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Benigna zu Solms-Laubach

1648–1702

Born
24 Mar 1648, Żary
Country of birth
Poland
Died
9 Oct 1702
facts
9
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 · Żary

    Birth, Żary

  2. Child born: Erdmute Benigna Gräfin zu Solms-Laubach

    Birth, Wildenfels

  3. Died

    Death

What was it like?

The world around Żary, 1648: 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.

Seventeenth-century noblewomen's wills show that items like fur-lined coats, velvet dresses, and specific headgear such as caps and wimples were vital assets, sometimes valued higher than silver or jewelry.

Fashion

Valuable Noblewoman's Clothing

Seventeenth-century noblewomen's wills show that items like fur-lined coats, velvet dresses, and specific headgear such as caps and wimples were vital assets, sometimes valued higher than silver or jewelry.

Music

Bagpipes at local inns and festivals

Bagpipe music was a staple of everyday life, frequently accompanying dancing at weddings and parties in both city and country inns.

Forgotten songs and dances found in manuscripts

A 17th-century manuscript discovered inside a religious book revealed over 200 long-forgotten songs and dances, including pieces like the Polonez and the Bergamask-style Pagamoszka.

Getting around

Common travel methods and daily speeds

Ordinary people traveled mainly on foot, covering 20–25 km per day, or by horse-drawn carts at 25–30 km per day. Noblemen typically traveled on horseback to show their status, achieving 30–40 km per day.

Importance of water transport

River travel was crucial for mass transportation, with large punts, barges, and rafts carrying passengers and goods across the Commonwealth.

Daily life

Cooking methods and food preservation

Cooking was a labor-intensive task using pots with three legs placed over fires or suspended cauldrons, while salt was a vital commodity for preserving meat and fish stored in barrels. Households often relied on hand mills to grind their own grain between stones to prepare bread and dishes.

Heating and smoke management in homes

Peasant homes often used central hearths without chimneys, causing smoke to escape through roof openings, though houses with chimneys also existed. Wealthier urban and noble homes used tiled stoves and fireplaces, which kept kitchens separate from living areas.

Food

Staple diet of ordinary families

Rye bread, groats, and peas formed the staple diet of ordinary households, often supplemented by dairy, fat, and vegetables from home gardens.

Around 1650–1674

Mandatory alcohol consumption for peasants

Common people were forced by law to buy and consume specific amounts of alcohol, such as vodka or beer, from their local lord. This practice was sometimes described as conditioning them into addiction.

Prices and wages

Wages for Workers in 17th Century Warsaw

An ordinary worker in Warsaw earned 3 to 4 grosze per day, while a bricklayer, considered elite, could earn up to 16 grosze daily.

Cost of Bread and Shoes

Basic items were affordable: bread cost less than one grosz, and a pair of shoes ranged from 9 to 24 grosze in the 17th century. In 1671, the price of a pair of shoes reached 19.1 grosze.

Work

Extorting peasants for gathered forest goods

Landowners sometimes exploited extreme poverty by demanding a portion of natural resources gathered by peasants, such as mushrooms, nuts, acorns, strawberries, and raspberries. These demands often began as requests but eventually became strictly enforced annual quotas.

Labor wages and strict tax deadlines

The typical payment deadline for peasant taxes was November 11, St. Martin's Day, and if a peasant failed to pay, they were given only one day to settle the debt before facing a 100% penalty. In cities, an unskilled day laborer in the 16th century earned about 1.5 to 2 grosze per day, while a week's wages could buy 100 liters of beer.

News and letters

Speed of 17th-century couriers

In the mid-17th century, couriers carrying mail between cities like Huszcza and Warsaw could travel at speeds averaging between 57 and 73 km per day. Delivery of letters over long distances was often subject to delays caused by military conflicts and the hazards of the road.

Reliance on private messengers

Due to the instability caused by 17th-century wars, regular postal services often failed, forcing people to rely on private messengers known as kozaks to deliver letters.

During their lifetime

  1. 1648

    Khmelnytsky Uprising causes economic crisis

    The start of the Khmelnytsky Uprising in 1648 led to severe economic crisis, food shortages, and starvation in the Lublin province.

  2. 1652

    First use of the liberum veto (1652)

    In 1652, the deputy Władysław Siciński used the liberum veto for the first time, breaking a session of the Sejm and signaling the start of political paralysis.

  3. 1653

    Plague epidemic in Gdańsk (1653)

    A devastating plague struck Gdańsk in 1653, killing approximately 11,600 people, which represented 17.9% of the city's population.

  4. 1655

    Kraków pays massive war contribution (1655)

    In 1655, Kraków was forced to pay a massive contribution of 600,000 złotys during the Swedish occupation.

  5. 1667

    Treaty of Andrusovo partitions land (1667)

    The Treaty of Andrusovo in 1667 ended the Polish-Russian war and forced the Commonwealth to cede Smolensk and eastern Ukraine to Russia.

  6. 1673

    Introduction of new poll taxes (1673)

    In 1673, the nobility enacted a new general poll tax, a burdensome levy introduced under the pressure of war with the Ottoman Empire.

Family

Parents

Spouses

Children

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.