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131-575: Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre ( French: [maksimiljɛ̃ ʁɔbɛspjɛʁ] ; 6 May 1758 – 10 Thermidor, Year II 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman, widely recognized as one of the most influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution . Robespierre fervently campaigned for the voting rights of all men and their unimpeded admission to the National Guard . Additionally, he advocated

262-523: A triumph for the victory, held a funeral for Brutus with much magnificence. The Roman noblewomen mourned him for one year, for his vengeance of Lucretia's violation. The profile of Lucius Junius Brutus is on a coin that was minted by Marcus Junius Brutus following the assassination of Julius Caesar . Lucius Junius Brutus is prominent in English literature, and he was popular among British and American Whigs . A reference to Lucius Junius Brutus

393-639: A XI date to avoid confusion with the Roman II. The French Revolution is usually considered to have ended with the coup of 18 Brumaire , Year VIII (9 November 1799), the coup d'état of Napoleon Bonaparte against the established constitutional regime of the Directoire . The Concordat of 1801 re-established the Roman Catholic Church as an official institution in France, although not as

524-718: A day. On 28 January Robespierre discussed in the Assembly the organisation of the National Guard , for three years a hot topic in French newspapers. In early March, provincial militias were abolished and the Paris département was placed above the Commune in all matters of general order and security. On 27 and 28 April, Robespierre opposed plans to reorganise the National Guard and restrict its membership to active citizens , which

655-510: A decisive ultimatum. Brissot urged the preservation of the constitution, advocating against both the dethronement of the king and the election of a new assembly. On 7 August, Pétion proposed that Robespierre assist in facilitating the departure of Fédérés to pacify the capital, suggesting their more effective service at the front lines. Simultaneously, the Council of Ministers recommended the arrest of Danton, Marat and Robespierre should they attend

786-517: A profound impact on Italian patriots, including those who established the ill-fated short-lived Roman Republic in February 1849. Brutus was a hero of republicanism during the Enlightenment and Neoclassical periods. In 1789, at the dawn of the French Revolution , master painter Jacques-Louis David publicly exhibited his politically charged master-work, The Lictors Bring to Brutus

917-469: A queue according to the old-fashioned style of the 18th century . Some accounts described him as "nervous, timid, and suspicious". Madame de Staël portrayed Robespierre as someone "very exaggerated in his democratic principles" and "maintained the most absurd propositions with a coolness that had the air of conviction". In October, he assumed the role of a judge at the Versailles tribunal. Following

1048-677: A speech in Arras; one week later in Béthune , a small town he wished to settle. He went to a meeting of the Society of Friends of the Constitution , which was held on Sundays. On 28 November, he was back in the Jacobin club, where he met with a triumphant reception. Collot d'Herbois gave his chair to Robespierre, who presided that evening. On 5 December he gave a speech on the organization of

1179-427: A speech on abolishing the death penalty without success. The following day, Robespierre attacked Abbé Raynal , who sent an address criticising the work of the Assembly and demanding the restoration of the royal prerogative . On 10 June, Robespierre delivered a speech on the state of the police and proposed to dismiss officers. On 11 June 1791 he was elected or nominated as (substitute) accuser. Robespierre accepted

1310-513: A speech on how to save the State and Liberty and did not use the word "war". He began by assuring his audience that everything he intended to propose was strictly constitutional. He then went on to advocate specific measures to strengthen, not so much the national defenses as the forces that could be relied on to defend the revolution. Robespierre promoted a people's army, continuously under arms and able to impose its will on Feuillants and Girondins in

1441-412: A speech on the urgent topic of the National Guard. "To be armed for personal defence is the right of every man, to be armed to defend freedom and the existence of the common fatherland is the right of every citizen". Robespierre coined the famous motto " Liberté, égalité, fraternité " by adding the word fraternity on the flags of the National Guard. In 1791, Robespierre gave 328 speeches, almost one

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1572-404: A stillborn son at age 29. The death of his mother is, thanks to Charlotte's memoirs, believed to have had a major effect on the young Robespierre. Around 1767, for unknown reasons, his father left the children. His two daughters were raised by their paternal (maiden) aunts, and his two sons by their maternal grandparents. Demonstrating literacy at an early age, Maximilien commenced his education at

1703-403: Is a citizen." During the continuing debate on suffrage, Robespierre ended his speech of 25 January 1790 with a blunt assertion that "all Frenchmen must be admissible to all public positions without any other distinction than that of virtues and talents". On 31 March 1790 Robespierre was elected as their president. On 28 April Robespierre proposed to allow an equal number of officers and soldiers in

1834-563: Is as yet unexperienced; unaware of when to cease, but possesses an eloquence that sets him apart from the rest." By 13 June, Robespierre aligned with deputies, who later proclaimed themselves the National Assembly , asserting representation for 96% of the nation. On 9 July, the Assembly relocated to Paris and began deliberating a new constitution and taxation system. On 13 July, the National Assembly proposed reinstating

1965-802: Is discussed briefly in Søren Kierkegaard 's work, Fear and Trembling . There, Brutus serves as an example of what Kierkegaard calls "tragic heroism." Alongside the examples of Agamemnon and Jephthah , the tragic heroism of Brutus is presented in stark contrast to the faith of the Biblical figure, Abraham . In The Mikado , the protagonist Nanki-poo refers to his father the Emperor as "the Lucius Junius Brutus of his race", for being willing to enforce his own law even if it means killing his son. The memory of L. J. Brutus also had

2096-491: Is in the following lines from Shakespeare's play The Tragedie of Julius Cæsar , (Cassius to Marcus Brutus, Act 1, Scene 2). One of the main charges of the senatorial faction that plotted against Julius Caesar after he had the Roman Senate declare him dictator for life, was that he was attempting to make himself a king, and a co-conspirator Cassius , enticed Brutus' direct descendant, Marcus Junius Brutus , to join

2227-535: Is notable for his progressive views for the time. As one of the prominent members of the Paris Commune , Robespierre was elected as a deputy to the National Convention in early September 1792. He joined the radical Montagnards , a left-wing faction . However, he faced criticism for purportedly trying to establish either a triumvirate or a dictatorship . In April 1793, Robespierre advocated

