Oscar I of Sweden

What people wore

Post-Revolution women wore thin, simple gowns

Following the Reign of Terror, fashionable Parisian women adopted simple, transparent flowing gowns with high waistlines and heelless slippers, sometimes causing illness due to the cold.

Getting around

Long travel times across France

To cross France from Brest to Strasbourg, it took 20 to 30 days on foot or by a slow-moving carriage. Travelers using horse-drawn carriages that changed horses at relay stations could cover the same distance in half that time, though this was an exhausting effort.

At the table

Typical Peasant Diet in Rural France

Ordinary rural diets consisted of rye or oat bread, vegetable soups, and dairy, while meat was rarely eaten except for occasional pork.

Music

Wind instruments dominated outdoor civic festivals

Wind instruments, especially the bassoon-serpent, were highly prized for outdoor festivities and civic celebrations because they were loud enough to be heard by large crowds. During the Revolution, the government promoted powerful patriotic hymns like La Marseillaise, often played by wind ensembles to help mobilize and unify citizens.

Daily life

Limited rural schooling

In many rural areas, primary education was inconsistently provided by the local priest or his vicar, focusing only on basic reading, writing, and catechism.

What it cost

Meat as a luxury item

Meat was considered a luxury product for workers; a master worker could afford 300 grams of meat per day, while in 1771 some bourgeois complained of meat prices rising to 12, 14, or 15 sous per pound.