Magnus, Duke of Östergötland

At the table

Two daily meals of porridge and soup

Ordinary families typically ate two meals a day, consisting mainly of porridge, bread, pea soup, and root vegetables like turnips. During the Catholic period, the religious fasts meant that meat, eggs, and dairy were often avoided on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and during long fasting periods before Christmas and Easter.

What people wore

Essential Tools Carried on Belts

Peasants often carried essential daily tools like knives and leather pouches on belts; women additionally kept the keys to their farm on their belts.

Getting around

Costs and customs of travel accommodation

Travelers could obtain food and shelter from appointed hosts in parishes roughly two Swedish miles apart for a cost of two 'Rondstuckh' (about four Kreuzer) per meal. However, foreign travelers were often charged double and had to rely on the willingness of the local host to provide transport.

What it cost

Price of bread and meat in Ångermanland

In Ångermanland, a single loaf of bread was valued at 2 öre, while 1 liter of meat cost 24 öre.

Music

Popular instruments of the time

Common instruments included the flute, drum, fiddle, and jaw harp. Bagpipes were also popular, though they were sometimes depicted in church art as sinful or associated with the devil.

Daily life

Cramped shared living spaces with livestock

Most rural homes were single-room cottages serving as both kitchen and bedroom, where families often lived in cramped conditions alongside livestock like calves, sheep, and pigs during winter.