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For the reader who tries to imagine this, a cruel and dark image is likely to open. He is not very wrong on that. However, the historian seeks to penetrate deeper into that image, to “resurrect” people who have long since left this world and to bring specific details of their lives to the surface. So I invite you to delve into the 16th-17th centuries in this way. I p. the daily life and way of life of the peasants who lived in the villages of the nobility. Important archival material was used to reveal it: court case reports, inventories, as well as published stories from contemporaries of that time.
Peasant farm
Depending on the situation of the peasants, impoverished or poor, the size of their properties varied. Some of them were very modest, others, with more buildings. Here is Grigas Stasevičius in 1603. He settled in a modest house with three huts: a barn, a barn and a barn. This estate belonged to the noble Jonas Bakas Strėvininkai mansion, formerly in Trakai County. Most likely, Grig decided to settle here due to hardship, as because of these houses given to him by the lord, as well as the animals and grain given as seed, he lost the status of a free man and became a knight of the Sir. Being a free man then meant having the opportunity to leave the knight and go to serve another of his choice. The criminal could not leave his master, he had to serve him until his death.
If a peasant robbed another peasant’s barn, the thief would be punished with an extremely severe punishment: bitter.
It is interesting to note that one of the mentioned farm buildings, namely the barn, where the peasant kept his property, is also mentioned in the First Statute of Lithuania (1529). It states that if a peasant steals another peasant’s barn, the thief would be punished with an extremely severe punishment: bitter.
The farms of Tomulis Mykolaitis and Motiejus Vilkis, who lived in Samogitia, were not much larger than Grigo. They were both peasants from the mansion of the nobleman Adam Bilevičius Rubežaičiai. 1586 according to the data, Tomulis lived in the so-called Name – in a house without windows, at the other end of which animals were probably kept. Next to this house there was a barn, a sauna and a sentiment. This last hut with an oven was used to dry the legs of the grain. A farm was on the farm of another peasant, Motiejus, again in some, in which, presumably, he no longer lived, but only raised animals and a sauna.
drawing / Samogitian numas
The peasant Jonas Petkevičius, who lived in the village of Trakininkai mansion in Vilnius county, had quite a few more buildings. Because he was not a simple servant who worked in the fields of the mansion, but performed the duties of a tijun. Tijūnas was a subordinate servant to the director of the mansion, who supervised the estate and how other peasants performed their duties. 1597 his estate consisted of 14 wooden huts: two houses, three barns, a stable, a malting facility, a sauna, a clone with a barn and five barns. There were beehives in the courtyard between these huts. Juan seems to have had various animals and other possessions. On the other hand, his life was not reminiscent of the nobility, since the two houses in question were simple, modest, dark and smoky purchases.
Peasant farms with log cabins, beehives, and gardens were generally surrounded by a fence with a lockable gate. However, it was not uncommon for attackers to invade the courtyard by knocking or digging those doors with ease. These uninvited guests were noticed by the peasant dogs that the peasants had.
Inside the house
The peasants rested in straw-covered wooden houses after work. Their smoke-filled tents or gutters had no glass windows; they were covered with greasy paper or an animal’s bladder, so the interior was not very bright. The house was equipped with a stove to heat the premises. But there was no chimney through which the smoke escaped. Not in vain are such purchases or purity described in the sources black – smoked by the smoke that spreads under the premises. They were probably ventilated by the occupants of the house when opening the door. Such a house often had two or three rooms. Upon entering, you entered the media first, and from there, into the room; in larger houses, there was another room or chamber on the other side of the vehicle or behind to store things.
Not in vain are such purchases or purity described in the sources black – smoked by the smoke that passes through the premises.
In Samogitia, the poor peasants still lived in the old type of building: such a house. It was a wooden hut with an open fire for people to live and have animals. The oldest room was square, without windows or ceiling, with an opening in the ridge of the ceiling. As the 16th century writes. Jonas Lasickis lived, through this opening in the ceiling Smoke and fumes came from the animals. The other cabins were long cabins, one end of which was probably inhabited by the hosts and the other by raised animals. It is interesting that the peasant Motiejus Giželaitis, who lived in Samogitia, Pienauja, in 1620. had even invited the nobles Merkel Druktenis and Kristupas Grigorevičius to his party. It is true that the party did not go without problems: the last guest began to beat Merkel Druktenis, dropped it on the table sitting quietlyand then, according to the source, it was still flooded and broke. However, the wealthier peasants of Samogitia used the numus more just to raise animals, and they themselves lived in a separate house.
