Louis Auguste, Duke of Maine

Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, Légitimé de France, duc du Maine was an illegitimate son of Louis XIV and his official mistress, Madame de Montespan. He was later legitimized and became the king's favourite son. He was the founder of the semi-royal House of Bourbon-Maine named after his title and his surname.

Extremely wide rhingrave breeches

During this period, the rhingrave was a popular, extremely wide men's garment resembling a skirt or split-culottes, which could require up to 1.77 meters of fabric per leg.

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.

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.

First organized public transport in Paris

In 1662, King Louis XIV authorized the first organized public transport in Paris using carriages called carrosses à cinq sols, which cost five sols per ride.

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.

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 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.

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.

Mail took weeks to reach the provinces

Letters sent from Paris to the Provence region typically took at least twelve days to arrive, with some journeys in more difficult conditions lasting nearly three weeks.

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.