Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg

Getting around

Travel times between major French cities

Traveling between cities often involved water coaches (coches d'eau) for rivers or road carriages, with a journey from Lyon to Paris taking six days at a slow pace or three days at a faster pace in 1742.

At the table

Famine food made of fern

During the 1709 famine, bread became so expensive that people made desperate loaves out of fern, which turned their skin yellow and left them too weak to stand.

What people wore

Aprons as Occupational Markers

On working days, both men and women typically wore aprons, which often became stained by their specific occupations, such as printing or butchery.

Music

The Pocket-Sized Teacher's Violin

To make professional dance lessons convenient at home, masters used the pochette, a small, boat-shaped violin that could be easily carried in a pocket or sachet.

Daily life

Limited and irregular primary education

Primary schooling was rare, especially for girls, and often conducted irregularly by the local priest or his vicar. Education was limited to the basics of reading, writing, and the catechism.