Why was the Republican Calendar created and how was it influenced by the revolutionary ideology of 1793?
The Republican Calendar was the cornerstone dechristianization in the French revolution that signified Frances's shift from political and social dependency on Christian ideals to creating a secular and rational society. The Republican Calendar was a tool used to highlight the ideology of the revolution and the achievements of the revolution while separating France from the influence and tradition of the church. Christianity was a symbol of the ancien regime that would have to be destroyed in order to create a new order of equality. Created soon after the start of the Terror, the Republican Calendar would come to symbolize just how far France would go to preserve the ideals of the revolution and guarantee that its progress would not be lost. The new calendar would highlight french society and culture, replacing the symbols of Christianity with symbols of the revolution, such as reason and morality. Images of the calendar were published next to books of philosophy and scientific instruments and were found on everything from paintings to stamps. The Republican Calendar marked a dramatic shift in the revolution that showed the extent that France would go to make sure its revolution would live on forever.
Turning Away From the Ancien Regime
One of the main goals of the French Revolution was to get rid of the foundations of the ancien regime, such as privilege and royal institutions. The people of France believed that the revolution marked the start of a new era--one marked by liberty instead of oppression (Andrews, 517). The social order of the ancien regime was founded on time and origin, so by making a new calendar they could erase the notion of time-honored or hereditary privilege and create a new society free from those distinctions (Perovic, 1). The new Jacobin government sought to get rid of anything that reminded them of the hardships they suffered under the king and the church and that creating their own calendar was a symbolic way to do so (Report on the Calendar: 1793). The Gregorian calendar was put into fruition by Pope Gregory XIII and was built around important dates and ideas in Christianity (Zerubavel, 871). The committee that created the new calendar wrote a report detailing their objective in doing so, saying that they needed a new calendar because the "prejudices and lies of both the throne and the church sullied each page of the calendar we were using." In its report, the committee condemned the Gregorian calendar for its ignorance and false images of the world that often led to what they defined as "religious error" and sought to replace those images with the truth and nature and reason. Moreover, the report alleged that priests were the enemy of France who only wanted to enslave mankind and take the people's riches for themselves, and in order to do away with this injustice, the Committee argued it needed to create a more sensible calendar that would enrich the people and make them prosperous. This new calendar would be more beneficial to the people of France because it would reorient the economy on agriculture and focus on tangible truths of life that people could rely on rather than imaginary saints that gave their life no real meaning (Report on the Calendar: 1793). The people would be able to ground themselves in the truth of nature, and wouldn't have to rely on anyone besides themselves to become prosperous. The Republican Calendar was designed to take away the role Christianity had in France by taking away its power to dictate the practices of daily life.
Preservation of Revolutionary Ideology
The Republican Calendar, like any calendar, was created at the intersection of mathematics and cultural significance. Societies identify time with events and ideas that are important to them, establishing a symbolic framework to how they interpret the world around them. When the Jacobins were creating this calendar, they replaced the aspects of Christianity with ideas that were significant in their revolution and values (Zerubavel, 872). The French Revolution was founded on the principles of equality and reason that transcended the political and religious structures of that time, and they created their calendar to be a continuation of this process (Perovik, 1). This new system of time would reflect their new political ideology of reason and nature, counting the first day of the calendar as the day the National Assembly abolished the Monarchy (which also happened to be the autumn equinox (Shaw, 5). Months were restructured and renamed to be focused on the french harvest calendar, with several days added to the end of the calendar called Sans Culottides. These days included Virtue Day, Genius Day, Labor Day, Reason Day, Rewards Day, and Revolution Day on leap day (Censer and Hunt).
Portrayals of the calendar were accompanied by these new values. One of the most famous portrayals of the calendar contained a woman in a cap of liberty sitting atop a stone version of the calendar surrounded by books titled "République" and "Morale," as well as scientific instruments and scrolls. This shows Frances's dedication to their new government built on logic and reason as opposed to the Gregorian calendar based solely on religious belief. Instead of being an articulation of Christian values, the French calendar is based on a lunar schedule that is important to them in relationship to nature, as seen in the sundial and the astronomical globe. The women on top of the calendar represented the working class people that drove the revolution, as the information around her showed that she was gaining recognition on personal achievement rather than inheritance. The Republican Calendar was symbolic of France's allegiance to equality, reason, liberty, and solidified these ideas in the rebirth of a nation.
