#frev resources

[orpheusmori]

Saint-Just Resources

A culmination of the many articles and other resources I use in my own research as someone studying to be a historian on the revolution. Will be added to as I progress in my research; please let me know if any links don't work!

Historians on Saint-Just:

Biography from Association pour la sauvegarde de la Maison de Saint-Just

Histoire de Saint-Just député à la Convention nationale (Hamel, 1860)

Lenôtre on SJ's 1791-early 1792 life in rural France

Saint-Just (Cioti, 1991)

Saint-Just: Sohn, Denker und Protagonist der Revolution (Monar, 1993)

Saint-Just (Gignoux, 1947)

Saint-Just en mission la naissance d'un myth (J.P. Gross, 1967)

Saint-Just et les femmes (Quennedey, 2016)

Saint-Just: Apostle of the Terror by Geoffrey Bruun (my personal favorite English SJ bio)

The Man of Virtue: The Role of Antiquity in the Political Trajectory of L.A. Saint-Just (Linton, 2010)

Saint-Just: The French Revolution's "Angel of Death" (Linton, 2015)

Three Letters of Saint-Just (Bruun, 1934)

Saint-Just in modern Annales historiography (Vinot, Linton, Quennedey, etc., 2017)

Saint-Just : Une Constitution pour la République (on his role in the drafting of the 1793 Constitution) (Crucifix and Quennedey, 2018)

Saint-Just's Pre-Convention Life:

Monograph on the Château de Coucy (written in the 1780s as a school assignment) - see this blog post by Anne Quennedey for more info.

Arlequin-Diogene (SJ's play) -> I did an English translation

L’esprit de la révolution et de la constitution de la France (1791)

Convention Speeches:

All Convention Speeches Summarized (Anne Quennedey, 2020)

First Speech: 13 November 1792 on the debate of putting the King to trial.

19 vendémiaire an II (10 October 1793)

Ventôse Decrees Proposal Convention Speech (my complete English translation)

9 Thermidor an II (28 July 1794) Speech/Draft

My full English translation

"Praise the Victories and Forget Ourselves" Excerpt

"Tarpeian Rock" Analogy from 9 Thermidor Speech draft

Miscellaneous:

Why I study SJ

My Thoughts on SJ's Thoughts on the Terror

SJ's Last Paris Apartment ( w/ @/ vieillesmaisons)

SJ's various lodgings in Paris

Speech to Army of the Rhine excerpt

Alsace Mission Map

Saint-Just on Marat

[anotherhumaninthisworld]

Some primary sources

I plan to add more whenever I find more.

Historie Parlamentaire de la Révolution Française ou Journal des Assemblées Nationales, depuis 1789 jusqu’en 1815

Volume 1 (May 1789) Volume 2 (June-September 1789) Volume 3 (September-December 1789) Volume 4 (December 1789-March 1790) Volume 5 (March-May 1790) Volume 6 (May-August 1790) Volume 7? Volume 8 (November 1790-February 1791) Volume 9 (February-May 1791) Volume 10 (May-July 1791) Volume 11 (July-September 1791) Volume 12 (September-December 1791) Volume 13 (January-March 1792) Volume 14 (April-June 1792) Volume 15 (June-July 1792) Volume 16 (July-August 1792) Volume 17 (August-September 1792) Volume 18 (September 1792) Volume 19 (September-October 1792) Volume 20 (October-November 1792) Volume 21 (November-December 1792) Volume 22 (December 1792-January 1793) Volume 23 (January 1793) Volume 24 (February-March 1793) Volume 25 (March-April 1793) Volume 26 (April-May 1793) Volume 27 (May 1793) Volume 28 (July-August 1793) Volume 29 (September-October 1793) Volume 30 (October-December 1793) Volume 31 (November 1793-March 1794) Volume 32 (March-May 1794) Volume 33 (May-July 1794) Volume 34 (July-August 1794)

Recueil des actes du comité de salut public Volume 1 (August 12 1792-January 21 1793) Volume 2 (January 22-March 31 1793) Volume 3 (April 1-May 5 1793) Volume 4 (6 May-18 June 1793) Volume 5 (19 June-15 August 1793) Volume 6 (15 August-21 September 1793) Volume 7 (22 September-24 October 1793) Volume 8 (25 October-26 November 1793) Volume 9 (27 November-31 December 1793) Volume 10 (1 January-8 February 1794) Volume 11 (9 February-15 March 1794) Volume 12 (16 March-22 April 1794) Volume 13 (23 April-28 May 1794) Volume 14 (29 May-7 July 1794) Volume 15 (8 July-9 August 1794)

Recueil de documents pour l’histoire du club des Jacobins de Paris Volume 1 (1789-1790) Volume 2 (January-July 1791) Volume 3 (July 1791-June 1792) Volume 4 (June 1792-January 1793) Volume 5 (January 1793-March 1794) Volume 6 (March-November 1794)

Histoire du tribunal révolutionnaire de Paris: avec le journal de ses actes. Volume 1  Volume 2  Volume 3  Volume 4  Volume 5 

