Montagnard faction
Created: 1791
The Montagnard faction was a relatively loose but extremely influential grouping of deputies in the National Convention, so called by friends and foes alike because they sat in the upper reaches of the Convention's first debating hall, the Salle du Manège (deputies moved to another part of the Tuileries palace complex in May 1793). 'The Mountain' was a debating and voting bloc that solidified in the first six months of the Convention's existence. During this time Montagnard deputies defended the influence Paris exerted over the Revolution's national trajectory and pushed the Convention to have the deposed king Louis XVI sent to the guillotine. A rival faction in the Convention, the Girondins, took opposing positions on these critical issues. The Montagnards were then defined by their treatment of these political rivals: first removing them from their elected posts in the Convention and then sending the leadership to the guillotine. The most prominent member of the Montagnard faction was Maximilien Robespierre, and both Robespierre and the Montagnards were central to the implementation of the Terror of 1793-4. There was also overlap with the membership of the Paris Jacobin Club.
Wikipedia
Appears in these Letters:
1793
29 May - 31 May: Purge of the Girondins. Part 1
Another entry which speaks to the possible political implications of the military pressure the Republic was under. The duchess believes this to be the...
5 June: Purge of the Girondins. Part 3
The political implications of the Purge of the Girondins began to be felt immediately, and the duchess emphasises the political importance of the...
5 June: Reflections on Political Repression
The duchess explains how the balance of political power in the capital has recently shifted in a more radical direction, and considers the...