2358-846: Is punished with death." His speech acted as a call for direct action among the citizens, as well as a strike against the external enemy. Not long after, the September Massacres began. Robespierre and Manuel , the public prosecutor , responsible for the police administration, visited the Temple prison to check on the security of the royal family. In Paris, suspected Girondin and royalist candidates were boycotted; Robespierre contributed to Brissot (and his fellow Brissotins Pétion and Condorcet's) inability to be elected in Paris. According to Charlotte Robespierre , her brother stopped talking to his former friend, mayor Pétion de Villeneuve . Pétion

2489-520: Is to believe that it is enough for a people to invade a foreign country to make it adopt its laws and their constitution. No one loves armed missionaries... The Declaration of the Rights of Man... is not a lightning bolt that strikes every throne at the same time... I am far from claiming that our Revolution will not eventually influence the fate of the world... But I say that it will not be today (2 January 1792). This opposition from expected allies irritated

2620-520: The Ancien Régime (the old feudal monarchy); some of these were more successful than others. The new Republican government sought to institute, among other reforms, a new social and legal system, a new system of weights and measures (which became the metric system ), and a new calendar. Amid nostalgia for the ancient Roman Republic , the theories of the Age of Enlightenment were at their peak, and

2751-591: The Journal officiel for some dates during a short period of the Paris Commune , 6–23 May 1871 (16 Floréal–3 Prairial Year LXXIX). Years appear in writing as Roman numerals (usually), with epoch 22 September 1792, the beginning of the "Republican Era" (the day the French First Republic was proclaimed, one day after the Convention abolished the monarchy). As a result, Roman Numeral I indicates

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2882-590: The Logographe    [ fr ] , Carnot promoted the use of pikes and provided to every citizen. On 29 July Robespierre called for the deposition of the King and the election of a Convention. In late July the Brunswick Manifesto began sweeping through Paris. It was frequently described as unlawful and offensive to national sovereignty . The authorship was frequently in doubt. On 1 August,

3013-591: The Champ de Mars massacre , the authorities ordered numerous arrests. Robespierre, who attended the Jacobin club, did not go back to the Rue Saintonge where he lodged, and asked Laurent Lecointre if he knew a patriot near the Tuileries who could put him up for the night. Lecointre suggested Duplay's house and took him there. Maurice Duplay , a cabinetmaker and ardent admirer, lived at 398 Rue Saint-Honoré near

3144-578: The Constitutional Cabinet of Louis XVI and the Legislative Assembly. The Jacobins decided to study his speech before deciding whether it should be printed. On 15 February, Robespierre failed to get elected in the city council ( Conseil général ); on the same day the installation of the criminal trial court of the department of Paris took place. For Robespierre it was an ungrateful position as "public accuser"; it meant he

3275-596: The Cult of the Supreme Being , the Decadary Cult , and Theophilanthropy . Christian holidays were officially abolished in favor of revolutionary holidays. The law of 13 Fructidor year VI (August 30, 1798) required that marriages must only be celebrated on décadis. This law was applied from the 1st Vendémiaire year VII (September 22, 1798) to 28 Pluviôse year VIII (February 17, 1800). Décades were abandoned at

3406-595: The French First Republic was proclaimed , and the new National Convention decided that 1792 was to be known as Year I of the French Republic. It decreed on 2 January 1793 that Year II of the Republic had begun the day before. However, the new calendar as adopted by the Convention in October 1793 made 22 September 1792 the first day of Year I. Ultimately, the calendar came to commemorate the Republic, and not

3537-597: The French Revolutionary calendar ( calendrier révolutionnaire français ), was a calendar created and implemented during the French Revolution , and used by the French government for about 12 years from late 1793 to 1805, and for 18 days by the Paris Commune in 1871, and meant to replace the Gregorian calendar . The calendar consisted of twelve 30-day months, each divided into three 10-day cycles similar to weeks, plus five or six intercalary days at

3668-507: The Jacobin club against the declaration of war. Robespierre warned against the threat of dictatorship stemming from war: If they are Caesars , Catilines or Cromwells , they seize power for themselves. If they are spineless courtiers, uninterested in doing good yet dangerous when they seek to do harm, they go back to lay their power at their master's feet and help him to resume arbitrary power on condition they become his chief servants. At

3799-469: The Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris. As the rapporteur of the commission, Charles-Gilbert Romme presented the new calendar to the Jacobin -controlled National Convention on 23 September 1793, which adopted it on 24 October 1793 and also extended it proleptically to its epoch of 22 September 1792. It is because of his position as rapporteur of the commission that the creation of

3930-686: The Netherlands , Germany , Switzerland , Malta , and Italy . The National Constituent Assembly at first intended to create a new calendar marking the "era of Liberty", beginning on 14 July 1789, the date of the Storming of the Bastille . However, on 2 January 1792 its successor the Legislative Assembly decided that Year IV of Liberty had begun the day before. Year I had therefore begun on 1 January 1789. On 21 September 1792,

4061-608: The Tarquinian conspiracy . Amongst the conspirators were two brothers of Brutus' wife, Vitellia, and Brutus' two sons: Titus Junius Brutus and Tiberius Junius Brutus. The conspiracy was discovered and the consuls determined to punish the conspirators with death. Brutus gained respect for his stoicism in watching the execution of his own sons, even though he showed emotion during the punishment. Following this, he either forced his co-consul Collatinus to resign or otherwise had him removed – either because of enmity to his relationship to

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4192-492: The Tuileries . After a few days, Robespierre decided to move in permanently. Madame Roland named Pétion de Villeneuve, François Buzot and Robespierre as the three incorruptible patriots in an attempt to honour their purity of principles, their modest ways of living, and their refusal of bribes. His steadfast adherence and defence of the views he expressed earned him the nickname l'Incorruptible . According to his friend,

4323-518: The collège of Arras when he was only eight. In October 1769, recommended by the bishop Louis-Hilaire de Conzié  [ fr ] , he secured a scholarship at the prestigious Collège Louis-le-Grand in Paris. Among his peers were Camille Desmoulins and Stanislas Fréron . During his schooling, he developed a profound admiration for the Roman Republic and the rhetoric skills of Cicero , Cato and Lucius Junius Brutus . In 1776 he earned

