The Legal Career of Claude François Chauveau-Lagarde at the Time of the French Revolution
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----------------- UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC À MONTRÉAL THE LEGAL CAREER OF CLAUDE FRANÇOIS CHAUVEAU-LAGARDE AT THE TIME OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION THE SIS PRESENTED AS PARTIAL REQUIREMENT OF THE MASTERS OF HISTORY BY SHANNON DOIRON NOVEMBER 2012 UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC À MONTRÉAL Service des bibliothèques · Avertlsseaient La diffusion de ce mémoire se fait dans le' respect des droits de son auteur, qui a signé le formulaire Autorisation de repioduire. et de diffuser un travail de recherche de cycles sup~rleurs (SDU-522- Rév.01-2006). Cette autorisation .stipule que <<conformément ·à l'article 11 du Règlement no 8 des études de cycles supérieurs, [l'auteur] concède à l'Université du Québec à Montréal une llc~nce non exclusive d'utilisation et de . publication de la totalité ou d'une partie importante de [son] travail de recherche pour des fins pédagogiques et non commerciales. Plus précisément, [l'auteur] autorise l'Université du Québec à Montréal à reproduire, diffuser, prêter, distribuer ou vendre des .· copies da. [son] travail da rechercha à des flns non commerciales sur quelque support que ce soit, y compris l'Internet. Cette licence et cette autorisation n'entrainent pas une renonciation de [la] part [de l'auteur] à [ses] droits moraux ni à [ses] droits da propriété intellectuelle. Sauf ententé contraire, [l'auteur} conserve la liberté da diffuser et de commercialiser ou non ce travail dont [il] possède un exemplaire ..» UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC À MONTRÉAL LA CARRIÈRE LÉGALE DE CLAUDE FRANÇOIS CHAUVEAU-LAGARDE AU TEMPS DE LA RÉVOLUTION FRANÇAISE MÉMOIRE PRÉSENTÉ COMME EXIGENCE PARTIELLE DE LA MAÎTRISE EN HISTOIRE PAR SHANNON DOIRON NOVEMBRE 2012 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, 1 would like to thank my superviser, Professer Pascal Bastien, who, aside from providing me with much valuable advice across the course of my research, has always been available to answer any gueries I might have. Second, 1 am grateful to the staff of UQAM's history department and that of the Archives Nationales de France for their help in the facilitation of my studies. I would also at this point like to thank those Concordia University professors who provided the reference letters 1 needed prior to my admission to the program. Finally, I could not have achieved what I have up to this point without the encouragement of both my parents. They have been unstinting in the ir support. TABLE OF CONTENTS RÉSUMÉ/SUMMARY ....................... ...... .......... ... .. ................................................ ... .. .... .......... v-vi INTRODUCTION ..... .. .......... ............................ ... ........... .. ................ ... .. .. .. .. ....... ..... .. .............. ....... 1 CHAPTER I HISTORIOGRAPHICAL COMPONENT ............... .... ... ... .......... .. ..... ... .... .. ............... ... .......... ...... 4 1 .1. Pertinent H istoriography ............ .. ............................................................................................. 4 1 .2 . Problématique ..... .. ............................................ ..... ... ..... .. .... .... ..... ....................................... ... 20 1.3. Methodology ................................................................................................... ............ ... ......... 24 CHAPTER II CHAUVEAU-LAGARDE'S EARL Y YEARS AND THE ST ART OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION ...... .. ...... .. ..... ...... ........... ............................................ ... .. ... .. ..... .. ............ ... ............ 27 2.1. Background and context ...... ................. .... .. .... .... .. .......................... ............ .. .......... .. .............. 27 2 .2. Start of the French Revolution .. .. .................................................................. .. .... .... .. ... .. ..... .... 32 CHAPTER III CHAUVEAU-LAGARDE'S LEGAL CAREER DURING THE TERROR .......... .. .................. .. 56 3 .1. The significance of the Terror for Chauveau-Lagarde ............................................................ 56 3 .2. Trial of Marie Antoinette and aftermath .... .... ...................................................... ................... 57 3.3. Trials of the Girondins and Madame Roland .......................................................................... 66 3.4. Other notable clients, including Madame Élisabeth ............................................................... 71 3.5. An overall view of law and justice during the Terror ............ .. ................ .. ............................. 78 CONCLUSION ... .......................... ..... ... ..... .... ...... .. .... .............. .. .. ... ................. .. .. .......... ................ 