Vallez, Jean-Marie <br/><br/>
The Rural Butcher Shop in Normandy in the 18th Century 

 -  2008.<br/>							 
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<br/><br/> Both tax-related sources and high juridical testimonies reveal that rural butchering was a significant activity in 18th-century Normandy. Master butchers were licensed to set up their stalls in nearly two hundred towns, especially on market days. Just like common country butchers but according to different rules, they were subject to a specific taxation levied by butchering inspectors instituted in 1704. The testimonies of butchers and proceedings against fraud show that the consumption of butchered meat followed seasonal cycles, with a marked drop in the spring, and reached levels well above what is commonly assumed for rural populations under the Ancien Régime.