4454-459: The coronation of Napoleon as Empereur des Français (Emperor of the French) on 11 Frimaire, Year XIII (2 December 1804), but the republican calendar would remain in place for another year. Napoleon finally abolished the republican calendar with effect from 1 January 1806 (the day after 10 Nivôse Year XIV), a little over twelve years after its introduction. It was, however, used again briefly in

4585-493: The court martial . Robespierre supported the cooperation of all the National Guards in a general federation on 11 May. On 19 June he was elected secretary of the National Assembly. In July Robespierre demanded "fraternal equality" in salaries. Before the end of the year, he was seen as one of the leaders of the small body of the extreme left. Robespierre was one of "the thirty voices". On 5 December Robespierre delivered

4716-416: The interim minister of Interior Roland and Guadet tried to suppress the influence of the Commune because the sections had exhausted the searches. The Assembly, tired of the pressures, declared the Commune illegal and suggested the organisation of communal elections. Robespierre was no longer willing to cooperate with Brissot and Roland . On Sunday morning 2 September the members of the Commune, gathering in

4847-647: The right to petition , the right to bear arms in self-defence, and the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade . He was a radical Jacobin leader who came to prominence as a member of the Committee of Public Safety , an administrative body of the First French Republic . His legacy has been heavily influenced by his actual or perceived participation in repression of the Revolution's opponents, but

4978-524: The "bourgeois militia" in Paris to quell the unrest. The following day, the populace demanded weapons and stormed both the Hôtel des Invalides and the Bastille . The local militia transitioned into the National Guard , a move that distanced the most impoverished citizens from active involvement. During the discussions and an altercation with Lally-Tollendal who advocated law and order , Robespierre reminded

5109-463: The 5 October Women's March on Versailles and the forcible relocation of the King and National Constituent Assembly from Versailles to Paris, Robespierre lived at 30 Rue de Saintonge in Le Marais , a district with relatively wealthy inhabitants. He shared an apartment on the third floor with Pierre Villiers who was his secretary for several months. Robespierre associated with the new Society of

5240-504: The Assembly suspended the king from his duties on 25 June. Between 13 and 15 July, the Assembly debated the restoration of the king and his constitutional rights. Robespierre declared in the Jacobin Club on 13 July: "The current French constitution is a republic with a monarch. She is therefore neither a monarchy nor a republic. She is both." On 17 July, Bailly and Lafayette declared a ban on gathering followed by martial law . After

5371-410: The Assembly voted on Carnot's proposal, enforcing the distribution of pikes to all citizens, excluding vagabonds. By 3 August, the mayor and 47 sections demanded the removal of the king. On 5 August Robespierre disclosed the discovery of a plan for the king to escape to Château de Gaillon . Aligning with Robespierre's stance, almost all sections in Paris rallied for the dethronement of the king and issued

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5502-507: The Constituent Assembly deliberated on male census suffrage on 22 October, Robespierre and a select few deputies opposed the property prerequisites for voting and holding office. Through December and January Robespierre notably drew attention from marginalized groups, particularly Protestants , Jews , individuals of African descent , domestic servants, and actors. As a frequent orator in the Assembly, Robespierre championed

5633-592: The Convention turned against him, and accusations piled up on 9 Thermidor . Robespierre was arrested and taken to a prison. Approximately 90 individuals, including Robespierre, were executed without trial in the following days, marking the onset of the Thermidorian Reaction . A figure deeply divisive during his lifetime, Robespierre's views and policies continue to evoke controversy. Academic and popular discourse persistently engage in debates surrounding his legacy and reputation. Maximilien de Robespierre

5764-589: The Countryside in 1789, targeting local authorities and garnering the support of rural electors. This move solidified his position among the country's electors. On 26 April 1789, Robespierre secured his place as one of 16 deputies representing French Flanders in the Estates-General. On 6 June, Robespierre delivered his maiden speech, targeting the hierarchical structure of the church. His impassioned oratory prompted observers to comment, "This young man

5895-409: The French originals, they are neologisms suggesting a meaning related to the season. The month is divided into three décades or "weeks" of ten days each, named: Décadis became official days of rest instead of Sundays, in order to diminish the influence of the Roman Catholic Church. They were used for the festivals of a succession of new religions meant to replace Catholicism: the Cult of Reason ,

6026-655: The Friends of the Constitution , commonly known as the Jacobin Club. Originally, this organisation (the Club Breton ) comprised only deputies from Brittany, but after the National Assembly had moved to Paris, the group admitted non-deputies. Among these 1,200 men, Robespierre found a sympathetic audience. Equality before the law was the keystone of the Jacobin ideology. Beginning in October and continuing through January he made several speeches in response to proposals for property qualifications for voting and officeholding under

6157-560: The Garde National , which he saw as a unique institution born from the ideals of the French Revolution. On 11 December, Robespierre was finally installed as " accusateur public ". In January 1791 Robespierre promoted the idea not only the National Guard but also the people had to be armed. The Jacobins decided his speech would not be printed. The Declaration of Pillnitz (27 August 1791) from Austria and Prussia warned

6288-508: The Girondins, and the war became a major point of contention between the factions. In his third speech on the war, Robespierre countered on 25 January 1792 in the Jacobin club, "A revolutionary war must be waged to free subjects and slaves from unjust tyranny, not for the traditional reasons of defending dynasties and expanding frontiers..." Robespierre argued such a war could only favour the forces of counter-revolution, since it would play into

6419-403: The Jacobin Club. Robespierre publicly attacked him in scathing terms: "General, while from the midst of your camp you declared war upon me, which you had thus far spared for the enemies of our state, while you denounced me as an enemy of liberty to the army, National Guard and Nation in letters published by your purchased papers, I had thought myself only disputing with a general... but not yet

6550-574: The Jacobin club. On 9 August, the commissionaires from several sections assembled in the town hall. Notably absent were Marat, Robespierre and Tallien. The dissolution of the municipal council of the city occurred at midnight. Sulpice Huguenin  [ fr ] , a prominent figure among the sans-culottes of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine , was appointed provisional president of the Insurrectionary Commune. In

