The September Massacres were a wave of violence which overtook Paris in late summer 1792, during the French Revolution. By the time it had subsided, half the prison population of Paris had been gruesomely executed: some 1200 trapped prisoners, including many women and young boys. Sporadic violence, in particular against the Roman Catholic Church, would continue throughout France for nearly a decade to come. City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) The Eiffel Tower in Paris, as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ... 1792 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The French Revolution (1789–1815) was a period of political and social upheaval in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on...

Overview

On September 2, 1792, news reached Paris that the Duke of Brunswick's Prussian army had invaded France, that the fortress of Verdun had quickly fallen, that perhaps its aristocratic officers had capitulated too easily, and that the Prussians were advancing quickly toward the capital. On July 25 Brunswick had circulated his bombastic manifesto from Coblenz: his avowed aim was September 2 is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1792 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, (Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Herzog zu Braunschweig-Lüneburg, Fürst von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern) (October 9, 1735 - 1806) was a German military general born in Wolfenbüttel, Germany. ... Motto Suum cuique Latin: To each his own Prussia at its peak, as leading state of the German Empire Capital Königsberg, later Berlin Government Duke1  - 1525–68 Albert I (first)  - 1688–1701 Frederick III (last) King1  - 1701–13 Frederick I (first)  - 1888–1918 William II (last) Prime Minister1,2... Verdun (German: Wirten, official name before 1970 Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city and commune in the Lorraine région, northeast France, in the Meuse département, of which it is a sous-préfecture. ... This article is about a city that serves as a center of government and politics. ... is the 206th day of the year (207th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Map of the Koblenz region Koblenz (also Coblenz in pre-1926 German spellings; French Coblence) is a city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck (German Corner) and its monument ( Emperor William I on horseback) are situated. ...

"to put an end to the anarchy in the interior of France, to check the attacks upon the throne and the altar, to reestablish the legal power, to restore to the king the security and the liberty of which he is now deprived and to place him in a position to exercise once more the legitimate authority which belongs to him."

Additionally, the manifesto threatened the French public with instant punishment should they resist the Imperial and Prussian armies, or the reinstatement of the monarchy. Such information fueled this first wave of mob hysteria of the Revolution. By the end of August rumours circulated that many in Paris - such as non-juring priests - who secretly opposed the Revolution would support the First Coalition of foreign powers allied against it. Furthermore, Paris lacked extensive food stocks. A non-juror is a person who refuses to swear a particular oath. ... The name First Coalition (1793–1797) designates the first major concerted effort of multiple European powers to contain Revolutionary France. ...

The political situation in Paris on the eve of the September Massacres was dire. No individual or organised body could truly claim exclusive sovereignty. The monarchy and short-lived Constitution of 1791 had been overthrown with the bloody journée of 10 August 1792, in which the Tuileries was stormed by the mob and the royal family fled for their lives. The Legislative Assembly had been left impotent after a large number of deputies had fled, and its successor, the National Convention, had not yet met. To further complicate this matter, the insurrectionary Paris commune established 9 August 1792 incorporated some of the most radical revolutionary elements, including the sans-culottes, and briefly contended for the role of de facto government of France. Lacking a sovereign power, the Parisians' fear, hatred, and prejudice proved to be the seeds of the September Massacres. Sovereignty is the exclusive right to exercise supreme political (e. ... On August 10, 1792, during the French Revolution, a mob – with the backing of a new municipal government of Paris that came to be known as the insurrectionary Paris Commune – besieged the Tuileries palace. ... Up to 1871 the Tuileries Palace was a palace in Paris, France, on the right bank of the River Seine. ... During the French Revolution, the Legislative Assembly was the legislature of France from October 1, 1791 to September 1792. ... This article is about a legislative body and constitutional convention during the French Revolution. ... The Paris Commune during the French Revolution was the government of Paris from 1789 until 1795, and especially from 1792 until 1795. ... Painted rendition of a sans-culottes. ...

When news of the collapse of defenses at Verdun reached the Convention, they ordered the tocsin rung and alarm guns fired, which doubtless added to the sense of panic. An army of 60,000 was to be enlisted at the Champ de Mars, the British ambassador reported; View of Champ de Mars from the top of the Eiffel Tower The Champ_de_Mars is a vast public area in Paris, France, located in the 7th arrondissement, between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the cole Militaire to the southeast. ...

"A party at the instigation of some one or other declared they would not quit Paris, as long as the prisons were filled with Traitors (for they called those so, that were confined in the different Prisons and Churches), who might in the absence of such a number of Citizens rise and not only effect the release of His Majesty, but make an entire counterrevolution."

The first attack occurred when twenty-four non-juring priests being transported to the prison of L'Abbaye, were attacked by a mob that quickly killed them all as they were trying to escape into the prison, then mutilated the bodies, "with circumstances of barbarity too shocking to describe" according to the British diplomatic dispatch. On September 3 and September 4, crowds broke into other Paris prisons, where they murdered the prisoners, who some feared were counter-revolutionaries who would aid the invading Prussians. is the 246th day of the year (247th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 247th day of the year (248th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Most notably, the crowds are said to have raped, killed and grotesquely mutilated the Princesse de Lamballe, friend of Marie Antoinette and sister-in-law to the Duc d'Orleans. It was said that her head was paraded atop a pike under the captive Queen's windows at the Temple. Religious figures also figured prominently among the victims: the massacres occurred during a time of great and rising resentment against the Roman Catholic Church, which eventually led to the temporary dechristianisation of France. Over a forty-eight hour period beginning on September 2, 1792, as the French Legislative Assembly (successor to the National Constituent Assembly) dissolved into chaos, angry mobs massacred three bishops, including the Archbishop of Arles, and more than two hundred priests. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France and Archduchess of Austria (born November 1755 – executed 16 October 1793) Daughter of Maria Theresa of Austria, wife of Louis XVI and mother of Louis XVII. She was guillotined at the height of the French Revolution. ... Louis-Philippe-Joseph dOrléans, by Antoine-François Callet. ... The Temple was an ancient fortress in Paris, located in what are now the IIIe and IVe arrondissements. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Roman Catholic Church... The Dechristianisation of France during the French Revolution is a conventional description of the results of a number of separate policies, conducted by various governments of France between the start of the French Revolution in 1789 and the Concordat of 1801. ... September 2 is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1792 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... During the French Revolution, the Legislative Assembly was the legislature of France from October 1, 1791 to September 1792. ... The National Constituent Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale constituante) was formed from the National Assembly on July 9, 1789, during the first stages of the French Revolution. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      This article is about... The former Archbishopric of Arles had its episcopal see in the city of Arles, in southern France. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Restif de la Bretonne saw the bodies piled high in front of the Châtelet and witnessed atrocities that he recorded in Les Nuits de Paris (1793). Nicolas-Edme Rétif (October 23, 1734 – February 2, 1806). ... Châtelet can refer to: The city of Châtelet, Belgium. ...

See also

• The Legislative Assembly and the fall of the French monarchy

The French Revolution was a period in the history of France covering the years 1789 to 1799, in which republicans overthrew the Bourbon monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church perforce underwent radical restructuring. ...

External links

• "The September Massacres : Sept. 2 – 7, 1792"
• The September Massacres witnessed by Restif de la Bretonne
• The September Massacres witnessed by Earl Gower, a British diplomat

Further reading

• Hibbert, Christopher, 1980. The Days of the French Revolution (New York: William Morrow)
• Schama, Simon, 1992. Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution (New York: Alfred A. Knopf)