Skip to content
VitrineVitrine
Sign in

James Louis Sobieski

Paris, 2 Nov 1667 – Zhovkva, 19 Dec 1737

10 facts3 sources

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 2 Nov 1667

    Born in Paris

  2. 19 Dec 1737

    Dies in Zhovkva, aged 70

Family

See the tree

Parents

Partner

During his lifetime

He lived through 8 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Paris.

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

The 1660s · James is born in Paris

In the news1660

Pyrenees Earthquake (1660)

A major earthquake struck the Pyrenees in 1660, destroying 20 houses in Bagnères-de-Bigorre and causing the collapse of the bell tower of Saint-Michel church in Bordeaux.

Getting around

Long travel times between cities

Travel between major French cities was slow; for example, the journey from Bordeaux to Paris took fifteen days in 1660.

In the news1659–1663

Population drop from war and plague

War and plague epidemics between 1659 and 1663 reduced the total population of the Commonwealth by one-third, leaving only 6 to 7 million survivors.

Daily life

Children were sent to school

Household rules expected servants to wake and feed children and ensure they went off to school.

What people wore

Rural women's colors and aprons

Women in rural areas typically wore clothing in shades of black, gray, and red, often completing their attire with a protective apron known as a devantier.

Music

Everyday musical tools and maintenance

Portable violins called pochettes were used by dance masters to teach dance lessons in homes. Harpsichords in palaces required regular maintenance, where staff spent one-third of their time just removing wax drippings from candles.

At the table

Bread as the Foundation of Daily Meals

Bread was the staple of the ordinary diet, often eaten as "soup" by soaking slices in a liquid like water, broth, or vegetable potage. These large, dense loaves were baked to last for one or two weeks at a time.