Papiers inédits trouvés chez Robespierre, Saint-Just, Payan etc Volume 1 Volume 2 Volume 3

Oeuvres complètes de Robespierre Volume 1 (Robespierre à Arras) Volume 2 (Les œuvres judiciaires) Volume 3 is the correspondence, listed below Volume 4 (Le defenseur de la Constitution) Volume 5 (lettres à ses comettras) Volume 6 (speeches 1789-1790) Volume 7 (speeches January-September 1791) Volume 8 (speeches October 1791-September 1792) Volume 9 (speeches September 1792-June 27 1793) Volume 10 (speeches June 27 1793-July 27 1794)

Oeuvres de Maximilien Robespierre (not the same as Oeuvres completés) Volume 1 Volume 2 Volume 3

Oeuvres de Jerome Pétion Volume 1 Volume 2 Volume 3 Volume 4

Oeuvres complètes de Saint-Just Volume 1 Volume 2

Oeuvres littéraires de Hérault de Séchelles (1907)

Oeuvres de Danton (1866) 

Discours de Danton (1910) by André Fribourg

Works by Desmoulins

La France Libre (1789)

Discours de la Lanterne aux Parisiens (1789)

Révolutions de France et de Brabant (1789-1791) Volume 1 (number 1-13) Volume 2 (number 14-26) Volume 3 (number 27-39) Volume 4 (number 40-52) Volume 5 (number 53-65) Volume 6 (number 66-79) Volume 7 (number 80-86)

La Tribune des Patriots (1792) (all numbers)

Le Vieux Cordelier (1793-1794) (all numbers)

Jean Pierre Brissot démasqué (1792)

Histoire des Brissotins (1793)

Correspondences

Correspondance de Maximilien et Augustin Robespierre (1926)

Correspondance de George Couthon (1872)

Correspondance inédit de Camille Desmoulins (1836)

Correspondance inédite de Marie-Antoinette (1864)

Billuad-Varennes — mémoires et correspondance

Correspondance de Brissot

Lettres de Louis XVI: correspondance inédite, discours, maximes, pensées, observations etc (1862)

Lettres de Madame Roland (1900)  Volume 1  Volume 2

Correspondance inédite de Mlle Théophile Fernig (1873)

Journal d’une bourgeoise pendant la Révolution 1791-1793 by Rosalie Jullien (1881)

Memoirs

Memoirs of Bertrand Barère Volume 1 Volume 2 Volume 3 Volume 4

Memoirs of Élisabeth Lebas In French In English

Mémoires de Charlotte Robespierre sur ses deux frères (1835) In French In English

Memoirs of Joseph Fouché Volume 1 (English) Volume 2 (French)

Mémoires de Brissot (1877)

Mémoires inédits de Pétion et mémoires de Buzot et Barbaroux (1866)

Memoirs of Barras — member of the Directorate (1899)

Mémoires inédits de madame la comtesse de Genlis depuis 1756 jusqu’au nos jours  Volume 1  Volume 2  Volume 3  Volume 4  Volume 5  Volume 6  Volume 7  Volume 8  Volume 9  Volume 10

Mémoires de Madame Roland  Volume 1  Volume 2

Mémoires de Louvet (1862)

Memoirs of the Duchess de Tourzel: Governess to the Children of France During the Years 1789, 1790, 1791, 1792, 1793 and 1795  Volume 1  Volume 2

Révélations puisées dans les cartons des comités de salut public et de sûreté générale, ou Mémoires (inédits) de Sénart, agent du gouvernement révolutionnaire (1824)

Free books

Danton (1978) by Norman Hampson (borrowable for an hour, renewable every hour)

Robespierre (2014) by Hervé Leuwers (borrowable for an hour, renewable every hour)

Collot d’Herbois — légendes noires et Révolution (1995) by Michel Biard 

Choosing Terror (2014) by Marisa Linton

The Coming of the Terror in the French Revolution (2015) by Timothy Tackett

Augustin: the younger Robespierre by (2011) by Mary-Young

Journaliste, sans-culotte et thermidorien: le fils de Fréron, 1754-1802, d’après des documents inédits (1909) by Raoul Arnaud

Un Champion de la Royauté au début de la Révolution - François Louis Suleau (1907) Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Camille Desmoulins and his wife — passages from the history of the dantonists (1876) by Jules Claretie

Vadier, président du Comité de sûreté générale sous la Terreur d’après des documents inédits (1896) by Albert Tournier

Mémoires historiques et militaires sur Carnot (1824)

Le Puy-de-Dôme en 1793 et le Proconsulat de Couthon (1877) by Francisque Mège

Le procès des Dantonistes, d'après les documents, précédé d'une introduction historique. Recherches pour servir à l'histoire de la révolution française (1879) edited by Dr. Jean François Eugène Robinet

Robert Lindet, député à l'Assemblée législative et à la Convention, membre du Comité de salut public, ministre des finances : notice biographique (1899) by Amand Montier

