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Sibylle Elisabeth of Württemberg

1584–1606

Born
10 Apr 1584, Montbéliard
Country of birth
France
Died
20 Jan 1606, Dresden
facts
7
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

A life in time

  1. Born · Montbéliard

    Birth, Montbéliard

  2. Died · Dresden

    Death, Dresden

What was it like?

The world around Montbéliard, 1584: 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.

A Parisian servant girl in 1586 wore a blouse with a high collar and a red bodice laced at the front and trimmed with black velvet.

Fashion
Around 1586–1586

A 1586 Parisian servant girl's costume

A Parisian servant girl in 1586 wore a blouse with a high collar and a red bodice laced at the front and trimmed with black velvet.

Around 1586–1586

A Parisian wine seller's attire, 1586

In 1586, a Parisian wine seller wore a loose jacket gathered by a leather belt from which a money bag hung, and narrow breeches with stockings held up by garters.

Music

A popular Renaissance sung dance

The song Belle qui tiens ma vie, a well-known Renaissance piece, was originally a sung dance documented in the 1589 manual Orchésographie.

One-man band instruments for dancing

For informal settings, many people used the pipe and tabor, as a single musician could play both instruments simultaneously to accompany dancing.

Getting around

Common travel methods in late 16th century

Travelers typically walked, rode horses or mules, or used rare public carriages operated by universities. Roads were often unmaintained and lacked suspension, making travel in heavy carts uncomfortable and slow.

Travel speeds and horse relays

Early public carriages were slow, covering only about 48 kilometers in a day. Wealthy travelers or officials could pay to use the royal horse relay system to travel at a much faster gallop.

Daily life

Common dining habits and wine consumption

People generally ate from trenchers—plates made of wood, metal, or bread—as forks were rare in popular classes and only slowly adopted by the nobility. To drink, wine was almost always diluted with water because it was considered too heavy and thick.

Modest homes lacked modern interior conveniences

Ordinary homes often featured wooden facades and roofs with attic windows called lucarnes, while interiors had large, drafty rooms and oversized fireplaces. Significantly, even in wealthy residences, private bathrooms or nightstands did not exist.

Food

Bread and soup as staples

Ordinary families relied on grain-based foods, with bread and soups made of bread soaked in broth, water, or vegetable mixtures providing up to 80 percent of daily calories.

Meat was rare for the poor

Meat was rare in the diets of the poor, who consumed very little due to high costs and limited preservation methods caused by salt shortages.

Prices and wages

Daily wages for laborers

In the period 1571–1575, a laborer earned approximately 5.87 sols tournois per day, while in 1594–1598 the wage was about 6.8 sols tournois per day.

Around 1589–1589

Seasonal worker compensation package

In 1589, a seasonal farm worker received 3 gold écus, a shirt, a pair of leggings, and a new pair of shoes for several months of work.

Work

Child labor was essential and hidden

Children as young as seven began contributing to the family economy by tasks like picking stones from fields or helping with textile production.

Common jobs for ordinary people

Common occupations included agricultural workers like vinedressers and threshers in rural areas, and construction workers such as masons and carpenters in towns.

News and letters

Postal speed from Marseille to Paris

In the late 16th century, news from Marseille could reach Paris in 11 days, covering 809 kilometers at a rate of 74 kilometers per day.

Around 1576–1576

Royal mail opened to private citizens

In 1576, King Charles IX established royal courier offices authorized to transport private mail, marking a step toward public service. Before this, royal messengers often secretly carried private letters to supplement their meager wages despite official prohibitions.

During their lifetime

  1. 1598

    Edict of Nantes signed

    The Edict of Nantes was issued in 1598, marking the end of the religious wars and granting limited rights to Huguenots.

Family

Parents

Spouses

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.