Jus Primae Noctis' Primer on 15th Century Vienna

Vienna Geography

Most of the city is on the southern side of the river enclosed by walls that are not even a hundred years old. Some development outside the walls does exist, chiefly on the north side of the Danube in Leopoldstadt. The walls themselves must be constantly patrolled by mercenary soldiers, called the Stadtguardie. Before the pro-Albrecht rebellion of Vienna a few years ago, this was the responsibility of every non-noble citizen of Vienna - the soldiers are expensive, though, and inclination appears to be to restore the militia now that the rebellious sentiment has subsided. The walls were paid for by the ransom for England's King Richard the Lion-Hearted, who had been captured on returning from the Crusades by King Leopold V of Austria. Vienna was always Leopold's favorite, and he knew that replacing the ancient Roman city walls would be necessary to fend off the Turks. Vienna is the lynchpin of Imperial defense of western civilization from the Ottoman Empire. (Hungary is at the moment a crescent in between the Ottomans and the Empire and is pretty unpleasant to both sides, while also playing both sides off each other in southeastern Europe.)

More generally, Austria has a lot of mountains that are generally hard to get through unless you're following one of the few natural highways. One naturally is the Danube - another, to the south, is the Brenner Pass, the largest opening in the natural boundary between Austria and Italy. At this time, both sides of the pass are controlled by the Empire, but the Pope and the Venetian states have always kept a tight check on Imperial power there, generally by throwing the Empire out every few years.

DANUBE CORRECTION

Landmarks

Leopoldstadt, just outside the walls to the north, was recently ravaged during the assault on the Jews that nearly wiped out the community. They are slowly rebuilding with the help of the other Jewish community in Vienna, located in the block called Judenplatz, just south of the Hoher Markt, the ancient and still-active market square in the center of the old Roman walls. Concessions to the Jews given in the 13th century in Vienna's restated charter are still in place, allowing them to testify in court against Christians and to apply for the "Duke's Justice" instead of forcing them to proceed through hostile municipal courts. These concessions were given to ensure the monetary support of the Jewish community when the Mongol hordes were literally at the gates. The Jewish community was attacked horribly during the years of the Plague, and then again during the Hussite rebellion in Bohemia.

The Hofburg, or just the Burg is the imperial palace of the Habsburgs, and is situated near the southern wall. It is surrounded by three park/gardens - the Burggarten, intended for members of the nobility and their guests, the Volksgarten, intended for all citizens of Wien, and a much smaller enclosed park, the Schweizerhof, is used as a jousting yard and for other chivalric tournaments. The Hofburg itself is still being built, but has the current appearance of a Swiss palace. Inside the completed sections of the Hofburg are two grand halls, including one with a "folly" dome that's so tall that at night no amount of illumination can reach the ceiling, the Imperial quarters and an underground Imperial Library shut tight against the damp and rot. Running near the Hofburg is Kaerntnerstrasse, the most elegant street in Wien, where the wealthy and noble have their homes and other princes have their "diplomatic homes". (Permanent ambassadors are rare in the world, but much more frequent in Vienna, as Emperor Freiderich, bless his soul, hates to leave and the Diet is held here. This recently changed in the Viennese revolt.)

The largest garden/park in Vienna is the Stadtpark, which is much closer to the river. There are many purveyors of food and drink who will set up outdoor tables and chairs in the Stadtpark on balmy days to serve to those taking a leisurely meal. It is considered a treat, and one that is not out of reach by nearly any citizen. (Only the very poorest can't scrape together the money to get /something/.)

Generally, the poorer sections of the city are to in the northern and eastern section of the walls. This is where the zinspalaste may be found, "rent places" that are incredibly filthy and nearly uninhabitable.

Note that Vienna is NOT a typical mid-15th century city. Streets are significantly wider (and therefore cleaner), there is much "public space" within the walls, and in general it is far less cramped, because of the foresight of building the new walls so wide. Traveling to Trieste, Weiner Neustadt or Linz brings this into sharp relief. There, streets tend to be only 10-15 feet wide, twisty and unorganized.

