The Council of Ancients or Council of Elders (french: Conseil des Anciens) was the

upper house An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...

of the French

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

under the Constitution of the Year III, during the period commonly known as the

Directory Directory may refer to: * Directory (computing), or folder, a file system structure in which to store computer files * Directory (OpenVMS command) * Directory service, a software application for organizing information about a computer network' ...

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

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

. 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

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

of the Directory, the

Council of Five Hundred The Council of Five Hundred (''Conseil des Cinq-Cents''), or simply the Five Hundred, was the lower house of the legislature of France under the Constitution of the Year III. It existed during the period commonly known (from the name of the ...

(''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 (due to age) *28 October 1795 – 2 November 1795 :

Louis-Marie de La Révellière-Lépeaux Louis-Marie may refer to: * Louis Marie Baptiste Atthalin (1784–1856), French Army officer, politician, painter, watercolorist, and lithographer * Louis-Marie-Augustin d'Aumont, 4th Duke of Aumont of the Aumont family, a French noble house * Loui ...

* 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 *22 January 1796 – 20 February 1796 : Guillaume François Charles Goupil de Préfelne *20 February 1796 – 21 March 1796 : Claude Ambroise Régnier *21 March 1796 – 20 April 1796 : Jacques Antoine Creuzé-Latouche *20 April 1796 – 20 May 1796 : Jean-Barthélemy Lecouteulx de Canteleu *20 May 1796 – 19 June 1796 : Charles-François Lebrun *19 June 1796 – 19 July 1796 : Jean Étienne Marie Portalis *19 July 1796 – 18 August 1796 : Jean Dussaulx *18 August 1796 – 23 September 1796 : Honoré Muraire *23 September 1796 – 22 October 1796 : Roger Ducos *22 October 1796 – 21 November 1796 : Jean-Girard Lacuée *21 November 1796 – 21 December 1796 :

Jean-Jacques Bréard Jean-Jacques Bréard (; October 1751- January 2, 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 ...

, 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 Edme-Bonaventure Courtois (born 15 July 1754 in Troyes, France - died on 6 December 1816 in Brussels) was a deputy of the National Convention. He found the will of Marie-Antoinette in the collection of papers of Robespierre hidden under his bed. ...

*20 May 1797 – 19 June 1797 : François Barbé-Marbois *19 June 1797 – 19 July 1797 : Louis Bernard de Saint-Affrique *19 July 1797 – 18 August 1797 :

Pierre Samuel Dupont de Nemours Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours ( or ; ; 14 December 1739 – 7 August 1817) was a French-American writer, economist, publisher and government official. During the French Revolution, he, his two sons and their families immigrated to the Un ...

*18 August 1797 – 4 September 1797 :

André-Daniel Laffon de Ladebat André-Daniel Laffon de Ladebat (30 November 1746 – 14 October 1829) was a French financier, politician and philanthropist. Early life André Laffon de Ladebat was born in Bordeaux, France, the son of commercial ship-owner Jacques-Alexandre ...

, known as Laffon-Ladébat *6 September 1797 – 23 September 1797 : Jean-Antoine Marbot *23 September 1797 – 22 October 1797 :

Emmanuel Crétet Emmanuel Crétet, Comte de Champmol (10 February 1747 – 28 November 1809) was a French merchant, financier and politician. He was the first governor of the Banque de France. Early years Emmanuel Crétet was born in the village of Le Pont-de-Bea ...

*22 October 1797 – 21 November 1797 :

Jean-Pierre Lacombe-Saint-Michel Jean-Pierre Lacombe-Saint-Michel, born 5 March 1751 and died 27 January 1812 in the château de Saint-Michel-de-Vax ( Tarn), was a French general in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic armies. He appeared as a character in ''Les Géorgiques ...

*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 : Claude Ambroise Régnier *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 Jean Augustin or Jean-Augustin might refer to: * Jean-Fabrice Augustin, Mauritian footballer * Jean-Kévin Augustin (born 1997), French footballer *Jean Augustin Daiwaille Jean Augustin Daiwaille (6 August 1786 – 11 April 1850) was a Dutch port ...

*21 December 1798 – 20 January 1799 :

Jean-Baptiste Perrin des Vosges Jean-Baptiste is a male French name, originating with Saint John the Baptist, and sometimes shortened to Baptiste. The name may refer to any of the following: Persons * Charles XIV John of Sweden, born Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, was King ...

*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 *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 *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

Presidents of the Council of Ancients

See also

References

Sources