Louise Hollandine of the Palatinate

At the table

Bread as the staple food

The daily diet was centered on bread, often supplemented with porridges or stews like hutspot, which were cooked in a single pot over an open fire. Poor families relied on dark, nutritious rye or coarse-grain bread, sometimes consuming up to five pounds daily for a family of four.

What people wore

Detachable Sleeves and Costs

Women used separate sleeves that were pinned or tied to their bodices, with prices such as 12 stuivers for gray satin sleeves and 8 stuivers for shorter ones.

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.

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.

Daily life

Home life and furniture

Homes were less private than today, with front doors often left open for neighbors and children to walk in, and food was kept fresh in a spinde, a ventilated cupboard. Additionally, parents used potty chairs for young children, although physicians warned they might cause saggy bellies.