The Knight of Maison-Rouge_ A Novel of Marie Antoinette - Alexandre Dumas [191]
13. Jacobins: a political club that became increasingly radical as the Revolution progressed; the most famous member was Robespierre. See also Glossary, p. 420.
14. mayor of Paris: Jean-Nicolas Pache (1746–1823) began as a Girondin then allied himself with the Montagnards, as the latter group became more powerful. His new friends made him mayor of Paris, in which position he helped carry out the purge of May 31–June 2 that left the Montagnards firmly in control of the Convention.
15. Commune: the governing body of Paris under the Revolution, the Commune in 1793 was under the influence of Jacques-René Hébert (1757–94), then an ally of the Jacobins before he judged them too moderate.
16. Robert Lindet: Robert Lindet (1796–1825), member of the Convention and of the Committee of Public Safety, wrote the indictment of “Louis Capet,” as the king was called by Revolutionaries.
17. Féroud: a backbencher of the Convention.
18. Collot d’Herbois: an extremist and member of the infamous Committee of Public Safety. He eventually turned on Robespierre.
19. Cordeliers: a radical political club founded by Danton in 1791. Other prominent members were Hébert and Marat. See also Glossary, p. 418.
20. Louvet:Jean-Baptiste Louvet de Couvray (1760–97) was a leader of the Girondin who had denounced Robespierre as early as November 1792.
21. the Temple: The fourteenth-century headquarters of the Knights Templar became a prison for the Royal family after the coup of August 10, 1792.
22. citizeness: Revolutionary egalitarianism and civic spirit demanded that the terms madame and monsieur be replaced by citizeness and citizen. As the reader will note, such political jargon was taken very seriously, especially under the Terror; a lapse in political correctness could be dangerous, even lethal.
23. ci-devant: this adjective, meaning “former,” became almost exclusively associated with officially abolished aristocracy. It came to be used as a noun.
24. Palais-Egalité: the rebaptized Palais-Royal, the Paris residence of the Orléans family. The last duke of the Old Régime joined the Revolution with fervor, taking the name Philippe-Egalité and, as a member of the Convention, voting for the execution of his cousin Louis XVI, before going to the guillotine himself.
25. National Guard: this corps was formed as a citizens’ militia in 1789; the National Guard was a frequent actor in the violent politics of Paris, usually siding with the populace against Royalist forces. See also Glossary, p. 421.
26. carmagnole: the short, close-fitting jacket favored by revolutionaries.
27. tenth of August: on this day in 1792, riots in Paris drove the Royal family from the Tuileries Palace to seek the protection of the National Assembly. The abdication of Louis XVI and the collapse of the monarchy soon followed. A republican government was established on September 21.
28. Frères et Amis section: the name of Maurice’s section—literally “brothers and friends”—reflects the fraternité of the Revolution.
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