Prieur de la Côte-d'Or (1900) by Paul Gaffarel

Un épicurien sous la Terreur; Hérault de Séchelles (1759-1794); d'après des documents inédits (1907) by Emile Dard

Twelve Who Ruled (1941) by R. R. Palmer (borrowable for an hour, renewable every hour)

Bertrand Barère: A Reluctant Terrorist (1963) by Leo Gershoy (borrowable for an hour, renewable every hour)

Saint-Just : sa politique et ses missions (1976) by Jean-Pierre Gross (borrowable for an hour, renewable every hour)

The Glided Youth of Thermidor (1993) by François Gendron

Pauline Léon, une républicaine révolutionnaire by Claude Guillon

Billaud-Varenne: Géant de la Révolution (1989) by Arthur Conte

When the King Took Flight (2003) by Timothy Tackett (borrowable for an hour, renewable every hour)

Joseph Le Bon, 1765-1795; la terreur à la frontière (1932) by Louis Jacob  Volume 1  Volume 2

Resources shared by other tumblr users (thank you all very much!!!)

Resources shared by @iadorepigeons

Resources shared by @georgesdamnton 

Resources shared by @rbzpr:

Fabre d’Eglantine resources shared by @edgysaintjust

Saint-Just resources shared by @sieclesetcieux

Saint-Just resources shared by @orpheusmori

Marat resources shared by @orpheusmori

My own translations

Lucile Desmoulins’ diary (1788, 1789, 1790, 1792-1793)

Charlotte Robespierre et ses amis (1961)

Laponneraye on the life of Charlotte Robespierre (1835)

Abbé Proyart on the childhood of Robespierre (1795)

Regulations for the internal exercises of the College of Louis-le-Grand (1769)

Regulations for law students at Louis-le-Grand (1782)

Belongings left by Danton, Fabre and Desmoulins after their arrest

Letters from Robespierre’s father

Robespierre family timeline

[sieclesetcieux]

This site is very useful to find out who lived where, when and according to who:

I've easily found Lindet, Carnot and Barère already so it might not be very hard to locate them all.

[divinaaugusta]

Saint-Just - Discours du 9 thermidor

#Listen considering that these were nearly his last words, and try to keep your eyes dry...

[revolutionarywig]

Frev locations compile

Thought of compiling a list of frev significant locations so it can help with recommendations for anyone who happens to be travelling/visiting! This is only done to my knowledge and not a complete list, please feel free to suggest if you happen to know more locations that I completely missed!

so here is the frev pilgrimage list! Long post warning.

(Note: The items are not in any particular order)

(Note: I typed this post up a long time ago but couldn't finish, a lot of thanks to the people who helped out on contributing information and your patience with me.)

Musée Carnavalet (Paris)

This one is very obvious, it is a must go for seeing a collection of frev related artifacts and paintings, including Couthon’s wheelchair, Robespierre’s hair, the most iconic portraits etc. Also its FREE.

Panthéon (Paris)

You can see the statue of the National Convention deputies. It doesnt have too much related to frev directly, but Rousseau and Voltaire (and Carnot…..) are interred there

La Conciergerie (Paris)

If you want to see the Deseine bust of Robespierre, but cant go to Vizille, there is a copy of it here within Paris at the conciergerie. It is the place where most frev figures as well as Antoinette spent their last monents.

Musée des archives nationales (Paris)

(June 2023) There is a temporary exhibit featuring frev rn which I highly recommend (also its free to go so like GO)

But beyond the temporary exhibit, I believe there are still a few things in permanent collection (Robespierre’s note book page, Antoinette’s last letter in prison, Comte d’Artois’ letter etc), including the famous 9 thermidor table that Robespierre supposedly lied on. the museum is free to visit.

Père la Chaise (Paris)

@robespapier wrote a better post on navigating the cemetery. It helped me so much with finding the graves of Lebas, Elisabeth and Eleonore Duplay! Thank you so much for the guide!

Rue Saint Honoré (Paris)

the current address of the Duplays household is 398 rue saint-honoré, which is now next to a louboutin store…. There is a commemorative plaque there indicating Robespierre’s residence there. Im not sure about going inside the residence….There was construction when I visited and the door was open, heres how it looks on the inside.

SJ’s bust (Paris & Angers)

I have not visited either of the two locations yet, but you can find that white bust of Saint-Just (that seemed to be modelled after the pastel portrait in the Carnavalet) in either Petit Palais (Paris) or Galerie David d’Angers (Angers). @orpheusmori has posted some Petit Palais pictures here @robespapier has posted some Galerie David d'Angers pictures here

Marat sign (Paris)

i have an image of this plaque sitting on my phone, I forgot where it was located until @orpheusmori helped me track the location of it! It is in the Odéon area and should be in the small narrow street with the back side of Le Procope. It commemorates the location as an important area during the French Revolution as well as the place where Marat established his printing shop.

