Very moving photos of the Conciergerie...Never seen photos of Marie Antoinette's cell! This was one place I never got to visit in Paris.
Is there any mention of the Blessed Carmelites of Compiegne at the Conciergerie? They were imprisoned here, too....
No, there is no mention of them. One of the places I had intended to visit, and which we didn't have time for, was Cimétière Picpus, where a mass grave held the bodies of hundreds of priests and religious (including the Carmelites of Compiègne) executed during the Terror. Perhaps next time...
Fabulous photos! Thanks for the link!
Just the thought of going all over Paris with two little ones makes me a nervous wreck! You are braver than I!
Very moving, indeed.
Reading this, I'm reminded of another episode (much smaller, of course) from Antoinette's time imprisoned in the Temple. An eye-witness relates:
Another of those who came to the Temple was Lepitre, a young professor who became a member of the provincial Commune on December 2nd, 1792. With him on duty one morning was Toulan, a man who did all he could to make life more bearable for the royal family. There was a harpsichord by the door of Madame Elizabeth’s room, which he tried to play, only to find it was badly out of tune. Marie Antoinette came up to him: “I should be glad to use that instrument, so I can continue my daughter’s lessons, but it is impossible in its present condition, and I have not succeeded in getting it tuned.” Lepitre and Toulan sent out a message, and the harpsichord was tuned the same evening.
As we were looking through the small collection of music that day, upon the instrument we found a piece called La Reine de France. “Times have changed,” said Her Majesty, and we could not restrain our tears.
The piece in question, La Reine, was Franz Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 85, one of his six Paris Symphonies written for the 1785-86 season and so-called because it was said to be Antoinette's favorite. I can't help but getting just a bit choked up thinking of her whenever I hear it.
Yes-I have heard of the Picpus Cemetery, where the Carmelites of Compiegne are buried. I have a book called, "To Quell the Terror", by William Bush, which tells the true story of the martyrs. There's a photo of the plot where their bodies were dumped, and a plaque commemorating them on the wall.
Have you ever heard Poulenc's opera, "Dialogues des Carmelites"? Last year I heard it on a classical music station in my area. What a powerful piece of music! I cried when I heard the executions at the end!
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