Yesterday I walked to the National Archives building in which—believe it or not—France’s archives are kept from the time of the Merovingians up until 1958--some 60 miles of document with the oldest from the 7th century! (I have no idea where the ones after 1958 are kept.) The Merovingians? Thank goodness for Wikipedia. They were a dynasty of Frankish kings who ruled from the fifth to the eighth century. I even see our friend, Clovis, on the list (who I mentioned in the posting on the Pantheon below).Anyway…back to Marie-Antoinette. I saw an advertisement for an exhibit at the National Archives located in the Hotel de Soubise, a mansion built in the 18th century to replace another one built during the 13th century. (That mansion was where the Saint Bartholomew's Day massacre was planned in 1572 leading to the death of thousands of Huguenots). Since I have an interest in the Queen brought down during the Revolution, I decided to take a look.
The exhibit displayed many documents of interest, including the description of the upcoming wedding ceremony between her and the future King Louis XVI; the marriage contract between the two of them; even the seating chart for the wedding supper. The book listing value estimations of all the royal family’s furnishings in the chateau at Versailles was displayed, plus the accounting books for all the expenses. I wish I had such neat handwriting. And, sadly, they also displayed the Acte D’Accusation dated October 14, 1793 when Marie-Antoinette was brought to trail. Found guilty, of course, and condemned to death for treason, she was executed just two days later in the place de la Concorde (which at that time was still called the place de la Revolution). No appeals in this court of law…
By the way, a lady to the end, legend states that her last words were, “Monsieur, I ask your pardon. I did not do it on purpose,” spoken after she accidentally stepped on the executioner’s foot.
It was hard to take good pictures in the exhibit area but the one above is of a signed plan of regulations for anyone who wanted to see the Queen when she used Trianon, her hideaway at Versailles. Her signature—she runs out of room on the right-hand side of the paper—is at the bottom of the document. There was also a book (called Gazette des atours de Marie-Antoinette) that listed all her “wardrobe attire” including swatches and descriptions of when and to where she wore specific gowns. I found this very fun and interesting, especially since I enjoyed so much Sofia Coppolo’s recent movie, “Marie Antoinette” and the lusciousness of all those costumes. I definitely felt that the exhibit was worth the 3 euros that I spent to visit it.
