- Paying a toll
The tolls on roads, bridges, fairs, and markets, and the harbour dues were kept up, notwithstanding their obstruction to commerce, with the exception that free passage was given to corn passing from one province to another. The exemptions from taxes which had been dearly bought were removed; and the nobles were bound not to divert the revenue received from tolls for any purposes other than those for which they were legitimately intended. The nobles were also required to guard the roads "from sunrise to sunset," and they were made responsible for robberies committed upon travellers within their domains. - Pillage
A Village pillaged by Soldiers.--Fac-simile of a Woodcut in Hamelmann's "Oldenburgisches Chronicon." in folio, 1599. - Pin and Needle maker
Pin and Needle maker - Pork Butcher
The Pork-butcher (Charcutier).--Fac-simile of a Miniature in a Charter of the Abbey of Solignac (Fourteenth Century). - Ramparts
Ramparts of the Town of Aigues-Mortes, one of the Municipalities of Languedoc. - Receiver of taxes
Charles VIII., during a reign of fourteen years, continued to waste the public money. His disastrous expedition for the conquest of the kingdom of Naples forced him to borrow at the rate of forty-two per cent. A short time previous to his death he acknowledged his errors, but continued to spend money, without consideration or restraint, in all kinds of extravagances, but especially in buildings. During his reign the annual expenditure almost invariably doubled the revenue. In 1492 it reached 7,300,000 francs, about 244,000,000 francs of present money. The deficit was made up each year by a general tax, "which was paid neither by the nobles nor the Church, but was obtained entirely from the people" (letters from the ambassadors of Venice). The receiver of Taxes.--Fac-simile of a Woodcut in Damhoudere's "Praxis Rerum Civilium." - Receiving tithe
The Bishop of Tournai receiving the Tithe of Beer granted by King Chilpéric.--From the Windows of the Cathedral of Tournai, Fifteenth Century. - Sedentary Occupations of the Peasants.
A small kitchen-garden, which he cultivated himself, was usually attached to the cottage, which was guarded by a large watch-dog. There was also a shed for the cows, whose milk contributed to the sustenance of the establishment; and on the thatched roof of this and his cottage the wild cats hunted the rats and mice. The family were never idle, even in the bad season, and the children were taught from infancy to work by the side of their parents - Shoe maker
Shoe maker - Somersaults
Somersaults.--Fac-simile of a Woodcut in "Exercises in Leaping and Vaulting," by A. Tuccaro: 4to (Paris, 1599). - Spur maker
Spur Maker - St Marks Place
View of St. Mark's Place, Venice, Sixteenth Century, after Cesare Vecellio. - Standard weight
Standard Weight in Brass of the Fish-market at Mans: Sign of the Syren (End of the Sixteenth Century). - State Banquet
State Banquet.--Serving the Peacock.--Fac-simile of a Woodcut in an edition of Virgil, folio, published at Lyons in 1517. - Supreme Court
Supreme Court, presided over by the King, who is in the act of issuing a Decree which is being registered by the Usher.--Fac-simile of a Miniature in Camareu of the "Information des Rois," Manuscript of the Fifteenth Century, in the Library of the Arsenal of Paris. - Swineherd
Swineherd - Sword Dance
Sword-dance to the sound of the Bagpipe.--Fac-simile of a Manuscript in the British Museum (Fourteenth Century). - Sword maker
Sword maker - Tailor
Tailor - The Baker
The Baker - The Brewer
The Brewer - The Butcher
The Butcher - The Cook
The Cook - The Issue
The Issue de Table.--Fac-simile of a Woodcut in the Treatise of Christoforo di Messisburgo, "Banchetti compositioni di Vivende," 4to., Ferrara, 1549. At the issue de table wafers or some other light pastry were introduced, which were eaten with the hypocras wine. The boute-hors, which was served when the guests, after having washed their hands and said grace, had passed into the drawing-room, consisted of spices, different from those which had appeared at dessert, and intended specially to assist the digestion; and for this object they must have been much needed, considering that a repast lasted several hours. Whilst eating these spices they drank Grenache, Malmsey, or aromatic wines - The Manufacture of Oil