The front of the same building also has another Marat plaque! I didnt know about it before thank you @orpheusmori for finding and contributing the photo! This one is above an Jewellery store (Amour de Pierres) https://maps.app.goo.gl/8X9zgKYpMiLJcULq7

Olympe de Gouges sign (Paris)

Once again, i have a photo of the plaque proving its existence, but I took it years ago and i dont remember where it was exactly.... It was all in the Odéon area, it shouldn’t be too far from the other….

Danton statue (Paris)

there is a Danton statue! Right outside the Odéon metro! You cant miss it. Also the placement of the statue is where he once lived.

Procope (Paris)

Its a really old cafe frequented by a lot of philosophes as well as many frev figures. There is also a bicorn from Napoleon inside. Right now its still a restaurant establishment, and its difficult to visit unless you eat inside….which is expensive…. However ! This whole general Odéon area is full of other frev landmarks (some more mentioned below). Including the metro station which has a bust of Danton.

Versailles revolutionary room (Versailles)

Beyond the royal family, there is a room dedicated to a lot of major Revolutionary Army generals and battles. Theres that one painting of Lafayette if u into that

Musée des armes/Invalides (Paris)

It has a significant collection of military artefacts from the French Revolution and its a really good resource for armory researches. The museum also has a sword that belonged to Lafayette, as well as a sword belonging to Carnot during the Directoire (image below)

Louvre

The Louvre does not have a lot relating to the French Revolution but it has a few significant paintings and a lot of David’s work. One of the Death of Marat copies produced by David’s studio should be in the museum, as well as a painting featuring the battke of fleurus (with SJ cameo)

Tennis court (Versailles)

Near the palace of Versailles you can find the room where the deputies swore the famous oaths. It is free to enter, although last time I went it was undergoing construction, hopefully it should have finished by now.

Musée de la Révolution Française (Vizille)

If you can go to Vizille… GO TO VIZILLE! The easiest way by transport would be to stay at Grenoble then take one of the buses that runs between Grenoble and Vizille. It is a whole museum dedicated to the revolution (and it is free) and the park is really pretty. This is where you can find the statue of Marat,

The Deseine busts including dear Bonbon,

And DJ Saint-Just.

Also special thank you to @citizentaleo for taking me there, I would’ve otherwise been lost in the French mountains lol, thank you!

Maison Robespierre (Arras)

You can visit Robespierre’s residence in Arras. It is possible to visit the inside, but it has a very specific and short opening hours.

I wasn’t able to go in since I was only in Arras for a few hours….But I got to attend a conference by Hervé Leuwers aaa (He is very sweet and I learned quite few new things from the presentation, but thats post for another day)

Robespierre metro stop (Paris suburb)

There is in fact, a Robespierre metro station on line 9! Not much beyond name but at least some credit to him! Alas it is not exactly within Paris and just on the outskirt. (Oh and there is also Voltaire)

Cordeliers club (Paris)

I dont have much information on what happened to the original location of the Cordeliers club and how it was modified, but the location is part of the sorbonne campus now i believe. I'd be very curious if anyone knows more information on this.

Place de la Bastille (Paris)

The Bastille is of course not there anymore, but the ground around the square and including the metro stations near by have traces/marks of where the old prison would have stood.

(and yea the picture was taken during a manif)

Pavillon de flore (Paris)

The pavillon attached to the Louvre and next to the Pont Royale is the Pavillon de Flore, which is where the Committee de Salut Publique worked.

Jacobin club (Paris) Alas the original convent in which the Jacobin gathered is no more and replaced by a commercial centre instead (Passage de Jacobins) . There is a sign however recognizing the place for what it was.

Place de la Concorde (Paris) Originally Place de la Révolution, there is a plaque remembering the executions that took place here near the obelisk.

Maison SJ (Blérancourt) I have not been to Saint-Just's house yet, because it is very hard to commute there without a car. But it certainly is still there and (I believe) maintained by the Saint-Just Association.

Catacombs (Paris) According to wikipedia....The bone remains of many revolutionaries buried in Cimitière Errancis (which has a plaque indicating it in the 8th arrondissement, according to wikipedia) are transferred to the catacombs, including Robespierre, Danton, etc. The catacomb is roughly organized chronologically but there is obviously no sign indicating which bone it actually is.

Cluny La Sorbonne station (Paris) It is on metro line 10 and the waiting tunnel is decorated with signatures of prominent French figures. It doesn't have any actual frev artifacts, but it looks cool and you can spot Robespierre, Danton, and Camille Desmoulins' signatures on the ceiling.

Louis le Grand (Paris) The school that Robespierre attended is still under the same name and still in use as a school! (i've reached the image maximum alas i cannot add more images...)

And that is all I can think of so far! There is surely a lot more that are out there (including outside of France). Once again, please feel free to mention if you know more frev landmarks that I missed out on. And to whoever happens to be travelling I hope you find this list helpful to start with.

