Jean-Pons-Guillaume Viennet
Encyclopedia
Jean-Pons-Guillaume Viennet (18 November 1777, Béziers
- 10 July 1868, Le Val-Saint-Germain
) was a French politician, playwright and poet. He was also a member of the Académie française
and a prominent Freemason.
His long career as a soldier then a politician, playwright and poet lasted through political revolutions and literary wars, and is full of incident and travels. He had a talent for self-promotion within many regimes and got to know all political and literary dignitaries, all the while verging on impopularity - he said "I have counted up to 500 epigrams a year against me; anyone who escapes college to join a soap-opera thinks I should have his first kick". His name was like a red rag to a bull to Republicans and Romantics, but he avenged himself on his worst enemies by fables or epithets against them.
-member Jacques Joseph Viennet
and nephew of the priest Louis Esprit Viennet who, aged 40, was made curate of the église Saint-Merri in Paris
and who in the early phase of the French Revolution
in 1790 preached a sermon on the civil constitution of the clergy
.
, then Lorient
, on 21 April 1797 he embarked on the Hercule. This ship had scarcely left harbour when it was sighted and pursued by two British cruisers, and a few artillery salvos later the Hercule had lost more than half its rigging and Viennet was taken prisoner. He then spent 7 months as a prisoner in the prison hulks at Plymouth
and consoled himself by writing poetry and acting in a theatre he set up in the prison, putting on his own plays alongside tragedies and vaudeville
s of the time. Returning to France in a prisoner exchange, he returned to his original corps.
In 1812, he won the favour of being invited to Paris, writing many epithets, tragedies, comedies and poems. Some of his epithets won prizes at the Jeux Floraux
. He was trying to have his tragedy Clovis mounted at the Théâtre-Français
when he received orders to rejoin his regiment immediately on its march to Saxony
. He left Paris and was a captain in the 1813 Saxony campaign, assisting at the battles of Lützen
and Bautzen
(at the latter he was decorated personally by Napoleon). In the disastrous battle of Leipzig
, he was again taken prisoner and did not return to France until the Bourbon Restoration
, becoming attached to the Bourbon monarchy.
and refused to vote in favour of the acte additionnel, thus forcing himself to procure a voyage to Cayenne
. Only at the insistence of his father's friend Cambacérès was the order already signed by minister Denis Decrès
revoked.
The Bourbons fled, but Viennet did not follow the duc de Berry to Ghent
, for which the duke criticised Viennet despite his refusal to go back over to Napoleon's side. Left without a job, he returned to writing and became a journalist. He collaborated on the l'Aristarque, the Journal de Paris and the Constitutionnel until he was finally admitted to the corps royal d'état-major thanks to Gouvion Saint-Cyr. His many Épîtres date to this period.
On 17 July 1820, he put on his one-act opera Aspasie et Périclès at the Académie de musique but, though it ran for 16 performances it was not a success despite its masterful music thanks to an uninteresting libretto. That autumn, on 19 October, he finally found success with his tragedy Clovis, at the Théâtre-Français. He wrote other plays, mainly tragedies, which were not produced. Made chef d'escadron
by seniority in 1823, he was demoted to the ranks in 1827 in the wake of the publication of his Épître aux chiffonniers in favour of the liberty of the press, a witty protest against hateful and absurd legislation. This only made him more popular and on 21 April 1828 he was elected député
for the 2nd electoral arrondissement of Hérault
(Béziers). He took his place among the French left of this time, supporting the parliamentary opposition which would lead to the July Revolution
by his votes and sometimes by his speeches.
and it was he who on 31 July announced the nomination of Louis-Philippe, the duc d'Orléans
as lieutenant général of the kingdom to the people at the Hôtel de Ville of Paris
on 31 July.
The new king returned Viennet to his rank as chef de bataillon. Re-elected as a député on 5 July 1831 with 65% of the vote, he sat in the ministerial majority. Dedicated to the new regime, but still with a burning and intolerant spirit, he was his party's "enfant terrible" and openly spoke in favour of its opponents' projects, hopes and watchwords. Even whilst in the Chamber of Deputies he continued to be vehemently outspoken, making sudden and biting attacks on the republicans, who he called paymasters of the counter-revolution and soon drawing scorn and whistles from them. A focus for Charivari
and Caricature, he was subjected to all kinds of malignity, sarcasm and denigration.
