Charlotte of the Palatinate

What people wore

Individual clothing costs in 1626

In 1626, a woman named Maria van Nesse recorded paying 15 stuivers for a bodice and 10 stuivers for a pair of sleeves, demonstrating how individual clothing components were purchased and assembled.

Daily life

Strict Classroom Discipline

Basic school rules strictly prohibited students from throwing fleas, lice, or snot at classmates, with punishments including being whipped with a stick or hit with a paddle.

Work

Common roles and seasonal labor

Common jobs included printers, bookbinders, carpenters, bricklayers, and textile workers, with many families running small businesses together. Seasonal labor was also vital, with workers migrating to dig peat, harvest grain, or work on dikes and canals.

Music

Egg dance challenge

The egg dance, a traditional folk dance, challenged dancers to move an egg out of a chalk circle using only their feet without breaking it.

At the table

Beer as a safer everyday drink

Because water was frequently contaminated, ordinary families drank beer with every meal, including breakfast. This beer was typically a low-alcohol variety, often called small beer, which was safer to consume than water.

Getting around

Forcing a boat departure with money

Before the major canal network expansion in the 1630s, travelers between cities often used small, irregular ferries where boatmen would only depart once they had collected enough cargo or passengers were willing to pay the difference to force an immediate departure. Early efforts to regulate this, such as a 1605 ordinance in Delft, required passengers to pay 24 stuivers for a one-way trip to force a boat to leave.

What it cost

Wages and purchasing power

An outdoor laborer earned about 6.5 guilders per week, while 100 guilders could purchase roughly 2,535 pounds of rye bread or 570 pounds of meat.