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
Mirabeau was born into a wealthy aristocratic family in Le Bignon. 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.
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 and eloped with her. Settling in Amsterdam, Mirabeau became involved with various occult societies.
In 1777, Mirabeau was arrested once more and imprisoned in the Château de Vincennes. There, he wrote numerous texts criticizing the arbitrary nature of the French justice system. He also wrote an essentially pornographic text, Erotica Biblion.
Political beginnings
Upon being released from prison, Mirabeau's life changed when he met exiled Genevese revolutionaries, including the financier Étienne Clavière. 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.
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.
Around this time, Mirabeau became the Mentor of the Assassin Brotherhood based in Paris. He also became a close confidant of the Templar Grand Master François de la Serre, striving for peace between the Assassins and Templars.
Heading the Assassin Council
The Templar Élise de la Serre, daughter of the late Grand Master and the adopted sister of Arno Dorian, 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
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
Reference