18th century woman looking for an RP husband

[SophiePotter94 7]

"It has been a long time since i first joined Second life, and i think the time to settle down has arrived…"

My name is Marie Madeleine de Merteuil (sophiepotter94), and i am currently roleplaying as an 18th century french aristocrat of 76 years of age at the new court of Versailles in Second life (the year is 1753)...So, if you think you're man enough to marry the Comtesse de Castellane, just send me a letter ( message )

Au revoir!

 

[MIstahMoose 204]

76!? I don't think the life expectancy was that high back then >.>

[Callum Meriman 7,152]

1 hour ago, MIstahMoose said:

76!? I don't think the life expectancy was that high back then >.>

Indeed, the Comtesse would have been rather special as most woman would only expect to live to 25, but the books suggest it was possible, rare but possible. ( https://www.ined.fr/Xtradocs/cdrom_vallin_mesle/Documents-de-reference/population1989.pdf page 14 )

( from https://www.ined.fr/en/everything_about_population/graphs-maps/interpreted-graphs/life-expectancy-france/ )

Back then 50% of babies died. It was harsh.

Edited June 23, 2018 by Callum Meriman

[Parhelion Palou 2,067]

1 hour ago, Callum Meriman said:

Indeed, the Comtesse would have been rather special as most woman would only expect to live to 25, but the books suggest it was possible, rare but possible. ( https://www.ined.fr/Xtradocs/cdrom_vallin_mesle/Documents-de-reference/population1989.pdf page 14 )

( from https://www.ined.fr/en/everything_about_population/graphs-maps/interpreted-graphs/life-expectancy-france/ )

Back then 50% of babies died. It was harsh.

Perhaps the French didn't notice, but for the rest of the countries involved World War I came *before* World War II.

[Syo Emerald 5,430]

11 hours ago, Callum Meriman said:

Indeed, the Comtesse would have been rather special as most woman would only expect to live to 25, but the books suggest it was possible, rare but possible. ( https://www.ined.fr/Xtradocs/cdrom_vallin_mesle/Documents-de-reference/population1989.pdf page 14 )

( from https://www.ined.fr/en/everything_about_population/graphs-maps/interpreted-graphs/life-expectancy-france/ )

Back then 50% of babies died. It was harsh.

25 is just an "average" that is heavily dragged down by child mortality and the risky life the poor, common people had. Just as events like wars dragged down the average life expectancy for all people, while in reality just showing that a significant portion of young people died as either soldiers or victims in war zones. If you belonged to the upper 1% of french society during that time, had the fortune to have uncomplicated births...you could very well expect to live twice that long. Although I agree, that 76 is quite a significant age for that period and that anyone living so long would probably be at the end of their life with not many years to come. (Not to mention all the health problems that would have kicked in at that age).

Edited June 23, 2018 by Syo Emerald

[Callum Meriman 7,152]

1 hour ago, Syo Emerald said:

25 is just an "average" that is heavily dragged down by child mortality and the risky life the poor life the common people lived in. 

I think the child mortality rate was the most surprising thing as I was googling that.

I learnt something quite surprising.

[Fionalein 4,842]

1 hour ago, Callum Meriman said:

I think the child mortality rate was the most surprising thing as I was googling that.

I learnt something quite surprising.

It isn't so surprising when you read Dickens (who was a century later but you can assume it was similar if worse in times before that) 

Edited June 23, 2018 by Fionalein

[Syo Emerald 5,430]

3 hours ago, Fionalein said:

It isn't so surprising when you read Dickens (who was a century later but you can assume it was similar if worse in times before that) 

I recently saw an interesting youtube video about world population growth form a statisticans perspective and they had graphics in there, were they compared the growth of the worlds population, average number of children per woman and child mortality. And beside other information, one thing to take away from it was, that the first time, that child mortality made a (effective) turn for the better, was after the industrial revolution. Slowly of course, but already significantly at the end of the century. Before that a woman with six children could basically expect four of them to not make it into adulthood.

[Fionalein 4,842]

I hope those RPers keep in mind that a good 18th century human needs smallpox scars all over the body, having none was unusual too.

Edited June 23, 2018 by Fionalein

[Talligurl 39,813]

Two things,  one this is SL and we have women running around with breasts so big they couldn't possibly stand up, and you complain about someone wanting to role  play as a 76 year old in the 18th century.

two, Benjamin Franklin lived in the 18th century, almost all of it in fact, he was born 1706,  and died 1790

Edited June 23, 2018 by Talligurl

[Sagadin 6,628]

7 hours ago, Fionalein said:

I hope those RPers keep in mind that a good 18th century human needs smallpox scars all over the body, having none was unusual too.

Not to mention syphilis sores. I read somewhere recently that THAT was one of the big reasons for the big wigs they wore -- many people's hair had fallen out as a result of syphilis - yuk!

[MIstahMoose 204]

6 hours ago, Sagadin said:

Not to mention syphilis sores. I read somewhere recently that THAT was one of the big reasons for the big wigs they wore -- many people's hair had fallen out as a result of syphilis - yuk!