Daily Life

Breakfast is generally relatively light, no matter the social class. It generally involves bread and/or porridge. "Dinner" (what we call lunch) can happen anytime between 10 AM and 1 PM. The rule of thumb is that the more wealthy a person, the earlier they eat dinner and the longer they take. The upper classes can take up to three hours on the meal. The most recent innovation on the Austrian dinnertable is the napkin and tablecloth (no more dipping your fingers in a bowl of water or wiping them on the dog). Utensils still are only knives and spoons (forks are on the horizon.) Dinner is more formal and less relaxed for all of the classes, although it generally takes less time unless there is a special occasion.

Meats include chicken, beef, pork, mutton, venison, dove and rabbit, supplemented from time to time with other fowl. (Turkeys are not on the continent yet.) Eggs are also common. Fish are common - the Danube contains beluga and sturgeon. Fish are most often eaten on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, which by order of the Church, are meatless days. (This idea is widely followed in Vienna but not universally.)

Tea from the east has been introduced and is slowly catching on here and there, though it is prohibitively expensive.

Clothing is extremely varied in Vienna. The generalities are these:

The bodice is practically universal among women regardless of class or origin. It's a triangular piece of cloth in front attached to cloth sidings. Necklines vary from above-the-neck collars to rouged cleavage galore. (Cleavage is not necessarily considered slutty.) Skirts or kirtles are simple. Upper-class women or women in cold climes usually put a gown on over the whole deal. Undergarmets are not worn - they are considered to be sexually stimulating. Formal dress varies greatly, but it is generally a variation on the above, with more color, more beadwork and jewelry, and with the skirt flared by the inclusion of hoops or supports to provide a swaying motion as the woman walks. Pale skin and slightly darkened lips are considered attractive.

Gentlemen who take their cultural leanings from Western Europe and the Spanish style of the Imperial Court wear hosiery (note that ladies' dress, even when it involves hose, is not called 'hosiery' at this point in tme) from their feet to their groin with a codpiece covering the 'vitals'. Many men use the codpiece as a small pocket for a handkerchief or other small items.

Until the age of five, children are dressed in gowns, bibs and caps. Blue for the boys (it wards off evil spirits), pink for the girls (looks good with blue.) After five they are dressed as miniature adults. Adolescence has not been invented.

Soles and heels on the shoes are an indicator of wealth, as (first) the owner is not worried about going out and working in the fields, and (second) the owner wishes their feet to be lifted out of the muck of the road.

Both men and women tend to wear perfume, though less in Vienna than in other more odorous cities. (A breeze through the valley is extremely common and the Wienwaldt smells eternally fresh and clean.) Hence perfume in Vienna is more of a treat or a tease than elsewhere. It also helps that trade with the East provides Vienna with an extensive array of different sorts of perfume.

Persons from the Ottoman Empire and Anatolia are often seen in Vienna wearing the traditional garmets of their realm, which are nested robes of varying colors and materials. They always have their head covered as a sign of devotion to God. (Hats are extremely common among Western Europeans as well, but it does not have religious significance.)

Some of the dour countries in the world have clothing laws regulating the colors that people of different classes and occupations may wear. This is not the case in Vienna, and the prevalence of dyes from the Middle East makes even peasants able to wear more than the simple brown. However, there are social traditions about color that are important. Peasants dress for practicality and tend to vary their dress as little as possible from season to season.

Red is considered a color of sexual passion - prostitutes almost universally wear red clothing or red caps. Thus a hint of red in someone's clothing sends a clear message - but it would never be sent in public unless they wanted to be very risque. Purple is considered a color of royalty and except on certain feast days, it is considered 'putting on airs' to wear it unless you have noble blood. Academics and doctors are expected to wear black robes, or robes at the very least, if they want to be recognized as such. All teachers at the university and all students have a strict dress code.

Indoor latrines are very common in urban areas despite Ryan's sarcastic comments. "Common" latrines for the lower classes are also erected by every modern city, usually near rivers or over cesspits. They are separated between men, women and children.

Social Conditions and Traditions

Romance has more or less just been invented, since there is no longer a gross shortage of women and/or money to spend on them due to the plague. They are arranged between the groom and the bride's family, with more input from the groom than from the bride. Weddings are held between eight and noon in the doorway of the Church. Brides wear white or russet, grooms provide a ring (they put it on 3 /wrong/ fingers first, to fool demons jealous of marriage). Grooms do not wear a ring.

