Subject: sans-culotte 'without knee-breeches' revolutionary partisan
Culture: French
Setting: French Revolution, France 1790s-1810s
Event Photos
"The celebration and revering of lower-class dress by the sans-culottes reflected the celebration of egalitarian principles by the revolutionaries. Before the French revolution members of the lower class had no voice. They had minimal representation in government and there was a huge economic disparity between the nobility and the common people. The press was highly censored and there were very few avenues for an ordinary man to speak out against the system. The French revolution, despite its violence, also gave the common people a voice. New representative government systems were formed, allowing more citizens an active role in deciding their fate. The press flourished and hundreds of newspapers were published. The celebration of lower-class dress by the sans-culottes was a celebration of these new freedoms of expression, socially, politically, and economically, that the revolution promised. Despite their noble ideology, the reality of the sans-culottes was very different. Their cries for freedom and equality only truly applied to white men, and women were discouraged from the sans-culottes movement.
"The sans-culottes’ activity leading up to and during the ‘reign of terror’ gave them a reputation also as one of the most militant and bloodthirsty factions of the entire revolutionary conflict. Yet despite the level of violence and chaos in the revolution, many great changes came about and the sans-culottes represent an important moment in the history of political fashion and its relationship to revolution."
"The sans-culottes, the name for the commoners that fought against the monarchy during the rebellion, were arguably the heart and soul of the French Revolution. With their name derived from their choice in apparel — loose fitting pantaloons, wooden shoes, and red liberty caps — the sans-culottes were workers, artisans, and shopkeepers; patriotic, uncompromising, egalitarian, and, at times, viciously violent. Ironically, given its origin as a term to describe men’s breeches, the term “culottes” in French was used to describe women’s underpants, an article of clothing that has little or no relation to the historic culottes, but now refers to apparent skirts that are actually split with two legs. The term “sans-culottes” has been used colloquially to mean not wearing underpants.
"Sans-culottes were quick to take to the streets and deal out Revolutionary justice through extralegal means, and images of severed heads falling into baskets from the guillotine, others stuck on pikes, and general mob violence are closely associated with them.
"But, despite their reputation, this is a caricature — it does not fully capture the breadth of the sans-culottes’ impact on the course of the French Revolution."
Primary Sources
*
"
Secondary Sources
*
"
Field Notes
>