This plus pox makes my aristocratic fantasy a lot less desirable >.>

[EmpereurNapoleonBonaparte 48]

On 6/10/2018 at 10:01 AM, SophiePotter94 said:

"It has been a long time since i first joined Second life, and i think the time to settle down has arrived…"

My name is Marie Madeleine de Merteuil (sophiepotter94), and i am currently roleplaying as an 18th century french aristocrat of 76 years of age at the new court of Versailles in Second life (the year is 1753)...So, if you think you're man enough to marry the Comtesse de Castellane, just send me a letter ( message )

Au revoir!

 

Bonjour, ma chère Madame Merteuil !

Sadly, I can’t roleplay with you right now. I am busy with my studies, but we can talk here and get to know each other more. You seem interesting, and I’m wondering what kind of things you like?

Amicalement,

Napolèon

[Garnet Psaltery 6,625]

I hope I have the energy to seek a husband when I turn 76  

[Love Zhaoying 11,517]

9 minutes ago, Garnet Psaltery said:

I hope I have the energy to seek a husband when I turn 76  

Maybe a rich man who’s in his 90’s!

[SophiePotter94 7]

3 hours ago, EmpereurNapoleonBonaparte said:

Bonjour, ma chère Madame Merteuil !

Sadly, I can’t roleplay with you right now. I am busy with my studies, but we can talk here and get to know each other more. You seem interesting, and I’m wondering what kind of things you like?

Amicalement,

Napolèon

Bonjour, Empereur!

How honored I am to have had the good fortune of meeting your Majesty at last^ ^ And yes, I think I would also like to know you too better...Just promise me that you won't cut my ghost's head off when Im distracted as an act of hatred. I would hate to pass the rest of eternity like that.

Amicalement,

Marie Antoinette

[Dillon Levenque 1,701]

7 minutes ago, SophiePotter94 said:

Bonjour, Empereur!

How honored I am to have had the good fortune of meeting your Majesty at last^ ^ And yes, I think I would also like to know you too better...Just promise me that you won't cut my ghost's head off when Im distracted as an act of hatred. I would hate to pass the rest of eternity like that.

Amicalement,

Marie Antoinette

psst: that should be 'your Imperial Majesty', but I'm sure the citoyen won't mind.

[SophiePotter94 7]

Thank you for the advice

[SophiePotter94 7]

 

[Klytyna 3,560]

On 23 June 2018 at 11:14 AM, Callum Meriman said:

I think the child mortality rate was the most surprising thing as I was googling that.

I learnt something quite surprising.

In the medieval period, infant morality rates were often higher.

It's been claimed often on the net that medieval life expectancy was 40...

Many people assume this means hardly any one lived past 40, but this is not the case... 40 is an AVERAGE figure, and is that low because about 80% of people died BEFORE they hit 16.

The ones who made it to 16, were hard buggers, who could survive almost anything.

...

Battle of Towton, Easter Sunday 1461...

Bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil, an estimated 62,000 participants with an estimated 28,000 killed, it practically broke a generation, and the armies were bloated with military veterans back in England after the fall of British France.

Many of the bodies were buried in mass graves, and some of these have been excavated.

One such body, give an example of how tough some of these people were, his age appears to be in his 50's, his jaw and face have damage that shows that at some point (probably, judging from the amount of healed bone, in the 1450's) he had been cut across the face with a sword, that sheared half way across his jaw, but he survived the injury, and the treatment afterwards, and was still fit for military service in 61. It wasn't his only injury, a battle scarred veteran of the French wars.

There's a 13th century grave of a knight from northern England, where the corpse was very well preserved (buried in acidic peat ground) so that one can clearly see where an abcess under a bad tooth, had eroded a hole out through the jawbone and through his skin, so there was a constant seeping hole on his face, this wasn't some 'recent' thing just before he died, but something he lived with for years.

...

Napoleonic Era... One of the junior officers in the 1st/95th took a musket ball in the heel of his foot, he spent some time recuperating in hospital, then set out to march upcountry to rejoin his unit, but after a couple of days marching he had to turn around and go back to have the musket ball REMOVED from his foot because of the pain.

How many people today would WALK with a bullet lodged in their heel bone, after a few weeks in hospital?

Speaking of the 1st/95th, one of it's commanders, was shot in the cheat, he asked a junior officer who had been training for a surgeon before joining the army, "Is my wound immediately fatal?", in response to which the younger officer stuck two fingers into the bullet wound and felt about...

He informed his commander that the ball had nicked the lower lobe of one lung and was not immediately fatal, then and only then did the commander allow himself to be carried from the field...

Four weeks later he was back on the battle field.

The British Army had a "wounds board", a panel who would review the cases of injured men, and decide if their injuries merited the payment of "blood money", losing an eye got you about £160 )(a years salary for a Lt.).

Soldiers who were missing some feature or other were not uncommon.

One rifleman had his trigger finger shot off in a fire fight, but still fought on using his middle finger to shoot with, without pausing (although he probably swore quite a bit...).

...

High infant mortality rates... But the ones who lived to be adult, lived into their old age despite the conditions because...

