Georg Friedrich zu Salm-Kyrburg

What people wore

Daily attire of ordinary women

Ordinary women often wore corsets over a shirt, with a skirt and an apron for daily chores, while their clothing was predominantly colored in black, grey, and red.

Daily life

Water fetching and limited lighting

Water had to be fetched from pumps or rivers through daily manual labor, as there was no modern infrastructure. Lighting was limited and costly, often forcing families to shape their evening routines around the availability of candles or natural light.

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

Peasants danced to pipe and tabor

French peasants frequently danced on Sundays to the sound of the pipe and tabor as a form of relaxation after working all week.

At the table

Drinking wine instead of dangerous water

Drinking water was often considered unhealthy, so ordinary people preferred to drink diluted wine or piquette, a low-quality drink made from grape pomace.

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

Daily laborer wages in early 17th century

Between 1601 and 1625, the average daily wage of a common French laborer was approximately 2.28 livres.