Marie Gredeler (died 1792) was a French businesswoman and accused murderer. She was murdered by a mob during the

September Massacres The September Massacres were a series of killings and summary executions of prisoners in Paris that occurred in 1792 from 2 September to 6 September during the French Revolution. Between 1,176 and 1,614 people were killed by ''sans-culottes'' ...

in Paris. She was one of 37 women murdered during the September Massacres in Paris, and one of only two women killed outside of the

La Salpêtrière LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

; the other being the

Princess de Lamballe Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for t ...

Life

Marie Gredeler was married to a man by the name Baptiste Gredeler. She separated from her husband, and supported herself selling umbrellas and walking sticks from a booth at the

Palais Royal The Palais-Royal () is a former French royal palace located on Rue Saint-Honoré in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre. Originally called the Palais-Cardinal, it was ...

in Paris. On 10 June 1792, she was arrested and charged with the murder and mutilation of her lover Joseph Pringault, a soldier in the French Guards. She was judged guilty as charged and sentenced to execution by hanging by the criminal tribunal of the 1st arrondissement of Paris. However, the high court annulled the verdict, and Marie Gredeler was still imprisoned in the

Conciergerie The Conciergerie () () is a former courthouse and prison in Paris, France, located on the west of the Île de la Cité, below the Palais de Justice. It was originally part of the former royal palace, the Palais de la Cité, which also included ...

, awaiting her final verdict, when the September Massacres took place.

Murder

During the September Massacres the Paris mob broke in to the prisons and institutions of the city, apprehended the inmates and released or massacred them. On the evening of 30 August, the mob entered the Conciergerie. The Conciergerie massacre was more uncontrolled than in the

Prison de l'Abbaye A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various crim ...

, where the prison staff managed to keep some control and cooperation with the mob. In the case of the Conciergerie, the mob broke in via a side stairs, sidestepped the prison staff and unleashed an uninhibited massacre on the prisoners which continued throughout the night until the following morning. Of the 488 prisoners of the Conciergerie, 74 women and 36 men were released by the mob and 378 was killed, of whome Gredeler was the only female victim. Marie Gredeler was apprehended by the mob, tied to a pole, had her feet nailed to the ground and stabbed over her body with sabres - according to some versions, her breasts were mutilated - and had a fire lit under her with straw.Naish, C. (2013). Death Comes to the Maiden: Sex and Execution 1431-1933. Storbritannien: Taylor & Francis. p.150

Impact

The case of Marie Gredeler was somewhat unusual during the September Massacres in Paris. With the exception of the massacre on the 35 women of La Salpêtrière, the staff of the public institutions and prisons generally tried to protect women and few women were in fact killed in Paris. With the exception of the women of La Salpêtrière, only two women were killed in Paris during the September Massacres:

and Marie Gredeler. The sadistic torture and murder of Marie Gredeler made her to one of the most infamous victims of the September Massacres.

References

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marie Gredeler People who died in prison custody during the French Revolution People murdered in Paris Violence against women in France 1792 deaths French murder victims Lynching deaths