Tea at Trianon: Burial of Marie-Antoinette

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Monday, October 17, 2022

Burial of Marie-Antoinette

In the Madeleine Cemetery, with the head between the legs. (Via Vive la Reine.) Engraving after a painting by Mouillard, 1893. Share

7 comments:

LC Douglass said...: That is a very disturbing and sparse image. We always think of Marie Antoinette ascending the scaffold, but never think of what happened after. Thank you for finding this image and reposting.; February 28, 2015 at 9:20:00 AM EST
elena maria vidal said...: You are welcome, Tam. They buried her with her head between the legs, as a final indignity.; February 28, 2015 at 9:49:00 AM EST
julygirl said...: Very disturbing. Shows the vile and evil nature of the French Revolution and its advocates. Makes one wonder what happens to the bodies of those currently being beheaded by Islamic terrorists.; February 28, 2015 at 10:21:00 AM EST
Kaitlyn said...: I believe Anne Boleyn was buried by her ladies in the same fashion. But only because she was placed into a narrow arrow chest after the deed was done. I do know her ladies insisted on burying her themselves as they did not want "men to handle her." Perhaps they feared her body would be disrespected. I sincerely hope Antoinette's did not suffer any disrespect in this matter and that modesty was preserved.; February 28, 2015 at 10:24:00 AM EST
Jack B. said...: I've always wondered why the Habsburgs were uncurious about what happened to M-A's body and why in all the numerous treaties they signed with Napoleon there was never a stipulation that she or her son would get a decent church burial. Even after Napoleon married her niece! It's like they never could be bothered. It's no wonder Marie-Therese never trusted them.; February 28, 2015 at 1:17:00 PM EST
elena maria vidal said...: I was thinking the same thing, Julygirl. Kaitlyn, sadly the Queen was not given the same respect as Anne. Yes, Jack, it was as if they washed their hands of her.; February 28, 2015 at 1:33:00 PM EST
May said...: As horrifying as it is, somehow it is important to know the full extent of what happened to her, to the bitter end.; March 1, 2015 at 6:41:00 PM EST