Charles of France, Duke of Berry

Charles of France, Duke of Berry, was a grandson of Louis XIV of France. Although he was only a grandson of Louis XIV, Berry held the rank of fils de France, rather than petit-fils de France, as the son of the Dauphin, heir apparent to the throne. The Duke of Berry was for seven years (1700–1707) heir presumptive to the throne of Spain, until his elder brother Philip V of Spain fathered a son in 1707.

Cost of Footwear

Shoes for men were a significant expense, as they could cost twice as much as those worn by women.

Essential Women's Clothing

Urban working women typically wore a five-item ensemble: a top (casaquin or corset), a skirt (jupe or jupon), an apron for work, a shawl or neckerchief, and a cloak for cold weather.

Dancing and Music in Court Apartments

At the royal apartments in Versailles, ordinary court life included regular music and dancing in the Grand Apartment, where attendees could freely enjoy playing games, eating snacks, and dancing to violins and oboes.

Sunday Dancing and the Pipe and Tabor

In the late 17th century, peasants often enjoyed dancing to the pipe and tabor on the Sabbath, an amusement that was sometimes tolerated by church officials as a necessary relief from a week of hard labor.

Barque de poste canal travel

In 1674, the barque de poste service was introduced, allowing passengers to travel from Toulouse to Castelnaudary in one day. The journey included scheduled stops for meals and overnight rests.

Walking as common travel

Ordinary people, such as peddlers and pilgrims, typically traveled on foot at a pace of 20 to 30 kilometers per day. Walking was so common that travelers frequently wore out a pair of shoes every 15 days.

Crowded and multi-purpose living spaces

Ordinary homes were often crowded, with a single room used for cooking, eating, sleeping, and child care, requiring furniture to be rearranged throughout the day.

Demanding daily household labor

Water had to be hauled manually from fountains or courtyards, and heating required constant manual labor to manage wood, fire, and ash disposal.

Daily Bread Consumption Requirements

To meet daily calorie needs, men typically consumed three pounds of bread per day, while women consumed two pounds and children one pound.

Family Budget Spent on Bread

During the Old Regime, expenditures on bread accounted for 50 to 60 percent of a family's total budget.

Cost of shoes and bread

A servant paid 10 livres and 5 sous for a new pair of shoes in May 1703, while bread prices fluctuated significantly, such as when he paid 7 livres 9 sous 9 deniers for bread in May 1705.

Servant earnings and clothing costs

In 1692, a young servant earned 75 livres per year, but spent over 35 livres on a single wardrobe update that included a secondhand wig.

Common jobs in 17th-century France

Common occupations in 17th-century France included artisans like bakers, tailors, and masons, as well as day laborers, domestic servants, and various river workers like boatmen. These individuals often worked in small shops, homes, or on the streets rather than large centralized workplaces.

Memorable facts of everyday work life

Laborers commonly adopted coffee with milk for breakfast as an economical way to sustain energy until the evening. Additionally, many workers in that era enjoyed about 80 to 85 days of complete rest per year due to various religious and local feast days.

Travel time from Paris to Grignan

Letters from Paris to Montélimar, near Grignan, typically took about twelve days to arrive in the best conditions.

Encryption slowed down letter delivery

Diplomatic and private letters were often encrypted to ensure confidentiality, though coding and decoding the messages added significant time to the delivery process.