Charles, Duke of Vendôme

What people wore

Safe storage for peasant coins

For security, men often wrapped their coins in the long, split tails of their linen chemises.

Daily life

Home lighting and water collection

Common dwellings featured floors of beaten earth covered with straw, and interiors were lighted by doors or small, unglazed windows. Water was a heavy burden to collect, with women often carrying it in jugs from distant sources for household use.

Work

Common jobs in rural Lorraine

Most people in the Duchy of Lorraine were peasants who worked in agriculture, mainly focusing on cereal crops like grains. Additional industries like glass manufacturing, salt mining, and paper production were also important rural occupations.

Music

Chapel choir life and rewards

The Duke's chapel choristers at Saint-Georges received an annual salary of 96 francs, a well-paid position at the time. On Saint Cecilia's Day, children of the choir were treated with distributions of small pastries.

At the table

Daily Bread, Porridge, and Soup

Ordinary Lorrainers typically ate one to two pounds of bread daily, often supplementing it with soup, porridge made from grain cooked in lard, and cheese. Vegetables like legumes were dietary staples, while meat was primarily consumed as boiled soup meat.

Getting around

Travel by foot and pack animals

Ordinary travelers, including artisans and merchants, typically traveled on foot or used pack animals like horses, asses, and mules because carts frequently became stuck in mud on the roads.

What it cost

Cost of shoes

The cost of shoemaking, specifically a pair of shoes, ranged from 0.6 to 1.34 sols tournois during the 16th century.