6681-444: The Paris armed sections were integrated into 48 battalions of the National Guard under Santerre's command. The Assembly decreed that all the non-juring priests must leave Paris within a week and leave the country within two weeks. On 28 August, the assembly ordered a curfew for the next two days. The city gates were closed; all communication with the country was stopped. At the behest of Justice Minister Danton, thirty commissioners from

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6812-680: The Plain was formed by independents (as Barère , Cambon and Carnot ) but dominated by the radical Mountain. On 25 and 26 September, Barbaroux and the Girondist Lasource accused Robespierre of wanting to form a dictatorship. Rumours spread that Robespierre, Marat, and Danton were plotting to establish a triumvirate to save the First French Republic , although there is no evidence to support this claim. French Republican calendar The French Republican calendar ( French : calendrier républicain français ), also commonly called

6943-430: The Republic, which was established in 1792. Immediately following 14 July 1789, papers and pamphlets started calling 1789 year I of Liberty and the following years II and III. It was in 1792, with the practical problem of dating financial transactions, that the legislative assembly was confronted with the problem of the calendar. Originally, the choice of epoch was either 1 January 1789 or 14 July 1789. After some hesitation

7074-620: The Republican Calendar by Roman numerals ran counter to this general decimalization tendency. The Republican calendar year began the day the autumnal equinox occurred in Paris, and had twelve months of 30 days each, which were given new names based on nature, principally having to do with the prevailing weather in and around Paris and sometimes evoking the Medieval Labours of the Months . The extra five or six days in

7205-561: The Revolution. The Common Era, commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, was abolished and replaced with l'ère républicaine , the Republican Era, signifying the "age of reason" overcoming superstition, as part of the campaign of dechristianization . The First Republic ended with the coronation of Napoleon I as Emperor on 11 Frimaire, Year XIII, or 2 December 1804. Despite this, the republican calendar continued to be used until 1 January 1806, when Napoleon declared it abolished. It

7336-560: The Tarquins or due to his lack of harshness in punishing the conspirators – and then presided over the election of a suffect consul, Publius Valerius Poplicola . Tarquinius again sought to retake the throne soon after at the Battle of Silva Arsia , leading the forces of Tarquinii and Veii against the Roman army. Valerius led the infantry, and Brutus led the cavalry. Arruns Tarquinius ,

7467-436: The assembly decided on 2 January 1792 that all official documents would use the "era of Liberty" and that the year IV of Liberty started on 1 January 1792. This usage was modified on 22 September 1792 when the Republic was proclaimed and the Convention decided that all public documents would be dated Year I of the French Republic. The decree of 2 January 1793 stipulated that the year II of the Republic began on 1 January 1793; this

7598-696: The bar , he was appointed as one of the five judges in the local criminal court in March 1782. However, Robespierre soon resigned, due to his ethical discomfort in adjudicating capital cases, stemming from his opposition to the death penalty . Robespierre was elected to the literary Academy of Arras in November 1783. The following year, the Academy of Metz honored him with a medal for his essay pondering collective punishment , thus establishing him as literary figure . ( Pierre Louis de Lacretelle and Robespierre shared

7729-415: The beginning. By 13 August, Robespierre openly opposed the reinforcement of the départements . Subsequently, Danton invited him to join the Council of Justice. Robespierre published the twelfth and final edition of Le Défenseur de la Constitution , serving as an account and political testament. On 16 August, Robespierre submitted a petition to the Legislative Assembly, endorsed by the Paris Commune urging

7860-421: The calendar, the agricultural system, and of leading the nation back to it, marking the times and the fractions of the year by intelligible or visible signs taken from agriculture and the rural economy. (...) As the calendar is something that we use so often, we must take advantage of this frequency of use to put elementary notions of agriculture before the people – to show the richness of nature, to make them love

7991-489: The case for universal manhood suffrage . On 15 May, the Constituent Assembly declared full and equal citizenship for all free people of color . In the debate Robespierre said: "I feel that I am here to defend the rights of men; I cannot consent to any amendment and I ask that the principle be adopted in its entirety." He descended from the rostrum in the middle of the repeated applause of the left and of all

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8122-533: The changeover from Germinal to Floréal year X (20 to 21 April 1802), after Napoleon's Concordat with the Pope. The Roman Catholic Church used a calendar of saints , which named each day of the year after an associated saint . To reduce the influence of the Church, Fabre d'Églantine introduced a Rural Calendar in which each day of the year had a unique name associated with the rural economy , stated to correspond to

8253-399: The chemist Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau , the mathematician and astronomer Joseph-Louis Lagrange , the astronomer Jérôme Lalande , the mathematician Gaspard Monge , the astronomer and naval geographer Alexandre Guy Pingré , and the poet, actor and playwright Fabre d'Églantine , who invented the names of the months, with the help of André Thouin , gardener at the Jardin des plantes of

8384-415: The citizens of their "recent defense of liberty", which paradoxically restricted their access to it. In October, alongside Louvet , Robespierre supported Maillard following the Women's March on Versailles . Initially, the group of female protesters conveyed a relatively conciliatory message, yet their ranks were soon reinforced by more militarized and seasoned male factions upon reaching Versailles. While

8515-398: The city barred; at the same time, the coup leaders won over the army and then expelled the king's sons. Tarquinius Superbus fled with his family into exile. In the aftermath following the overthrow Brutus is credited by later historians such as Tacitus as "establishing liberty and the consulate ". According to Livy, Brutus' first act after the expulsion of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus

8646-446: The city, "liberty" (the revolution), maintain order and educate the members in democratic and republican principles, an idea he borrowed from Jean-Jacques Rousseau . According to Jean Jaures , he considered this even more important than the right to strike . On 29 May 1792, the Assembly dissolved the Constitutional Guard , suspecting it of royalist and counter-revolutionary sympathies. In early June 1792, Robespierre proposed an end to

8777-623: The column of each month, the names of the real treasures of the rural economy. The grains, the pastures, the trees, the roots, the flowers, the fruits, the plants are arranged in the calendar, in such a way that the place and the day of the month that each product occupies is precisely the season and the day that Nature presents it to us. The following pictures, showing twelve allegories for the months, were illustrated by French painter Louis Lafitte (1779–1828), and engraved by Salvatore Tresca  [ fr ] (1750–1815). Five extra days – six in leap years – were national holidays at

