Q114905159

d. 1590

Country of birth: Sweden
Died: 1590, Östra Husby

facts: 4
sources: 1
images and files: 0

Facts and their sources

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Titlevicar, 1561–1590Confirmed1 source
Death1590, Östra HusbyProbable1 source

A life in time

1545
Child born: Karin Nilsdotter
Birth
1561–1590
Event · vicar
Event
1590
Died · Östra Husby
Death, Östra Husby

What was it like?

The world around Östra Husby, 1590: who ruled, who else was alive, how people lived. This is general history, not a record about the family, and every item shows where it comes from.

Q114905159 was vicar from 1561 to 1590.

Known for

Titles held

vicar1561–1590

Fashion

Functional accessories on belts

Both men and women wore belts where they carried practical items, including leather pouches and knives, and women specifically kept farm keys on theirs.

Sheepskin skirts for servants

In 1559, servant girls in Ångermanland received skirts made of sheepskin, with each garment requiring 12 skins to produce.

Music

Chanting the mass to the laity

In the Lutheran Mass, priests chanted biblical passages to the congregation using melodic formulas called accentus, which helped illiterate laypeople engage with the text.

Instruments for song and dance

Common instruments used by people for singing and dancing included the flute, drum, fiddle, lute, and bagpipe.

Getting around

Impersonating royal servants to secure horses

Travelers who were not on royal business sometimes impersonated royal servants to secure horses, as ordinary peasants were often unwilling or unable to provide fresh teams when the roads were poor. If they could not find transport, they had to rely on the limited hospitality of local peasants or priests, often sleeping on floors near farm animals.

Slow travel and meal costs

Travel could be very slow, with one group taking five hours to cover just two miles because of deep snow. Guests at the parish-appointed inns paid for their meals with two 'Rondstuckh', which were worth about four Kreuzer.

Daily life

Cramped winter living with livestock

In winter, peasant families lived in a single room with their young animals; infants slept in hanging wooden cradles, and other children slept near the baking oven for warmth. Households often kept the door threshold very high to keep young livestock inside the room.

Home-based learning and labor socialization

Formal schooling was not yet a dominant part of children's lives, as religious instruction took place within the home. Children were primarily socialized through labor, working as apprentices, farm laborers, or helping their families.

Food

Beaver Served as Fasting Fish

Beaver was consumed as a fish substitute on fasting days because people believed it was a water-dwelling animal that swam using its tail. This allowed it to be eaten during the religious periods when meat was prohibited.

Daily Diet of Ordinary Families

Ordinary families typically ate two meals a day, consisting of staples like porridge, bread, cabbage, peas, turnips, and various fish or meat. Beer was a standard drink consumed by people of all ages, often starting in the morning.

Prices and wages

Around 1592–1592

Food distributed as essential wages in 1592

During extreme inflation in 1592, workers at the Horn brick-yard were given herring and smelt as food to ensure they remained capable of performing labor.

Around 1596–1596

Wages and clothing costs in 1596

In 1596, city workers received 30 mark in wages, supplemented by 46 mark to cover the cost of an English suit and tailoring services.

Work

A demanding working day

Following the 1571 Church Order, work days were long as holidays were halved, and laborers often relied on in-kind payments like food or grain.

Common jobs for ordinary people

The most common jobs were agricultural work as servants or wage laborers, including tasks like threshing, fencing, and animal husbandry, as well as production of tar, charcoal, and wooden objects.

News and letters

Couriers required travel passports for essential support

Couriers carrying letters relied on travel passports to secure fresh horses, food, and lodging from residents along their routes.

Slow and unreliable mail between Sweden and Tallinn

Between Stockholm and Tallinn, the fastest possible delivery of a letter under favorable conditions was six days, though the average delivery time exceeded six weeks.

During their lifetime

1531
Church bells sacrificed for state debt
King Gustav ordered the sacrifice of one church bell from every parish to help pay the national debt to Lübeck.
1539
First Swedish censorship law established
A law introduced in 1539 mandated that all printed materials be checked by the government before distribution to the public.
1544
Monarchy becomes hereditary in Sweden
The Riksdag of 1544 established that the Swedish monarchy would be hereditary rather than elected.
1563
Devastation from the Northern Seven Years' War
The Northern Seven Years' War caused widespread devastation, with farms plundered and rural populations forced to flee to towns.
1571
Mandatory elementary schooling introduced for city children
The Swedish Church Ordinance was established, mandating elementary schooling for all children in cities, regardless of sex.

Family

Children

Karin Nilsdotter1545–1613Confirmed

Ancestors and children

Open the full tree

Four generations back to the right, the children to the left. The number beside a child counts the generations of descendants known after them.