Knight of Maison-Rouge

by Alexandre Dumas

29. “slaves are marching”: that is, subjects of tyrannical monarchs. Such jargon was typical of the Revolutionaries.

  2. THE STRANGER

  1. Soeurs et Amies: literally, “sisters and friends.”

  2. cavaliers: literally a synonym for knight; for Lorin, chivalry is not necessarily an aristocratic virtue.

  3. Pindus and Parnassus: twin mountains of Greece traditionally associated with poets.

  4. Le Moniteur: Beginning in 1789, the newspaper Le Moniteur published the proceedings of the successive Revolutionary governments.

  5. sans culottes: literally, “those without breeches,” or the common people of Paris.

  6. Pitt’s men: William Pitt the Younger (1759–1806), Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1783 to 1801 and from 1804 until his death. Pitt became an implacable opponent of Revolutionary France and then of the Napoleonic Empire.

  7. Thermopylae club: from the name of the site of a fierce but doomed resistance the Greeks put up against the invading Persian armies of Xerxes I. Allusions to the ancient republics and heroes of classical Greece and Rome were common in the propaganda and imagery of the Revolutionary generation. Political clubs of all ideologies, less famous than the Jacobins and Cordeliers, abounded in the Revolutionary years.

  8. the Marseillaise: taking its name from the troops from Marseille who sang it while storming the Tuileries on August 10, 1792, this violent revolutionary song—“Let impure blood wash over our furrows”—quickly spread throughout Paris and the whole country. “La Marseillaise” is now the French national anthem.

  9. Dorat, Parny, and Gentil-Bernard: all French poets of the eighteenth century, known for their love poetry. The verse-spouting Lorin—would-be poet, gallant lover, fearless soldier, and fiercely loyal friend and comrade-in-arms—represents a traditional ideal of French culture.

  10. cockades: The colors of these small badges, usually worn in hats, were a declaration of political principle and affiliation; Lorin’s cockade is no doubt the politically correct red, white, and blue tricolor. In 1793 it would be declared a crime to wear the white cockade, a sign of royalism.

  11. Gaul and Lutetia: the Roman names of France (Gaul) and Paris (Lutetia).

  3. RUE DES FOSSÉS-SAINT-VICTOR

  1. pont-Marie … pont de la Tournelle:pont means bridge; the pont-Marie connects the Right Bank to the île Saint-Louis; the Pont de la Tournelle then crosses to the Left Bank. Maurice and his companion are working their way south through the heart of Paris.

  2. the Bièvre River: this small river once flowed into the Seine near the île de la Cité and the île Saint-Louis. The banks of the Bièvre were the site of many manufactures such as tanneries and tapestry makers. The Bièvre was covered to form an underground canal in the late nineteenth century.

  3. chevalier: the French word for “knight”; the mysterious lady is complimenting Maurice’s chivalric manners.

  4. THE CUSTOMS OF THE DAY

  1. the Capet woman: from Hugues Capet, the tenth-century founder of the French royal dynasty and ancestor of the Bourbons. Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were called Citizen and Citizeness Capet—among other things—by the revolutionaries.

  2. chasseurs: the name used for many different divisions of the cavalry and infantry in the French armies.

  3. Madelonnettes prison: a former convent dedicated to the rehabilitation of young prostitutes, converted to a prison by the Revolution.

  4. Agesilaus: known as Agesilaus II, King of Sparta (399–360 B.C.) at the time of the battle of Marathon.

  5. Phrygian cap: the red cap that was especially popular with the sans culottes; in ancient Rome, the Phrygian cap was worn by freed slaves.

  6. Paris himself: the Trojan prince; the ancient country of Phrygia was near Troy.

  7. “You sleep, Brutus”: from The Death of Caesar, by Voltaire.

  8. Eucharis: From Homer’s Odyssey, Eucharis is the beautiful nymph with whom Telemachus falls in love, but the young hero must leave her to continue his quest to find his father. The scene inspired a famous painting by Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825).

  9. Demoustier: Charles-Albert Demoustier (1760–1801), author of Lettres à Emilie sur la mythologie (1788), a popular book that was part of the vogue of antiquity in late-eighteenth-century France.

  10. Cythera: according to Greek myth, this island was the site of Aphrodite’s birth from the waves, thus sacred to the goddess of love.

