The Council of Ancients or Council of Elders () was a house of the French

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate Deliberative assembly, assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate ...

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

under the

Constitution of the Year III The Constitution of the Year III () was the constitution of the French First Republic that established the Directory. Adopted by the convention on 5 Fructidor Year III (22 August 1795) and approved by plebiscite on 6 September. Its preamble is ...

, during the period commonly known as the Directory (French: ''Directoire''), from 22 August 1795 until 9 November 1799, roughly the second half of the period generally referred to as the French Revolution.

Role and function

The Council of Ancients was the senior of the two-halves of the republican legislative system. The Ancients were 250 members who could accept or reject laws put forward by the

Council of Five Hundred The Council of Five Hundred () was the lower house of the legislature of the French First Republic under the Constitution of the Year III. It operated from 31 October 1795 to 9 November 1799 during the French Directory, Directory () period of t ...

(''Conseil des Cinq-Cents''). Each member had to be at least forty years of age, and a third of them would be replaced annually. They had no authority to draft laws, but any bills that they renounced could not be reintroduced for at least a year. Besides functioning as a legislative body, the Ancients chose five

Directors Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, who jointly held executive power, from the list of names put forward by the

. The Council of Ancients had their own distinctive official uniform, with robes, cape and hat, just as did the Council of Five Hundred and the Directors. Under the Thermidorean constitution, as Boissy d'Anglas put it, the Council of Five Hundred was to be the imagination of the Republic, and the Council of Ancients its reason. The name adopted for the body was based on the French translation/adaptation of the term

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

.senate (n.) c. 1200, "legal and administrative body of ancient Rome," from Old French senat or Latin senatus "highest council of the state in ancient Rome," literally "council of elders," from senex (genitive senis) "old man, old" (from PIE root *sen- "old"). Attested from late 14c. in reference to governing bodies of free cities in Europe; of national governing bodies from 1550s; specific sense of upper house of U.S. legislature is recorded from 1775
Online Etymology Dictionary
accessed 1/11/2017.

Presidents of the Council of Ancients

* 28 October 1795:

Claude Antoine Rudel Du Miral Claude may refer to: People and fictional characters * Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Claude (surname), a list of people * Claude Callegari (1962–2021), English Arsenal supporter * Claude Debussy (1862–1918), ...

(due to age) * 28 October 1795 – 2 November 1795: Louis-Marie de La Révellière-Lépeaux * 2 November 1795 – 23 November 1795: Pierre-Charles-Louis Baudin, known as Baudin des Ardennes * 23 November 1795 – 22 December 1795: François Denis Tronchet * 22 December 1795 – 22 January 1796:

Théodore Vernier Theodore Vernier (born 28 July 1731 at Lons-le-Saunier, Jura; died 3 February 1818 in Paris), Count of Montorient, son of Jean Baptiste Vernier, lawyer, and Claudine Leclerc, was a lawyer and French politician during the Revolution, the Directory ...

* 22 January 1796 – 20 February 1796:

Guillaume François Charles Goupil de Préfelne Guillaume may refer to: People * Guillaume (given name), the French equivalent of William * Guillaume (surname), the French equivalent of Williams Places * Guillaume (crater), Moon, Earth-Moon System, Solar System * Guillaumes, Vence, Nice, Alpes ...

* 20 February 1796 – 21 March 1796:

Claude Ambroise Régnier Claude Ambroise Régnier, duc de Massa (6 April 1746 – 24 June 1814), was a French lawyer and politician. He was a deputy in 1789, a member of the Council of Ancients, a member of the Senate and a Minister. Early years Claude Ambroise Régnie ...

* 21 March 1796 – 20 April 1796:

Jacques Antoine Creuzé-Latouche Jacques Antoine Creuzé-Latouche (18 September 1749 – 23 October 1800) was a French lawyer, Jacobin, and member of the National Convention of France during the French Revolution. Early years Jacques Antoine Creuzé-Latouche was born at Châtel ...

* 20 April 1796 – 20 May 1796: Jean-Barthélemy Lecouteulx de Canteleu * 20 May 1796 – 19 June 1796:

Charles-François Lebrun Charles-François Lebrun, 1st duc de Plaisance (, 19 March 1739 – 16 June 1824) was a French statesman who served as Third Consul of the French Republic and was later created Arch-Treasurer by Napoleon I. Biography ''Ancien Régime'' ...

* 19 June 1796 – 19 July 1796:

Jean Étienne Marie Portalis Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...

