A sheperdrss who could read ?
Now that is unusual.
Reading isn't the issue.
Braiding, weaving, making items from clay and wood.
All things a shepherd would do a lot of and all requiring close up work.
There were very few shops, what you had was time and what you needed you generally made yourself.
It largely depends how you are writing and who you are writing for.
Personally when I write historical fiction, I like to get it as authentic possible, aliens and mythological creatures aside
Smell is a big thing. The past smelt, I mean by modern standards, it really stank !
Nobody washed regularly, you wore your clothes until they literally rotted and fell off.
And there's the whole bodily waste issues, human and animal
Much of the meat would have been what call 'on the turn'.
You ate around the green wobbly bits.
If you're writing for kids, then the smell of an historical era is a huge thing and they love all that.
But no matter how much it how little historical colour you add. Try and get it as accurate as possible.