Thermidor is a French word that is spelled as thermidor. It comes from two Greek nouns. The first of these is θέρμη, which means “heat”, “heat”, and the second - δῶρον, which translates as “gift”. This is the eleventh month in the French Republican calendar. And also the name of the revolutionary coup that took place in France this month. More details about the fact that this is a thermidor will be described in the article.
Revolutionary calendar
Before proceeding to a direct examination of the meaning of "thermidor", it should be said about the adoption of a new calendar. It was introduced during the revolution in France. It was approved by its decree on 05.10.1793 by the National Convention, and then on 01.01.1806 it was repealed by Napoleon.
The calendar was developed by a commission led by Gilbert Romm. The adoption of the new calendar was a symbol of a break with traditions, it marked a de-Christianization, the adoption of the "natural religion", which was associated with nature.
During the Paris Commune, the Republican calendar was introduced again. Its action lasted several months - from 18.03. on May 28, 1871. After that, the Gregorian calendar was restored. The first revolutionary year, 1792, was declared the beginning of an era.
Whereas the era “from the birth of Christ” was abolished, as was the beginning of the year from the 1st of January. Days began to be counted from September 22, 1792, the first day of the French Republic. The following years were now counted from midnight on the day that the autumn equinox fell. It was divided into 12 months a year, each of which had 30 days. The remaining days were called Sankulotids and were festive.
Thermidor
This, as mentioned above, is the eleventh month of the revolutionary calendar. It lasted from July 19/20 to August 17/18. Like the rest of the months, the thermidor lasted thirty days. It was divided into three weeks of ten days each, which were called decades.
Each of the days was designated by the name of an agricultural plant. The exception was the fifth and tenth days, which were given the name of the pet (fifth) and agricultural tool (tenth).
Considering what “thermidor” means, we give the names of the days of this month.
Day names
In the first ten days of the month, Thermidor is:
- The first is Spelt;
- The second is Korovyak;
- The third is Melon;
- Fourth - Tared;
- Fifth - Ram;
- Sixth - Horsetail;
- Seventh - Wormwood;
- Eighth - Safflower;
- Ninth - Mulberry;
- Tenth - Watering Can.
In the second:
- Eleventh - Bluehead;
- Twelfth - Soleros;
- Thirteenth - Apricot;
- Fourteenth - Basil;
- Fifteenth - Sheep;
- Sixteenth - Altai;
- Seventeenth - Flax;
- Eighteenth - Almonds;
- Nineteenth - Gentian;
- Twentieth - Gateway.
In the third:
- Twenty-first - Barborn;
- Twenty-second - Capers;
- Twenty-third - Lentils;
- Twenty-fourth - Elecampane;
- Twenty-fifth - Otter;
- Twenty-sixth - Myrtle;
- Twenty-seventh - Colza;
- Twenty-eighth - Lupine;
- Twenty-Ninth - Cotton;
- Thirtieth - Mill.
At the same time, the days of the decade had names. It:
- First day - Primidi;
- The second is Duody;
- The third is Tridy;
- Fourth - Quartiles;
- Fifth - Quintidi;
- Sixth - Sextidy;
- Seventh - Septydi;
- Eighth - Octidi;
- Ninth - Nonidi;
- Tenth - Decades.
French citizens had the right to determine for themselves how many of these days would be non-working, as well as which particular days would be. But at the same time, civil servants could rest only for one day. That was the decade.
Coup
There is another meaning of the word "thermidor". This is a coup, the result of which was the elimination of the Jacobin dictatorship. And also the whole French Revolution as a whole was put to an end. The name of this month subsequently became symbolic. They often designate some kind of counter-revolutionary coup.
An example is the book “Faithful Revolution”, written by Leon Trotsky. It has a chapter called “Soviet Thermidor”. It tells about the bureaucracy of the Communist Party and about the alienation under the conditions of Stalinism from the government of the state of the broad masses.
The Thermidorian coup occurred in 1794, July 27. This was one of the main events of the Great Revolution. According to the Republican calendar, this date corresponds to 9 Thermidor II years. The events led to the arrest and execution of Maximilian Robespierre, as well as his supporters. The era of terrible revolutionary terror was put to an end, and with it the end of revolutionary transformations. A period called the Thermidorian reaction began.
The winners and participants of this event defined it as the "Revolution of the 9th Thermidor." Later in the historiography of the revolution such a definition arose as a “coup d'etat”, as well as a “counterrevolutionary coup”.