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Nonidi 19 Frimaire An CCXXXIV |
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Georges Couthon
Couthon was paralyzed. He moved about in a wheelchair with hand cranks. On 22 Prairial, he had himself carried to the rostrum by a usher to demand that the National Convention adopt a law that stripped the accused before the Revolutionary Tribunal of nearly all rights. Acquittal or death—nothing in between. No defense, and “moral” evidence was enough. Trials were to last only as long as the guillotine could keep up. Gripped by fear, the deputies raised their hands and passed the law of terror. That day marked the beginning of the Great Terror. When Couthon himself faced the guillotine on 10 Thermidor, his paralysis became an obstacle. It took several minutes to position him so the blade could sever head from body.
1755 - 1794
- December 22, 1755 · Born in Orcet, Auvergne.
- 1781 · Admitted as a lawyer in Paris.
- 1782 · Joint problems present since childhood worsen. Paralysis of the legs begins gradually.
- 1785 · Lawyer in Clermont-Ferrand. He joins the Freemasons and becomes known as the
lawyer of the poor
. - January 16, 1787 · Marries Marie Brunel. The couple has two children.
- September 1791 · Deputy of the Puy-de-Dôme department in the Legislative Assembly.
- September 1792 · Deputy of the Puy-de-Dôme department in the National Convention.
- 1793 · Having previously managed with a walking stick, Couthon now requires a wheelchair.
- May 31, 1793 · Elected member of the Committee of Public Safety.
- October 1793 · As representative of the Convention in Lyon, he implements the ordered destruction only partially and often merely symbolically.
- June 10, 1794 · Couthon introduces the Law of 22 Prairial in the Convention (known as the Terror Law).
- July 27, 1794 · Arrested in the National Convention (9 Thermidor). He is accused of having formed a triumvirate with Robespierre and Saint-Just.
- July 28, 1794 · Execution on the Place of the Revolution in Paris.
Quotes
Couthon is the gentlest and quietest inquisitor the world has ever seen.
Friedrich Sieburg on Couthon
It is less about punishing than about annihilating.
Couthon's justification for the Law of Terror
I wanted to reach the throne?
Couthon, glancing at his paralyzed legs, after Fréron accused him on 9 Thermidor of wanting to make steps out of the corpses of the people's representatives to climb to the throne
Le Moniteur
Primedi, 11 Thermidor, l'an 2 de la République Française, une et indivisible
Law of 22 Prairial II
· · · wikipedia.fr: Loi de Prairial · · ·
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Jan Knupper 2025 | CCXXXIV
