Leonora Anna de Guzman

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

Cooking and dining in the kitchen

The kitchen was the heart of the home, where families gathered around a low fireplace to cook, eat, and socialize. Food was often handled with fingers as forks were not yet in general use.

Work

A violent strike in Córdoba, 1595

In 1595, agricultural workers in Córdoba went on strike for higher wages and shorter hours; the city responded by arresting strikers and sentencing them to four hours in the pillory and ten days in jail.

Music

Lascivious street dances

Public dances like the zarabanda and chacona were performed in streets to the sound of the guitar, despite being criticized by authorities as lascivious.

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.