Charles César Flahaut de La Billarderie

At the table

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.

What people wore

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.

Getting around

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.

What it cost

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.

Music

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.

Daily life

Children were sent to school

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