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Pierre Claude François Daunou (; 18 August 176120 June 1840) was a French statesman of the
The ''
*
Pierre Claude François Daunou pamphlets and works
from the Ball State University Digital Media Repository {{DEFAULTSORT:Daunou, Pierre Claude Francois 1761 births 1840 deaths People from Boulogne-sur-Mer Politicians from Hauts-de-France Girondins Orléanists Deputies to the French National Convention Presidents of the National Convention Members of the Council of Five Hundred Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Bourbon Restoration Members of the 1st Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 2nd Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the Chamber of Peers of the July Monarchy First French Empire French archivists French classical liberals French essayists 19th-century French historians French male essayists 18th-century French Roman Catholic priests 19th-century French Roman Catholic priests Collège de France faculty Members of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery
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 ...
and Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
. An author and historian, he served as the nation's archivist under both the Empire and the Restoration
Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to:
* Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
** Audio restoration
** Film restoration
** Image restoration
** Textile restoration
* Restoration ecology
...
, contributed a volume to the ''Histoire littéraire de la France
''Histoire littéraire de la France'' is an enormous history of French literature initiated in 1733 by Dom Rivet and the Benedictines of St. Maur. It was abandoned in 1763 after the publication of volume XII. In 1814, members of the Académie d ...
'', and published more than twenty volumes of lectures he delivered when he held the chair of history and ethics at the Collège de France
The Collège de France (), formerly known as the ''Collège Royal'' or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment (''grand établissement'') in France. It is located in Paris ne ...
.
Early career
He was born atBoulogne-sur-Mer
Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...
. After studying at the school the Oratorians An Oratorian is a member of one of the following religious orders:
* Oratory of Saint Philip Neri (Roman Catholic), who use the postnominal letters C.O.
* Oratory of Jesus (Roman Catholic)
* Oratory of the Good Shepherd (Anglican)
* Teologisk Orator ...
operates there, he joined the order in Paris in 1777. He was professor in various seminaries
A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...
from 1780 to 1787, when he was ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...
a priest. He had by then published essays and poems that established his reputation in literary circles.
With the onset of the French Revolution, he supported the Civil Constitution of the Clergy; a proffered appointment to a high Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
office failed to induce him to alter his position.
Elected to 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 National ...
by the Pas-de-Calais
Pas-de-Calais (, " strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments ...
''département
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...
'', he associated himself with the moderate Girondist
The Girondins ( , ), or Girondists, were members of a loosely knit political faction during the French Revolution. From 1791 to 1793, the Girondins were active in the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention. Together with the Montagnard ...
s and strongly opposed the death sentence
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...
imposed on 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 ...
. Daunou took little part in the Girondist clash with their radical opponents, The Mountain
The Mountain (french: La Montagne) was a political group during the French Revolution. Its members, called the Montagnards (), sat on the highest benches in the National Convention.
They were the most radical group and opposed the Girondins. Th ...
, but was involved in the events of his party's overthrow in the summer of 1793 and was imprisoned for almost a year.
Directory
In December 1794 he returned to the convention and was the principal author of theConstitution of the Year III
The Constitution of the Year III (french: Constitution de l’an III) was the constitution of the French First Republic that established the Executive Directory. Adopted by the convention on 5 Fructidor Year III (22 August 1795) and approved ...
that established the Directory
Directory may refer to:
* Directory (computing), or folder, a file system structure in which to store computer files
* Directory (OpenVMS command)
* Directory service, a software application for organizing information about a computer network's u ...
in November 1795. It is probably because of his Girondinism that the Council of the Ancients
The Council of Ancients or Council of Elders (french: Conseil des Anciens) was the upper house of the French legislature under the Constitution of the Year III, during the period commonly known as the Directory (French: ''Directoire''), from 2 ...
was given the right of convoking the Council of Five Hundred
The Council of Five Hundred (''Conseil des Cinq-Cents''), or simply the Five Hundred, was the lower house of the legislature of France under the Constitution of the Year III. It existed during the period commonly known (from the name of the ...
outside Paris, an expedient which made possible Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
's ''coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
'' (the 18 Brumaire
The Coup d'état of 18 Brumaire brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of France. In the view of most historians, it ended the French Revolution and led to the Coronation of Napoleon as Emperor. This bloodless ''coup d'état'' overt ...
