Sibylle of Brandenburg

What people wore

Women's Stockings and Garters

Peasant women wore stockings that reached above the knee, which were held in place by garters tied above the calf. These were often made from wool and cut at a 45-degree angle to the grain to ensure they were stretchable and fit tightly.

Daily life

Small, dark peasant homes housing livestock

Ordinary peasant homes were typically small, dark, two-room huts made from materials like mud and straw, often featuring dirt floors and thatched roofs with few or no windows to keep out the cold. In many households, it was common to bring livestock inside during the winter to keep them warm and safe.

Work

Craftsman wages and food prices

South German masons and carpenters earned approximately 20 denarii in summer and 16 in winter daily, plus board and lodging. During this time, beef cost about 2 denarii per pound.

Music

Popular Wedding and Civic Musicians

In German cities around 1500, a common ensemble for weddings was the pipe and drum, with performers sometimes earning half a guilder for their services. These musicians were frequently hired alongside or to alternate with town pipers (Stadtpfeifer) who played brass instruments like shawms and trombones.

At the table

German reputation for fatty, mustard-heavy diets

Germans were known for a fatty diet, using lard and butter extensively for cooking, and were famous for smearing generous amounts of mustard on meat.

Getting around

Traveling primarily on foot

Most ordinary people traveled on foot, covering about 20 to 30 kilometers per day, as they could not afford horses or carriages.

What it cost

Laborer wages and shoe costs

In early 16th-century Saxony, a day laborer could earn 9 groschen per week with keep or 16 groschen without keep. For comparison, a pair of shoes cost 3 groschen.