Marie Henriette de Bourbon

What people wore

Clothing for feast days vs daily life

Common villagers typically wore the same basic garments daily, while the more prosperous members of the community had specific outfits reserved for Sundays and feast days.

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

Cobbler gossip and regulated daily wages

Parisian cobblers were known as the neighborhood gazetteers who gossiped and shared news from their small, crowded street-corner shops. Regulations from 1567 set daily wages at ten sous tournois for laborers and five sous for unskilled manual workers.

Music

Court ballet performances

The courtly ballet was a spectacular performance featuring masked dancers in elaborate costumes, accompanied by a mix of airs and instrumental music.

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.