8908-648: The conspiracy by referring to his ancestor. Lucius Junius Brutus is a leading character in Shakespeare's Rape of Lucrece , in Benjamin Britten's opera The Rape of Lucretia based on André Obey's play Le Viol de Lucrèce , and in Nathaniel Lee 's Restoration tragedy, Lucius Junius Brutus; Father of his Country . Before the Glorious Revolution , Nathaniel Lee's Lucius Junius Brutus was banned in December of 1680 for portraying the Whig cause (Protestantism, no royal prerogatives, encouragement to trade and industry, empire) as Roman republicanism. Lucius Junius Brutus (referred to simply as "Brutus")

9039-448: The devisers of the new systems looked to nature for their inspiration. Natural constants, multiples of ten, and Latin as well as Ancient Greek derivations formed the fundamental blocks from which the new systems were built. The new calendar was created by a commission under the direction of the politician Gilbert Romme seconded by Claude Joseph Ferry  [ fr ] and Charles-François Dupuis . They associated with their work

9170-408: The dictator of France, arbitrator of the state." On 2 July, the Assembly authorised the National Guard to go to the Festival of Federation on 14 July, circumventing a royal veto. On 11 July, the Jacobins won an emergency vote in the wavering Assembly, declaring the nation in danger and drafting all Parisians with pikes into the National Guard. On 15 July, Billaud-Varenne in the Jacobin club outlined

9301-420: The early hours of ( Friday, 10 August ) 30,000 Fédérés (volunteers hailing from the countryside) and sans-culottes (militant citizens from the Paris) orchestrated a successful assault upon the Tuileries. Robespierre considered it a triumph for the "passive" (non-voting) citizens. The Assembly, rattled by the events, suspended the king and sanctioned the election of a National Convention to supplant its authority. On

9432-405: The end of December, Guadet , the chairman of the Assembly, suggested that a war would be a benefit to the nation and boost the economy. He urged that France should declare war against Austria . Marat and Robespierre opposed him, arguing that victory would create a dictatorship, while defeat would restore the king to his former powers. The most extravagant idea that can arise in a politician's head

9563-567: The end of every year. These were originally known as les sans-culottides (after sans-culottes ), but after year III (1795) as les jours complémentaires : Below are the Gregorian dates each year of the Republican Era ( Ère Républicaine in French) began while the calendar was in effect. Leap years are highlighted The Republican Calendar was abolished in the year XIV (1805). After this year, there are two historically attested calendars which may be used to determine dates. Both calendars gave

9694-455: The end to fill out the balance of a solar year . It was designed in part to remove all religious and royalist influences from the calendar, and it was part of a larger attempt at dechristianization and decimalisation in France (which also included decimal time of day, decimalisation of currency, and metrication ). It was used in government records in France and other areas under French rule, including Belgium , Luxembourg , and parts of

9825-421: The establishment of a provisional Revolutionary Tribunal specifically tasked with dealing with perceived "traitors" and " enemies of the people ". The following day, he was appointed as one of eight judges for this tribunal. However, citing a lack of impartiality, Robespierre declined to preside over it. This decision drew criticism. The Prussian army breached the French frontier on 19 August. To fortify defense,

9956-491: The fact that it had taken the revolution four years to establish a republican government in France. The leap year was called Sextile , an allusion to the " bissextile " leap years of the Julian and Gregorian calendars, because it contained a sixth complementary day. Each day in the Republican Calendar was divided into ten hours, each hour into 100 decimal minutes, and each decimal minute into 100 decimal seconds. Thus an hour

10087-534: The fall of Tarquin was only a minor symptom of a much wider phenomenon, namely the decline of Etruscan power and the fall of an Etruscan empire in central Italy. According to Roman tradition, Brutus led the revolt that overthrew the last king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus . The coup was prompted by the rape of the noblewoman Lucretia by a son of the king, Sextus Tarquinius ; Brutus was joined in this plotting by among others, Lucretia's father, Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus and Publius Valerius Poplicola . Brutus

10218-430: The fields, and to methodically show them the order of the influences of the heavens and of the products of the earth. The priests assigned the commemoration of a so-called saint to each day of the year: this catalogue exhibited neither utility nor method; it was a collection of lies, of deceit or of charlatanism. We thought that the nation, after having kicked out this canonised mob from its calendar, must replace it with

10349-466: The first consuls of Rome (509 BC). Tradition says that this election was conducted by Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus , whom Brutus had appointed as interrex in his position as tribunus celerum . Brutus' first acts during his consulship, according to Livy, included administering an oath to the people of Rome to never again accept a king in Rome (see above ) and replenishing the number of senators to 300 from

10480-463: The first issue of his weekly periodical Le Défenseur de la Constitution ( The Defender of the Constitution ). In this publication, he criticized Brissot and expressed his skepticism over the war movement. The periodical, printed by his neighbor Nicolas, served multiple purposes: to print his speeches, to counter the influence of the royal court in public policy, and to defend him from the accusations of Girondist leaders; for Albert Soboul its purpose

10611-577: The first prize for rhetoric . His appreciation for the classics inspired him to aspire to Roman virtues, particularly the embodiment of Rousseau's citizen-soldier. Robespierre was drawn to the concepts of the influential philosophe regarding political reforms expounded in his work, Contrat Social . Aligning with Rousseau, he considered the general will of the people as the foundation of political legitimacy . Robespierre's vision of revolutionary virtue and his strategy for establishing political authority through direct democracy can be traced back to

10742-510: The first year of the republic, that is, the year before the calendar actually came into use. By law, the beginning of each year was set at midnight, beginning on the day the apparent autumnal equinox falls at the Paris Observatory. There were twelve months, each divided into three ten-day weeks called décades . The tenth day, décadi , replaced Sunday as the day of rest and festivity. The five or six extra days needed to approximate

10873-442: The function of " public accuser " in the criminal tribunal preparing indictments and ensuring the defence. Two days later, L'Ami du Roi  [ fr ] , a royalist pamphlet, described Robespierre as a "lawyer for bandits, rebels and murderers". On 15 June, Pétion de Villeneuve became president of the "tribunal criminel provisoire", after Duport refused to work with Robespierre. After Louis XVI's failed flight to Varennes ,

