Mademoiselle d'Orléans

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.

Daily life

Elementary education for children

Elementary schooling for children typically focused on basic literacy, including reading, writing, and the catechism. In many rural parishes, schools were nonexistent, and when classes were held, they were often taught by the local priest or his vicar.

What people wore

Common clothing colors

Common women’s clothing colors were mostly dark, with black, gray, and brown making up 45 percent of garments, while red accounted for 21 percent.

Music

Decorating for the Fête-Dieu festival

During the annual Fête-Dieu celebration in Paris, residents decorated the streets by hanging various types of tapestries from their houses, sometimes as high as the second floor.

At the table

Bread Was the Staff of Life

In 1775, a French laboring family of four typically consumed 1.2 tons of grain per year, with urban workers spending half their salary on bread.