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Sibylle of Saxony

Freiberg, 12 May 1515 – Buxtehude, 18 Jul 1592

9 facts3 sources

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 12 May 1515

    Born in Freiberg

  2. 1547–1552

    2 children are born

  3. 18 Jul 1592

    Dies in Buxtehude, aged 77

Family

See the tree

Parents

Partner

Children · 2

During her lifetime

She lived through 9 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Freiberg.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1510s · Sibylle is born in Freiberg

In the news1517

Luther posts the Ninety-five Theses

Martin Luther sparked the Reformation by posting his Ninety-five Theses in Wittenberg, fundamentally changing the religious and social lives of ordinary people.

At the table

Laborer purchasing power in 1500s Augsburg

In Augsburg, a day laborer's daily wage could purchase six pounds of meat or seven eggs, a peck of peas, and a quart of wine, alongside bread.

What people wore

Everyday and Sunday Best Clothing

Most people owned at least two sets of clothing, keeping one for everyday work and another cleaner set for church and social events. Clothing was frequently patched and mended, with garments and good linen undergarments often bequeathed to heirs.

Getting around

River travel was significantly faster

Travel by water was faster; flat-bottomed river boats could cover 100 to 150 kilometers downstream in a single day under optimal conditions.

What it cost

Meat prices and daily wages

A daily wage for a laborer in Augsburg was equivalent to the value of 5 to 6 pounds of the best meat. In Bavaria, one pound of the best beef cost 2 pfennige, while a day laborer earned 18 pfennige daily.

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.

Daily life

Central hearths for light and cooking

The primary source of light, heat, and cooking in many homes was a central indoor campfire, as open hearths were common in smaller dwellings. Wealthier urban households sometimes had their own wells and used specialized kitchen equipment like bronze mortars for grinding spices and three-legged Dutch ovens, known as Grapen, for roasting or stewing.