11004-413: The hands of those who opposed the sovereignty of the people . The risks of Caesarism were clear: "in troubled periods of history, generals often became the arbiters of the fate of their countries." Already, Robespierre knew that he had lost, as he failed to gather a majority. His speech was nevertheless published and sent to all clubs and Jacobin societies of France. On 10 February 1792, Robespierre gave

11135-645: The ideals encapsulated in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789) and advocated constitutional provisions outlined in the Constitution of 1791 . However, according to Malcolm Crook , his views rarely garnered majority support among fellow deputies. Despite his commitment to democratic principles, Robespierre persistently donned a knee-breeches and retained a meticulously groomed appearance with powdered, curled, and perfumed wig tied in

11266-566: The ideologies of Montesquieu and Mably . While some claim Robespierre coincidentally met Rousseau before the latter's passing, others argue that this account was apocryphal . During his three-year study of law at the Sorbonne , Robespierre distinguished himself academically, culminating in his graduation in July 1780, where he received a special prize of 600 livres for his exceptional academic achievements and exemplary conduct. Admitted to

11397-545: The internal tensions that occurred during the transition between the monarchy and the republic. Prior to the establishment of the Roman Republic , Rome had been ruled by kings . The account is from Livy 's Ab urbe condita and deals with a point in the history of Rome prior to reliable historical records (virtually all prior records were destroyed by the Gauls when they sacked Rome under Brennus in 390 BC or 387 BC). Modern historians have challenged almost every part of

11528-478: The king's son, led the Etruscan cavalry. The cavalry joined the battle and Arruns, having spied from afar the lictors , and thereby recognising the presence of a consul, soon saw that Brutus was in command of the cavalry. The two men, who were cousins, charged each other, and speared each other to death. The infantry also soon joined the battle, the result being in doubt for some time. The right wing of each army

11659-593: The king. On 23 April Robespierre demanded that Marquis de Lafayette , the head of the Army of the Centre , step down. While arguing for the welfare of common soldiers, Robespierre urged new promotions to mitigate the domination of the officer class by the aristocratic and royalist École Militaire and the conservative National Guard. Along with other Jacobins, he urged the creation of an " armée révolutionnaire " in Paris, consisting of at least 20,000–23,000 men, to defend

11790-499: The mobilization of a sans-culotte army aiming at enforcing revolutionary laws and eliminating any counter-revolutionary elements. This call led to the armed Insurrection of 31 May – 2 June 1793 . On 27 July, he was appointed a member of the Committee of Public Safety . Robespierre faced growing disillusionment among others due in part to the politically-motivated violence advocated by the Montagnards . Increasingly, members of

11921-417: The monarchy and the subordination of the Assembly to the general will . The monarchy faced an abortive demonstration of 20 June . Because French forces suffered disastrous defeats and a series of defections at the onset of the war, Robespierre and Marat feared the possibility of a military coup d'état . One was led by Lafayette, head of the National Guard, who at the end of June advocated the suppression of

12052-474: The months are the same as those in the Gregorian calendar; however, the 10th, 20th, and 30th days are singled out of each month as the end of a décade (group of ten days). Individual days were assigned, instead of to the traditional saints, to people noteworthy for mostly secular achievements. Later editions of the almanac would switch to the Republican Calendar. The days of the French Revolution and Republic saw many efforts to sweep away various trappings of

12183-459: The most famous of Julius Caesar's assassins . Traditions about his life may have been fictional, and some scholars argue that it was the Etruscan king Porsenna who overthrew Tarquinius. The plebeian status of the Junia gens has also raised doubts about his position as a consul and the alleged initial patrician domination of the office. Depicted as the nephew of Tarquinius, he may have symbolized

12314-600: The next nine months they gradually eliminated their opponents and gained control of the Convention. On 21 September, Pétion was elected as president of the Convention. The Montagnard Jacobins and Cordeliers took the high benches at the back of the former Salle du Manège , giving them the label the Montagnards ("the Mountain"); below them were the " Manège " of the Girondists, the moderate Republicans. The majority

12445-544: The night of 11 August. Robespierre secured a position in the Paris Commune, representing the Section de Piques , his residential district. The governing committee advocated for the convening of a Convention, selected via universal male suffrage , tasked with establishing a new government and restructering France. Despite Camille Desmoulins' belief that the turmoil had concluded, Robespierre asserted that it marked merely

12576-400: The objects that make up the true riches of the nation, worthy objects not from a cult, but from agriculture – useful products of the soil, the tools that we use to cultivate it, and the domesticated animals, our faithful servants in these works; animals much more precious, without doubt, to the eye of reason, than the beatified skeletons pulled from the catacombs of Rome. So we have arranged in

12707-493: The officer and engineer Lazare Carnot and the teacher Joseph Fouché , all of whom would hold significance in his later endeavors. His role as the secretary of the Academy of Arras connected him with François-Noël Babeuf , a revolutionary land surveyor in the region. In August 1788, King Louis XVI declared new elections for all provinces and summoned the Estates-General to convene on 1 May 1789, aiming to address France's grave financial and taxation woes. Engaging in discussions on

12838-475: The people of France not to harm Louis XVI or these nations would "militarily intervene". Brissot rallied the support of the Legislative Assembly. As Jean-Paul Marat , Georges Danton and Robespierre were not elected in the new legislature, thanks to the Self-Denying Ordinance, oppositional politics often took place outside the Assembly. On 18 December 1791, Robespierre gave a second speech at

12969-414: The people to the forum and exhorted them to rise up against the king. The people voted for the deposition of the king, and the banishment of the royal family. The leaders of the revolt were close relatives of the king: Brutus was the king's nephew and Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus was king's cousin. The king, who was conducting a war near and camped at Ardea , rushed to Rome on news of the coup, but found

13100-421: The principal men of the equites . Later-day Romans attributed many institutions to Brutus, including: The new consuls also created a new office of rex sacrorum to carry out the religious duties that had previously been performed by the kings. During his consulship the royal family made an attempt to regain the throne, firstly by their ambassadors seeking to subvert a number of the leading Roman citizens in