[deathzgf]

how/when did saint-just and robespierre meet

when ? ~ 13 november 1792

BUT ! but but . this is an uncertain answer , as this is the date of saint - just ' s maiden speech ( which can be read here ) ; they may have had their first in - person interactions before or after this

their first meeting being ~ 13 november makes most sense to me especially with robespierre ' s 15 november speech ( which , outside of " Louis must die so that the nation may live " , i can not find any translation of ) , echoing saint - just ' s --- meaning it ' s likely they would have met between the speeches , or maybe after robespierre ' s speech . interpretation of the meaning of these events on their relationship is up to you

how ? Well .

i COULD go on about how saint - just got involved with the revolution therefore involved with robespierre But i would not shut up + that might be better as it ' s own post So here is my attempt in Trying to explain how saint - just + robespierre met without any tangents ( failed )

SO ! let 's just . rewind . ~ 1790 saint - just was in correspondence with other revolutionaries ( such as desmoulins , which is funny as hell to me BUT i said no tangents ) . 19 august 1790 he wrote to robespierre ( which can be read here ) for the first time ! gay as hell . he wanted to flatter robespierre , which he did ; so much so robespierre kept the letter ( i think about this so much )

i ' m unsure if they held correspondence , as there are no traces of any more letters between the two that i am aware of . something i read mentioned they had been burned :(

BUT saint - just continued his interest in the revolution , wrote L ' Esprit de la Revolution et de la constitution de France ( which can be read here ( fr ) ) , blah blah blah

10 august 1792 insurrection caused my cat to jump on me and start making biscuits . amber please i need to be autistic on tumblr dot com the website and app . anyway , due to the insurrection , the national assembly called for a new election . saint - just was technically still 24 , but by 25 august 1792 he was officially 25 and able to begin his political career ! saint - just managed to win election + joined the national assembly as a deputy ( the fog )

saint - just was aloof at the start , he joined the jacobin club yet was pretty distant from everything . he ' s so me

until 13 november 1792 , when he delivered his maiden speech !

the rest is history

this is very brief ( + anyone would like i can attempt further detail ! ) , but i hope this answered your question :3

[saint-jussy]

I'm starting a Frev Mythbusters master doc cause there's a lot of bullshit about Frev floating out there and I want to keep track of how to debunk them. Made it a Google doc so it can be continuously updated: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cQOmqCvmPuTAfiKBBme7_1p9eUL2OJJuQdAB_c1WGyw/edit?usp=drivesdk

Any suggestions for additions?

[frevandrest]

do you know any resources for queer studies of frev?

Unfortunately, no. (As in, a specific queer approach to frev/full studies, not just mentions). There was supposed to be a study years back from Unspeakable Vice, but I don't think it ever materialized (?)

There are some articles/book chapters that I found over the years. I wouldn't call many (most?) of them specifically queer studies approach, but there is a talk about same-sex relationships during frev/late 18th century France. Some talk about legal stuff, like the penal code of 1791 that legitimized same-sex stuff on a technicality. Things like that. There is also some stuff about Marie Antoinette (slander pamphlets), but it's more about propaganda and not queer studies.

For example:

Sodomy Laws in France: How The 1791 French Penal Code Decriminalized Sodomy Without The Will of The People Homosexuality in Modern France

Please note that I mainly know of these articles; I didn't go through them all so I can't say how they speak about the subject or what the stance they take.

Also, I mainly know English-language sources, which are generally not the best for frev. But I am not sure what was written about it in French.

@sieclesetcieux will know more about this topic!

[petitescargot]

Salut et fraternité!

This page is mostly a place for Frev/Les Mis art and shitposts. I am by no means any sort of reliable source of information regarding the French revolution -- I'm very much a novice, but of course, constantly looking to delve deeper into the mess.

French revolution

Les mis

Resources (for my own reference)

[lanterne]

Is there any other place (social media, blogging platform etc) to talk abou the frev a part from Tumblr?

instagram has some accounts, i don't think theres the sense of community (or more accurately "fandom") that i've seen here imo, but most frevblr artists have insta accounts so you can support them there too if you want! twitter has official ones for organizations like the arbr and the ser as well as professional historians which are always worth checking out, and there's some community but it's way smaller. There's the livejournal community too which has been abandoned for years, but is good to find resources and old discussions. there's probably some on tiktok but i don't touch that app with a stick.

[orpheusmori]

Masterlist of Resources

Very much a work in progress, please be patient <3

table of contents for my own resources (posts, translations, etc.) and suggested readings from experts and people in the frevblr community.

Saint-Just:

Convention Speeches: (with partial English translations)

First Speech: 13 November 1792 on the debate of putting the King to trial.