  11. Knight of Maison-Rouge: Knight, or Chevalier, was the title given to younger sons of noble families; the word has the same associations—medievalism, chivalry, etc.—as knight in English. Maison-Rouge, which literally translates as “Red House,” was the name given to corps of guards attached to the person of the king under the Ancien Régime, named for their brilliant scarlet cloaks. The name also alludes to Alexandre de Rougeville (1752–1814), who inspired the character of Maison-Rouge. A self-styled marquis of dubious origins but unquestionable loyalty to the Royal family, Rougeville was a member of the Order of Saint-Louis and was even rumored to have been the Queen’s lover. He was also the chief conspirator in the so-called “Carnation Plot,” which inspired an important aspect of this novel.

  12. Proteus: son of Poseidon, this demigod had the power to change his form at will.

  13. Pastor Aristaeus fugiens Peneia Tempe: From Virgil’s Georgics, Book IV:317: “The shepherd Aristaeus fled Peneian Tempe”; when the shepherd Aristaeus was struck by a series of unexplained misfortunes, his mother advised him to leave his home in Tempe to seek out and capture Proteus, who would then reveal the divine source of Aristaeus’s bad luck. Proteus, for obvious reasons, proved difficult to catch.

  14. Barnave: the politician Antoine Barnave (1761–93), one of those selected to escort the Royal family back to Paris after their attempted escape was foiled at Varennes. The Queen and the Revolutionary—who favored a constitutional monarchy—rode back to Paris in the same carriage and found each other surprisingly sympathetic.

  15. Diafoirus: A character in Molière’s Le Malade imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid), Diafoirus is a pretentious and incompetent doctor who exploits his hypochondriacal patient.

  16. Washington: the great citizen-soldier of the new American Republic was a hero to the Revolutionary and Romantic generations of Europe.

  17. muscadin: scornful nickname given to fashionable young men during the Revolutionary era.

  18. “wear a wig”: Like breeches, wigs were considered a sign of aristocratic sympathies, frowned on by good patriots like Maurice and Lorin.

  19. Chloris: the name given to the object of love by some eighteenth-century poets, in imitation of the Greeks.

  5. WHAT SORT OF MAN MAURICE LINDEY WAS

  1. the Robe: the noblesse de robe formed a second tier of nobility between the upper nobility, the noblesse de l’épee (nobility of the sword) and the bourgeoisie. The offices of magistrates were handed down from father to son for generations.

  2. Versailles on the fifth and sixth of October 1789: On the evening of October 5, a violent mob, stirred up by agents of various anti-royalist factions and led by the market-women of Les Halles, arrived from Paris to demand the return of the Royal family to the capital. Louis XVI and his Queen never saw the palace again.

  3. as many patriots: i.e., Maurice was seeking to impose order on the violent chaos of that night.

  4. Swiss Guards: The troop of Swiss Guards at the Tuileries palace in Paris were the Royal family’s last line of defense in the assault of August 10. Most were killed.

  5. Jemmapes: the site of an important victory of the French—led by Dumouriez (see Glossary, p. 419)—over the Austrians on November 6, 1792.

  6. The people’s representative: political officers attached to military units to ensure the proper adherence to Revolutionary dogma.

  7. son of Saint Louis: King Louis IX (born 1214, reigned 1226–70), a direct ancestor of the Bourbons, was cannonized for his efforts in the crusades. The Bourbon kings frequently referred to themselves as “sons of Saint
Louis.”

  6. THE TEMPLE

  1. Marie: Marie Thérèse de Bourbon, daughter of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, known as Madame Royale.

  2. Santerre: Antoine-Joseph Santerre (1752–1809), commander of the National Guard, was appointed to command the soldiers posted at the Temple to guard the Royal family. See also Glossary, p. 422.

  3. Elisabeth: the sister of Louis XVI, known as Madame Elisabeth.

  4. Citizeness Capet: Marie Antoinette (see note 1, p. 403).

  5. Dauphin’s bed: Dauphin is the official title of the eldest son and heir of the King of France. The boy mentioned is Louis-Charles de Bourbon. See also Glossary, p. 419.

