Trophime-Gérard, marquis de Lally-Tollendal (5 March 175111 March 1830) was a French politician and philanthropist. Born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

into an old aristocratic family, he was the

legitimized Legitimation or legitimisation is the act of providing legitimacy. Legitimation in the social sciences refers to the process whereby an act, process, or ideology becomes legitimate by its attachment to norms and values within a given society. It ...

son of Thomas Arthur de Lally, who served as viceroy in India under King Louis XIV, and only discovered the secret of his birth on the day of his father's execution (9 May 1766), when he devoted himself to clearing his father's memory. He was supported by

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...

, and in 1778 succeeded in persuading

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

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 ...

to annul the decree which had sentenced the Comte de Lally, but the '' parlement'' of Rouen, to which the case was referred back, in 1784 again decided in favour of Lally's guilt. The case was retried by other courts, and Lally's innocence was never fully admitted by the French judges. In 1779 Lally-Tollendal bought the honorary title of '' Grand bailli of

Étampes Étampes () is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southwest from the center of Paris (as the crow flies). Étampes is a sub-prefecture of the Essonne department. Étampes, together with the neighboring ...

'', and in 1789 was a deputy to the Estates-General for the ''

noblesse The concept of the Scottish Noblesse, a class of nobles of either peerage or non-peerage rank, was prominently advocated for by Sir Thomas Innes of Learney during his tenure as an officer of arms. Innes of Learney believed that Scottish armige ...

'' of Paris. He played some part in the early stages of 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 ...

, but, as a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

, quickly rejected more profound changes.

Early life

Trophime Gerard Lally-Tollendal was born into an old aristocratic family on 5 March 1751. Although he was the legitimate son of Thomas Arthur Lally, he was kept unaware of his Irish heritage through his bringing up under the name Trophime. He learned of his ancestry the day of his own father's execution on May 9, 1766. After his father's execution, Lally-Tollendal spent most of his adult life fighting to clear his father's name. During this time he attended the College of Harcourt which allowed him to gain the skills needed to not only fight against his father's verdict but participate in French government.

Fighting for His Father's Innocence

Trophime's introduction into the French political world was through his constant fight to prove his father's innocence. Lally-Tollendal first began this investigation when he was only 19 years old. He sought the help of

for his influence and strengths in writing. He first approached Voltaire in 1770 via a letter outlining every injustice and false accusation made against his father. Unfortunately, at the time, Trophime Gérard de Lally-Tollendal was considered Thomas Arthur's illegitimate son. This disqualified him from defending his father in a court of law. In 1772, Trophime achieved his legitimacy and the process of clearing his father's name officially began. It is important to note that the outcome of the Thomas Arthur case is unclear. Some sources record that Thomas Arthur's case was reopened and retried more than 3 times. Although the King and his Council ruled in favor of Thomas Arthur's innocence, courts across the different provinces of France declared him guilty time and time again. Other sources state that

King 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 e ...

single-handedly repealed the guilty verdict while similar sources state that along with King Louis XVI, the King's Council gathered over the case and had a majority vote in support of Thomas Arthur's innocence. What is certain is that Thomas Arthur's innocence was never officially recorded.

Politics

At the beginning of the Revolution, Lally-Tollendal was in support of a Revolution and supported the

Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revolutio ...

. But, as the Revolution progressed, Lally-Tollendal's own conservative ideologies prevented him from continuing his support. As a result, he became in full support of Le

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for ...

and France's traditional institutions. Trophime Gérard de Lally-Tollendal was in favor of King Louis XVI even under the circumstances of the French Revolution. Throughout the Revolution, Lally-Tollendal remained entirely loyal to the King and even risked his life in an attempt to defend the King during his trial. Lally-Tollendal was also part of Clermont-Tonnerre's Monarchist Club. One of the first issues this club experienced was the Constituent Assembly's refusal to declare Catholicism as France's national religion. As well as being part of Clermont-Tonnerre's Monarchist Club, Lally-Tollendal, Clermont-Tonnerre, Bertrand de Molleville, and Malouet all plotted to help save the King from hiding on 10 August 1792. Unfortunately all of the men were recognized on the street and hunted down. They all fled to the Hôtel of Madame de Brassac where Clermont-Tonnerre was ultimately killed. Although Lally-Tollendal supported the King, he also was in support of a government with three bodies. This new government would consist of a Senate, Chamber of Representatives, and the reigning King. Each legislative body would have the power to veto but ultimately the King's vetoes held more weight. These legislative bodies would be put in place in order to create a governmental balance to ensure equal distribution of power.

