Catherine of Brandenburg

At the table

Daily porridge served as the staple meal

Porridge was the primary daily meal, often cooked in large batches and reheated, leading to a tough consistency. Ordinary families ate it by reaching into a shared bowl with their hands.

What people wore

Everyday Women's Clothing Basics

An everyday women's outfit consisted of a white shirt, a colored bodice called a Brustlein, a skirt known as an Unterrock, and a white apron. The Brustlein was often sold as ready-to-wear, while the skirt required a tailor.

Getting around

Frequent settlements provided support for travelers

Travelers on foot or with pack animals often relied on a network of paths where rural settlements were frequently spaced within a 10-kilometer distance of each other.

Work

Common roles included farmers and servants

Most people were village farmers, ranging from those owning enough land to sustain a family to smallholders who relied on additional wage labor, spinning, or weaving to survive. Others worked as life-cycle servants, such as farmhands and maids, who lived with an employer and provided labor in exchange for bed and board.

Music

Music in Homes and Religious Devotion

During the early seventeenth century, music was an integral part of home life, with keyboard tablatures enabling people to play compositions like dances or sacred works on instruments such as the organ, harpsichord, or clavichord. Meanwhile, religious life featured cradle devotions at Christmas, where music was played while rocking a cradle representing the Christ child.

Daily life

Water access and heating systems

Wealthier households had private wells with pumps, but many town dwellers relied on public rivers or town ditches, which were often contaminated by waste. Some stoves featured built-in water cisterns that provided hot water for daily tasks.