Significance of the Republican Calendar
Soon after it was introduced, the Republican Calendar became a triumph of the French Revolution. It was an incredible feat of science and culture that distinguished that revolutionaries took great pride in showcasing. It appeared on stamps and in literature--there were even plays written about the glory of the new calendar (Décadaire, Shaw, 9).
The Calendar was used in France throughout the revolution and into the Napoleonic Era, and its months were often used to define important events in the revolutionary timeline, like the Thermidorian Reaction (Censer and Hunt). To the people of France, the Republican Calendar signified the success of the revolution and solidified the new social and political order they revolted for (Shaw, 9).
The Republican Calendar was a crucial turning point in the revolution that solidified France's revolutionary ideology and newfound faith in science and reason. It was an extraordinary combination of culture and science that put forth a new era of liberty and equality in France. The Republican Calendar shows the dedication of Jacobins to the revolution and the extent they would go to ensure that it would live forever.
Bibliography:
Primary Sources:
“The Calendar,” from a report of the Committee of Public instruction of the French Legislative Assembly (October 1793). In LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, accessed April 20, 2020, https://revolution.chnm.org/items/show/417.
“Décadaire des hommes célèbres.” 5 October 1793, Print, 58 x 43 cm. Available from Stanford Digital Repository, https://purl.stanford.edu/vj681wf3846. Accessed April 20, 2020.
Philibert-Louis Debucourt, “Republican Calendar.” 1794, Etching, 43x36.5 cm. Available from LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, https://revolution.chnm.org/items/show/270. accessed April 20, 2020
Secondary Sources:
Andrews, George Gordon. “Making the Revolutionary Calendar.” The American Historical Review 36, no. 3 (April 1931): 515–32. https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.csbsju.edu/stable/pdf/1837912.pdf?ab_segments=0%252Fbasic_SYC-5152%252Fcontrol&refreqid=excelsior%3Ab2cb7242552ab653c3b5bfc2f7a5b168
Censer, Jack and Lynn Hunt, eds. “French Revolutionary Calendar.” In LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, https://revolution.chnm.org/items/show/1044. Accessed April 20, 2020.
Perovic, Sanja. "The Calendar in Revolutionary France : Perceptions of Time in Literature, Culture, Politics." Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012. Accessed April 27, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csbsju/reader.action?docID=977220
Perovic, Sanja. 2012. “The French Republican Calendar: Time, History and the Revolutionary Event.” Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies 35 (1): 1–16. doi:10.1111/j.1754-0208.2011.00408.x.
Shaw, Matthew. 2001. “Reactions to the French Republican Calendar.” French History 15 (1): 4–25. http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.csbsju.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=7213054d-329e-4d25-89ac-3300f3f23cce%40sdc-v-sessmgr02&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=46558144&db=hia
Zerubavel, Eviatar. “The French Republican Calendar: A Case Study in the Sociology of Time.” American Sociological Review 42, no. 6 (December 1977): 868–77. https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.csbsju.edu/stable/pdf/2094573.pdf?ab_segments=0%252Fbasic_SYC-5152%252Fcontrol&refreqid=excelsior%3A9390c918e9c18ba353165b3dc3c8feac
I didn't realize how much a calendar could mean!
I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the Republican Calendar as I was surprised by how much it played such a big role in the revolution. I think your choice of pictures and the headings above each of your sections was a great addition. I think you did a terrific job!
After reading this exhibit, I learned more about the importance of symbols in the French revolution. Specifically the calendar. I like how the Revolutionaries were so disgusted by anything and everything that had to do with the old regime and one thing that reminded them of this was the calendar. It is also interesting how they used a tool for measuring time and turned it into a tool that symbolized their values and revolutionary beliefs.