When it comes to research, a picture is worth a thousand words. I search Pinterest for inspiration and ideas on how everyday life would look for my characters. This week, I have been researching 18th century chatelaines and etuis. Read on to find out why French mistresses of the household would have made a clinking sound while they walked.
Chatelaines
What does chatelaine mean?
Definition of chatelaine
1a :the wife of a castellan :the mistress of a château
b:the mistress of a household or of a large establishment
2:a clasp or hook for a watch, purse, or bunch of keys
As you can see, the chatelaine (or equipage as it was sometimes called in the 18th century) was a large type of key ring attached to the belt. All sorts of tools were hooked on for portability; scissors, keys, watch, sewing implements, perfume bottles and other cases. Even a small knife or fork could be hung from it.
Belts had been important for many years and in many different cultures. Gentlemen hung their purses and watches from them as a status or position symbol. When debtors became bankrupt, they had to remove their belts and attached items to show they had fallen from grace.
In medieval times, the women that ran large households (chatelaines) carried the keys to the rooms, chests, food stores and cellars. At the start of the 18th century, the word began to denote the item as well as the person.
The popularity of the chatelaine grew in the 1700’s, partly due to how fashionable it was to wear watches. In the above examples, you can see the chatelaines hanging from below the bottom of the bodice onto the top of the skirts.
Some of the 18th century chatelaines were extremely ornate, with biblical engravings and finely wrought of gold. For mistresses of more modest households, the chatelaine would be simpler, consisting of simple chains or leather with scissors and keys. It was a compromise between practicality and status jewellery. (Far easier to find what you want than with our bottomless handbags!)
Chatelaines were common in Victorian times and remained popular until the end of the 1800’s. Workers found them useful, especially nurses for carrying their instruments and bandages. Here is another
French example at the MAAS.
All these things resulted from the confusion of the tribes of utilities which the Chatelaine of the middle ages patronized; She herself was the moyen age for housewife and the keys the scent box the grater the pincushion and the bit of horse shoe once hung from the article named after her at her side.
– Smith, Albert, The Natural History of the Flirt, 1848
I do not normally write gushing posts about 18th century fashion, as my characters are poor aspiring to bourgeois but I thought these items were pretty fascinating. Above all, I think that 18th century chatelaines say a lot about the responsibility given to and varied duties performed by the women of the household in ancient regime France.
Etuis / Billets doux
What does etui mean?
The word etui means case. They were made from metal, ivory, enamel or wood and could be used for sewing kits or sealing wax, which came in sticks. They were also used for amorous young gentlemen and ladies to pass ‘billets doux’ (literally sweet notes) or love letters in a secretive way. They could be discreetly passed in a fold of clothing or clasped in the palm.
This is an entry from the Encyclopedie of Diderot:
ETUI, noun. m. a sort of box that can be carried to keep something in. The cases for sewing, with needles and pins, are small hollow cylinders, with a lid, in which one encloses these small cleaning or sewing tools. They are made of gold, silver, or studded with nails of these two metals; and still others made of wood, ivory, or cardboard covered with leather. The different kinds of cases are so numerous that it would be impossible to describe them all.
This is a quote from an 18th century novel:
“le mari tira pareillement de son étui le billet de la queteuse, cette duperie fit eclore toutes les autres et les deux epoux n’hesiterent pas de se faire part de tous les moyens que le moine avait employes pour causer entre eux le plus eclatant divorce”
Translation: the husband similarly drew from his case (etui) the pursuer’s letter, this deception started all the others off, and the two spouses did not hesitate to share with them all the means which the monk had employed to cause between them the most glaring divorce.
As you can see, they could easily get into the wrong hands causing all sorts of hi-jinks.
The passing of love notes was a way of gaining a little personal liberty against the strict customs and rules of society and life in the 1700’s. This is the period when the word etiquette came into usage, meaning the ceremonial observances of a court. I find etuis and the messages inside fascinating for the insight they provide into relationships and psychology in such a strictly socially regulated period.
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