John, Duke of Östergötland

What people wore

Sheepskin skirts for servants

In 1559, servant girls in Ångermanland received skirts made of sheepskin, with each garment requiring 12 skins to produce.

Daily life

Home-based learning and labor socialization

Formal schooling was not yet a dominant part of children's lives, as religious instruction took place within the home. Children were primarily socialized through labor, working as apprentices, farm laborers, or helping their families.

Work

Common jobs for ordinary people

The most common jobs were agricultural work as servants or wage laborers, including tasks like threshing, fencing, and animal husbandry, as well as production of tar, charcoal, and wooden objects.

Music

Chanting the mass to the laity

In the Lutheran Mass, priests chanted biblical passages to the congregation using melodic formulas called accentus, which helped illiterate laypeople engage with the text.

At the table

Daily Diet of Ordinary Families

Ordinary families typically ate two meals a day, consisting of staples like porridge, bread, cabbage, peas, turnips, and various fish or meat. Beer was a standard drink consumed by people of all ages, often starting in the morning.

Getting around

Impersonating royal servants to secure horses

Travelers who were not on royal business sometimes impersonated royal servants to secure horses, as ordinary peasants were often unwilling or unable to provide fresh teams when the roads were poor. If they could not find transport, they had to rely on the limited hospitality of local peasants or priests, often sleeping on floors near farm animals.

What it cost

Value of clothing items

Stolen trousers were valued at 6 or 8 öre, reflecting the high cost of clothing items in the 16th century.