The Académie française
elected him a member on 18 November 1830, in seat 22 in succession to the comte de Ségur. The Académie also provided another arena for his controversies, and within it he and Baour-Lormian were among the most opinionated leaders of the absolute resistance to any hint of Romanticism
.
He was a particular friend of Louis-Philippe, who made him a peer of France on 7 November 1839. With continuing energy, Viennet pursued his literary works (novels, operas, tragedies, comedies, epithets and fables) as keenly as his loud political debates.
However, he was not spared as a peer any more than he had been as a député, with hatred for him lasting until the February 1848
, in which he lost his patron at the Palais du Luxembourg. Occupied elsewhere during 1848, the satirical journals left him free for a moment. Later, he was highly thought of for being very dignified and firm with the men on 2 December
.
of France and its colonies, he became Grand Master of this obedience (with the title "Sovereign Grand Commander" of the "Supreme Council of France") from 1860 to 1868. He fought to maintain this rite's independence when the Second French Empire
abused its authority by claiming to unite this rite with the French Rite
under the direction of marshal Magnan
, and recovering his youthful energy and regaining the popularity he had lost since the Restoration.
He wrote until his last day, dying aged 90. He edited his own entry in the Dictionnaire de la conversation, to which he contributed many other articles. Joseph d'Haussonville
, who replaced him at the Académie française, spoke his elogy on 31 March 1870. He was buried in the cimetière du Père-Lachaise in Paris
.
Béziers
Béziers is a town in Languedoc in southern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the Hérault department. Béziers hosts the famous Feria de Béziers, centred around bullfighting, every August. A million visitors are attracted to the five-day event...
- 10 July 1868, Le Val-Saint-Germain
Le Val-Saint-Germain
Le Val-Saint-Germain is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France.Inhabitants of Le Val-Saint-Germain are known as Val-Saint-Germinois.-References:** -External links:* *...
) was a French politician, playwright and poet. He was also a member of the Académie française
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
and a prominent Freemason.
His long career as a soldier then a politician, playwright and poet lasted through political revolutions and literary wars, and is full of incident and travels. He had a talent for self-promotion within many regimes and got to know all political and literary dignitaries, all the while verging on impopularity - he said "I have counted up to 500 epigrams a year against me; anyone who escapes college to join a soap-opera thinks I should have his first kick". His name was like a red rag to a bull to Republicans and Romantics, but he avenged himself on his worst enemies by fables or epithets against them.
Family
He was the son of National ConventionNational Convention
During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 . It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic...
-member Jacques Joseph Viennet
Jacques Joseph Viennet
Jacques Joseph Viennet was a French politician and a member of the National Convention in 1792.-Life:His family was Italian in origin, dating back to a lieutenant of Desiderius, king of the Lombards...
and nephew of the priest Louis Esprit Viennet who, aged 40, was made curate of the église Saint-Merri in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and who in the early phase of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
in 1790 preached a sermon on the civil constitution of the clergy
Civil Constitution of the Clergy
The Civil Constitution of the Clergy was a law passed on 12 July 1790 during the French Revolution, that subordinated the Roman Catholic Church in France to the French government....
.
Napoleonic Wars
After being an excellent student at the college in Béziers and presiding over the club for children of his own age during the early years of the Revolution, he was destined by his family for a career in the church. However, at 19, he preferred to become a second lieutenant in the naval artillery. His first campaign was not a happy one. Sent to BrestBrest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
, then Lorient
Lorient
Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...
, on 21 April 1797 he embarked on the Hercule. This ship had scarcely left harbour when it was sighted and pursued by two British cruisers, and a few artillery salvos later the Hercule had lost more than half its rigging and Viennet was taken prisoner. He then spent 7 months as a prisoner in the prison hulks at Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
and consoled himself by writing poetry and acting in a theatre he set up in the prison, putting on his own plays alongside tragedies and vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
s of the time. Returning to France in a prisoner exchange, he returned to his original corps.
In 1812, he won the favour of being invited to Paris, writing many epithets, tragedies, comedies and poems. Some of his epithets won prizes at the Jeux Floraux
Académie des Jeux floraux
Académie des Jeux floraux , or Collège de la gaie science , is the most ancient literary institution of the western world. It was founded in 1323 by Clémence Isaure as the Consistori del Gay Saber with the goal of encouraging Occitan poetry...
