Juana de Sandoval

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

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

Long days and regulated wages

Agricultural laborers were required to work from sunrise to sunset, and municipalities enforced strict daily wage caps that varied by season, often ranging from 30 to 68 maravedíes.

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

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

Long travel times and banditry risks

Land travel was slow and expensive, with journeys from the central plateau to the coast often taking about 15 days. Road conditions were so hazardous in some regions that travelers faced a clear risk to their lives from banditry.

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.