Errancis Cemetery or ''Cimetière des Errancis'' is a former cemetery in the

8th arrondissement of Paris The 8th arrondissement of Paris (''VIIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, the arrondissement is colloquially referred to as ''le huitième'' ("the eighth"). The arrondissement, ...

and was one of the four cemeteries (the others being

Madeleine Cemetery *''Cimetière de la Madeleine is also the name of a cemetery in Amiens'' Madeleine Cemetery (in French known as ''Cimetière de la Madeleine'') is a former cemetery in the 8th arrondissement of Paris and was one of the four cemeteries (the others ...

Picpus Cemetery Picpus Cemetery (french: Cimetière de Picpus, ) is the largest private cemetery in Paris, France, located in the 12th arrondissement. It was created from land seized from the convent of the Chanoinesses de St-Augustin, during the French Revolut ...

and the Cemetery of Saint Margaret) used to dispose of the corpses of

guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at th ...

victims during 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 November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

History and location

Errancis Cemetery opened on March 5, 1793 and was finally closed on April 23, 1797. On the site there are now apartments. The cemetery was located between the current Boulevard de Courcelles, Rue de Rocher, Rue de Monceau and Rue de Miromesnil, at that time a plot running along '' le mur des Fermiers-Généraux''.

During the French Revolution

The cemetery was used for the bodies of victims of the

after the

was closed. It was used for this purpose between March 25, 1793 until the end of May 1795. The memorial plaque, located on Rue de Monceau between number 97 and the corner with Rue de Rocher, states that 1,119 victims of the guillotine were buried here. Reputed to have been buried here (amongst the many others), the date is the date of death: *

François Chabot François Chabot (23 October 1756 – 5 April 1794) was a French politician. Early life Born in Saint-Geniez-d'Olt (Aveyron), Chabot became a Capuchin friar in Rodez before the French Revolution, while continuing to be attracted to the works ...

(April 5, 1794) *

Georges Jacques Danton Georges Jacques Danton (; 26 October 1759 – 5 April 1794) was a French lawyer and a leading figure in the French Revolution. He became a deputy to the Paris Commune, presided in the Cordeliers district, and visited the Jacobin club. In August ...

(April 5, 1794) *

Camille Desmoulins Lucie-Simplice-Camille-Benoît Desmoulins (; 2 March 17605 April 1794) was a French journalist and politician who played an important role in the French Revolution. Desmoulins was tried and executed alongside Georges Danton when the Committee ...

(April 5, 1794) * Philippe Fabre d'Églantine (April 5, 1794) *

Marie-Jean Hérault de Séchelles Marie-Jean Hérault de Séchelles (, 20 September 1759 – 5 April 1794) was a French judge, freemason and politician who took part in the French Revolution. Origins and early career Marie-Jean Hérault de Séchelles was born in Paris int ...

(April 5, 1794) * Jean-François Lacroix (April 5, 1794) *

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(April 5, 1794) * Pierre Gaspard Chaumette (April 13, 1794) *

Lucile Duplessis Anne-Lucile-Philippe Desmoulins, born Laridon-Duplessis (18 January 1770 in Paris – 13 April 1794) was a French revolutionary, diarist, and author during the French Revolution. She was married to the revolutionary Camille Desmoulins. She was ...

(April 13, 1794), widow of Camille Desmoulins *

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(April 13, 1794), widow of Jacques Hébert * Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier (May 8, 1794) *

Madame Élisabeth Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ...

(May 10, 1794), sister of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

and

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...

François Hanriot François Hanriot (2 December 1759 – 28 July 1794) was a French Sans-culotte leader, street orator, and commander of the Garde Nationale during the French Revolution. He played a vital role in the Insurrection of 31 May – 2 June 1793 and sub ...

(July 28, 1794) *

Maximilien Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...

(July 28, 1794) *

Louis Antoine de Saint-Just Louis Antoine Léon de Saint-Just (; 25 August 17679 Thermidor, Year II 8 July 1794, was a French revolutionary, political philosopher, member and president of the French National Convention, a Jacobin club leader, and a major figure of the Fr ...

(July 28, 1794) * Antoine Simon (July 28, 1794) Famous others: * Charles-Gilbert Romme (May 20, 1795), after committing suicide, before he could be guillotined. He was a mathematician who is regarded as the father of the Revolutionary calendar.

After the French Revolution

As with the Madeleine Cemetery, the bodies decomposed to a state where they could no longer be identified, this to the dismay of Louis XVIII, who came looking for the remains of his sister in 1815. The skeletal remains were moved to the

Catacombs of Paris The Catacombs of Paris (french: Catacombes de Paris, ) are underground ossuaries in Paris, France, which hold the remains of more than six million people in a small part of a tunnel network built to consolidate Paris's ancient stone quarries. E ...

between 1844 and 1859 (probably around 1848) when the Boulevard de Courcelles was constructed. Unlike the other major revolutionary cemetery—the

—there is no plaque in the Catacombs to indicate the location of the transferred bones.

Notes

The literal translation of ''Cimetière des Errancis'' is Cemetery of the Wandering.
The cemetery is reputed to have had a sign saying: ''Dormir. Enfin!'', French for: ''To sleep. At last!''.
The cemetery was also known as the resting place of ''les estropiés'',The Friends of Père Lachaise website
/ref> French for the maimed.
The site was originally destined to become a ''charnier'' (

charnel house A charnel house is a vault or building where human skeletal remains are stored. They are often built near churches for depositing bones that are unearthed while digging graves. The term can also be used more generally as a description of a pla ...

References

{{Cemeteries in France Cemeteries in Paris 1793 establishments in France 1797 disestablishments

History and location

During the French Revolution

After the French Revolution

Notes

Further reading

References