Philip Frederick 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

Individual clothing costs in 1626

In 1626, a woman named Maria van Nesse recorded paying 15 stuivers for a bodice and 10 stuivers for a pair of sleeves, demonstrating how individual clothing components were purchased and assembled.

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

Cost of bread and beer

In 1620, a 12-pound loaf of rye bread cost 6.5 stuivers, while a tankard of beer cost only 0.5 stuivers.

Music

Penalty for refusing to play music

In Dutch music inns, a capable musician who refused to play for patrons was required to buy a round of drinks for the whole tavern as a penalty.

Daily life

Early schooling for children

Children as young as three were sent to ABC schools to learn reading, often starting with religious texts, before moving to writing and arithmetic. While education was valued for both sexes, girls' instruction often emphasized reading and needlework alongside basic skills.