Winter 1604-1608

It hasn't been exactly the greatest winter for the poor serfs.

Little baby Anne (Marcelet and Chrestienne's second daughter) died in the winter of 1606.Poor parents thought that after loosing one child, God will be merciful to them, but no, they lost little Anne (only 4 years old when she tragically died of smallpox ), only to be followed by her younger sister, Mariot, the next year (winter of 1607).Her parents were devastated.

Even so, their children's tragic death didn't impress the assessor, who insisted that they had to pay their taxes to the Court.Chrestienne cried and begged for a little more time, just until the crops will be ready to be harvested, but the heartless man took almost everything from their hovel, letting the family only with the clothes they were wearing.

Chrestienne's fourth pregnancy didn't make the things easier for them either.

By the end of the winter, she gave birth to Haiete.Unfortunately, the the mother died of childbed fever a week later, leaving poor Marcelet alone with their baby.

assesor - an official who evaluates property for the purpose of taxing it (I translated it from my language, where the definition is "Officer in charge of collecting taxes from people" ).

childbed fever - A bacterial infection of the female reproductive organs following childbirth.