Exile and return

In 1792 Lally-Tollendal was arrested but managed to emigrate to England prior to the

September Massacres The September Massacres were a series of killings of prisoners in Paris that occurred in 1792, from Sunday, 2 September until Thursday, 6 September, during the French Revolution. Between 1,176 and 1,614 people were killed by '' fédérés'', gu ...

. He joined the opposition to the strict regime of the Marquis de Mirabeau, and condemned the decisive rejection of the ''

'' by the National Constituent Assembly, begun by the

Tennis Court Oath On 20 June 1789, the members of the French Third Estate took the Tennis Court Oath (french: Serment du Jeu de Paume) in the tennis court which had been built in 1686 for the use of the Versailles palace. Their vow "not to separate and to reas ...

and confirmed by the abolition of feudalism on 4 August 1789. Later in the year he

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

. During the trial of Louis XVI by the

National Convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year Nationa ...

(December 1792 - January 1793) he offered to defend the king, but was not allowed to return to France. He did not return until after the establishment of the

Consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth c ...

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 ...

honoured him with the title of Peer of France, and in 1816 he became a member of the Académie française. From that time until his death, he devoted himself to philanthropic work, especially identifying himself with

prison reform Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, improve the effectiveness of a penal system, or implement alternatives to incarceration. It also focuses on ensuring the reinstatement of those whose lives are impacted by crimes ...

. He died in Paris on March 11, 1830.

Works

*Lally-Tollendal, ''Plaidoyer pour Louis XVI'', London, 1793 *''Défense des émigrés français adressée au peuple français'' par Trophime Gérard de Lally-Tollendal. Avant-propos de l’auteur, (daté de Londres, janvier 1797). Hambourg, chez P.F. Fauche, Imprimeur – Libraire, 1797, (X + 247 pages). *''Mémoires'', attributed to Joseph Weber, concerning Marie Antoinette (1804, partial authorship)

References

Additional References

1. Dana, Charles A. (Charles Anderson), ed, Ripley, George, ed. ''The new american cyclopaedia: A popular dictionary of general knowledge. ''Appleton; 1867. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015036731753. 2. Lally-Tolendal, Trophime-Gérard, marquis de, 1751-1830. ''Mémoire de M. le comte de Lally-Tollendal, ou seconde lettre a ses commettans. ''France: ; 1790
http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000602038.
3. Lally-Tolendal T, marquis de, Gifford J. ''A defence of the french emigrants : Addressed to the people of france. ''; 1797. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/yale.39002005692471. 4. Judicial affairs. http://voltpe.free.fr/page1.html. 5. Sean Ryan. The lally wild geese. http://indigo.ie/~wildgees/lally.htm. Updated 2002. 6. Alan Garric. Trophime Gérard de Lally-Tollendal. Geneanet Web sit
http://gw.geneanet.org/garric?lang=en&p=trophime+gerard&n=de+lally+tollendal.
7. Wedderburn, Alexander Dundas Ogilvy, 1854. ''The wedderburn book, a history of the wedderburns in the counties of berwick, and forfar. ''; 1898
http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001597968.
8. Henry Morse Stephens, ed. ''A history of the french revolution, volume 1. ''Scribner; 1905; No. 1. 9. Trophime Gérard de Lally-Tollendal. http://www.academie-francaise.fr/les-immortels/trophime-gerard-de-lally-tollendal.

Sources

* ''In turn, it gives the following references:'' ** Antoine-Vincent Arnault, ''Discours prononcé aux funérailles de M. le marquis de Lally-Tollendal le 13 mars 1830'' (Paris) ** Charles-Edmé Gauthier de Brecy, ''Nécrologie de M. le marquis de Lally-Tollendal'' (Paris, undated) **Voltaire, ''Œuvres complètes'' (Paris, 1889) - the analytical table of contents, vol. ii {{DEFAULTSORT:Lally-Tollendal, Gerard De 1751 births 1830 deaths 18th-century French people 19th-century French people Politicians from Paris Marquesses of Lally-Tollendal Counts of Lally-Tollendal Monarchiens Members of the National Constituent Assembly (France) Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Bourbon Restoration French philanthropists Members of the Académie Française