Francisco Gómez de Sandoval y Zúñiga

What people wore

Daily and feast day clothing

Humble women often possessed only two outfits: one for daily chores and another specifically reserved for Sundays or feast days.

Daily life

Food costs and daily wages

For the price of just one blanca—half a maravedí—it was possible to purchase 9 fresh or salted sardines. An average laborer earned about 17 maravedís per day.

Work

Morning hiring and harsh labor control

Laborers often gathered at a designated plaza before dawn to be hired, and municipal authorities sometimes threatened strikers or those refusing to work with imprisonment.

Music

The popular five-course guitar

The five-course guitar emerged as the most popular instrument in Spain, played in all social settings ranging from taverns and homes to the royal court.

At the table

Meat was a rare luxury

Meat was a luxury rarely eaten by the poor, and consuming it was a symbol of wealth and power, often reserved for special occasions or festivities.

Getting around

Daily travel distances on horseback

Travelers typically covered four to six leagues per day on horseback, with exceptional days reaching seven or eight leagues. A league was a unit of distance used in Spain during this period.

What it cost

Gender wage gap in 1553 agriculture

In 1553 Requena, male field workers earned between 34 and 68 maravedíes per day depending on the month, while women earned a fixed rate of only 17 maravedíes per day.