Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau
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- "Ah, but to administer is to govern, to govern is to reign. That is the essence of the problem."
- ―Mirabeau at the Tennis Court Oath, 1789.[src]
Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau (1749 – 1791), better known as simply Mirabeau, was a French nobleman, the Mentor of the Assassin Council of the French Brotherhood, and a leader of the French Revolution during its early stages. A gifted orator, he favored a constitutional monarchy built on the model of Great Britain, being a voice of moderation in the National Constituent Assembly.
Biography
Early life
- De la Serre: "Mirabeau is a good man. An honest man."
- Lafrenière: "Mirabeau is a self-aggrandizing drunk!"
- —François de la Serre and Chrétien Lafrenière discussing Mirabeau.[src]
Mirabeau was born into a wealthy aristocratic family in Le Bignon, and grew up near Marseille. At a young age, he suffered a virulent attack of smallpox, leaving his face scarred with pockmarks. Mirabeau's father obtained a commission for him in the French Army's cavalry, although the army proved to be a bad place for the young man. It was discovered that Mirabeau had had an affair with his colonel's wife. Mirebeau's father obtained a lettre de chachet and had him imprisoned on the Île de Ré, a common type of punishment at the time.[1]
Mirabeau would spend many years in and out of prison, avoiding creditors and engaging in affairs with various women. While imprisoned at Fort de Joux in 1776, he seduced his jailor's wife, known as Sophie.[1]. He wrote several indecent letters to her, and the two eloped to Switzerland.[2] Settling in Amsterdam, Mirabeau became involved with various occult societies.[1]
In 1777, Mirabeau was arrested once more and imprisoned in the Château de Vincennes,[1] accused of rape in spite of Sophie's devotion to him.[2] There, he wrote numerous texts criticizing the arbitrary nature of the French justice system. He also wrote an essentially pornographic text, Erotica Biblion.[1] Having become a skilled orator, Mirabeau was able to clear all charges against him. Upon being released from prison, Mirabeau returned to the Dutch Republic, where he met the educated Madame de Nehra.[2]
Political beginnings
After his time in the Dutch Republic, Mirabeau travelled to Great Britain, where he befriended several Whig politicians. He came to be inspired by the British constitutional monarchy.[2]
Mirabeau's life changed when he met exiled Genevese revolutionaries, including the financier Étienne Clavière, in Neuchâtel. The exiles became vital to the foundation of Mirabeau's group and political reasoning, writing several texts in his name. Mirabeau attacked the banks in his texts in return for payment by another banker, allowing the former to pay off his massive debts.[1]
After criticizing the French finance minister Charles Alexandre de Calonne, Mirabeau was issued another lettre de chachet and exiled to Prussia. He became convinced that "the middle classes shall only be freed by joining forces with the lower classes". His revolutionary stance soon alienated him from the nobility.[1]
Around this time, Mirabeau became the Mentor of the Assassin Brotherhood based in Paris, and headed the Assassin Council. He also established connections with the French royal court, and became a close confidant of the Templar Grand Master François de la Serre. Together, Mirabeau and de la Serre strived for peace between the Assassins and Templars.[1]
Estates-General of 1789
- "If you have orders to remove us from this hall, you must also get authority to use force, for we shall yield to nothing but bayonets!"
- ―Mirabeau at the Tennis Court Oath, 1789.[src]
In 1789, Mirabeau was elected to represent the Third Estate at the Estates-General. Despite his noble background, Mirabeau's revolutionary outlook caused him to stand with the lower and middle classes.[1]
The Estates-General had been summoned by King Louis XVI to propose solutions to the financial problems faced by France. As the Convention opened on 5 May, Mirabeau met with de la Serre. While discussing the future of the nation, the two arranged a truce between the Assassin Brotherhood and Templar Order. Later that day, de la Serre was murdered at the Palace of Versailles, as part of a coup within the Templar Order. Despite this, Mirabeau insisted that the truce continue.[1]
With no solution having been reached, the Third Estate, led by Mirabeau, formed the National Assembly on 17 June, and invited the other two Estates to join. In response, Louis ordered the National Assembly's hall closed, and the Third Estate convened at a tennis court instead.There, they pledged not to seperate until they had written a constitution.[1]
When told of the King's displeasure, Mirabeau replied that the Assembly would "yield to nothing but bayonets". Impressed by Mirabeau's speech, the French Guard Frédéric Rouille wanted to shake hands with him. Mirabeau brushed him off, and Rouille joined the Templar Order, disgusted by the nobility's influence in revolutionary politics.[1]
Although Mirabeau continued to use his oratory skills at the Estates-General, his main inspiration and writings came from his friends, serving as their spokesman. Nonetheless, with the Third Estate in rebellion against King Louis, the French Revolution had begun.[1]
Early revolution
- Mirabeau: "Out of the dark, you come into the light. From the light, you will return to the dark. Are you prepared to travel the eagle's path?"