13231-404: The prize.) In 1786 Robespierre passionately addressed inequality before the law , criticizing the indignities faced by illegitimate or natural children , and later denouncing practices like lettres de cachet (imprisonment without a trial) and the marginalization of women in academic circles. Robespierre's social circle expanded to include influential figures such as the lawyer Martial Herman ,

13362-519: The program for the next insurrection: the deportation of the Bourbons and "enemies of the people", the cleansing of the National Guard, the election of a Convention, the "transfer of the Royal veto to the people", and exemption of the poorest from taxation. On 24 July a "Central Office of Co-ordination" was formed and the sections received the right to be in a "permanent" session. On 25 July, according to

13493-451: The proposed constitution. This was a position he vigorously opposed, arguing in a speech on 22 October the position that he derived from Rousseau : "sovereignty resides in the people, in all the individuals of the people. Each individual therefore has the right to participate in making the law which governs him and in the administration of the public good which is his own. If not, it is not true that all men are equal in rights, that every man

13624-487: The republican calendar is attributed to Romme. The calendar is frequently named the "French Revolutionary Calendar" because it was created during the Revolution, but this is a slight misnomer. In France, it is known as the calendrier républicain as well as the calendrier révolutionnaire . There was initially a debate as to whether the calendar should celebrate the Great Revolution, which began in July 1789, or

13755-451: The revolution and restrict freedom of expression . He succeeded in getting any requirement for inspection out of the constitution's guarantee of freedom of expression: "The freedom of every man to speak, to write, to print and publish his thoughts, without the writings having to be subject to censorship or inspection prior to their publication..." Pétion and Robespierre were brought back in triumph to their homes. On 16 October, Robespierre held

13886-515: The same dates for years 17 to 52 (1808–1844), always beginning on 23 September, and it was suggested, but never adopted, that the reformed calendar be implemented during this period, before the Republican Calendar was abolished. XV (15) 1806 23 September 23 September XVI (16) 1807 24 September* Lucius Junius Brutus He was claimed as an ancestor of the Roman gens Junia , including Decimus Junius Brutus , and Marcus Junius Brutus ,

14017-474: The sections were ordered to search in every suspect house for weapons, munitions, swords, carriages, and horses. "As a result of this inquisition, more than 1,000 "suspects" were added to the immense body of political prisoners already confined in the jails and convents of the city". Marat and Robespierre both disliked Condorcet who proposed that the " enemies of the people " belonged to the whole nation and should be judged constitutionally in its name. On 30 August

14148-519: The selection of the French provincial government, Robespierre advocated in his Address to the Nation of Artois that reverting to the former mode of election by the members of the provincial estates would fail to adequately represent the people of France in the new Estates-General . In his electoral district , Robespierre began to assert his influence in politics through his Notice to the Residents of

14279-510: The solar or tropical year were placed after the final month of each year and called complementary days . This arrangement was an almost exact copy of the calendar used by the Ancient Egyptians , though in their case the year did not begin and end on the autumnal equinox. A period of four years ending on a leap day was to be called a "Franciade". The name " Olympique " was originally proposed but changed to Franciade to commemorate

14410-475: The son of the king Tarquinius Superbus. Lucretia, believing that the rape dishonoured her and her family, committed suicide by stabbing herself with a dagger after telling of what had befallen her. According to legend, Brutus grabbed the dagger from Lucretia's breast after her death and immediately shouted for the overthrow of the Tarquins. The four men gathered the youth of Collatia, then went to Rome where Brutus, being at that time Tribunus Celerum , summoned

14541-411: The state religion of France. The concordat took effect from Easter Sunday, 28 Germinal, Year XI (8 April 1802); it restored the names of the days of the week to the ones from the Gregorian calendar , and fixed Sunday as the official day of rest and religious celebration. However, the other attributes of the republican calendar, the months, and years, remained as they were. The French Republic ended with

14672-550: The surgeon Joseph Souberbielle , Joachim Vilate , and Duplay's daughter Élisabeth, Robespierre became engaged to Duplay's eldest daughter Éléonore , but his sister Charlotte vigorously denied this; his brother Augustin refused to marry her. On 3 September, the French Constitution of 1791 was accepted, ten days later by the King also. On 30 September, the day of the dissolution of the Assembly, Robespierre opposed Jean Le Chapelier , who wanted to proclaim an end to

14803-414: The time of year. Every décadi (ending in 0) was named after an agricultural tool. Each quintidi (ending in 5) was named for a common animal. The rest of the days were named for "grain, pasture, trees, roots, flowers, fruits" and other plants, except for the first month of winter, Nivôse, during which the rest of the days were named after minerals. Our starting point was the idea of celebrating, through

14934-618: The town hall to proceed the election of deputies to the National Convention, decided to maintain their seats and have Roland and Brissot arrested. On 2 September, the 1792 French National Convention election began. Paris was organising its defence, but it was confronted with lack of arms for the thousands of volunteers. Danton delivered a speech in the assembly and possibly referring to the Swiss inmates: "We ask that anyone who refuses to serve in person, or surrender their weapons,

15065-412: The traditional story from Livy: Some of the leading dramatis personae – Lucretia, Brutus, Valerius Publicola, even Lars Porsenna – have been dismissed as figments of pure legend. The chronology has been challenged, with many scholars rejecting the traditional sixth-century date in favour of a later one - around 470 BC, or even after 450. Others have suggested that the transition from monarchy to republic

15196-701: The tribunes. On 16–18 May when the elections began, Robespierre proposed and carried the motion that no deputy who sat in the Constituent assembly could sit in the succeeding Legislative assembly . A tactical purpose of this self-denying ordinance was to block the ambitions of the old leaders of the Jacobins, Antoine Barnave , Adrien Duport , and Alexandre de Lameth , aspiring to create a constitutional monarchy roughly similar to that of England. On 28 May, Robespierre proposed all Frenchmen should be declared active citizens and eligible to vote. On 30 May, he delivered

