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Catherine Agatha of Rappoltstein

1648–1683

Born
15 Jun 1648, Ribeauvillé
Country of birth
France
Died
16 Jul 1683, Bischwiller
facts
8
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

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A life in time

  1. Born · Ribeauvillé

    Birth, Ribeauvillé

  2. Child born: Christian III, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken

    Birth, Strasbourg

  3. Died · Bischwiller

    Death, Bischwiller

What was it like?

The world around Ribeauvillé, 1648: who ruled, who else was alive, how people lived. This is general history, not a record about the family, and every item shows where it comes from.

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.

Fashion
Around 1650–1674

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.

Around 1650–1674

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.

Music

Court ballet and street performance culture

The ballet de cour featured masked performers in elaborate costumes, with dances often organized around complex themes from mythology or daily life. These courtly performances influenced the repertoire of street singers, who adapted elite airs for wider public audiences.

Pipe and tabor in rural festivities

Common people danced on Sundays to the sound of the pipe and tabor, a practice defended by some clergy as a necessary relaxation after a week of labor. These instruments were also used to celebrate local events, such as the lighting of the Saint John's fire.

Getting around

Carriages were mostly for the wealthy

While wealthy travelers used private carriages, these vehicles were unaffordable for most people, who relied on walking or slower, less comfortable public coaches.

Travelers on foot wore out shoes quickly

Ordinary people frequently traveled on foot, covering 20 to 30 kilometers a day, which meant they wore out a pair of shoes every two weeks.

Daily life

Living conditions in modest urban homes

Ordinary homes in cities were often tall, narrow buildings where upper floors were darker and difficult to heat, with limited light due to overhanging structures. A single room often served multiple purposes, including cooking, sleeping, and childcare.

Schooling for children in the household

In many households, servants or parents ensured children received elementary education in reading, writing, and counting. Daily chores for servants included waking and dressing children and seeing that they got off to school.

Food

Stale bread soaked in soup

Ordinary families relied heavily on a bread-based diet, often consuming stale loaves by soaking them in liquid to make soup. Because bread was baked in large batches to last weeks, it was kept dense and sturdy.

Wine and cider over water

Fermented drinks like wine or cider were preferred over water, which was often considered unhealthy or unsafe to drink. People frequently drank inferior quality wine known as piquette, although better wine could be purchased for popular celebrations for ten sous per pint.

Prices and wages

Cost of Shoe Repairs

The cost of repairing shoes in 1648 was 3.60 livres, reflecting significant labor and material costs for ordinary people.

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.

Work

Common jobs for ordinary people

Common occupations in 17th-century French cities included masons, carpenters, tailors, bakers, and domestic servants, while the countryside relied on laborers, farmers, and vine-growers. Many small-scale artisans, such as cobblers, operated from narrow, street-level shops where they were known as neighborhood news sources.

Long hours and daily wages

A typical workday followed the sun, starting around dawn and often lasting 11 to 15 hours, including breaks for meals. Workers in Paris and Normandy generally earned about ten sous tournois per day for skilled labor and five sous for unskilled work.

News and letters
Around 1653–1653

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.

News delivery delays to the provinces

Printed newsletters often took up to two weeks to travel from Paris to provincial cities, though illicit copies could arrive much faster.

During their lifetime

  1. 1648

    The Fronde civil uprisings begin

    The Fronde, a series of violent civil uprisings against royal authority and high taxes, broke out in 1648 and lasted until 1653, forcing the royal family to flee Paris.

  2. 1648

    The Fronde Civil Wars (1648–1653)

    The Fronde, a series of civil wars between 1648 and 1653, led to food scarcity, high taxes, and fighting that caused the king to flee the capital.

  3. 1656

    Royal Edict on Beggars (1656)

    In 1656, a royal edict established the Hopital General in Paris, forcing over six thousand beggars into labor as part of a policy to clear the streets.

  4. 1660

    Pyrenees Earthquake (1660)

    A major earthquake struck the Pyrenees in 1660, destroying 20 houses in Bagnères-de-Bigorre and causing the collapse of the bell tower of Saint-Michel church in Bordeaux.

Family

Parents

Spouses

Children

Ancestors and children

Open the full tree

Four generations back to the right, the children to the left. The number beside a child counts the generations of descendants known after them.