Bertrand Nompar de Caumont, marquis de La Force

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

Bread as the Foundation of Daily Meals

The staple of the ordinary diet was bread, often consumed as a soup by soaking pieces in water, broth, or vegetable mixtures. This meal structure, centered on a starchy base accompanied by secondary savory foods, remained remarkably stable for centuries.

What people wore

Hoops Worn by Servants

While hoop petticoats were iconic for the elite, even some working-class servant women wore them when going to market by 1729.

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.