Marguerite of Lorraine

What people wore

Clothing for feast days vs daily life

Common villagers typically wore the same basic garments daily, while the more prosperous members of the community had specific outfits reserved for Sundays and feast days.

Daily life

Child labor starting at age six

Many children began working as laborers at age six, often enduring 12-hour days without rest. While some children were apprentices in trades like blacksmithing or coopering, others worked in family farms.

Work

Workday schedules and labor patterns

The workday typically lasted from dawn until dusk, with summer hours from 5:00 AM to 7:00 PM and winter hours from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Workers often faced a labor-intensive schedule, and those in the building trades were famously noted for being especially restless or turbulent.

Music

Lute and vocal music popularity

Private aristocratic and bourgeois entertainment was almost entirely vocal, with the lute often accompanying singing in the popular air de cour genre.

At the table

Bread as the foundation of daily meals

Bread was the central element of the daily diet, often served as "soup" by soaking hard, stale slices in water, broth, or vegetable mixtures.

Getting around

River travel was economical but slow

Traveling by river was a common and economical method, though it could be slow; a journey from Paris to Rouen by water could take three or four days downstream, but returning upstream took about four days.

What it cost

Medical treatment cost versus cutlery price

A medical enema in the 17th century cost 15 sous, which was the same price as a gross of small whistle knives.