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Very displayable French criminal broadside from 1794...
Very displayable French criminal broadside from 1794...
Item # 722353
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May 02, 1794
Interesting French criminal broadside announcing the acquittal of a trial against Etienne Michaud. Headed in large type at the top (translated): JUDGMENT OF THE CRIMINAL COURT of the Department of Rhone, Who Declares Etienne Michaud Acquitted of The Charge Against Him." followed by details of the result of the trial.
There is a "dateline" at the middle: "Du 17 Floreal, l'an second de la Republique francaise une & indivisible." above which has been penciled "May 6, 1794" being the second year of the new French Republic.
Measures 14 3/4 by 20 inches, very nice condition.
AI notes: This 1794 broadside serves as a stark legal artifact from the height of the French Revolution’s "Reign of Terror," documenting a rare moment of judicial leniency in the Department of Rhône. Dated 17 Floréal, Year II (May 6, 1794), the poster announces the acquittal of Etienne Michaud, a verdict delivered by a Criminal Court in a region that had recently been decimated by brutal state reprisals following the Siege of Lyon. While the Revolutionary Tribunals of this era are often remembered for their swift use of the guillotine, the public posting of such an acquittal was a calculated move by the authorities to project an image of "Revolutionary Justice"—suggesting that the state was as capable of identifying the innocent as it was of purging the "enemies of the Republic." For a modern collector or historian, this document is more than a simple legal notice; it is a survivor of the chaotic transition between the peak of the Terror and the eventual fall of Robespierre, capturing the tense atmosphere of a city where the line between a citizen's freedom and their execution was razor-thin.
Category: Documents & Broadsides
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