Because marriage is largely arranged, bastardy is extremely common. Although the laws and the Church are harsh against nonmarital children, social censure is relatively lax. Not having bastard children is a distinction - having them is no disgrace. Women who can afford to, during pregnancy, "lie in", and are taken care of by friends and family who also bring lavish gifts. Underlying this is the fear that the woman won't survive childbirth, a common occurrence.

Free time has come to all classes of people (finally), in varying degrees. Boys study fencing at a young age, archery is a popular sport, as well as football (rugby), although authorities frown on it as overly violent. Dice games are common among the lower classes - card games have yet to quite catch on in the upper classes but are there to be seen. Neither is liked by the authorites (too sedentary). Travelling actors and theaters are common but are considered extremely suspicious characters. Acrobats and puppet shows are considered so scandalous that they are A) very popular, and B) sometimes paid not to perform by the ecclesiastical authorities who fear for the souls of their parishoners.

Dancing for the commoner is a simple affair, most commonly the roundel, the hay or the dump (used mostly for post-funeral gatherings, slow and mournful). Dancing has only recently come to court, is a byzantine thing (no pun intended) called the basse dance, played in irregular chords and minor keys and off-beat steps.

Money is either the gulden (also called a ducat) or the florin. Although the Empire would like to have everyone on the gulden standard, the Venetian and Florentine "florins" are too widely used in trade to be overlooked in Vienna. Your typical peasant or servant will make about two to three ducats per year. (Florins are worth slightly more.) This sum is skyrocketing upwards, though. Spare money among even the lower classes is becoming more and more a reality, particularly among those who have frugal ways.

Politics

Friederich III holds the title of both Kaiser and Koenig, meaning that the ability to put "K.K." (indicating you (or your husband) hold imperial-royal office) after your name is an extremely important social title. Other titles include Prinz (Prince), Herzog (Duke - Herzog Wien is currently held by Friederich), Graf (Earl), Freiherr (Baron - there are no urban Barons), and Ritter (Knight). Lawyers are referred to with "Knappe", (squire), and "Herr" indicates 'mister' or 'sir' for those of a generally higher social class. The Imperial service, a sort of proto-bureaucracy, is staffed with those who are called "staatsbeamter". They get a "K.K." too, and that's pretty much all they get, with the quirky result that a staatsbeamter may have higher social standing than a merchant who makes a hundred times as much money.

Imperial Court (Hofgericht) is held along Spanish lines, exceedingly formal and stylized. There is no official "Diet" yet, although the gathering of Princes for Court often produces informal (and productive) councils. Unfortunately this is chiefly true only of "small" and not-very-powerful princes. The big ones stay at home, send ambassadors and scheme against the crown. Friederich is not popular with the Germanic princes because they perceived his compromise for Papal approval as destroying the independence of the German church. The Austrian nobility continues to disregard Frederick, although he is the putative king now that Albrecht is dead.

Although nobody denies that Friederich is fond of Austria, he doesn't much seem to know what to do with it now that he's got it. He spends much of his time in attendance with astrologers. He has thick jowls, is very pale and massively built, dignified and slow-moving. He is extremely well-read and learned, and re-instituted many of the imperal practices that had been allowed to fall into disuse during the bloody dynastic wars of the 14th century. Since the revolution, he has moved his court to Weiner Neustadt, and his summer home to Linz - the Hofburg, while sumptuous, is no longer completely hospitable, since the unruly Viennan nobles continue to treat his rule with contempt. (He visits the library regularly, though.)

To his credit, and oft-commented-on, Freiderich's marriage to Leonora of Portugal has progressed from being a simple political expediency to being much more devoted and pure. He has two children by her: Maximilian is 8, and he has an older sister, Cunegunde. Two other sons have died in infancy, and Leonora's health is considered fragile. Stories of Maximilian's precociousness, strength and intelligence abound throughout Austria, even among those who despise his father.

Freiderich's favorite insignia are the five letters AEIOU. (On his deathbed he will reveal that they mean Alles Erdreich It Osterreich Untertan ("The whole world is subject to Austria.") Current theories involve Latin.)