We are so spoiled! The amount of work that went into providing food for a peasant family in 1650 is daunting by today’s standards.
The typical seigneurial system in France granted 1-3 acres to a family to farm. A family of five would need two acres of rye to provide bread for a year. Their lives were completely dependent upon the yield of that farm and were at the mercy of the weather, drought, crop failure, pests, etc. In the 17th century, it was not uncommon for a fungus called ergot to infect rye fields. Not knowing the cause and effect, people ate bread made from infected flour. The lucky ones had to have legs and arms amputated. Others died terrible deaths complete with seizures, hallucinations, and the sensation of being on fire. Entire families were lost; and sometimes half of a village died.
If their prayers were answered and they had a healthy field to harvest in August, other habitants would help mow the rye with scythes. They expected the same help when their field was ready. The rye had to be bundled to dry, threshed, winnowed, and then brought to the mill (owned by the local noble who took a share of the yield as his due.) Most farms did not own an oven, so when the women made bread, they had to pay to use the village’s oven.
Every card was stacked against the peasant farmer, so when emigration to New France became a possibility, many sailed for the New World and did not look back.
Jeanne Meeks ~ Fiction Author 