There was very little furniture in the peasant houses, only tables and benches, and chests for clothes and other fabrics. At that time, the peasants did not have a wardrobe or a bed, it is furniture, at that time rare even in the houses of the nobility. The bedroom was on a wide bench or stove. When naming the peasant property, sources mention bedding: simple canvas sheets, feather blankets and pillows, as well as bedding.
Meals were prepared at home. The peasants had a boiler or a tripod pot, some with an iron saucepan. It was eaten at a table covered with linen tablecloths, because tablecloths were often mentioned on peasant property lists. They also mention towels with which they could wipe their hands after eating. It is eaten with wooden utensils and earthenware, using iron knives. Those who lived better had more dishes and cloth in their homes.
Peasant appearance
He could probably have met the peasant at that moment at a glance. The fact that a man belonged to this class spoke not only to what he was working on, how his hands looked so done, or how much trouble he had reflected in his face, but also in his clothes.
Peasant men and women both tended to wear snakes, this was the main clothing of the people belonging to this class. The men also wore trousers and a linen shirt, wore hats and carried a basket of money around their waists. Among the women’s clothing were shirts, hooded coats, cloaks, bibs, aprons, a needle belt, and more. It is interesting that men and women put money in baskets of this type, a few pennies or whatever. They were arrested even when they went to work in the fields. Sheepskin furs, socks, and gloves were worn for men and women in cold weather. In summer, heels are worn, on other occasions – leather shoes, boots.
The peasant carried an ax with him, because it was necessary not only for work, but also to protect himself from everyday dangers.
As the historian Juozas Jurginis observed, the peasant carried an ax with him, because it was necessary not only for work, but also to protect himself from daily dangers – attackers and wild animals.
Interestingly, the richest peasants had more expensive clothes. For example, sheepskin coats lined with beaver fur, or twice as expensive as conventional suits. For the price of a more expensive sergeant, 40 gras, it was possible to buy two pigs or two rams at that time.
Surprising 1636 The case data attests that some peasants even had silver jewelry: Ezofas Paduraitis, who lived in the Gandinga mansion in Samogitia, had a silver ring, which was stolen by his mercenary Stanislovas Markaitis along with other properties. From the fact that the peasant had a mercenary, we can conclude that he had a considerable estate and was quite diligent. True, for the ring itself, we don’t know if when Ephesus wore it on his finger, he probably kept it as a cash equivalent.
Peasant nutrition
Members of the peasant family had to support themselves while working on their farms: they grew cereals, legumes, vegetables, raised animals and poultry. What was missing, having money, could be bought in the market.
The peasants mainly sat on their farm made of rye, which also grew on lower lands, as well as oats used for both food and feed, buckwheat, barley and a small amount of wheat. The daily bread of the peasants was dark, rye or baked with a mixture of various cereals. The interesting story of 1646 speaks of bread and at the same time of the belief in witchcraft at that time. the source according to which the peasant Adam Šleivys accused the peasant Jadziulė Jusienė of witchcraft, complaining: You have spoiled my bread and it is not leavened to this day, because you put a piece of dough in front of my daughter..
A large part of the farmers’ daily diet consisted of peas, eaten and beans and various vegetables: mainly turnips, in addition to cabbages, cucumbers, carrots, garlic, etc. The oil can be obtained from cultivated poppies, hemp, and flaxseed. The diet was diversified by forest products: berries and mushrooms.
The peasants also liked to drink beer and visited the taverns.
It is difficult to say how much and how often the peasants ate the meat. We know that in addition to working animals, the family used to have several cows, sheep, pigs, less often goats, and also had chickens and geese. We can assume that meat was consumed more frequently by wealthier peasants who had more animals and poultry. Sources suggest that the peasants had stocks of meat in the stables, usually lard. Livestock also provided peasant cuisine with milk from which butter and cheese were made, and poultry with eggs.
It is difficult to say how much the peasants ate the fish. Meat, fish and vegetables needed the main spice and preservative: salt. His peasants bought from their master or bought at the market. Another food available to the peasants and the only sweetener was honey, which was apparently not in short supply. As we mentioned, the peasants installed beehives in their house.
And what did the peasants drink? Contemporary contemporary Jonas Lasickis wrote that Samogitians drink fermented honey and beer with water, and those without beer drink water. He even described how the peasants made that beer: He makes this drink in vessels made from the bark of a tree made of water, cereals and hops; after placing the hot stones on the plates, boil overnight and receive the wort, and the next day drink. The peasants also liked to drink beer and visited the taverns.
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