Table Of ContentRobespierre and the Festival of the Supreme Being
Edited by
David Hopkin and Máire Cross
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Titles already published in this series
Emile and Isaac Pereire: Bankers, Socialists and Sephardic Jews
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Helen Davies
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Claire Eldridge
Catholicism and children’s literature in France:
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Sophie Heywood
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Laura O’Brien
The routes to exile: France and the Spanish Civil War refugees, 1939–2009
Scott Soo
Robespierre and the Festival of the
Supreme Being
The search for a republican morality
JONATHAN SMYTH
Manchester University Press
Copyright © Jonathan Smyth 2016
The right of Jonathan Smyth to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted
by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Published by Manchester University Press
Altrincham Street, Manchester M1 7JA
www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for
ISBN 978 1 5261 0378 9 hardback
First published 2016
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external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee
that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
Typeset by Out of House Publishing
Contents
List of illustrations page vi
Acknowledgements ix
Abbreviations xi
The Revolutionary Calendar – An II xii
Introduction 1
1 Towards a new republican morality 10
2 The national response to Robespierre’s proclamation 31
3 The celebrations in the capital 49
4 The celebrations outside Paris 78
5 Financing a national festival 103
6 Contemporary comments on the Festival 127
7 After the Festival 146
Conclusion 154
Bibliography 160
Index 175
Illustrations
Figures
1 The route of the procession in Paris page 54
2 The sections assemble in the Jardin National for the
procession
Fête à l’Être Suprême dans le jardin des Tuileries, le 8 juin
1794 ou 20 Prairial An 2ème de la République. Engraving,
Pierre-Gabriel Berthault and Jean Duplessis, 1794. Paris,
musée Carnavalet ref: 36634-1. Copyright © Musée
Carnavalet/Roger-Viollet 57
3 The Festival of the Supreme Being on the Champs
de la Réunion
La Fête de l’Etre Suprême au Champ-de-Mars, le 8 juin 1794
ou 20 Prairial An 2ème de la République. Oil on canvas,
Pierre-Antoine Demachy, 1794. Paris, musée Carnavalet
ref: 23991-15. Copyright © Musée Carnavalet/Roger-Viollet 60
4a The medal struck in Lyons in celebration of the Festival of
the Supreme Being
Lyon, June 1794. Coloured plaster, Jean-Marie Chavanne,
1794. Paris, musée Carnavalet ref: 57421-10. Copyright ©
Carole Rabourdin/Musée Carnavalet/Roger-Viollet 86
4b The medal struck in Lyons in celebration of the Festival
of Reason
Lyon, November 1793. Coloured plaster, Jean-Marie
Chavanne, 1793. Paris, musée Carnavalet ref: 57423-1.
Copyright © Carole Rabourdin/Musée Carnavalet/
Roger-Viollet 86
illustrations vii
Tables
1 Submissions made to the Comité d’Instruction publique
regarding the Festival of the Supreme Being between 23
Floréal and 7 Thermidor Year II page 45
2 Analysis of the different names for the Supreme Being used
by Robespierre in his speech of 18 Floréal to the Convention
and in his speeches at the Fête on 20 Prairial 63
3 The costs of the Fête de la Réunion held in August 1793 107
4 Summary of payments made by Fructidor Year II
(September 1794) 109
5 Stage payments made by Hubert to the major contractors on
16 Prairial (4 June 1794) 113
6 Expenditures for the Jardin National and the Champ de la
Réunion 114
7 Shortfall in real against estimated income for the city of
Angers, 1793–94 116
8 Official commodity prices established by the Law of
Maximum 4 Ventôse Year II (22 February 1794) 122
9 Comparative rates of pay between specialist tradesmen
(journeymen) in Paris and London 123
Acknowledgements
Ever since I first became interested in the enigma which was Robespierre,
his launching of the Festival of the Supreme Being has always struck me,
as it has most commentators, as a peculiarity, a one-off event, apparently
unconnected with the rest of the period of the Terror, and a most unlikely
aspect of his personal vision of the Revolution. I hope that this book will
perhaps lead other scholars to re-examine their estimate of its importance
to his vision of republican morality as I have had to.
A very large number of people have been of immense help to me
throughout the long journey towards the publication of this book. I must
express my deep gratitude to Professor Pamela Pilbeam, who took on
the Herculean task of trying to turn a total non-academic into a pass-
able historian for her support and enthusiasm. I also owe a great debt to
my fellow historians of the Revolution, all of whom have been kind to
the stranger in their midst. I would like to thank especially Dr Rodney
Dean, Professor William Doyle, Professor Joël Félix, Dr Marisa Linton
and Professor Julian Swann. Their help in reading some of the chapters
and in commenting on my ideas has been enormous. Any errors in this
book are entirely my own.
I am very grateful to my French family and friends who put me up and
put up with me during my research and to the Archivists and Librarians of
the Municipal and Departmental Archives in Angers, Amiens, Bordeaux,
Lyon and Strasbourg, and of the Archives Nationales, the Bibliothèque
nationale de France and the Bibliothèque Historique de la Ville de Paris,
all of whom were unfailingly welcoming and helpful.
Very special thanks go to my brother, Roger, who found time, in
between writing his own books, to read and improve successive versions
of the text. He also prepared the index.