. He was trying to have his tragedy Clovis mounted at the Théâtre-Français
Comédie-Française
The Comédie-Française or Théâtre-Français is one of the few state theaters in France. It is the only state theater to have its own troupe of actors. It is located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris....
when he received orders to rejoin his regiment immediately on its march to Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
. He left Paris and was a captain in the 1813 Saxony campaign, assisting at the battles of Lützen
Battle of Lützen (1813)
In the Battle of Lützen , Napoleon I of France lured a combined Prussian and Russian force into a trap, halting the advances of the Sixth Coalition after his devastating losses in Russia. The Russian commander, Prince Peter Wittgenstein, attempting to undo Napoleon's capture of Leipzig, attacked...
and Bautzen
Battle of Bautzen
In the Battle of Bautzen a combined Russian/Prussian army was pushed back by Napoleon, but escaped destruction, some sources claim, because Michel Ney failed to block their retreat...
(at the latter he was decorated personally by Napoleon). In the disastrous battle of Leipzig
Battle of Leipzig
The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations, on 16–19 October 1813, was fought by the coalition armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden against the French army of Napoleon. Napoleon's army also contained Polish and Italian troops as well as Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine...
, he was again taken prisoner and did not return to France until the Bourbon Restoration
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
, becoming attached to the Bourbon monarchy.
Bourbon Restoration
He became aide-de-camp to général de Montélégier, himself aide-de-camp to the duc de Berry. Viennet did not return to the imperial armies during the Hundred DaysHundred Days
The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815...
and refused to vote in favour of the acte additionnel, thus forcing himself to procure a voyage to Cayenne
Cayenne
Cayenne is the capital of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic coast. The city's motto is "Ferit Aurum Industria" which means "Work brings wealth"...
. Only at the insistence of his father's friend Cambacérès was the order already signed by minister Denis Decrès
Denis Decrès
Denis Decrès, , was an officer of the French Navy and count, later duke of the First Empire.-Early career:...
revoked.
The Bourbons fled, but Viennet did not follow the duc de Berry to Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
, for which the duke criticised Viennet despite his refusal to go back over to Napoleon's side. Left without a job, he returned to writing and became a journalist. He collaborated on the l'Aristarque, the Journal de Paris and the Constitutionnel until he was finally admitted to the corps royal d'état-major thanks to Gouvion Saint-Cyr. His many Épîtres date to this period.
On 17 July 1820, he put on his one-act opera Aspasie et Périclès at the Académie de musique but, though it ran for 16 performances it was not a success despite its masterful music thanks to an uninteresting libretto. That autumn, on 19 October, he finally found success with his tragedy Clovis, at the Théâtre-Français. He wrote other plays, mainly tragedies, which were not produced. Made chef d'escadron
Chef d'escadron
In the French armed forces , Chef d'escadron is the title of a commandant in the Artillery and Baggage Train Corps and in the Gendarmerie....
by seniority in 1823, he was demoted to the ranks in 1827 in the wake of the publication of his Épître aux chiffonniers in favour of the liberty of the press, a witty protest against hateful and absurd legislation. This only made him more popular and on 21 April 1828 he was elected député
Chamber of Deputies of France
Chamber of Deputies was the name given to several parliamentary bodies in France in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries:* 1814–1848 during the Bourbon Restoration and the July Monarchy, the Chamber of Deputies was the Lower chamber of the French Parliament, elected by census suffrage.*...
for the 2nd electoral arrondissement of Hérault
Hérault
Hérault is a department in the south of France named after the Hérault river.-History:Hérault is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
(Béziers). He took his place among the French left of this time, supporting the parliamentary opposition which would lead to the July Revolution
July Revolution
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution or in French, saw the overthrow of King Charles X of France, the French Bourbon monarch, and the ascent of his cousin Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, who himself, after 18 precarious years on the throne, would in turn be overthrown...
by his votes and sometimes by his speeches.
