Catherine Telegdi

What people wore

Layered women's clothing and headwear customs

Women wore linen shirts and layered skirts or dresses, often adding a fur-lined cloak or suba in cold weather, while unmarried girls walked with uncovered heads. Married women and older women distinguished themselves through head coverings like veils or bonnets, with social status influencing whether materials like silk, brocade, or lace were used.

Daily life

Dining Customs Without Forks

People typically ate two meals a day, using only knives and spoons, as forks had not yet spread. Dining was communal, with everyone taking food by hand from a single dish.

Work

Butchers as Wealthy Postmen

The butchers of medieval Hungarian towns were among the wealthiest guild members and frequently served as postmen because they traveled constantly for the cattle trade.

Music

Bagpipes were popular for all social classes

The bagpipe was a popular instrument at all levels of society, heard at weddings, festivals, work parties, and noblemen's balls.

At the table

Fish as a daily staple for farmers

Fish was a staple in the diet of many people, with prepared fish like salted, dried, or smoked varieties often serving as daily sustenance for farmers.

Getting around

Requirement for a safe-conduct document

Travelers needed a formal document called a salvus conductus, or safe-conduct, to ensure safe passage through private noble estates. These documents were not valid for the whole country but had to be requested from the specific landowner controlling the territory.

What it cost

Daily Wages for Workers

In 1501, a common daily wage for workers in Nagyszeben was 10 denars.