Maximilien de Robespierre

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"It is wisdom, above all, that our guilty enemies want to drive from the Republic. To wisdom alone does it belong to consolidate the prosperity of Empires. It is for her to guarantee the fruits of our courage."

―Maximilien de Robespierre, in a speech during the 'Festival of the Supreme Being', 1794.

Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer, politician and member of the Templar Order. He was notable for starting the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution, and abolishing slavery in France.

Biography

Early life

Throughout his childhood and much of his adult life, Robespierre was closely attached with Camille Desmoulins, the son of an army officer who was responsible for initiating the Parisian revolt that caused the fall of the Bastille on the 14th of July, 1789; Robespierre and Camille attended the Lycée Louis-le-Grand together as boys.

At some point in time before 1789, Robespierre became a member of the Templar Order.

Revolutionary beginnings

In March of 1789, Robespierre volunteered to represent the poverty-stricken residents of French society during the gathering of the Third Estate. One of his major requests was to grant every citizen the right to vote. He greatly admired the ideas of freedom and equality brought on by the enlightenment, a movement of French philosophers that included Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, figures who desired radical change from within. Such were his virtues that Robespierre was bestowed the nickname "the Incorruptible", and he became an intense opposer of the death penalty.

In 5 May 1789, Robespierre and his fellow Templars attended a private party at the Palace of Versailles. The party was secretly to host the induction of the daughter of the Order's Grand Master, François de la Serre, into the Order. On that same night however, de la Serre was murdered in a coup d'tat led by former Templar François-Thomas Germain.

Germain's Templars plotted to instigate a widespread revolution across France. They sought to empower the middle class instead of powerful individuals, and by creating a consumerist society, it would be more easy for the Templars to control over humanity.

The Reign of Terror

"Monsieur. I understand Versailles is overrun with parasites."

―Maximilien de Robespierre, to Aloys la Touche, 1791.

During his Reign of Terror, Robespierre was instrumental in the trials and executions of several leading figures, including King Louis XVI of France, his queen Marie Antoinette, fellow lawyer Georges Danton, the chemical pioneer Antoine Lavoisier, among countless other nobles, royals, and fellow politicians that the revolutionaries considered to be traitors.

Aside from his revisions to France's political system, Robespierre also made changes to the religious system as well. On 7 May 1794, Robespierre supported a decree passed by the Convention that established an official religion, known historically as the Cult of the Supreme Being. He then hosted the Festival of the Supreme Being, whereby Robespierre's followers commemorated his Deist beliefs. According to Élise de la Serre, Robespierre's Deism was a loose interpretation of the Templar doctrine, serving merely as Templar propaganda.

Downfall

Jacobin Sergeant: "Thank God you made it, sir. The Commune stands with you."

Robespierre: "Thank you, Sergeant. Your loyalty does you credit."

—Robespierre and his remaining followers, as they attempted to escape from France.

In 1794, Robespierre hosted the Festival, attended by many citizens of Paris; it was here that Élise and the Assassin Arno Dorian orchestrated Robespierre's downfall. As he gave a speech to the audience, Élise spiked Robespierre's drink with powdered ergot, causing Robespierre to experience random hallucinations and give the audience the belief that he was insane and unstable.

At the same time, Arno stole letters containing the names of thousands of individuals who were to be victims of Robespierre's mass executions. He then snuck these letters to several of the citizens, who then deemed that Robespierre had gone too far.

On 27 June 1794, Robespierre was deposed and arrested by the Convention, who declared him and his followers traitors to France. However, soldiers of the Jacobin Club freed Robespierre, allowing him to escape from his captors and flee to his hideout. Unbeknownst to him, he was pursued by both Arno and Élise, who aimed to procure Germain's location from him. At his hideout, Robespierre desperately tried to contact Germain for safety. However, Germain believed that Robespierre and his Reign of Terror had served their purpose, instead abandoning his final follower.

Cornered, Robespierre was confronted by Arno, who attempted to coax the Grand Master's location from him, though Robespierre refused to talk, prompting a vengeful Élise to shoot him in the face with her pistol, shattering his jaw. Staggered and fearful of his life, Robespierre weakly wrote down Germain's location. As Arno and Elise made their escape, the French Army had overpowered the Jacobin soldiers and took the wounded Robespierre into custody once more.

Gallery

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  Concept art of Robespierre