Daily Life

From ThreadsOfTime

The tri-city (Buda, Obuda and Pest) and Esztergom are both centers for trade, crossroads for the merchandise that moves up and down the Danube. While Esztergom, a part of Royal Hungary, has become almost completely Westernized, Buda Pest remains wed to many of the troubles in the East. Citizens of Esztergom enjoy the privilege of life in a calm, well ordered town. They look directly to the King or the archbishop for justice. Since the Ottoman occupation, Buda-Pest has not seen their King, and thus the city has the feel of a frontier town, a settlement just on the edge of the truly unknown - a short breath away from the terror and uproar that lingers from the shadow of lost war.

People are born, work marry, raise children and die, all within the city they barely recognize anymore. The folk struggle to survive, fearfully huddling in barred houses, listening with dread to the screams and cries from outside, too terrified to extend a helping hand to their friends and neighbors once night falls. By day, these same wretched souls move about hollowly, like old ghosts or broken dolls, going through the motions, but they are fearful of offending the or attracting the attention of a person of power. Such peasants remain dirty and ragged, not because they are too uncivilized to know better, but to deflect attention from themselves and their loved ones. Many cling to their Orthodox faith, fervently believing that if they prey, the horror will someday end.