The Revolution

[starofwonder]

I dont remember any mention of desecrating Marie Antoinettes body, she was just unceremoniously dumped at the graveyard with other bodiesto be buried and a young Mme Tussaud appeared to take her death mask .

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Another interesting fact:

Both Louis and Nicholas II had wives that were of German origin and were profoundly hated to the point of being made a scapegoat.

Thats true I would add easy scapegoats, I don't recall reading if Alexandra had any hate directed towards her specifically being German at least not until the war, and by that time too many people hated her for other reasons that her heritage was just lumped on top. Marie, poor thing, had the unfortunate fate of being the symbol of an alliance with an old enemy.
Man I would love to read up on some of the historical bigotry German royals had to live with while Marrying into the families of EU.

I also don't recall desecration of Marie's body, anyone have any further info.

 

[starofwonder]

It is surprising to me that in all that chaos with mobs roaming the streets and the breakdown in law and order, that the Parisian mob did nt decide to go to Versailles and do a bit of looting.

The Royal Family left for Paris in the autumn of 1789 so that vast palace complex... full of paintings, gold clocks... all manner of valuable items was wide open for the taking .... only 20 or so miles from Paris .
Did the sans cullots miss a trick ?

 

[An Ard Ri]

The unfortunate and tragic Princess of Lamballe met her grisly end the 3rd of September 1792.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ_hVY0Xgqg

 

[An Ard Ri]

It is surprising to me that in all that chaos with mobs roaming the streets and the breakdown in law and order, that the Parisian mob did nt decide to go to Versailles and do a bit of looting.

The Royal Family left for Paris in the autumn of 1789 so that vast palace complex... full of paintings, gold clocks... all manner of valuable items was wide open for the taking .... only 20 or so miles from Paris .
Did the sans cullots miss a trick ?

Surprisingly there was very little looting most of the contents were sold off at various auctions following October 1789.

 

[starofwonder]

I dare say a fair no of items from those sales ended up
in the stately homes of England !

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Victory celebration by the populace at the royal palace in Paris at the time of the Revolution
http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-vi...he-royal-palace-in-paris-french-29548705.html

 

[An Ard Ri]

Charles François ,Marquis de Sombreuil with his daughter on his way to the guillotine in June 1794.

 

[An Ard Ri]

The burning of Monarchist symbols and banner at the Place de Concorde in 1793.

The murdering of Abbé Lenfant (Court Chaplain) and other priests at the start of the September Massacres of 1792.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Charles François de Virot ,Marquis of Sombreuil was imprisoned along with his 2 sons and daughter in 1792 at the Abbey Prison.
All 4 of them miraculously survived the September Massacres ,thanks to the bravery of his daughter Marie-Maurille de Sombreuil,Countess of Villelume who stood before the bloodthirsty mob and appealed for mercy!

Sadly the Marquis and his eldest son went to the guillotine on the same day in June 1794.

 

[Toledo]

Charles François de Virot ,Marquis of Sombreuil was imprisoned along with his 2 sons and daughter in 1792 at the Abbey Prison.
All 4 of them miraculously survived the September Massacres ,thanks to the bravery of his daughter Marie-Maurille de Sombreuil,Countess of Villelume who stood before the bloodthirsty mob and appealed for mercy!

Sadly the Marquis and his eldest son went to the guillotine on the same day in June 1794.

First you take me to a moment of hope with the "All 4 of them miraculously survived the September Massacres, thanks to the bravery of his daughter..." followed by the picture...and then you bring me down and crush my soul to sadness with the closing line "Sadly the Marquis and his eldest son went to the guillotine on the same day"

Now I'm sad, I was counting them to have survived to this day.

 

[An Ard Ri]

First you take me to a moment of hope with the "All 4 of them miraculously survived the September Massacres, thanks to the bravery of his daughter..." followed by the picture...and then you bring me down and crush my soul to sadness with the closing line "Sadly the Marquis and his eldest son went to the guillotine on the same day"

Now I'm sad, I was counting them to have survived to this day.

The Countess survived and lived into the Bourbon Restoration,her younger brother was killed in 1795 at Vannes following a Catholic-Royalist insurrection.

 

[An Ard Ri]

The 14 martyrs of Laval
These were a group of elderly priests/monks who were sent to the guillotine during the Terror in January 1794.

 

[Toledo]

The Countess survived and lived into the Bourbon Restoration,her younger brother was killed in 1795 at Vannes following a Catholic-Royalist insurrection.

OMG, now I'm sadder than before .

Kidding aside, with so many crappy movies we see mass produced as clones of one another, this history of the the Marquis of Sombreuil's fate and family would make a great novel to write about and turn it into a script or a play.

Thanks @An Ard Ri for always finding these historical gems for the forum.

History and research should not just be about the main protagonists but also include these peripheral characters that suffered the consequences of the actions of the main characters, too.

 

[An Ard Ri]

​

Jean-Marie du Lau was the Archbishop of Arles and was among the victims of Massacre of Clergy at the Carmelite Abbey in September 1792 where 94 religious were bludgeoned to death by mobs.
Also murdered here was the Bishop of Beauvais , Jean Charles François de La Rochefoucauld and his younger brother the bishop of Saintes ,Pierre-Louis de La Rochefoucauld .