The Manufacture of Oil, drawn and engraved by J. Amman in the Sixteenth Century. - The Miller
The Miller - The Mint
Woodcut in the Translation of the Latin Work of Francis Patricius, "De l'Institution et Administration de la Chose Politique:" folio, 1520. - The Pond Fisherman
The Pond Fisherman.--Fac-simile of a Woodcut of the "Cosmographie Universelle" of Munster, folio, Basle, 1549. - The Poulterer
The Poulterer - The Poultry Dealer
The Poultry Dealer - The river Fisherman
The River Fisherman, designed and engraved, in the Sixteenth Century, by J. Amman. - The Springboard
THe Spring-board Most of the bourgeois and the villagers played a variety of games of agility, many of which have descended to our times, and are still to be found at our schools and colleges. Wrestling, running races, the game of bars, high and wide jumping, leap-frog, blind-man's buff, games of ball of all sorts, gymnastics, and all exercises which strengthened the body or added to the suppleness of the limbs, were long in use among the youth of the nobility - The Vintagers
Pliny makes mention of several wines of the Gauls as being highly esteemed. He nevertheless reproaches the vine-growers of Marseilles, Beziers, and Narbonne with doctoring their wines, and with infusing various drugs into them, which rendered them disagreeable and even unwholesome. - The Winegrower
In the sixteenth century, Liébault enumerated nineteen sorts of grapes, and Olivier de Serres twenty-four, amongst which, notwithstanding the eccentricities of the ancient names, we believe that we can trace the greater part of those plants which are now cultivated in France. For instance, it is known that the excellent vines of Thomery, near Fontainebleau, which yield in abundance the most beautiful table grape which art and care can produce, were already in use in the reign of Henry IV. - Tin maker
Fac-simile of Engravings on Wood, designed and engraved by J. Amman, in the Sixteenth Century. - Tower of the temple
The creation of a public revenue, raised by the contributions of all classes of society, with a definite sum to be kept in reserve, thus dates from the reign of Philip Augustus. The annual income of the State at that time amounted to 36,000 marks, or 72,000 pounds' weight of silver--about sixteen or seventeen million francs of present currency. The treasury, which was kept in the great tower of the temple, was under the custody of seven bourgeois of Paris, and a king's clerk kept a register of receipts and disbursements. This treasury must have been well filled at the death of Philip Augustus, for that monarch's legacies were very considerable. The Tower of the Temple, in Paris.--From an Engraving of the Topography of Paris, in the Cabinet des Estampes, of the National Library. - Sale by Town-Crier
Sale by Town-Crier. Preco, the Crier, blowing a trumpet; Subhastator, public officer charged with the sale. In the background is seen another sale, by the Bellman.--Fac-simile of a Woodcut in the Work of Josse Damhoudere, "Praxis Rerum Civilium," 4to: Antwerp, 1557. - Transport on camels
Transport of Merchandise on the Backs of Camels.--Fac-simile of a Woodcut in the "Cosmographie Universelle," of Thevet: folio, 1575. - Treading the grape
Treading the Grape - Tribunal of Kings Bailiff
Bailliage, or Tribunal of the King's Bailiff.--Fac-simile of an Engraving on Wood in the Work of Josse Damhoudere, "Praxis Rerum Civilium." (Antwerp, 1557, in 4to.). - Village Feast
