Princess Anne Élisabeth of France

Louis XIV, known as the "Sun King", was King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. He is the longest-reigning monarch in history, reigning for 72 years and 110 days. His reign brought about a golden age in French history, marked by a great expansion of the French colonial empire and a flourishing of French culture throughout Europe.

Rural women's colors and aprons

Women in rural areas typically wore clothing in shades of black, gray, and red, often completing their attire with a protective apron known as a devantier.

Sunday best for villagers

Ordinary villagers often wore the same daily clothes, while the wealthier among them changed into better garments specifically for Sundays and feast days.

Everyday musical tools and maintenance

Portable violins called pochettes were used by dance masters to teach dance lessons in homes. Harpsichords in palaces required regular maintenance, where staff spent one-third of their time just removing wax drippings from candles.

Street music and peasant dances

Street singers adapted popular court and opera melodies for public performance, while rural peasants often danced to the pipe and tabor during Sunday rest. Officials sometimes defended these peasant dances as innocent amusement after a week of hard labor.

Traveling on foot was common for many

Ordinary people, such as peddlers and pilgrims, typically traveled on foot, covering 20 to 30 kilometers a day and wearing out a pair of shoes every 15 days.

Long travel times between cities

Travel between major French cities was slow; for example, the journey from Bordeaux to Paris took fifteen days in 1660.

Children were sent to school

Household rules expected servants to wake and feed children and ensure they went off to school.

Homes had one dim room

Many households had little space and light, with a single main room heated by a fireplace/cheminée that also provided much of the light.

Bread as the Foundation of Daily Meals

Bread was the staple of the ordinary diet, often eaten as "soup" by soaking slices in a liquid like water, broth, or vegetable potage. These large, dense loaves were baked to last for one or two weeks at a time.

Meat and Drink Habits of Families

Ordinary families rarely ate fresh meat and instead relied on salted pork to flavor their vegetable soups. Drinking water was often considered unsafe, so people frequently consumed piquette, a thin beverage made from the remnants of grapes or fruit, or local cider.

Laborer daily wages dropped in mid-17th century

During the period from 1651 to 1675, the daily wage of a common laborer in France fell to 1.60 livres, significantly lower than the levels seen earlier in the century.

Cost of pigs and wood in 17th century

In the 17th century, a single pig could cost approximately 24 livres, while a cart of wood was valued at 11 livres.

A Typical Working Day

The workday was long and dictated by daylight, often lasting 11 to 15 hours and starting as early as 5 a.m. Workers in cities relied on church bells for time, as watches were expensive, while night travel and work were limited by darkness and the high cost of candles.

Common Jobs in the 17th Century

Workers in cities were often artisans like bakers, masons, and tailors, while domestic servants, porters, and boatmen were also common, often relying on household ties and daily labor. In the countryside, most people were peasants who worked in fields or as day laborers performing heavy tasks like harvesting and woodcutting.

News traveled slowly to the provinces

While the official Gazette was printed in Paris on Saturdays, provincial readers sometimes received it two weeks later, unless they purchased illicit local copies that arrived a week early.

Paris launched its first local post in 1653

In 1653, Paris introduced the first local postal service, where citizens could drop letters into street boxes for a fee of one sou, avoiding the need for private servants to deliver them.