19 vendémiaire an II (10 October 1793)

9 Thermidor an II (28 July 1794)

"Praise the Victories and Forget Ourselves" Excerpt

"Tarpeian Rock" Analogy from 9 Thermidor Speech draft

Misc:

Why I study SJ

My Thoughts on SJ's Thoughts on the Terror

SJ's Paris Apartment ( w/ @/ vieillesmaisons)

SJ's various lodgings

Speech to Army of the Rhine excerpt

Alsace Mission Map

Linton on SJ as the face of "the Terror"

Saint-Just on Marat

SJ Handwriting example deciphered

Arlequin-Diogene (SJ's play) [working on a translation]

What inspired the nature elements of Organt

Saint-Just: Apostle of the Terror by Geoffrey Bruun (my personal favorite English SJ bio)

Bio Recs

Marat:

general resources

L' Ami du Peuple Archive (all issues presumed)

PS- Head over to @dailymaratmail for daily L'Ami du Peuple and other Marat writing excerpts (in collaboration with @/viellesmaisons and @/lamarseillasie

Robespierre:

Bio recs

Robespierre's silly snot poem

Why are there Anti-Robespierrests?

Misc.:

My Carnavalet photos, SJ Bust , Marat Bathtub, Cordeliers monastary, Marat Printer, Panthèon National Convention Sculpture, Robespierre Bust.

On Brissot

On Lafayette

School of Mars, (see Barère, Le Bas)

Camille Desmoulins' letter to his father (1789)

Frevolutionaries' symbols on rural calendar

Anecdotes

Most important basic info [coming soon]

[anotherhumaninthisworld]

Lucile Desmoulins talking shit about everyone she crosses path with in her diary compilation

1788

June 20 - I found a snail. I examined it a little, I broke its shell, but having fallen onto my stomach it made me cry out loud, because this ugly beast was crawling on my stomach! I made a big hole and buried it. In two or three days I will go and see what has become of it.

July 3 - Maman annoyed all evening by reading me passages from Grandisson, passages of which I did not know the subject.

July 5 - I went upstairs to read a few passages from Grandisson, but I had to go back down to go for a walk with everyone, which annoyed me quite a bit, because I would have liked to read forever. After a while I came back up, expecting to have escaped the glum company again, but after a while they all came back!

July 20 - Papa came with Monsieur m h l. and his nephew. La Mg came too. We had no shortage of boredom! He gave me La Romance du Saule, which I had lost. In the evening, the coach drove Monsieur m h l away. Papa did what he could to get La Mg to get in the coach, but this man is too tenacious, he didn't want to! He only left at 8 o’clock. A moment later Maman and I were walking down the road. At supper P talked about how bored he had been all day. Now he wants us to go to the Palais Royal. Great pleasure, we would be fine without it!

July 27 - L f left at 7 o’clock, L m didn't want to leave yet. Oh, what a man, how tenacious he is!

1789

O woman, cruel woman, woman unworthy of the sun that shines on you, what, celestial vengeance will not burst entirely on your head, will you triumph? Go, the day may not be far off when all the evils you cause will fall on you! You will groan then, but it will be too late! We won't complain! Fear the example of queens who, like you, have done evil! See: some perished in misery, others carried their heads on the scaffold. This may be the fate that awaits you...

Oh how long are the visits of the annoying ones! Naughty xxxx, go, if you come here, I will run far away in order to not see you! The fire rises in my face... stupid Irishman! He pities the queen, he does not want to speak ill of her… What is he getting involved in? Let him go to his own country! What is he getting involved in? We really need his help! He struggles to make us believe that he is French! Come on, you're Irish to the core and I'm French and I detest you! The weather is nice today.

On our way to the countryside, we encountered a procession. How ridiculous I find them, these priests, with their psalms! If I held power, I would abolish these foolish customs with their bread. When they sing, they sometimes make a patient die of fear! How low our religion is, it debases... What, men... Oh, what a lot to say! Be quiet, Lucile, let the men do what they want, close your eyes to their actions, you have nothing to do with them… They say that the Emperor is dead, that the Count of Artois is under arrest, that the count is exiled, that the queen weeps. This all sounds like very good news to me. When our enemies groan, we should rejoice.

1792

June 23 - Michelet came. How stupid he is.

June 24 - Fréron is scary. Poor halv-wit, you have very little to think about.

June 28 - I’ve been with Camille and the little Duplay at an old madwoman’s. Ah! Great God. What a carrion.

December 12 - Now I have made new acquaintances that I don't care about and that at the first moment I will tire of. Fréron has returned. He appears to still be the same, but I don't care, let him go crazy if he wants.

December 21 - Thuriot is a bloody pig, his face is so ugly that it stinks. He took great liberties with Madame Robert. She was pushing him back but not too hard, not to say weakly. She tells me, however, that she dislikes him very much.

December 22 - I had supper at Danton’s with madame Brune. How detestable she is!

1793

January 22 - Ricord came to see me. He is always the same, very abrupt and rude. […] Danton came. His jokes are as boor as he is. Despite this he is a good devil. Madame Robert seemed jealous of how he teased me. Fréron came. He always seems to sigh but how bearish are these manners. Poor devil. What hope do you hold? Extinguish in your heart a senseless …r (sic) What can I do for you? I pity you... No, no, my friend, my dear Camille. Never will this friendship, this love so pure, exist for anyone else but you, and those I see will only be dear to me through the friendship they have for you.

