Marie Louise de Bourbon

What people wore

Footwear for laborers

Respectable working-class men wore shoes and felt hats, but laborers sometimes wore wooden clogs for heavy work.

Daily life

Basic structure of rural peasant homes

Peasant homes were typically built of wattle and daub with thatched roofs, often consisting of a single room used for sleeping, working, and daily activities. Many rural homes had small windows without glass, and the floor was made of packed earth.

Work

Tight family budgets

A family of artisans with four children could ideally earn 43 sols a day, but after spending 36 sols on basic food like bread and herring, they were left with only 7 sols for all other expenses.

Music

Instruments for common dance and festivals

At festivals and fairs, ordinary people danced to the music of fiddles and the pipe and tabor, also known as the pipe and drum.

At the table

Bread as the Daily Staple

Adult men were expected to consume between 4 and 5 livres of bread daily, making it the essential staple of their diet.

Getting around

Rapid descent by ramasse sled

When crossing the snowy Mount Cenis pass in the Alps, travelers could descend into Lanslebourg in just 15 minutes using a specialized sled called a ramasse.

What it cost

Cost of bread and meat

Bread was the essential staple, though its price fluctuated wildly; by the 1770s, it cost between 4 and 5 sols in the heart of the kingdom. Meat was expensive, with beef, mutton, or veal often costing 9 to 15 sols per pound.