  6. the Austrian woman: Marie Antoinette was born an Austrian Archduchess. The French word autrichienne, meaning “Austrian,” contains the word chienne, “bitch”; this was one of the first epithets used against the Queen as her popularity deteriorated.

  7. Tison: The Tison family was appointed by the Convention to wait on the Royal family in the Temple.

  8. Madame Royale: the title given to the princess Marie Thérèse (see note 1 above).

  9. Agrippina: Vipsania Agrippina (c. 14 B.C.–A.D. 33), the legendarily cruel and manipulative mother of Nero (see also ch. 38, note 1, p. 413).

  10. “I appeal to any mother … ”: Dumas here echoes Marie Antoinette’s appeal to the spectators at her trial when she denied the most outrageous charges of sexual abuse leveled at her: “I appeal to any mother who may be present.”

  11. “two poor mothers”: i.e., the children’s aunt considered herself a second mother.

  7. A GAMBLER’S OATH

  1. Committee of Public Safety: the twelve-member commission that came to control the entire Convention, while Robespierre eventually became the dominant member of the Committee. See also Glossary, p. 418.

  2. emigrés: the aristocrats who fled France due to the Revolution; they were considered traitorous criminals and their property was confiscated. Emigrés who attempted to return to France were arrested, tried, and usually executed as traitors and/or spies.

  3. Osselin: Charles-Nicolas Osselin (1752–94), a leading member of the Convention who sponsored most of the anti-emigré laws. See also Glossary, p. 421.

  4. the Terror: the name given to the reign of the Jacobins and the Committee of Public Safety when thousands of people were executed, mostly by guillotine. See also Glossary, p. 423.

  5. eighteen centuries of monarchy: The French Royal family dated their family’s reign back to Hugues Capet [or Clovis?].

  6. Simon: a failed cobbler who established a reputation for political fervor and was appointed guardian of the former Dauphin Louis-Charles de Bourbon. He was instructed by the Convention to “toughen up” the boy. See also Glossary, p. 422.

  7. the Mountain: name given to the most radical members of the Convention, the Montagnards derived from the high seats they occupied. (See note 12, p. 400.)

  8. place de la Révolution: the former place Louis XV, where the guillotine was set up for public executions, including those of the King and Queen; today the place de la Concorde.

  8. GENEVIÈVE

  1. “two hundred percent”: Dixmer’s gray-market traffic; the harsh economic laws imposed by the Convention drove many people into the sort of gray-market transactions that Dixmer describes here.

  9. SUPPER

  1. Robespierre: Maximilien de Robespierre (1758–94), the fanatic leader of the Terror. He was in fact known to his allies and supporters as “l’Incorruptible.” See also Glossary, p. 422.

  2. the Vendée: a region in western France that gave its name to the popular Royalist uprisings that were centered there and in Brittany.

  10. SIMON THE COBBLER

  1. Madame Veto: “Monsieur and Madame Veto” were epithets used against Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette; the Constitution of 1791 gave the King veto power over legislative action. Louis’s attempts to use the veto were enormously unpopular and provoked riots in Paris, including the storming of the Tuileries on June 20, 1792.

  11. THE NOTE

  1. Lorient: a port on the southern coast of Brittany.

  12. LOVE

  1. de: The so-called nobiliary particle, de and its variants—d’, de l’, de la, des, du—usually but not always indicated noble birth, e.g., the Marquis de Lafayette. Du was fairly common among bourgeois, hence Geneviève’s reassurance to the good patriot Maurice.

  2. Blois: small city on the Loire, known for its Renaissance palace.

  3. Auteuil: Auteuil to the west and Rambouillet to the south of Paris were country villages at the time. Auteuil is now part of the city of Paris.

  4. Tarquin: Tarquin the Proud, last king of the ancient kingdom of Rome, was known for his cruelty and despotism.

  5. the Invalides: The golden-domed Hôtel des Invalides was established as a military hospital and home for wounded veterans by Louis XIV.

  6. the thirty-first of May: the civil unrest fomented by the Montagnards began on May 31, 1793, and led to the June 2 arrest—and subsequent execution—of many leaders of the more moderate Girondin party.

  7. Brunswick’s threatening words: Duke of Brunswick, commander of the Prussian army moving against Paris; in July 1792, he issued a public proclamation warning of dire consequences for the Parisians if the Royal family came to any harm. The news of the proclamation provoked violent reaction in Paris, and helped precipitate the August 10 attack on the Tuileries.

