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VitrineVitrine

Anna Firlej

1560 – 1588

8 facts1 source

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 1560

    Born

  2. Oct 1579

    A son is born

  3. 1588

    Dies

During her lifetime

She lived through 3 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1560s · Anna is born

In the news1569

The Union of Lublin established the Commonwealth

On July 1, 1569, the Union of Lublin was signed, formally merging the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into a single Commonwealth of Both Nations. The process involved 140 senators and envoys from the Crown and 77 from Lithuania placing their seals on the act.

At the table

Beer as a daily staple

Beer was the most common everyday drink, often served as soup with breadcrumbs or given to children and pregnant women for strength.

What people wore

Valuation of peasant clothing sets

A full set of clothing for an ordinary Ukrainian peasant was valued at 26.5 zlotys for men and 52 zlotys for women, with the women's set including a shirt, skirt, and corset. Those who possessed such a complete set were considered wealthy by their community.

Getting around

Luxury transport for the wealthy

Wealthy individuals often traveled in covered wagons known as coaches (kocz) or cradles (kolebka), which were sometimes suspended on leather straps for comfort.

What it cost

Food affordability for workers

A worker could purchase a chicken for 1 grossus, a goose for 1.5 to 2 grossi, or a cluster of 60 eggs for 3 grossi with their daily wage.

Music

Bagpipes at festivals and processions

Bagpipes were widely enjoyed across social classes at inns, weddings, and parties, and they were also played during public events such as military marches and religious processions like Corpus Christi.

Daily life

Modest wooden peasant homes

Peasant homesteads were modest wooden houses, often with a single stove and no chimney, sometimes using oiled paper or animal bladders for windows. In some regions like Samogitia, families still lived in traditional numas with central fireplaces.