July Monarchy
He voted in favour of the adresse des 221. Re-elected on 23 June 1830 with 55% of the votes, he contributed to the establishment of the July MonarchyJuly Monarchy
The July Monarchy , officially the Kingdom of France , was a period of liberal constitutional monarchy in France under King Louis-Philippe starting with the July Revolution of 1830 and ending with the Revolution of 1848...
and it was he who on 31 July announced the nomination of Louis-Philippe, the duc d'Orléans
Louis-Philippe of France
Louis Philippe I was King of the French from 1830 to 1848 in what was known as the July Monarchy. His father was a duke who supported the French Revolution but was nevertheless guillotined. Louis Philippe fled France as a young man and spent 21 years in exile, including considerable time in the...
as lieutenant général of the kingdom to the people at the Hôtel de Ville of Paris
Hôtel de Ville, Paris
The Hôtel de Ville |City Hall]]) in :Paris, France, is the building housing the City of Paris's administration. Standing on the place de l'Hôtel de Ville in the city's IVe arrondissement, it has been the location of the municipality of Paris since 1357...
on 31 July.
The new king returned Viennet to his rank as chef de bataillon. Re-elected as a député on 5 July 1831 with 65% of the vote, he sat in the ministerial majority. Dedicated to the new regime, but still with a burning and intolerant spirit, he was his party's "enfant terrible" and openly spoke in favour of its opponents' projects, hopes and watchwords. Even whilst in the Chamber of Deputies he continued to be vehemently outspoken, making sudden and biting attacks on the republicans, who he called paymasters of the counter-revolution and soon drawing scorn and whistles from them. A focus for Charivari
Le Charivari
Le Charivari was an illustrated newspaper published in Paris, France from 1832 to 1937. It published caricatures, political cartoons and reviews...
and Caricature, he was subjected to all kinds of malignity, sarcasm and denigration.
The Académie française
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
elected him a member on 18 November 1830, in seat 22 in succession to the comte de Ségur. The Académie also provided another arena for his controversies, and within it he and Baour-Lormian were among the most opinionated leaders of the absolute resistance to any hint of Romanticism
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
.
He was a particular friend of Louis-Philippe, who made him a peer of France on 7 November 1839. With continuing energy, Viennet pursued his literary works (novels, operas, tragedies, comedies, epithets and fables) as keenly as his loud political debates.
However, he was not spared as a peer any more than he had been as a député, with hatred for him lasting until the February 1848
French Revolution of 1848
The 1848 Revolution in France was one of a wave of revolutions in 1848 in Europe. In France, the February revolution ended the Orleans monarchy and led to the creation of the French Second Republic. The February Revolution was really the belated second phase of the Revolution of 1830...
, in which he lost his patron at the Palais du Luxembourg. Occupied elsewhere during 1848, the satirical journals left him free for a moment. Later, he was highly thought of for being very dignified and firm with the men on 2 December
French coup of 1851
The French coup d'état on 2 December 1851, staged by Prince Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte , ended in the successful dissolution of the French National Assembly, as well as the subsequent re-establishment of the French Empire the next year...
.
Freemason
A Masonic dignitary in the Scottish RiteScottish Rite
The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry , commonly known as simply the Scottish Rite, is one of several Rites of the worldwide fraternity known as Freemasonry...
of France and its colonies, he became Grand Master of this obedience (with the title "Sovereign Grand Commander" of the "Supreme Council of France") from 1860 to 1868. He fought to maintain this rite's independence when the Second French Empire
Second French Empire
The Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
abused its authority by claiming to unite this rite with the French Rite
French Rite
The French Rite of Freemasonry is a Rite of Freemasonry. It was founded in France in 1786.-History:The French Rite is intimately linked to the birth of Freemasonry in France and was founded in France in 1786. British exiles brought the "Modern" rite to France and this was little by little passed...
under the direction of marshal Magnan
Bernard Pierre Magnan
Bernard Pierre Magnan was a Marshal of France.Magnan started his career as an enlisted soldier of the 66th Line in 1809. Promoted to sergeant in 1810, the next year he entered the officers ranks and was successively promoted 2nd lieuteneant, 1st lieutenant and captain. From 1810 to 1813 Magnan...
, and recovering his youthful energy and regaining the popularity he had lost since the Restoration.
He wrote until his last day, dying aged 90. He edited his own entry in the Dictionnaire de la conversation, to which he contributed many other articles. Joseph d'Haussonville
Joseph d'Haussonville
Joseph Othenin Bernard de Cléron, comte d'Haussonville , was a French politician and historian.He was born in Paris...
