Anna Branković

At the table

Rye bread as a staple and currency

Rye was the primary cereal used for staple black bread, which was often baked in large oblong loaves on wooden peels and sometimes placed on leaves like maple or cabbage for flavor. Bread was so valued that in earlier periods it was even used as a form of currency to pay fees when traveling across private lands.

What people wore

Cost of a woman's dress

In 1540, a dress known as a suknia cost one and a half Lithuanian groszy, and a bride might include three of these in different colors as part of her dowry.

Getting around

Day-long trips between local towns

A trip from Vilnius to Kaunas, now under two hours, took a full day because traveling at night was dangerous and often avoided.

Work

The communal harvest tradition of talka

A community tradition called talka required entire families to drop their own urgent work to help with major seasonal harvests on the manor. In return, the host family provided food, drink, dancing, and games for the helpers.

Music

Sutartinės and folk instruments

Traditional sutartinės songs were performed by women, while men played instrumental versions on the kanklės psaltery, skudučiai pan-pipes, and horns.

Daily life

Hygiene and play for wealthy children

Wealthy children received instructions to maintain hygiene, such as brushing their teeth after meals and changing underwear daily, while girls often played with wooden or clay dolls.