88 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................... .. ................ .. ............................. .. ................... 93 RÉSUMÉ Cette recherche a pour objet la carrière d'avocat de Claude François Chauveau-Lagarde pendant la Révolution Française. Les analyses proposées révèlent les détails de la vie de Chauveau-Lagarde avant 1789, les contextes légaux et politiques de la période en question, ses perspectives sur la Révolution, les perspectives qu ' il a adoptées envers cet évènement dans le temps et la manière dont son comportement a affecté sa vie jusqu'à la fin de la Terreur. L'objectif principal de cette recherche consiste à démontrer, en examinant les expériences de Chauveau-Lagarde, comment la politique de la Révolution a infiltré le monde légal de cette période de l' histoire. La position légale de cet avocat, pendant la période de la Terreur, donne une perspective unique d'analyse de la Révolution Française, dû aux conséquences des sphères de la loi et de la politique qui s'y sont intégrées. La vie de Chauveau-Lagarde était en danger en raison d' une posture qui semblait démontrer des sympathies contre-révolutionnaires. Le fait que Chauveau Lagarde a survécu donne encore plus d'intérêt à l' analyse de sa vie et de sa carrière et à 1' importance de la loi, même dans un moment où le droit paraît suspendu. MOTS CLÉS: AVOCAT, DÉFENSE, TRIBUNAL RÉVOLUTIONNAIRE, RÉVOLUTION FRANÇAISE, TERREUR. SUMMARY This piece of research concems itself with the legal career of Claude François Chauveau Lagarde at the ti me of the French Revolution. The issues to be analyzed include Chauveau-Lagarde' s background information, the legal and political contexts ofthe time in question, his views on the French Revolution, the stances he came to adopt, and how this affected the manner his life unfolded right up to the end of the Terror. Furthermore, the impact that such behavior had on his post-revolutionary career will be examined, if only to give sorne idea of how a legal defender of notable counter-revolutionaries could benefit from having acted in such a capacity. Y et the principal aim of my thesis will be to show, through Chauveau-Lagarde's experiences, the extent to which the politics of the Revolution infiltrated the legal framework that came into place following the overthrow of the monarchy. The legal advocacy that this lawyer provided for his many well-known clients during the Terror provides a unique focal point in analyzing the French Revolution. This is due to the overlapping nature of law and politics during the time in question. For Chauveau-Lagarde' s very life would be in danger as a result of the legal position he found himself in, a position which seemed to retlect counter-revolutionary sympathies. The fact that he survived adds greater interest to the analysis of his li fe and career. INTRODUCTION Among the numerous headstories that currently adom the Montparnasse Cemetary in Parisis one that bears the epitaph "Chauveau-Lagarde: Avocat de la Reine au procès de 1793".1 The queen in question was Marie Antoinette, widow of King Louis XVI of France. The trial was the one that was attempting to determine her supposed treachery of French interests. In reality, though, it was really nothing more than a show trial meant to appease the anti-monarchic bloodthirstiness of the French Revolution, which had broken out in 1789.2 And one of the lawyers who defended her at this time, a time when any kind of association with the counter-revolution cou id bring about a death sentence, was a former avocat au parlement who went by the name of Claude François Chauveau-Lagarde. A product of the Old Regime, the callîng of the Estates General on the eve of the Revolution had initially seen Chauveau-Lagarde sympathetic to what was unraveling.3 Yet such a position ultimately did not materialize into more hardened stances on his behalf, as would be demonstrated by the way he responded to the situations that he found himself in throughout the political turbulence of the years to come. There is no question that Marie Antoinette was Chauveau-Lagarde's most famous cl ient. His epitaph is significant in this regard due to the fact that it makes reference to an event which was only two days in length and which was essentially a charade. For inscriptions that are found on tombstones generally retlect lifelong attributes and achievements, though this one focuses on one event in particular. Y et the role that Chauveau-Lagarde played in Marie Antoinette's ordeal, however he came to occupy that rote and however minimal his influence on the outcome of events, became attached with his name and reputation. And the place that his doomed client continues to occupy in the pantheon of history does not make this ali that surprising. Therefore his epitaph, though commemorating a trial in which he pleaded unsuccessfully, might