  8. Longwy and Verdun: these losses were military and political reverses for the previously successful Revolutionary armies.

  9. departments: these administrative districts were created by the Revolutionary government to replace the traditional provincial divisions.

  10. Marat: Jean-Paul Marat (1743–93); the brutal invectives of L’Ami du peuple, Marat’s newspaper, were too much even for the Revolutionary era, and he was arrested, but soon acquitted due to his enormous popularity. See also Glossary, p. 420.

  11. Hanriot: François Hanriot (1759–94), a merchant who became a general in the National Guard, and took part in the September massacres. See also Glossary, p. 419.

  13. THE THIRTY-FIRST OF MAY

  1. tricolor scarf: the Revolution adopted the tricolor in opposition to the white flag of the Bourbons.

  2. Curtius … Cassius: Curtius—Marcus Curtius, a young Roman patrician who threw himself into the crevice created by an earthquake in order to appease the gods; Fabricius—Gaius Fabricius Luscinus, the general and Consul of the Roman Republic, known for his simplicity and probity in power; Brutus—Lucius Junius Brutus, the Roman hero who drove the last Tarquin king out of Rome and established the Republic, his order to execute his sons when they were discovered taking part in a royalist plot was held up as an example of patriotism; Cassius—Gaius Cassius Parmensis, the Roman general who plotted Julius Caesar’s assassination when the latter became overly ambitious.

  3. Brissotin: prominent Girondin leader Jacques-Pierre Brissot de Warville (1754–93). Followers of Brissot were referred to as “Brissotins.”

  4. Rolandists: Followers of the Girondin leader Jean-Marie Roland de La Platière (1734–93). See also Glossary, p. 422.

  15. THE GODDESS OF REASON

  1. The Goddess of Reason: The Revolution briefly adopted the image of a Goddess of Reason as part of a campaign of de-Christianization.

  2. abbé Maury’s cruets: Jean-Siffrein Maury (1746–1817), a priest who established a reputation for his eloquent sermons before taking his oratorial skills to the National Assembly, defending the monarchy and religion in vigorous debates with Mirabeau. His differences with a fellow priest, the radical populist abbé Fauchet, led them to fight a duel with pistols. The “cruets” refer ironically to the small vessels used to hold the wine and water during the Catholic Mass.

  3. the Supreme Being: Robespierre instituted the cult of the Supreme Being as part of his campaign to restore moral order—without the superstition and institutional tyranny of the Catholic Church—to the new Republic.

 
4. Artemisia: Actresses and dancers—Lorin met his love at the Opera Ball—frequently took extravagant stage names; Théroigne de Méricourt was born Anne-Josephe Terwagne. Artemisia’s namesake was a queen in ancient Halicarnassus, wife of Mausolus, for whom she built a famous tomb, the Mausoleum.

  5. Mausolus: a provincial ruler (satrap) of the ancient Persian empire.

  6. Saint-Just: a gifted orator and radical revolutionary who became Robespierre’s closest ally. He was guillotined with Robespierre in July 1794.

  16. THE PRODIGAL SON

  1. Théroigne de Méricourt: (1762–1817) known as the Amazon of Liberty, this opera singer and courtesan placed herself at the head of the mob that marched to Versailles on October 5, brandishing a sword and riding a black horse. She later became an ardent advocate of women’s rights. A supporter of the Girondins, she was violently attacked by a group of market-women who supported the Montagnards. Apparently suffering permanent brain damage in the assault, she was committed to an insane asylum for the rest of her life.

  2. Madame Roland: the wife of the Girondin leader, she hosted an important salon and was an influential figure in her own right. She was arrested and guillotined in the May 31 purge.

  3. Varennes: small city in northeastern France where the Royal family was arrested following their attempt to escape control of the Revolutionary government in Paris.

  17. THE MINERS

  1. assignats: the paper money issued by the Revolutionary government, backed by the confiscated properties of the Church and emigrés.

  18. CLOUDS

  1. décadi: the Revolutionary government sought to create a new calendar beginning in the year 1 (1792), when the Republic was established. Décadi was, so to speak, the new Sunday.