Village Feast Notwithstanding the miseries to which they were generally subject, the rural population had their days of rest and amusement, which were then much more numerous than at present. At that period the festivals of the Church were frequent and rigidly kept, and as each of them was the pretext for a forced holiday from manual labour, the peasants thought of nothing, after church, but of amusing themselves; they drank, talked, sang, danced, and, above all, laughed, for the laugh of our forefathers quite rivalled the Homeric laugh, and burst forth with a noisy joviality. - Whale Fishing
Whale-Fishing. Fac-simile of a Woodcut in the "Cosmographie Universelle" of Thevet, in folio: Paris, 1574. - William, Duke of Normandy
William, Duke of Normandy, accompanied by Eustatius, Count of Boulogne, and followed by his Knights in arms.--Military Dress of the Eleventh Century, from Bayeux Tapestry said to have been worked by Queen Matilda. - Wire worker
Wire worker - Women of Court
Costumes of the Women of the Court from the Sixth to the Tenth Centuries, from Documents collected by H. de Vielcastel, in the great Libraries of Europe. - King Clovis
Costume of King Clovis (Sixth Century).--From a Statue on his Tomb, formerly in the Abbey of St. Geneviève. - Kings Huntsman
William Malgeneste, the King's Huntsman, as represented on his Tomb, formerly in the Abbey of Long-Pont. (for Louis IX) - Kitchen
Interior of a Kitchen.--Fac-simile from a Woodcut in the "Calendarium Romanum" of J. Staéffler, folio, Tubingen, 1518. - Mary of Burgundy
Costume of Mary of Burgundy, Daughter of Charles the Bold, Wife of Maximilian of Austria (end of the Fifteenth Century). From an old Engraving in the Collection of the Imperial Library, Paris. - Measurers of Corn
The towns of Rouen and Caen were especially manufacturing cities, and were very rich. This was the case with Rouen particularly, which was situated on the Seine, and was at that time an extensive depôt for provisions and other merchandise which was sent down the river for export, or was imported for future internal consumption. Already Paris, the abode of kings, and the metropolis of government, began to foreshadow the immense development which it was destined to undergo, by becoming the centre of commercial affairs, and by daily adding to its labouring and mercantile population - Measuring salt
Fac-simile of a Woodcut of the "Ordonnances de la Prevosté des Marchands de Paris," in folio: 1500. - Mechanics wife
-Costumes of a Mechanic's Wife and a rich Bourgeois in the latter part of the Fifteenth Century.--From Windows in the Cathedral of Moulins (Bourbonnais). - Member of Brotherhood of death
Member of the Brotherhood of Death, whose duty it was to accompany those sentenced to death - Merchant Nobleman and lady
Costumes of Bourgeois or Merchant, of a Nobleman, and of a Lady of the Court or rich Bourgeoise, with the Head-dress (escoffion) of the Fifteenth Century.--From a Painted Window of the Period, at Moulins (Bourbonnais), and from a Painting on Wood of the same Period, in the Musee de Cluny. - Movable iron cage
Movable Iron Cage.--From a Woodcut in the "Cosmographie Universelle" of Munster, in folio, Basle, 1552. - Nobleman and Bourgeois
Costumes of a young Nobleman and of a Bourgeois in the Fourteenth Century.--From a painted Window in the Church of Saint-Ouen at Rouen, and from a Window at Moulins (Bourbonnais). - Nobleman Merchant and lady
Costumes of Bourgeois or Merchant, of a Nobleman, and of a Lady of the Court or rich Bourgeoise, with the Head-dress (escoffion) of the Fifteenth Century.--From a Painted Window of the Period, at Moulins (Bourbonnais), and from a Painting on Wood of the same Period, in the Musee de Cluny. - Orphans
-Orphans, Callots, and the Family of the Grand Coesre.--From painted Hangings and Tapestry from the Town of Rheims, executed during the Fifteenth Century. The Grand Coesre levied a tax of twenty-four sous per annum upon the young rogues, who went about the streets pretending to shed tears, as "helpless orphans," in order to excite public sympathy. - Paris 1607
Perspective View of Paris in 1607.--Fac-simile of a Copper-plate by Léonard Gaultier. (Collection of M. Guénebault, Paris.) - Phillip the Good
Costume of Philip the Good, with Hood and "Cockade."--From a Miniature in a Manuscript of the Period.