- Arno: "If that's a fancy way of asking "do I want your help," yes."
- Mirabeau: "Then drink."
- —Mirabeau and Arno Dorian at the latter's initiation.[src]
On 14 July 1789, the Bastille was stormed by armed protesters, and Master Assassin Pierre Bellec escaped from the prison along with Grand Master de la Serre's adopted son, Arno Dorian. Bellec invited Arno to join the Brotherhood, as his father Charles had done before him.[1]
Arno found the Assassin headquarters underneath the Sainte-Chapelle, and was brought before Mirabeau and the Assassin Council. Arno claimed that he wanted to redeem himself for failing to rescue de la Serre, and Mirabeau told him to drink from a goblet as part of his initiation. After Arno went through a hallucination of his personal failures, he awoke before Mirabeau and the Council. After the Council recited the tenets of the Creed, Mirabeau officially inducted Arno into the Brotherhood.[1]
In October 1789, Mirabeau began negotiating with King Louis and Marie Antoinette. In return for receiving funds to pay off his debts, Mirabeau advised the King on how to manage the revolution and remain on the throne. However, Mirabeau did this to ensure that the revolution remained peaceful. Still wishing the King to be under the power of the Assembly, Mirabeau sent Arno and a team of Assassins to protect the Women's March on Versailles, which compelled Louis to return to Paris.[1]
Alliance with Élise
The Templar Élise de la Serre, daughter of the late Grand Master and the adopted sister of Arno, was brought to the hideout of the Assassins by Arno. Élise tried to appeal for an alliance with the Assassins against an extremist faction within the Templar Order. Bellec strongly objected to the alliance, but was paid no heed by Mirabeau, who sought to maintain peace with the Templars.
Death and legacy
Fed up with Mirabeau's conservative views, Bellec threatened an apothecary in exchange for aconite, a deadly poison. Bellec then gave Mirabeau a chance to change his mind, but upon realizing he could not convince his Mentor, Bellec snuck the aconite into Mirabeau's drink; once Mirabeau drank the poisoned wine, Bellec paid Mirabeau his final rites.
Shortly after, Élise and Arno discovered Mirabeau's body, and tracked down his former friend and tutor. After Arno killed Bellec, Mirabeau was cremated by the Assassin Council, and his ashes and relics were hidden in the Pantheon.
However, Mirabeau's correspondences with King Louis XVI were exposed to the public, causing his public image to decline. The citizens began storming the Pantheon, believing Mirabeau had betrayed the people. The Templars also sought to claim Mirabeau's relics, but Arno and his fellow Assassins infiltrated the Pantheon and claimed them for safekeeping.
With the retrieval of the relics, the Assassin Council hid them in an unknown location where the Templars could never find them.
Personality and characteristics
- Arno: "You look terrible."
- Mirabeau: "For months, I have been wrangling the Brotherhood, the National Assembly, and the King. Taken all together they have the political acumen of an especially stupid village council. I believe that excuses my appearance, young man."
- Arno: "I meant no disrespect, Mentor. I am only... concerned."
- Mirabeau: "Forget me, Arno. Weep for France."
- —Arno Dorian and Mirabeau, 1791.[src]
Despite his facial disfigurement, Mirabeau managed to charm a lot of women, though his impetuosity would repeatedly get him in trouble. He was capable of forceful outbursts, but was otherwise a compelling and influential man, demonstrating a wealth of knowledge.
Ambitious and vain, Mirabeau was unafraid of attacking powerful figures, genuinely believing in the virtue of his goals. However, he was not above taking money from the royal family to help pay off his debts.
Gallery
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Concept art of Mirabeau -
A painting of Mirabeau -
Mirabeau meeting with Grand Master de la Serre
References