Browse Items (78 total)

http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/files/original/0cf35804a9a73cf23981d8d0b36df093.mp3

1785

This aria from the Gretry opera, Richard the Lion–Hearted, was adopted by royalists during the early years of the Revolution. The song’s accusation that the king had been abandoned by all but his most devoted followers made it a suitable…

1788

The "Princes of the Blood" were the King’s brothers and cousins, who traditionally served as both the King’s closest advisers and as his leading opponents in politics. In late 1788, on behalf of the second Assembly of Notables, they issued this…
http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/files/original/d039992636a4aedb3bd1191cf4c72ccd.jpg

1789

Although 14 July 1790 was a high point in the aspiration for unity, the preparation for the Estates–General set the stage for later problems. In this image, representatives of each of the three orders depart together in a cart for the 1789 meeting of…

October 1789

In this letter to a friend, Madame Elizabeth, Louis XVI’s younger sister, takes an upbeat approach to the October march on Versailles. Even though the demonstrations clearly threatened the royal family, even forcing the Queen to flee her chambers,…

October 3, 1789

Military officers in several regiments of the royal army favored a military strike to dispel the National Assembly, but by the fall of 1789 they saw clearly that this order would not be given. Their frustration with the National Assembly’s affront to…

November 21, 1789

This 1789 article from the Révolutions de Paris, a leading radical newspaper, argues that the Revolution has not been achieved, because all of the changes to date could still be reversed. Moreover, it warns that "anti–patriots"—"nobles" in the…
http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/files/original/99165f7f9d9611fd442a8f6cf9dc7711.jpg

1790

Not uncommonly, revolutionary prints invoked excretory humor directed toward those priests who would not swear allegiance to the Revolution. Revolutionaries eliminated on their enemies; the latter might also receive enemas. Of course, in a world of…
http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/files/original/4ed35d45d648077ac3f3107e1b0cfa06.jpg

1790

This engraving focuses on expurgating the clergy, this time with vomiting as the intended method. Here, the cleric spits up the unfair advantages enjoyed in the old regime.
http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/files/original/bf9131465df601ab37c8fcdc09e6bdd3.jpg

1790

The National Assembly also eliminated monasteries, since monks and nuns had increasingly become figures of ridicule. This image depicts the dissolution of the religious orders, rather than the confiscation of lands, as the crucial element in…
http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/files/original/6fa419031c9f221e63e2b28a293fb9af.jpg

1790

This image demonstrates the necessity of nationalizing church property. It shows a peasant cutting the fingers off a priest’s hands; a nobleman cannot bear to watch, but has no qualms about putting on the gloves the clergyman will no longer need.…
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