'') in 1799.
Daunou was also drew up the plans for the erection and organization of the Institut de France
The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute m ...
. He was instrumental in crushing the Royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...
insurgency known as the 13 Vendémiaire
13 Vendémiaire Year 4 in the French Republican Calendar (5 October 1795 in the Gregorian calendar) is the name given to a battle between the French Revolutionary troops and Royalist forces in the streets of Paris. This battle was part of the ...
. He was elected by twenty-seven ''départements'' as member of the Council of Five Hundred and became its first president. He was ineligible for election as a director, having himself set the age qualification for that office at forty when he was thirty-four. When the government passed into the hands of Talleyrand and his associates, Daunou returned briefly to literature, but in 1798 he was sent to Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
to organize the Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...
.
Napoleon and Restoration
In 1799 Daunou returned the role of statesman, preparing theConstitution of the Year VIII
The Constitution of the Year VIII (french: Constitution de l'an VIII or french: Constitution du 22 frimaire an VIII) was a national constitution of France, adopted on 24 December 1799 (during Year VIII of the French Republican calendar), which ...
, which established 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 coun ...
, under which Napoleon held the position of First Consul
The Consulate (french: Le Consulat) was the top-level Government of France from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 10 November 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire on 18 May 1804. By extension, the term ''The Con ...
. He remained largely ambivalent towards Napoleon, but supported him against Pope Pius VII
Pope Pius VII ( it, Pio VII; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. Chiaramonti was also a m ...
and the Papal States, providing him historical arguments in a scholarly treatise ''Sur la puissance temporelle du Pape'' (''On the Temporal Power of the Papacy'') in 1809.
Nonetheless, he took little part in the new regime, of which he was resentful, and turned more and more to literature. At the Restoration
Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to:
* Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
** Audio restoration
** Film restoration
** Image restoration
** Textile restoration
* Restoration ecology
...
in 1814, he was deprived of the post of ''archivist of the Empire'', which he had held since 1807. In 1819 he became the chair of history and ethics
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...
at the Collège de France
The Collège de France (), formerly known as the ''Collège Royal'' or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment (''grand établissement'') in France. It is located in Paris ne ...
; in that role, his courses were among the most famous of the period. With the advent of the July Monarchy
The July Monarchy (french: Monarchie de Juillet), officially the Kingdom of France (french: Royaume de France), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 26 July 1830, with the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 F ...
in 1830, he regained his old post, now under the title ''archivist of the Kingdom''. In 1839, Daunou was made a peer.
Legacy
The ''Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition
The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is a 29-volume reference work, an edition of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. It was developed during the encyclopaedia's transition from a British to an American publication. So ...
'' writes:
See also
*Society of the Friends of Truth
The Society of the Friends of Truth (Amis de la Verité), also known as the Social Club (French:
''Cercle social''), was a French revolutionary organization founded in 1790. It was "a mixture of revolutionary political club, the Masonic Lodge, ...
References
;Additional sources *External links
* *Pierre Claude François Daunou pamphlets and works
from the Ball State University Digital Media Repository {{DEFAULTSORT:Daunou, Pierre Claude Francois 1761 births 1840 deaths People from Boulogne-sur-Mer Politicians from Hauts-de-France Girondins Orléanists Deputies to the French National Convention Presidents of the National Convention Members of the Council of Five Hundred Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Bourbon Restoration Members of the 1st Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 2nd Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the Chamber of Peers of the July Monarchy First French Empire French archivists French classical liberals French essayists 19th-century French historians French male essayists 18th-century French Roman Catholic priests 19th-century French Roman Catholic priests Collège de France faculty Members of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery