A king by any other name would die as duly, or the top 10 nicknames of Louis XVI

The following is written by Libraries student employee Brianna Bowers.

The few short months from the fall of 1792 to January 1793, in which heated debate and a final vote decided that Louis XVI would be guillotined, held centuries of progress. Our world would not be recognizable without the French Revolution. The University of Iowa has thousands of pamphlets from this exciting, tumultuous period, and many of the pamphlets are still being processed. As a student worker in Special Collections and Archives, I am currently taking down the information on each pamphlet to upload them into InfoHawk+, and I have come across some interesting things along the way. The collection of speeches given at the National Convention, debating what to do about Louis XVI, has no standardized way to refer to the man on trial. As his royal title was thrown into uncertainty, new names abounded. Below are 10 names that delegates called their ex-king, from clever to boring and from ruthless to obvious, ranked from awesome to awful.

Louis le dernier [Louis the Last]

This is alliterative in English—“Louis the Last.” It seems like the French had enough by their sixteenth Louis. Louis le dernier wasn’t actually the last king Louis, but the effect of calling him “the last” did implicitly condemn the following reigns as illegitimate.

You can find this name on the above pamphlet: (box 79:1-80:10 item 79:44), “Convention nationale. opinion de lanjuinais, Député d’Ille et Vilaine, Sur Louis le dernier. Imprimée par ordre de la Convention nationale. Nunquam de morte hominis cunctatio longa est. 31 Décembre 1792, l’an premier de la République.”

Louis Capet

Referring to royalty with a common first and last name was a slight, implying that their status was reduced to be equal with everyone else’s. This last name did come from Louis’ family history. Louis was part of the Bourbon dynasty, which derived from the Capetian dynasty. The Capetian dynasty was founded by Hugues Capet (c. 940-996 ᴄ.ᴇ.). There isn’t consensus on how Hugues Capet got his last name. The heraldist Hervé Pinoteau is credited with finding the first use of Capet as a dynasty name in the writings of Ralph de Diceto, from about 200 years after Hugues Capet’s death, with Capet possibly deriving from the “cappa” (a kind of cape) of St Martin of Tours. Other theories derive Capet from words meaning small head, stubborn, or to torment/harass.

You can find a pamphlet with this nickname in the image above: (box 79:1-80:10, item 79:57), “Convention nationale. opinion de laurent lecointre, Député du département de Seine & Oise, à la Convention Nationale; Sur le jugement de Louis Capet. Imprimée par ordre de la Convention Nationale. Quant à moi, je ne connois pas cette justice qui frappe, en souriant, un coupable obscur, & qui se prosterne devant un illustre criminel.”

Louis le traître [Louis the Traitor]

A few years before his trial and execution, Louis was widely seen as a father to his people, divinely ordained, and even a protector of the common people against the aristocracy. His resistance to the Revolution and attempt to flee to Austria in 1791 to raise an army to restore his throne to its former power turned the people against him. His fall from “long live the king” to the guillotine was hard, fast, and avertable.

You can find a pamphlet that uses this name in the image above and in Special Collections: (box 79:1-80:10, item 79:78), “Convention nationale. un mot sur louis le traitre, ou le dernier, et sa famille, Par c. l. masuyer, Député de Saone-et-Loire; Imprimé en vertu du décret de la Convention.”

dernier roi [last king]

This name is reaching for what “Louis le dernier” achieved in condemning Louis to be the last king. However, it isn’t quite as striking. The lack of his first name, Louis, makes the title feel impersonal, and it was already untrue since there were kings alive and kicking in other countries.

Find this name in the pamphlet above: (box 79:1-80:10, item 80:5), “Convention nationale. mon avis sur le jugement du dernier roi; Imprimé par ordre de la Convention nationale. Je dis ce qui se passe dans mon ame Et ce que je crois être la vérité. J. J. Rousseau.”

Capet

A man in this time would often be referred to by only his last name. So, like Louis Capet, this name is intended to lower his status. It strips him of his first name, which had been used by French kings for centuries and was what people knew him as. However, I’m docking a few points for a lack of specificity.

You can find an example on a pamphlet that uses this name in the image above and in Special Collections: (box 81:14-82:27, item 81:33), “Convention nationale. opinion de louis turreau, Député du Département de l’Yonne, Sur Capet; Imprimée par ordre de la convention nationale.”

le ci-devant roi [The former King]

This one does its duty. It’s specific enough that we all know who we are talking about. No frills, no nonsense.

Discover this nickname in the above pamphlet: (box 77:76-78:80, item 78:19), “Convention nationale. opinion de jean de bry, député du département de l’aisne, Sur la question: Le ci-devant roi sera-t-il jugé? Imprimée par ordre de la Convention nationale. Jus malè faciendi cùm sit regi nullum, manet jus populi naturá supremum. Milton: Pro populo anglicano defensio.”

Louis XVI

A classic. This is Louis’s royal title. But as much as it is classic, it is also basic. This is a counter-revolutionary and a former monarch at that. Show some disrespect!

Roi [king]

This isn’t a terribly specific nickname. Which king? There were many other countries that had kings at the time after all. Besides, doesn’t this imply that Louis is still the rightful king? A virtuous revolutionary would never endorse the existence of a king, even in a nickname.

Find this pamphlet that uses the name in the image above and in Special Collections: (box 80:11-81:13, item 80:38), “Convention nationale. opinion Du Citoyen pétion, Sur le Roi; Imprimée par ordre de la Convention nationale.”

Louis

And if there were other kings, there were certainly other people named Louis. The briefest glance at members of the National Convention, the body putting Louis on trial, gives us Louis Portiez, Louis-Antoine Saint-Just, Louis Turreau, Louis Louchet, and Louis-Marie Réveillère-Lepaux, the very man who wrote the pamphlet calling the former king just plain Louis. Calling him just Louis is so basic, not to mention a logistical nightmare. Seriously, there were so many French men named Louis from 1792 to 1793! While we’re on the topic of his given name, Louis means famous in battle or loot bringer, and is derived from Old German.

You can find a pamphlet that uses this name in the image above and in Special Collections: (box 79:1-80:10, item 79:47), “Convention nationale. opinion de l. m. revellière-lépeaux, député de maine-et-loire, Sur la question de l’appel au Peuple du Jugement de Louis. Imprimée par ordre de la Convention. 7 Janvier, l’an deuxième de la République.”

Louis Hugues

This is a full name just like the names of normal plebeians. It is the same idea as calling him Louis Capet. Perhaps the name Hugues was derived from the same ancestor, Hugues Capet. But it wasn’t as popular because the people were already using Louis Capet. When I hear the name Louis Hugues, I think, “Louis Who?”

You can find a pamphlet that uses this name in the image above and in Special Collections: (box 79:1-80:10, item 79:37), “Convention nationale. opinion de j. p. lacombe-saint-michel, député du tarn, Sur le jugement de Louis Hugues; Imprimée par ordre de la Convention.”

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