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Charles of Lorraine, duke of Aumale

4 Feb 1555 – Brussels, 1631

9 facts3 sources

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 4 Feb 1555

    Born

  2. 1600

    A daughter is born

  3. 1631

    Dies in Brussels

Family

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Parents

Partner

Children · 1

During his lifetime

He lived through 9 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1550s · Charles is born

In the news1545–1552

Plague epidemics devastate the region

Between 1545 and 1552, plague outbreaks caused extreme hardship, leading to deserted towns and citizens walling up infected homes.

At the table

Bread and soup were dietary staples

Ordinary families based their daily diet on bread, often eaten as soup by soaking pieces in water or bouillon, alongside cereal porridges or cakes. This was frequently accompanied by a companage, which was a variety of accessible foods like vegetables, legumes, cheese, or eggs.

What people wore

Servant girl's market clothing

A servant girl in Paris in 1586 wore a bonnet covered with a long cloth hood and a bodice that was laced at the front and trimmed with black velvet.

Getting around

Royal travel took weeks to complete

A royal court journey from Paris to Chambord could take three weeks because the procession included thousands of people, animals, and entire households.

What it cost

Agricultural worker daily wage

By 1550, an agricultural worker earned 1 livre per day.

Music

Rise of amateur home music

While professional musicians were hired for major events, amateur music-making at home became popular among the nobility and bourgeoisie, supported by the growth of music publishing and the use of tablatures.

Daily life

Segregated elementary schooling

While private tutors served noble families, elementary schools for others were church-run and segregated by gender; a 1554 decree specifically prohibited boys and girls from studying together.