Janusz Radziwiłł

Janusz Radziwiłł was a Polish–Lithuanian magnate. He was the Lithuanian deputy cup-bearer since 1599, the castellan of Vilnius since 1619, and the starost of Borysów. Radziwiłł also held the title of Reichsfürst of the Holy Roman Empire.

Cost of a woman's dress

In 1540, a dress known as a suknia cost one and a half Lithuanian groszy, and a bride might include three of these in different colors as part of her dowry.

Simple leather footwear and puttees

Ordinary residents often wore naginės, which were simple, plain-sole footwear crafted from animal skin, and they frequently wrapped their shins and feet with cloth puttees.

Earnings of local musicians

For performing at festivals such as St. George and the Holy Ascension, trumpeters from Alsėdžiai were paid seven gold coins, with 20 gold coins paid for playing at nine annual festivals.

Jesuit college dance parties

Students at Jesuit colleges sometimes organized dance parties to enliven their daily lives, featuring Western-style dances such as Chorea, Paduana, and Galiarda.

Hiring guards for travel safety

To protect goods while traveling, a merchant in 1586 hired two Tartars for four guilders and required them to swear an oath as a guarantee of safety.

Day-long trips between local towns

A trip from Vilnius to Kaunas, now under two hours, took a full day because traveling at night was dangerous and often avoided.

Hygiene and play for wealthy children

Wealthy children received instructions to maintain hygiene, such as brushing their teeth after meals and changing underwear daily, while girls often played with wooden or clay dolls.

Limited schooling for peasant children

Peasant children were mostly illiterate and rarely attended parish schools, as parents prioritized their agricultural labor and schools were sparse due to a lack of funding.

Everyday beer and holiday mead

Beer was the most common everyday beverage for people of various social statuses, often brewed at home or in taverns. Mead was also produced and enjoyed, though it was generally less abundant and more associated with holidays or special gatherings than everyday beer consumption.

Rye bread as a staple and currency

Rye was the primary cereal used for staple black bread, which was often baked in large oblong loaves on wooden peels and sometimes placed on leaves like maple or cabbage for flavor. Bread was so valued that in earlier periods it was even used as a form of currency to pay fees when traveling across private lands.

Cost of clothes and footwear

In 1582, a new black coat cost 40 groschen, while a pair of shoes was priced at 12 groschen.

Value of animals compared to clothing

For the price of one expensive coat, which was 40 groschen, one could purchase two pigs or two sheep.

Paying labor dues with money and goods

Peasants often commuted their mandatory labor dues by paying 12 groshi, or they paid taxes in kind, such as a cow for every thirty holdings or a hen and ten eggs per holding.

The communal harvest tradition of talka

A community tradition called talka required entire families to drop their own urgent work to help with major seasonal harvests on the manor. In return, the host family provided food, drink, dancing, and games for the helpers.

Cost of sending a letter

Starting in 1583, a uniform postal rate of 4 groszy was introduced for a letter weighing up to 1 łut (about 12.66 grams). Before this, sending a letter could cost 6 groszy, which was enough to buy roughly 60 eggs or nearly a pood of rye.

Seven days from Kraków to Vilnius

In the late 16th century, a letter sent via the official postal route between Kraków and Vilnius took approximately seven days to be delivered.