These people were HARD...
 

[Phorumities 870]

8 hours ago, Klytyna said:

In the medieval period, infant morality rates were often higher.

It's been claimed often on the net that medieval life expectancy was 40...

Many people assume this means hardly any one lived past 40, but this is not the case... 40 is an AVERAGE figure, and is that low because about 80% of people died BEFORE they hit 16.

The ones who made it to 16, were hard buggers, who could survive almost anything.

...

Battle of Towton, Easter Sunday 1461...

Bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil, an estimated 62,000 participants with an estimated 28,000 killed, it practically broke a generation, and the armies were bloated with military veterans back in England after the fall of British France.

Many of the bodies were buried in mass graves, and some of these have been excavated.

One such body, give an example of how tough some of these people were, his age appears to be in his 50's, his jaw and face have damage that shows that at some point (probably, judging from the amount of healed bone, in the 1450's) he had been cut across the face with a sword, that sheared half way across his jaw, but he survived the injury, and the treatment afterwards, and was still fit for military service in 61. It wasn't his only injury, a battle scarred veteran of the French wars.

There's a 13th century grave of a knight from northern England, where the corpse was very well preserved (buried in acidic peat ground) so that one can clearly see where an abcess under a bad tooth, had eroded a hole out through the jawbone and through his skin, so there was a constant seeping hole on his face, this wasn't some 'recent' thing just before he died, but something he lived with for years.

...

Napoleonic Era... One of the junior officers in the 1st/95th took a musket ball in the heel of his foot, he spent some time recuperating in hospital, then set out to march upcountry to rejoin his unit, but after a couple of days marching he had to turn around and go back to have the musket ball REMOVED from his foot because of the pain.

How many people today would WALK with a bullet lodged in their heel bone, after a few weeks in hospital?

Speaking of the 1st/95th, one of it's commanders, was shot in the cheat, he asked a junior officer who had been training for a surgeon before joining the army, "Is my wound immediately fatal?", in response to which the younger officer stuck two fingers into the bullet wound and felt about...

He informed his commander that the ball had nicked the lower lobe of one lung and was not immediately fatal, then and only then did the commander allow himself to be carried from the field...

Four weeks later he was back on the battle field.

The British Army had a "wounds board", a panel who would review the cases of injured men, and decide if their injuries merited the payment of "blood money", losing an eye got you about £160 )(a years salary for a Lt.).

Soldiers who were missing some feature or other were not uncommon.

One rifleman had his trigger finger shot off in a fire fight, but still fought on using his middle finger to shoot with, without pausing (although he probably swore quite a bit...).

...

High infant mortality rates... But the ones who lived to be adult, lived into their old age despite the conditions because...

These people were HARD...
 

kind of sad how things that would have been flights of fantacy or the ravings of a lunatic if described in those bygone days are now absolute necessities today.

Our poor people today lives lives that even the nobility could scarcely imagine and yet we still hear the bleating cries of the left..... life isnt fair we need more stuff.

[Luna Bliss 5,158]

1 hour ago, Phorumities said:

Our poor people today lives lives that even the nobility could scarcely imagine and yet we still hear the bleating cries of the left..... life isnt fair we need more stuff.

I just finished watching a PBS series named 'Victoria', and was fun to see old furniture and costumes from the time period.
But Phorumities, I also saw the nobility had plenty of food to eat, and shelter from the elements, so don't get your comparison between nobility in the past and poor people of today.

One of my Social Work friends, albeit a flaming liberal, works with the homeless by attempting to find housing & food for them. Many are vets with PTSD, and some are familes with children who don't have enough to eat. It's shocking how many children live with food insecurity in the U.S. today.  It has nothing to do with getting them more "stuff" -- they just want to be warm in the winter and have enough to eat.

[Madelaine McMasters 24,758]

1 hour ago, Phorumities said:

kind of sad how things that would have been flights of fantacy or the ravings of a lunatic if described in those bygone days are now absolute necessities today.

What a peculiar assessment of human progress.

[Phorumities 870]

9 hours ago, Madelaine McMasters said:

What a peculiar assessment of human progress.

is it wrong though? For example.. Try describing a cell phone to a person 500 years ago, and now everyone just has to have one.

 

[Phorumities 870]

20 hours ago, Luna Bliss said:

I just finished watching a PBS series named 'Victoria', and was fun to see old furniture and costumes from the time period.
But Phorumities, I also saw the nobility had plenty of food to eat, and shelter from the elements, so don't get your comparison between nobility in the past and poor people of today.

One of my Social Work friends, albeit a flaming liberal, works with the homeless by attempting to find housing & food for them. Many are vets with PTSD, and some are familes with children who don't have enough to eat. It's shocking how many children live with food insecurity in the U.S. today.  It has nothing to do with getting them more "stuff" -- they just want to be warm in the winter and have enough to eat.

Yes I'm sure it's shocking, and of course, I'm also sure the numbers are shockingly over rated. You need those numbers up to ensure your funding stays high.

Tie in to another post I made, how many of  those poor starving families have cell phones?