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COMMEMORATION: THE 'GERMINAL FRANC'
The law of 7 Germinal, An XI (28 March, 1803) confirmed the existence of the franc, and its official title became the 'franc germinal'. The actual value in silver and alloy was identical to its face value. This law also fixed the value ratio between gold and silver: 1 kilo of gold was worth 15.5 kilos of silver. The portrait of the First Consul now appeared on the newly minted half-, three-quarter-, one-, two-, and five-franc silver coins, and the twenty- and forty-franc gold coins.
The 5-Franc piece, Napoleon Emperor, 1806, by par K. Huguenaud
A history of the Franc: the key moments, par I. Delage
PROJECT FOR THE PUBLICATION OF THE CORRESPONDANCE OF NAPOLEON
The Committee for the Publication of the Correspondance of Napoleon met on 20 March, 2003.
One year after the launch of the project to publish for the first time the complete correspondance of Napoleon, the publication date for the first two volumes, namely Autumn 2004, is still on target.
Assistance in the tracking, pinpointing, and collecting of letters has been given to us by the French national public archival system as a whole:, in particular, the Archives de France, the Centre historique des Archives nationales, the Archives du Ministère des Affaires étrangères, the Service Historique de l'Armée de Terre, and of the Marine. Collectors too have done their part, offering us photocopies of letters in their possession. The whole of the letter-gathering part of the project should be finished by January 2004.
Our team has also taken the search not only to Europe but also further afield, notably, Brazil and Japan.
Hundreds of volunteers are helping us daily with the project, and the work of annotating each letter started several months ago. Work groups have been established for the first volumes (1781-1797 for volume one and 1798-1799 volume two), related to the specialisations of those doing the work.
If you would like to participate in this historical project, please contact Emilie Barthet, the chargée d'affaires for the project.
TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO
7 Germinal, An XI (28 March, 1803), saw the opening night of the play Proserpine, a lyric tragedy by Quinault, reworked by Guillard, with music by Paisiello. Despite some slack moments in the performance and problems with the stage machinery, the opera was a great success.
8 Germinal, An XI (29 March, 1803), Bonaparte sent a letter to Charles IV king of Spain with the aim of securing his support in the face of British revendications. Charles IV was never to reply to the letter.
11 Germinal, An XI (1 April, 1803), a new law was passed regulating the use of Christian names: only those contained within the Gregorian calender or historical names were permitted, as for the names written on the Republican Calendar, they were banned. No more more Aubépines (Hawthorns), Basilics (Basil), or Belle de nuits (Deadly Nightshade)... Other revolutionary Christian names included 'Montagnarde' for a girl, 'Valmy' after the revolutoinary battle, and 'Barras' after the Director. Antiquity was also a fruitful source of names, and civil lists frequently included such appellations as Brutus, César, Agricola, etc.
The list of names for each day in the Republican Calendar can be found here on the site - NEW!
Wishing you an excellent, Napoleonic, week!
Peter Hicks
Historian and Web editor
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THIS WEEK:
Snippets
- Giant windmills next to Waterloo?
Press Review
The latest number of the Times Literary Supplement
Just published
- The Prince of Europe: The Life of Charles Joseph De Ligne (1735-1814), by Philip Mansel
What's on
- Exhibition: Jefferson's America, Napoleon's France
- Television: France 2's Napoleon in English on A&E
- Exhibition: Napoleon's 'vows of love', in and around Arenenberg, Switzerland
- Exhibition: Napoleon and Alexander I in Hildesheim (Germany)
- Exhibition: The first Italian Republic, 1802-1805 - ends this weekend!
The monthly titles
- Book of the Month: The Oxford History of the French Revolution, by William Doyle
- This month's picture, The Battle of Jena, 14 October 1806, by Horace Vernet
- Article of the Month, Napoleon's Administrative Army – His Prefects, by Robert D. Williams
- In the Collectors Corner, The Prince Impérial and his dog Néro, by Carpeaux
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