Hryhory Rozum

What people wore

Luxury Materials in Peasant Dress

Peasants occasionally wore expensive imported fabrics like silk, velvet, and damask, often acquired at town markets. For decoration, they sometimes utilized precious furs such as sable, marten, or silver fox, which were typically reserved for the nobility.

Daily life

Sleeping and eating habits

Until the end of the 18th century, beds were rare in peasant households, with most people sleeping on long benches or straw spread directly on the floor. While forks were known, they did not come into general use until the 18th century, so most people ate with their fingers and wooden spoons.

Work

Labor Obligations and Panshchyna Service

Peasants often owed labor services known as panshchyna, which could require working on the lord's land multiple days a week, sometimes including the use of their own horses or oxen.

Music

Professional guilds and instruments

Professional musicians organized into city guilds, which were legally supported by decrees to provide music for celebrations, ceremonies, and military events. Musicians played instruments like the violin, dulcimer, bagpipe, and drum at festive gatherings.

At the table

Cossack dietary staples and habits

Cossack soldiers typically ate simple, communal meals like salamakha, a liquid dish made from boiled millet and flour water, often served from small wooden troughs using wooden spoons. When possible, they supplemented their diet with pork scraps, boiled fish, and various cereals like teterya cooked with milk or fat.

Getting around

Memorable Aspects of Travel

Traveling in the Commonwealth was challenging, as there was a lack of quality inns, and journeys were often crowded with people and goods like goose fat and cracklings in wagons. Wealthy nobles displayed their status by traveling with large processions that could include hundreds of horses and servants, and occasionally even camels.

What it cost

Tax paid in yarn or money

In the late 17th century, village peasants sometimes provided yarn as a tax or could instead pay 40 groszy for it.