François-Joseph de La Rochefoucauld ,Bishop of Beauvais​

Pierre-Louis de La Rochefoucauld-Bayers,Bishop of Saintes

 

[An Ard Ri]

The Marquis de Lafayette reunited with his wife and daughters following her release from the Luxembourg Prison .
Marie Adrienne Françoise de Noailles, Marquise de La Fayette narrowly avoided execution ,her mother,sister and grandmother were all sent to the guillotine in July 1794.

 

[An Ard Ri]

The demolition of Churches and Abbeys during the Revolution

Démolition de l'église des Feuillants (Paris)​

Démolition du couvent des Cordeliers (Paris)​

Démolition de l'église Sainte-Geneviève (Paris)​

Démolition de Saint-Jean-en-Grève (Paris)​

 

[An Ard Ri]

The old Palace of the Archbishop of Paris was situated right beside Notre Dame Cathedral .
It was ransacked during the Terror and the Archbishop fled to Savoy ,the building was used as a prisoner and later a hospital.It was set alight during a riot in 1831 during anti Monarchist and and Clerical riots and later demolished.

The sack of the Archbishops palace

It was proposed to rebuild the Palace in the late 19th Century under the direction of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.
However it never happened.

The Pre-Revolutionary Archbishop of Paris ,Mons Antoine-Eleanor-Leon Leclerc of Juigné.

 

[An Ard Ri]

The now destroyed equestrian Statue of Louis XIV in Paris, Place Vendôme.
The statue was toppled in August 1792

 

[Blog Real]

Another interesting fact:

Both Louis and Nicholas II had wives that were of German origin and were profoundly hated to the point of being made a scapegoat.

Yes. And his sons and heirs, Louis XVII and Tsarevich Alexei, died as children at the ages of 10 and 13 respectively.
And their final days were horrible.

 

[An Ard Ri]

The church of St-Pierre le vieil in Reims was another victim of the Revolution.
It was first turned into a brewery and and a store but then pulled down and demolished in 1793.

 

[An Ard Ri]

The now lost church of Saint-Pierre-les-Dames in Reims had a long association with the House of Guise and of Lorraine.
Marie de Guise ,mother of Mary Queen of Scots was interred here in 1561 and the Guise family had a large bronze effigy of Marie erected on her tomb.
Several members of the Guise-Lorraine family also served as Abbess's of the Abbey.
The Abbey survived until 1792 when it was suppressed during the revolution and was later pillaged and torn down.
The tombs of Marie de Guise and Abbess's were not preserved and were destroyed.

 

[An Ard Ri]

The Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame de Nantes was another victim of the terror.
The first church on this site was founded c937 and was later embellished by the Ducal House of Brittany and housed many tombs.
In 1793 the church was looted and then turned into a stables and then as a factory and sadly then torn down.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Another church in Paris which did not survive the Revolution were the churches of the Saint-Pierre-aux-Bœufs and St Marine located on the Ille de France and near Notre Dame cathedral.

The Church of Saint-Jean-en-Grève was located near the current Hotel de Ville and dated from 1212 and survived until 1791 when it was shut. Between 1793 and 1797 it was pillaged and demolished.

 

[An Ard Ri]

The Abbey of Notre-Dame du Lys​

This Cistercian house was founded by Blanche of Castile and later became a pilgrimage site.
The Abbey was visited before the Revolution by Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette but was closed in 1791 and then destroyed.
The heart of Blanche of Castile was buried here following her death.

 

[An Ard Ri]

The Marquis of Sombreuil who bravely commanded troops defending the Tuileries Palace in August 1792 was imprisoned along with his son Stanislas and both went to the guillotine in June 1794.
Another of his younger sons ,Charles Eugène Gabriel de Virot de Sombreuil was executed following a Royalist insurrection in Brittany in 1795.

Charles François de Virot, marquis of Sombreuil.

The Bishop of Dol ,Urbain-René de Herc was also executed following the 1795 Royalist Insurrection in Brittany.

 

[An Ard Ri]

The now destroyed church of Saint-André-des-Arts in Paris .
The church was closed during the terror and transformed into a Temple of Reason and then a club but was then demolished.
The church had served as a burial site for the Princely Houses of Bourbon-Condé /Bourbon Conti

 

[An Ard Ri]

Another religious house which fell victim to the Revolution was the Carthusian House of Paris orthe The Chartreuse de Paris.
It was closed in 1790 and then demolished between 1796 and 1800,its church contained many notable tombs from the nobility.
The tomb of Catherine d'Alençon († 1462) was salvaged and is now housed at the Louvre.

Demolition of the Chartreuse de Paris.
You see some the monuments have been dumped outside the church

 

[An Ard Ri]

Another Parisian medieval church house which fell victim to the Revolution was the Church of the Holy Innocents of Paris.
It had a large cemetery adjoining where many of the victims of the 1572 Massacre of St Bartholomew's were dumped.
The church dated from 1130 and was later enlarged and housed the Relics of St Richard .
Many French nobles also used the church as a burial site.

The demolition of the Church

 

[An Ard Ri]

The funeral of Marat at the Cordeliers church of Paris , July 15 and 16, 1793.
The church had been ransacked and pillaged and was no longer used for RC worship .
It housed many Princely and noble tombs but sadly the chapel was pulled down in 1797 and demolished.

The Demolition

Lost Tombs
Antoine de Longueil , Bishop of Leon +1500