January 27 — She (Madame Robert) took us to Dejan's. There was a stupid aristocrat.

If you want to read Lucile’s diary in its entirety, check out the link provided in this this old post (thanks a lot, @georgesdamnton)! There’s lots of other great resources there as well.

[sieclesetcieux]

My Writings and Contributions

Translations of Frev Sources

Media and books influenced by Thermidorian propaganda

Here are some facts we take for granted that revolutionaries didn't know that will blow your mind

Learning to Be a Lawyer in 18thc France

Brief historiography on women, the law, marriage and divorce (scroll down)

Brief overview of the Thermidorian Reaction

On Saint-Just's Personality: An Introduction

Saint-Just in Five (Long) Sentences

Random Sources and References on Saint-Just's Youth (In French)

Louise Michel's Poem on Saint-Just

On Charles Le Bas, Philippe's brother and Élisabeth Duplay's second husband

References on Couthon

Book and article recommendations:

The "short" version

Part 1 - A Note On Objectivity and Two Approaches (introduction) + Culture: Enlightenment and Antiquity

Part 2 - Ideological Stakes

Part 3 - Old Classics and Syntheses

Part 4 - Specific Topics and Areas of Research

Part 5 - Side-related but still important

Part 6 - Highlights and Short Reviews

My Posts In Progress and Eventual Research:

My thoughts and analysis of Saint-Just's unsent letter to Villain d’Aubigny

A (brief?) introduction to Saint-Just’s many faces and myths

Could Saint-Just have been neurodivergent?

Why Enjolras was inspired by Saint-Just: comparing the text of the brick to Saint-Just’s Romantic Myth

An Episode of the Thermidorian Reaction: the Attack on the Club des Jacobins and the Misogynist Targetting of Women

How the pamphlet about the Club infernal locates them in the circle of Wrath and not Treason - the latter would out them as counterrevolutionaries

Can we call the French Revolution a "fandom"? The invention of celebrity culture, etc.

The differences between Thermidorian propaganda and Anglo-American propaganda (and where they overlap)

Other Important Posts

Some primary and secondary sources available online for free (by anotherhumaninthisworld; some additions by myself)

Frev Resources (by iadorepigeons)

Myths and misconceptions about the French Revolution

Anglo American historiography (by saintjustitude and dykespierre)

On the Terror's Death Toll and Donald Greer (by montagnarde1793) More about this topic here and here (by lanterne, anotherhumaninthisworld, frevandrest and radiospierre)

On Robespierre's Black Legend (by rbzpr)

On Thermidorian propaganda (by lanterne)

On Couthon (by iadorepigeons)

Marat Ressource Masterpost (by orpheusmori)

Collaborative Masterpost on Saint-Just (many authors)

Saint-Just Masterpost (by obscurehistoricalinterests)

One myth on Saint-Just (by saintjustitude and frandrest)

Saint-Just as political philosopher and theorist (by saintjustitude)

Élisabeth Lebas corrects Alphonse de Lamartine’s Histoire des Girondins (1847) (by anotherhumaninthisworld)

On Charlotte Robespierre's memoirs (by montagnarde1793 and saintjustitude)

On Simonne Évrard (French and English biography copy-pasted by saintjustitude from the ARBR website)

Regulations for the internal exercises of the College of Louis-le-Grand (by anotherhumaninthisworld)

Were Robespierre and Desmoulins together at Louis-le-Grand? (by robespapier and anotherhumaninthisworld)

Robespierre was not Horace Desmoulins' godfather (by robespapier and anotherhumaninthisworld)

The relationship of Camille Desmoulins and Robespierre in literary works of Przybyszewska (by edgysaintjust)

Last edited: 16/05/2023

Support me!

[divinaaugusta]

Very interesting article in Spanish on a topic previously approached here: 18th century topless portraits. I will translate the best bits when I have the time,but leave it for the record.

[chaotic-history]

For the end of year asks, 14 and 19?

Thanks for the ask!

14- Fav book you read this year?

It's a tough choice but probably Changes in the Land by William Cronon. If you haven't read it, it's an ecological history of New England in the 17th century and it talks about the different relationships the Native Americans and the colonists had with the environment and how capitalism is unsustainable because of the way it exploits resources. It was fun to read about a subject I like a lot through a totally different lens.

19- What're you excited about for next year?