, who replaced him at the Académie française, spoke his elogy on 31 March 1870. He was buried in the cimetière du Père-Lachaise in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Main works
Viennet's setbacks in the theatre never discouraged him from writing, and he continued to produce works throughout his life. The list below does not include many works rejected by the Paris Opéra or the theatres and so never produced.- AspasieAspasiaAspasia was a Milesian woman who was famous for her involvement with the Athenian statesman Pericles. Very little is known about the details of her life. She spent most of her adult life in Athens, and she may have influenced Pericles and Athenian politics...
et PériclèsPericlesPericles was a prominent and influential statesman, orator, and general of Athens during the city's Golden Age—specifically, the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars...
, 1 act opera, music by Joseph Daussoigne-MéhulJoseph Daussoigne-MéhulJoseph Daussoigne-Méhul was a French composer and music educator. He served as the first director of the Royal Conservatory of Liège from 1826-1862; having been appointed to that post by William I of the Netherlands. In addition to his duties as director, he also taught courses in harmony and...
(nephew and student of MéhulÉtienne MéhulEtienne Nicolas Méhul was a French composer, "the most important opera composer in France during the Revolution." He was also the first composer to be called a "Romantic".-Life:...
), Paris, Théâtre de l'Académie royale de musique, 17 July 1820 ; - Clovis, 5 act tragedy, Paris, Théâtre FrançaisComédie-FrançaiseThe Comédie-Française or Théâtre-Français is one of the few state theaters in France. It is the only state theater to have its own troupe of actors. It is located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris....
, 19 Octoebr 1820 ; - Promenade philosophique au cimetière du Père-Lachaise (1824) ;
- Le Siège de DamasSiege of DamascusThe Siege of Damascus took place over four days in July 1148, during the Second Crusade. It ended in a decisive crusader defeat and led to the disintegration of the crusade. The two main Christian forces that marched to the Holy Land in response to Pope Eugenius III and Bernard of Clairvaux's call...
, 5 canto poem, preceded by a preface on the classicists and the romantics (1825) ; - Sigismond de BourgogneSigismund of BurgundySigismund was king of the Burgundians from 516 to his death. He was the son of king Gundobad, whom he succeeded in 516. Sigismund and his brother Godomar were defeated in battle by Clovis' sons and Godomar fled. Sigismund was taken by Chlodomer, King of Orléans, where he was kept as a prisoner. He...
, 5 act tragedy, Paris, les Comédiens ordinaires du Roi, 10 September 1825 ; - Sédim, ou les Nègres, 3 canto poem (1826) ;
- la Tour de Montlhéry, histoire du XIIe siècle, novel (1833, 3 vol.), republished in the collection Romans illustrés;
- Le Château Saint-Ange, novel (1834, 2 vol.) ;
- Les Serments, 3 act verse comedy, Paris, Théâtre Français, 16 February 1839 ;
- Fables (1843) ;
- Michel Brémond, 5 act verse drama, Paris, Théâtre de la Porte Saint-MartinThéâtre de la Porte Saint-MartinThe Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin is a venerable theatre and opera house at 18, Boulevard Saint-Martin in the 10e arrondissement of Paris.- History :...
, 7 March 1846 ; - Épîtres et satires, suivies d'un Précis historique sur la satire chez tous les peuples (1847) ;
- La Course à l'héritage, 5 act verse comedy, Paris, second Théâtre-Français (Odéon), 29 April 1847 ;
- Les chêne et ses commensaux, fable (1849) ;
- L'0s à ronger (1849) ;
- La Jeune tante, 3 act verse comedy (1854) ;
- ArbogastArbogast (general)Flavius Arbogastes , or Arbogast was a Frankish general in the Roman Empire. It has been stated by some ancient historians that he was the son of Flavius Bauto, Valentinian II's former magister militum and protector before Arbogast, but modern scholars largely discount this claim...
e, 5 act tragedy (1859) ; - Richelieu, 5 act prose drama (1859) ;
- Selma, 1 act verse drama, Paris, Théâtre de l'Odéon, 14 May 1859 ;
- La Franciade, 10 canto poem (1863) ;
- Histoire de la puissance pontificale (1866, 2 vol.), directed against the popes' temporal power ;
- Souvenirs de la vie militaire de Jean Pons Guillaume Viennet, de l'Académie française (1777-1819), prefaced and annotated by MM. Albert Depréaux and Pierre Jourda (1929) ;
- Journal de Viennet, pair de France, témoin de trois règnes, 1817-1848. Foreword and afterword by the duc de La Force (1955).