15327-431: The war, Robespierre was also accused of acting as a secret agent for the " Austrian Committee ". The Girondins planned strategies to out-maneuver Robespierre's influence among the Jacobins. On 27 April, as part of his speech responding to the accusations by Brissot and Guadet against him, he threatened to leave the Jacobins, claiming he preferred to continue his mission as an ordinary citizen. On 17 May, Robespierre released

15458-853: The year were not given a month designation, but considered Sansculottides or Complementary Days . Most of the month names were new words coined from French, Latin , or Greek . The endings of the names are grouped by season. -dor comes from δῶρον , dō̂ron means 'giving' in Greek. In Britain, a contemporary wit mocked the Republican Calendar by calling the months: Wheezy , Sneezy , and Freezy ; Slippy , Drippy , and Nippy ; Showery , Flowery , and Bowery ; Hoppy , Croppy , and Poppy . The historian Thomas Carlyle suggested somewhat more serious English names in his 1837 work The French Revolution: A History , namely Vintagearious, Fogarious, Frostarious, Snowous, Rainous, Windous, Buddal, Floweral, Meadowal, Reapidor, Heatidor, and Fruitidor. Like

15589-492: Was 144 conventional minutes (2.4 times as long as a conventional hour), a minute was 86.4 conventional seconds (44% longer than a conventional minute), and a second was 0.864 conventional seconds (13.6% shorter than a conventional second). Clocks were manufactured to display this decimal time , but it did not catch on. Mandatory use of decimal time was officially suspended 7 April 1795, although some cities continued to use decimal time as late as 1801. The numbering of years in

15720-521: Was accused of conspicuous consumption by Desmoulins, and finally rallied to Brissot. On 5 September, Robespierre was elected deputy to the National Convention but Danton and Collot d'Herbois received more votes than Robespierre. Madame Roland wrote to a friend: "We are under the knife of Robespierre and Marat, those who would agitate the people." The election was not the triumph for the Montagnard Jacobins that they had anticipated, but during

15851-589: Was baptised on 6 May 1758 in Arras , Artois . His father, François Maximilien Barthélémy de Robespierre, a lawyer, married Jacqueline Marguerite Carrault, the daughter of a brewer, in January 1758. Maximilien, the eldest of four children, was born four months later. His siblings were Charlotte Robespierre , Henriette Robespierre, and Augustin Robespierre . Robespierre's mother died on 16 July 1764, after delivering

15982-505: Was briefly used again for a few weeks of the Paris Commune , in May 1871. The prominent atheist essayist and philosopher Sylvain Maréchal published the first edition of his Almanach des Honnêtes-gens (Almanac of Honest People) in 1788. The first month in the almanac is "Mars, ou Princeps" (March, or First), the last month is "Février, ou Duodécembre" (February, or Twelfth). The lengths of

16113-433: Was not a sudden revolution, but rather a gradual process lasting many years, perhaps even centuries... before the consular system of the classical Republic was at last established. Finally, it is widely supposed in modern books that the end of the Roman monarchy marked the end of a period of Etruscan rule in Rome, and the liberation of the city from a period of foreign occupation. In its strongest form this theory maintains that

16244-404: Was not allowed to the bar before the jury had spoken their verdict . Robespierre was responsible for the coordination of the local and the federal police in the department and the sections. On 26 March, Guadet accused Robespierre of superstition, relying on divine providence . Shortly after Robespierre was accused by Brissot and Guadet of "trying to become the idol of the people". Being against

16375-406: Was regarded as too aristocratic. He demanded the reconstitution of the National Guard on a democratic basis, to abolish the use of decorations and to allow an equal number of officers and soldiers in the court martial . He felt that the National Guard had to become the instrument of defending liberty and no longer be a threat to it. In the same month Robespierre published a pamphlet in which he argued

16506-516: Was revoked with the introduction of the new calendar, which set 22 September 1793 as the beginning of year II. The establishment of the Republic was used as the epochal date for the calendar; therefore, the calendar commemorates the Republic, and not the Revolution. French coins of the period naturally used this calendar. Many show the year ( French : an ) in Arabic numbers, although Roman numerals were used on some issues. Year 11 coins typically have

16637-726: Was slow-witted (in Latin brutus translates to dullard). He accompanied Tarquinius's sons on a trip to the Oracle of Delphi . The sons asked the oracle which of them was going to be Rome's next king. The Oracle of Delphi responded that the first among them to kiss their mother "shall hold supreme sway in Rome." Brutus interpreted "mother" to mean Gaia , so he pretended to trip and kissed the ground. Brutus, along with Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus , Publius Valerius Poplicola , and Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus were summoned by Lucretia to Collatia after she had been raped by Sextus Tarquinius ,

16768-417: Was the son of Tarquinia , daughter of Rome's fifth king Lucius Tarquinius Priscus and sister to Rome's seventh king Tarquinius Superbus. According to Livy, Brutus had a number of grievances against his uncle the king. Amongst them was the fact that Tarquinius had put to death a number of the chief men of Rome, including Brutus' brother. Brutus avoided the distrust of Tarquinius's family by feigning that he

16899-564: Was to bring the people to swear an oath never to allow any man again to be king in Rome. This is, fundamentally, a restatement of the 'private oath' sworn by the conspirators to overthrow the monarchy: There is no scholarly agreement that the oath took place; it is reported, although differently, by Plutarch ( Poplicola , 2) and Appian ( B.C. 2.119). Nevertheless, the spirit of the oath inspired later Romans including his descendant Marcus Junius Brutus . Brutus and Lucretia 's bereaved husband, Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus , were elected as

17030-419: Was to give voice to the economic and democratic interests of the broader masses in Paris and defend their rights. When the Legislative Assembly declared war against Austria on 20 April 1792, Robespierre stated that the French people must arm themselves, whether to fight abroad or to prevent despotism at home. An isolated Robespierre responded by working to reduce the political influence of the officer class and

17161-707: Was victorious, the army of Tarquinii forcing back the Romans, and the Veientes being routed. However the Etruscan forces eventually fled the field, the Romans claiming the victory. Some time during his consulship, he is supposed to have signed a treaty with Carthage and dedicated the Capitoline temple, reported in Polybius. This, along with the unanimous reporting of Roman sources, is the main evidence of his historicity. The surviving consul, Valerius, after celebrating

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