I'm going to Paris in April with my dad + stepmom and my grandparents! We have most of the trip already planned out and it's very frevolution-centered (I need to start cramming on frev history), plus some cool bookstores that my dad went to last time he was there. Plus a few Voltaire-related places I managed to sneak on the list lol

[deathzgf]

how did saint-just get into the military/ what were his big accomplishments

MILITARY TWINK POSTING TIME

saint - just was actually involved in the military well before he was a représentant en mission ( representative on mission ) during the terror

early 1790 saw the start of his military career , with the revolution picking up the pace the traditional structure of blérancourt ( saint - just ' s home town ) , of which the notary gellé previously had unquestionable power , was reformed by saint - just ' s mates

to me , this is Crazy since saint - just wanted to marry thérèse Gellé . BUT shit happened and by 1786 thérèse had been married off to another notary . then The Silver thing happened . i ' m not gonna go into them any more , but you can read about thérèse + saint - just here

so . saint - just and the lads were like Man fuck the gellés ( which , mind you , saint - just had been trying to do ) except not really and blérancourt held its first open municipal elections ! shout out to the national constituent assembly :3

thanks to the new electoral structure , saint - just ' s friends were able to assume power instead of the gellés . examples of some of the positions they were in were mayor , secretary , head of local national guard , etc

his brother - in - law being the head of the guard is actually what started saint - just ' s military career ! he was only 23 when all of this happened , so he was unable to assume the same positions as his friends . However , since the head of the guard was who he was , he let saint - just join the guard ! yippee !

the discipline he ' s famous for was evident even in these early months , and due to this he quickly became commanding officer with the rank of lieutenant-colonel :3

throughout his time as commanding officer , there ' s this one thing i think is Crazy which is the story about the burning anti - revolutionary pamphlets at a local meeting . like . Girl . we get it you ' re into the revolution ??? you don ' t have to set pamphlets THAT YOU ARE HOLDING . IN YOUR HAND . ON FIRE ??? TO DISPLAY YOUR DEDICATION ??? LIKE ??? average teenage girl behaviour honestly . that would have hurt though like , as someone who has burnt the back of both their hands off , yowch

unrelated to military affairs , but , whilst commanding officer he also wrote  L ’ Esprit de la Revolution et de la constitution de France ( which can be read here ( fr ) ) + wrote to robespierre ( which can be read here ) for the first time

due to his position in the guard being because of his want to participate in the revolution + his revolutionary texts , he was elected to join the national assembly as a deputy in 1792

BUT ! it does not end there

10 october 1793 as well as the whole " government would be revolutionary until peace " thing , saint - just ' s proposal that deputies from the convention should directly oversee all military efforts was approved

these deputies were called représentant en mission and sent to designated areas to maintain law and order , oversee conscription , monitor local military command , etc . one of the most critical areas was Alsace , who ' s army of the rhine was collapsing . womp womp . so saint - just and le

were sent to alsace to fix shit up

which they did do ! as i mentioned , saint - just was famous for his discipline . this discipline was again evident in this mission . thanks to the law of 14 frimaire , représentants en mission were granted the freedom to impose discipline how they chose . by the way , by discipline i MEAN DISCIPLINE . girl dismissed officers left and right . and executed via firing squad MORE officers + at least one general . Girl . GIRL

whilst enemies of the revolution were repressed by saint - just no matter if they were soldier or civilian , he did Not agree with the mass executions ordered by some of the other représentants en mission ( cough cough fouché in lyon . cough cough fréron in toulon )

he also , noticing the majority of the army being barefoot , ordered 10 000 pairs of shoes to be confiscated from aristocrats in Strasbourg , which was a nearby city , to be redistributed to soldiers . Strasbourg instead sent 17 000 pairs of shoes + 21 000 pairs of shirts to the army

speaking of Strasbourg , i do believe saint - just got Eulogius Schneider arrested + executed

~ december 1793 the army of the rhine was reformed so saint - just briefly returned to paris , where his success was celebrated . saint - just , of course , did not do all this by himself . it was a group effort between both him and le bas . i do not know much on le bas ' own military accomplishments though :[ BUT i do know that le bas wrote to robespierre on behalf of them both whilst they were in alsace . something something " Saint - Just doesn ' t have time to write to you . He gives you his compliments " saint - just please make time for your girlfriend he misses you

~ january 1794 saint - just was sent back to the front lines , this time to belgium with the army of the north --- who were experiencing the same issues as the army of the rhine

saint - just began to repeat what he had done in alsace , however less than a month in he was recalled to paris by robespierre

and now i interrupt this tumblr post to show you a clip from saint - just et la forces des choses that rots and rotates in my brain 25 / 8

anyways

~ april - june 1794 he was sent back to belgium to , again , do what he had done previously with the armies of the rhine + the north . he contributed to the victory of the battle of fleurus , ordering any retreating soldiers to be shot

saint - just also intimidated Reynac into surrendering charleroi . " I don ' t want this piece of paper ( i . e . Reynac ' s note with proposed terms of surrender ) , I want the place itself " girl calm down . the french weren ' t even ready to assault charleroi , it would have taken at least another eight days , so saint - just was bluffing . BUT . it worked lol ; reynac surrendered charleroi unconditionally

the victory of fleurus was saint - just ' s last military affair . once he returned to paris , his success was once again celebrated --- however , the political side of things was declining . something something the great terror something something thermidor . womp womp

which is Crazy because saint - just ' s victory of fleurus was a major trigger for thermidor . the committee of public safety was being held together because of the threats that saint - just had now dealt with . there was , obviously , a lot more to it than that but that Definitely was Something

girls when their success leads to their failure