Valuable Asset

Poor rural laborers often owned only one set of clothing, sometimes in such disrepair that it barely covered their bodies. This clothing was a valuable asset often included in wills and dowries, and even used to pay funeral taxes.

Daily life

Daily water collection at public fountains

Most people fetched water daily from the nearest public fountain because owning a private well was a rare luxury. Inside homes, water was typically stored in clay jars known as bucaros or large ceramic vessels.

Work

Women's daily wages were strictly limited

In mid-16th-century Requena, women worked the same sun-to-sun hours as men but were paid only half a real (17 maravedíes) daily, regardless of the season.

Music

Home music and the vihuela

The vihuela was a widely played instrument at home, and seven printed songbooks published between 1536 and 1576 contain hundreds of secular works including ballads, sonnets, and villancicos. These books were instrumental in spreading music beyond elite courtly circles into ordinary households.

At the table

Wine was preferred to unsafe water

Wine was commonly drunk and even used to drink and cook; sources note people avoided water because its potability was poor and it could cause gastrointestinal illnesses.

Getting around

Difficult river crossings and extra taxes

Crossing rivers was difficult because of few bridges, forcing travelers to use small boats where they might wait hours to transport a single carriage or group of people. Boatmen charged a specific tax called barcaje for these crossings.

What it cost

Rising bread prices in the 1550s

The price of a loaf of bread in Málaga surged from 7 maravedíes in 1553 to 24 maravedíes by May 1557 due to poor harvests.