* 19 July 1796 – 18 August 1796:

Jean Dussaulx Jean-Joseph Dusaulx, (28 December 1728, in Chartres – 16 March 1799, in Paris) was a French politician during the French Revolution. He was friendly with Jean Sylvain Bailly, the mayor. In February 1792 he was elected as a member of the "Conse ...

* 18 August 1796 – 23 September 1796:

Honoré Muraire Honoré Muraire, (, 5 November 1750 - 20 November 1837) was a French statesman of the French Revolution. Under the Ancien Régime he held the title of seigneur of Favas; later under the French Empire he held a title of comte de l'Empire. Biog ...

* 23 September 1796 – 22 October 1796:

Roger Ducos Pierre Roger Ducos (25 July 174716 March 1816), better known as Roger Ducos, was a French political figure during the French Revolution, Revolution and First French Empire, First Empire, a member of the National Convention, and of the French Dir ...

* 22 October 1796 – 21 November 1796: Jean-Girard Lacuée * 21 November 1796 – 21 December 1796:

Jean-Jacques Bréard Jean-Jacques Bréard (; October 1751 - 2 January 1840) was born into a family of a navy inspectors. He moved to France as a young boy in 1758. His first involvement in politics included organizing elections to the Estates General in Marennes and a ...

, known as Bréard-Duplessis * 21 December 1796 – 20 January 1797: Boniface Paradis * 20 January 1797 – 19 February 1797: Sébastien Ligeret de Beauvais * 19 February 1797 – 21 March 1797: Joseph Clément Poullain de Grandprey * 21 March 1797 – 20 April 1797: Jean François Bertrand Delmas * 20 April 1797 – 20 May 1797: Edme-Bonaventure Courtois * 20 May 1797 – 19 June 1797: François Barbé-Marbois * 19 June 1797 – 19 July 1797:

Louis Bernard de Saint-Affrique Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...

* 19 July 1797 – 18 August 1797: Pierre Samuel Dupont de Nemours * 18 August 1797 – 4 September 1797: André-Daniel Laffon de Ladebat, known as Laffon-Ladébat * 6 September 1797 – 23 September 1797: Jean-Antoine Marbot * 23 September 1797 – 22 October 1797: Emmanuel Crétet * 22 October 1797 – 21 November 1797: Jean-Pierre Lacombe-Saint-Michel * 21 November 1797 – 21 December 1797: Jean François Philibert Rossée * 21 December 1797 – 20 January 1798: Jean-Baptiste Marragon * 20 January 1798 – 19 February 1798: Jean Rousseau * 19 February 1798 – 21 March 1798: Pardoux Bordas * 21 March 1798 – 20 April 1798: Étienne Mollevaut * 20 April 1798 – 20 May 1798: Jacques Poisson de Coudreville * 20 May 1798 – 19 June 1798:

* 19 June 1798 – 19 July 1798: Jean-Antoine Marbot * 19 July 1798 – 18 August 1798: Étienne Maynaud Bizefranc de Lavaux * 18 August 1798 – 23 September 1798: Pierre Antoine Laloy * 23 September 1798 – 22 October 1798: Benoît Michel Decomberousse * 22 October 1798 – 21 November 1798: Emmanuel Pérès de Lagesse * 21 November 1798 – 21 December 1798: Jean-Augustin Moreau de Vormes * 21 December 1798 – 20 January 1799: Jean-Baptiste Perrin des Vosges * 20 January 1799 – 19 February 1799: Dominique Joseph Garat * 19 February 1799 – 21 March 1799: Jean-Aimé Delacoste * 21 March 1799 – 20 April 1799:

Mathieu Depère Mathieu is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname * André Mathieu (1929–1968), Canadian pianist and composer * Anselme Mathieu (1828–1895), French Provençal poet * Claude-Louis Mathieu (1783–1875 ...

* 20 April 1799 – 20 May 1799: Claude-Pierre Dellay d'Agier * 20 May 1799 – 19 June 1799: Charles Claude Christophe Gourdan * 19 June 1799 – 19 July 1799: Pierre-Charles-Louis Baudin, known as Baudin des Ardennes * 19 July 1799 – 18 August 1799: Louis-Thibaut Dubois-Dubais * 18 August 1799 – 24 September 1799: Mathieu-Augustin Cornet * 24 September 1799 – 23 October 1799: Joseph Cornudet des Chaumettes * 23 October 1799 – 10 November 1799: Louis-Nicolas Lemercier

References

Sources

* http://www.rulers.org/frgovt1.html {{Authority control Defunct upper houses 1795 establishments in France 1799 disestablishments 1795 events of the French Revolution 1796 events of the French Revolution 1797 events of the French Revolution 1798 events of the French Revolution 1799 events of the French Revolution French Directory Historical legislatures in France