L\'an de la Republique...

07:02 Oct 24, 2015
This question was closed without grading. Reason: Answer found elsewhere

French to English translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - History
French term or phrase: L\'an de la Republique...
I have an old French birth record which begins: "L'an de la Republique le dix huitieme du mois de Brumaire à onze heure à midi..." I've seen many documents from this period, using the French Republican calendar, but they invariably tell WHICH year of the French Republic is meant, e.g. "L'an onze de la Republique..." etc. At first, I thought this might have been a slip of the pen, and the civil registrar simply omitted the year...HOWEVER, every record on this particular page from the register of births begins this way ("L'an de la Republique...). Any ideas????????
Timoshka
Local time: 06:06


Summary of answers provided
3 +21792
DLyons


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


12 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
1792


Explanation:
The establishment of the Republic. See note above.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 13 mins (2015-10-24 07:15:50 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Some Googling shows documents which say e.g. l'an deuxième de la Republique for dates in late 1793. E.g. https://books.google.ie/books?id=DLsGAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA294

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2015-10-24 08:50:07 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Yes, that was my first thought too. What I suspect is that the records were written later on with the benefit of hindsight after the calendar was in place.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2015-10-24 09:26:34 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Note also "l'an 1er" for 1792 in
https://books.google.ie/books?id=xZoaAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA377

DLyons
Ireland
Local time: 11:06
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 8
Notes to answerer
Asker: I'm afraid it can't be 1792. Although the French Republic was indeed established in 1792, the French Republican calendar wasn't created and put into use until November of 1793. The first occurrence of 18 Brumaire occurred in the 3rd Year of the French Republic, i.e. 8 Nov. 1794. It's really odd that these records don't have a year inserted between "L'an" and "de la Republique..."

Asker: I'm still sceptical. These records of birth were recorded in the birth register of the community of Leiselheim at the time the births occurred. If this birth is presumed to have taken place in 1792 (before the French Republican calendar was even introduced), then someone would have had to rewrite all of the birth records from the establishment of the Republic to the introduction of the new calendar, calculate the equivalent dates on the new calendar, etc. Seems like something that would NOT have happened. If this were just one isolated record written this way, I would also assume that a year number was simply omitted through some sort of oversight. However, all the records on this particular page begin with "L'an de la Republique..." without a number. I think I'm going to have to get access to the entire register to figure this one out...


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Pierre POUSSIN
5 mins
  -> Thanks irat56.

neutral  Charles Davis: I'm sceptical; omission of a figure seems more likely to me, on the whole, because the idea of retrospective birth records (as opposed to copies) made at least a couple of years later seems implausible. But it's odd either way.
1 hr
  -> Yes, it's odd. Was there a 1984-style retrospective cleansing of records? Needs a historian.

agree  Jennifer Levey: Please see the discussion box.
8 hrs
  -> Thanks Robin. Sounds logical.
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.


See also:
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search