Janusz Radziwiłł

Prince Janusz Radziwiłł, also known as Janusz the Second or Janusz the Younger was a noble and magnate in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Throughout his life he occupied a number of posts in the state administration, including that of Court Chamberlain of Lithuania, Field Hetman of Lithuania and Grand Hetman of Lithuania.

Common peasant outer garments

Peasants commonly wore sermėgos, which were outer garments made of simple, often undyed, woolen cloth.

Everyday city jermiak coats

Ordinary city dwellers often wore a simple, unlined outer garment known as a jermiak, which was typically made of undyed grey or black kersey.

Common church and festival instruments

Commonly used instruments included trumpets, French horns, trombones, drums, fiddles, lutes, and harps, with many Catholic churches and brotherhoods maintaining their own set of two trumpets, two French horns, and two kettledrums.

Elaborate Jesuit processions and music

Jesuit colleges, such as those in Vilnius, Kražiai, and Pašiaušė, held elaborate Corpus Christi processions featuring singers and orchestras, where students would play a variety of instruments to celebrate the holiday.

Long travel times between towns

A journey from Vilnius to Kaunas, now covered in under 90 minutes, took an entire day by horse-drawn transport. Speeds for carts or walking were roughly 25 kilometers per day, while light horse travel reached about 55 kilometers per day.

Slow travel by cart and horseback

Travelers typically moved by foot, on horseback, or in wooden horse-drawn carts and sledges. Journeys were often slow and difficult, with night travel avoided due to the high risk of getting lost.

Contrast in education by social class

Children of most peasants and burghers were illiterate, and primary schools were rare. In wealthy families, however, girls were often taught at home, and some magnate daughters achieved high literacy, with many learning Latin or German.

Modest peasant homes with paper windows

Peasant homes were modest wooden buildings with stoves, while some in Samogitia used simple structures with fireplaces where they might live alongside their animals. Windows were made of greased paper or animal bladders rather than glass.

Beer and mead as everyday drinks

Beer was a common beverage in cities and estates, with residents often storing it in multiple barrels alongside mead for home consumption or sale.

Peasant diet staples and meat consumption

Peasants relied on a diet of rye grain, peas, vegetables, dairy products, and flitch, while meat was primarily consumed by wealthier families.

Prices of food and shoes

Around 1600, a chicken cost 2 groszy, while a pair of standard shoes cost between 15 and 80 groszy.

Common jobs in the Grand Duchy

Most peasants worked as farmers, balancing their own household tasks with required labor on the lord's manor, known as corvée or tyaglo. Skilled tradespeople like smiths and carpenters also lived in rural areas to supply neighbors with essential tools and goods.

Memorable custom of communal labor

"Talka" was a form of communal labor for urgent fieldwork where whole families, except young children, participated to complete tasks quickly. In exchange for the help, the beneficiary family hosted a party with food, drink, and dancing, though this custom eventually evolved into more compulsory, forced labor for estate owners.

Letters folded as envelopes

Paper was expensive in the early 16th century, so letters were often folded into the shape of an envelope instead of using a separate one.

Vilnius to Kraków mail in seven days

In 1562, a regular postal route was established between Vilnius and Kraków, allowing letters to be delivered in seven days.