![ChouanBreton](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/ChouanBreton.jpg)
Chouan ("the silent one", or "owl") is a French nickname. It was used as a
nom de guerre by the
Chouan brothers, most notably Jean Cottereau, better known as
Jean Chouan
Jean Chouan () was the nom de guerre of the Frenchman, Jean Cottereau, who was born in Saint-Berthevin, near Laval, in the department of Mayenne on 30 October 1757 and died 18 July 1794 in Olivet, Mayenne. He was a counter-revolutionary, an ...
, who led a major revolt in
Bas-Maine against the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
. Participants in this revolt – and to some extent French anti-Revolutionary activists in general – came to be known as ''Chouans'', and the revolt itself came to be known as the ''
Chouannerie
The Chouannerie (from the Chouan brothers, two of its leaders) was a royalist uprising or counter-revolution in twelve of the western ''départements'' of France, particularly in the provinces of Brittany and Maine, against the First Repub ...
''.
Origin of the word
Jean Cottereau and his brothers all inherited the nickname Chouan from their father, a clog merchant and ''homme honorable'' from
Saint-Berthevin
Saint-Berthevin () is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France.
Population
Sights
* 11th century Saint-Berthevin church.
* Lime kilns at Les Brosses, listed as a Historic Monument.
* High rock, named the Chair of Saint-Berth ...
in Mayenne, on the border with Brittany. One view is that this nickname originated from his talent for impersonating the cry of the
owl
Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...
(''chouette'' in French), or specifically the
tawny owl
The tawny owl (''Strix aluco''), also called the brown owl, is commonly found in woodlands across Europe to western Siberia, and has seven recognized subspecies. It is a stocky, medium-sized owl, whose underparts are pale with dark streaks, a ...
, which was called ''chouan'' in old French (French ''chat-huant''), a designation that survived in the western ''
langue d'oïl
Langue is a municipality in the Valle Department, Honduras.
The town is located near the border of El Salvador and is a regional Hammock making center. Most of the town is made up of sharecroppers and day laborers. There are usually Mormon miss ...
'' dialect spoken in Mayenne. According to another authority, the only reason the members of the Cottereau family had long borne the surname Chouan was that their grandparent was sad and taciturn by nature, and according to yet another, because they used owl-calls as warning and recognition signals whilst out on smuggling trips. Writing within living memory of the events, Jacques Duchemin des Cépeaux insisted that,
The surname of Chouan was given to Jean Chouan's grandfather because he was by nature taciturn and sad and because, at meetings, he kept himself out of the way in a corner. Since that time, the Cottereau family has maintained this surname. It was in turn given to all men who mustered to fight under the command of Jean Chouan, and finally to other royalists in arms in the western provinces. As for the account that the first Chouans imitated the cry of birds of the night to recognise and call each other, it is a supposition made by those who - not knowing the true explanation - nevertheless wanted to have some explanation to satisfy their curiosity... Maybe some insurgents had this idea which was suggested to them by their nickname. Although it is only some, it is to be noted that the bird formerly dedicated to armed wisdom became a sort of emblem for the bellicose piety of our peasants."
One possible reason the name was extended to the royalist troops of Maine, Normandy and Brittany is the riot at
Saint-Ouën-des-Toits on 15 August 1792, in which (among others) Jean and René Cottereau participated. There, they signalled to the
Laval authorities. Another is that the royalist troops mustered at night using the owl call as a signal.
Spread
![Cachet chouan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Cachet_chouan.JPG)
The opinion of some historians (including abbot Paulouin) writing on the revolt states that "the insurgents of the
Sarthe
Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the '' Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It ha ...
did not receive the nickname Chouans, but took it up of their own accord at the beginning of their resistance career".
The 19th century historians — J.-J. M. Savary, J.-M. Lequinio the author of ''Mémoires d'un Administrateur des Armées Républicaines dans la Vendée'' — differed.
Joseph de Puisaye
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
, the best-informed on the topic after having been the Chouannerie's supreme commander, affirmed that the Chouan brothers gave their name to the revolt which they had first organised.
A curious shield of the revolt seems to bear a sort of official use of owls (also the emblem of
Minerva
Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Rom ...
) in representing the Chouannerie. It bore the arms of France, ''right'',
[Three fleurs de lys.] supported by two owls, with a double motto, ''IN SAPIENTIA ROBUR'' at the top, ''SIC REFLORESCENT'' at the bottom. It is to be found on some publications emanating from the "Royalist agencies in England", notably on the frontispiece of ''l’
Almanac
An almanac (also spelled ''almanack'' and ''almanach'') is an annual publication listing a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, tide tables, and othe ...
h Royaliste pour l'année 1795, troisième du règne de
Louis XVII
Louis XVII (born Louis Charles, Duke of Normandy; 27 March 1785 – 8 June 1795) was the younger son of King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette. His older brother, Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France, died in June 1789, a little over a m ...
, à
Nantes (
Londres
Londres may refer to:
Locations
* London, capital of the United Kingdom and England, called ''Londres'' in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Galician, and Filipino
* Londres, Catamarca, Argentina, formally "San Juan de la Ribera de Londres" ...
) et se trouve dans toutes les villes de la
Bretagne, de la
Normandie, du
Poitou
Poitou (, , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe.
Geography
The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical c ...
, du
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...
, du
Perche, de l'
Anjou Anjou may refer to:
Geography and titles France
* County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou
**Count of Anjou, title of nobility
*Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France
**Duk ...
, etc., et bientôt dans toute la
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
'' or, in English, "The Royalist Almanac for the year 1795, third year of the reign of Louis XVII, at Nantes (ie London) and found in all the towns of Brittany, Normandy, Poitou, Maine, Perche, Anjou, and soon throughout the whole of France".
See also
*
Tombe à la fille
The Tombe à la fille (Girl's tomb) is a small tomb located in the woods of Teillay, Brittany, France. According to local tradition, a girl killed by the Chouans during the French revolution is buried there. Today it is a place of great devotion ...
Notes and references
Sources
*
{{Authority control
Surnames
Reactionary
*
Groups of the French Revolution
1793 establishments in France