Angelitha Wass

What people wore

Ornate festive clothing and accessories

Festive attire featured more ornate elements such as gold or silver-trimmed belts, jewelry like necklaces and rings, and intricately embroidered shirts or hats with feathers. In some regions, women's festive skirts were lavishly pleated or featured specific colors like blue for young wives and black for older women.

Daily life

Rural Home Heating and Construction

In the central lowlands, a new type of oven heated from the base of the chimney became common in rural homes. These houses were primarily constructed from wood, making fire a constant hazard.

Work

Butchers as Wealthy Postmen

The butchers of medieval Hungarian towns were among the wealthiest guild members and frequently served as postmen because they traveled constantly for the cattle trade.

Music

Instruments used in secular-style music performances

In the early 16th century, musicians described heavenly music as being accompanied by fiddle, lute, drum, and cimbalom.

At the table

Two daily meals of bread and vegetables

Ordinary people in the Kingdom of Hungary typically ate two meals a day, consisting of bread made from rye, barley, or bran, as well as vegetables like cabbage, peas, and lentils.

Getting around

Requirement for a safe-conduct document

Travelers needed a formal document called a salvus conductus, or safe-conduct, to ensure safe passage through private noble estates. These documents were not valid for the whole country but had to be requested from the specific landowner controlling the territory.

What it cost

Daily Wages for Workers

In 1501, a common daily wage for workers in Nagyszeben was 10 denars.