Daily Life of the 16th Century VS. Daily Life of Today

Essay by sillygeeserock50A+, May 2004

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The Daily life of the French in the 16th Century differs greatly from the daily life of the 21st Century. Back then, society was led more by the group rather than the individual; now, society is led by individuals rather than the group. The people were more influenced by church as a whole than we are now. The village priest was a part of everybody's life, from birth to death. Weddings were a big deal, to not only the people getting married, but also to their families, and the village as a whole; whereas now, weddings aren't very sacred anymore. The household was ruled by the adult male of the house and everyone was to listen and respect him; now, however, there's no "head" of the household per say, it's more of a combined effort between man and wife (if they're even married). The people back then looked at life as the "body politic", where the head ruled, the arms protected, the stomach nourished, and the feet labored; now people don't really take the time to think out their life like that, everybody has a different job, and they can change their job; they aren't stuck with it for life.

During the 16th Century each village had a church, and the church belonged to the village. It was the one thing that wasn't ruled by the lords or the higher ranking families of the village, it was used by everyone. The priest was an integral part to every family, because he helped to guide them through their troubles. He was there for their births, their marriages, their hardships, and their deaths. Families looked to the church for advice and for approval of the things they had decided to do. Now, however, people don't turn to the church as much. And...