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THIS MONTH'S PAINTING
Madame R. or Rachel in the role of Camille, by Edouard-Louis DUBUFE
Of all the legendary figures of French theatre, Rachel remains one of the most fascinating. Born in poverty in 1821, the daughter of Alsatian jewish pedlars, little Elisa Félix, not yet 17, made her debut in 1838 under the name of Rachel, and her career was to bring her the greatest success. Indeed, she was to be recognised as the greatest tragedian of the 19th century.
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MINI-DOSSIER: THE GREAT SANHEDRIN, JEWS DURING THE EMPIRE
Napoleon took but little interest in the Jews when he came to power. It was only in 1806 that, when faced with mounting hostility to the Jews in France, Napoleon turned to the problem of Jewish integration in the Empire. Having already built the Empire on the religious peace brought about by the Concordat, Napoleon then decided to form an assembly of Jewish notables who would represent the Jewish community and be a consultative body with the aim of bringing Jews over to his policies. This finally became the Great Sanhedrin, creaed in the image of the Sanhedrin which met in ancient Jerusalem. This was the beginning of Jewish emancipation.
Texts:
- Napoleon and the Jews, by Emmanuel Papot
Documents:
- Imperial decree of 17 March, 1808, prescribing measures for the execution of the regulation of 10 december, 1806, regarding the Jews
- Imperial decree of 20 July, 1808, concerning Jews with no fixed first or family names
In pictures:
Lithograph (detail) by Emile Vernier after the painting: The Great Sanhedrin of 4 February, 1807, by Edouard Moyse
Biography:
- DE COLOGNA, Abraham Vita (1754-1832), first Great Rabbi of France
On the web:
The wikipedia entry for Napoleon and the Jews
Reading matter:
- Schwarzfuchs, Simon, Napoleon, the Jews and the Sanhedrin, London, Boston, Henley: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1979
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200 YEARS AGO
Religion
The sessions of the Great Sanhedrin ended on Monday 9 March, 1807. «When the assembly broke up, it delivered the conclusions of its deliberations to the Emperor's commissaries asking them to place them before His Majesty». (Moniteur, 11 March, 1807)
Charity
«The association of the Sisters of Charity, founded by Saint Vincent de Paul, has at present two thousand members in France. It service two hundred and forty houses. Madame Deschaux is the Mother General Superior of these respectable girls, and they dedicate themselves to bringing succour to the sick of all sorts, in civil and military hospitals, at home, in prisons and generally in every place where humanity is suffering. The Sisters of Charity also look after the education of poor girls. They also care for orphans of both sexes. The house called the Maison de la Croix is soon to be placed at their disposal, in accordance with the imperial decree of 6 January. This house is much larger than their current house, the old Maison des Orphelines in rue du Vieux-Colombier, which is destined to become the principal house of the missionaries of Saint-Lazare.» (Journal de l'Empire, 15 March, 1807)
150 YEARS AGO
On 13 and 14 March, 1857, an auction of masterpieces took place at the sale rooms in rue Drouot in Paris. Amongst the works for sale were: the Blessed Virgin and the infant Jesus, by Rubens, the portrait of Madame de Maintenon, by Mignard, and Salome receiving the head of John the Baptist, by Leonardo da Vinci.
(Moniteur Universel, 9 March, 1807)
On 15 March, 1857, Napoleon III received Prince Danielo, ruler of the Principality of Montenegro. The French emperor had offered Montenegro protection against the Ottoman Empire during the Congress of Paris in 1856.
“Montenegro or Black Mountain, (Kara-Dagh in Turkish) is a small state of the Ottoman Empire belonging to the province of Roumelia. It is governed by a prince-bishop, known as the Vladika. It measures 3000 km2 with a population of 60,000 and it stands to the south-east of Herzegovina, and is an enclave within the Ottoman territory of Albania.
Montenegro comprises for the most part two chains of mountains. The principal town in Cetinje, which is made up of 80 houses built around a convent. Despite a certain autonomy, the principality is in permanent struggle with the Ottoman Empire."
(Source: Moniteur Universel, 12 March, 1857)
Montenegro was to achieve independence in 1878 with the Congress of Berlin.
Wishing you an excellent, Napoleonic, week.
Peter Hicks
Historian and Web editor
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, No 406, 9 - 15 March, 2007
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© this Napoleon.org weekly bulletin is published by the Fondation Napoléon. Reproduction or all or part of this bulletin is forbidden, without prior agreement of the Fondation Napoléon.
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THIS WEEK in the MAGAZINE
PRESS REVIEW
- Working women in the 19th century on the BBC website
WHAT'S ON
Conferences:
- Napoleon at the Zenith: a bi-centennial seminar, Liverpool, UK
Exhibitions:
- Napoleon, Trikolore und Kaiseradler über Rhein und Weser, Wesel and Minden, Germany
- NAPOLÉON An Intimate Portrait, Oklahoma, USA
- Das Königreich Württemberg 1806–1918. Monarchie und Moderne (The kingdom of Württemberg 1806–1918. Monarchy and modernity), Stuttgart, Germany
- Champignon Bonaparte - illustrations by Gilles Bachelet, Paris, France
- "The trace of the eagle", the Invalides dome, Paris, France
Got a problem with the letter? Try the home page: http://www.napoleon.org
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