Daemons and Familiars

I've always enjoyed the concept of familiars and daemons, so of course, I've begun to imagine which animals would represent which French revolutionary. Below are my selections and their explanations. I also wanted to choose animals that have some history in France while befitting their person. 

Maximilien Robespierre

( Prés-salés du Mont-Saint-Michel ram )

Noted as being a northern French sheep breed, it seemed like a perfect selection for Maxime. 

I chose a sheep due to the fact that, as with any male ungulate with horns, they are ( literally ) hard-headed. This combined with the sheep's white coat felt befitting of Maxime as "The Incorruptible". 

But there's also the symbolism of sheep. They are a religious icon across many cultures, marked for their purity and sacrificial purposes. At a time, people perceived Maxime as pure and moral in what he proposed and did. But as years passed and his mental and physical health deteriorated, he came to embody traits he once opposed. Inevitably sending many innocents to their demise at the guillotine. In an ironic twist, Maxime created a cult of reason and later faced the blade of his own making as his staunch lack of compromise marked him for slaughter by those he accused. In that sense, there's another irony of him being a sheep in that he excited what he believed with a blind fervor.  

Louis Antoine de Saint-Just
( Friesian stallion ) 

Originally I chose a wolf for Louis Antoine de Saint-Just, but felt it too cliche and not fitting of his history and personality. Instead, I chose the Friesian stallion for its history in the breeding of war horses, some of which were used during the French revolution.

Contemporaries claimed St-Just was a handsome man. A man who moved with a clean and clear intent and who kept his calm when necessary. Paradoxically his personality ( when young ) was rebellious and fiery. I argue that this shift was from disciplinary education tempered like steel. St-Just did not lose his youthful fire. He learned to weld it like a sword, unleashing it when necessary. Both traits assisted him greatly in the Austrian war and in his practice of law.  

Camille Desmoulins 
( European pine marten ) 

For Camille, I thought of the fox, but again, felt that cliche. Regardless of my personal opinions of these individuals and politics, I wanted to abstain from animals that held a blatant connotation of vice or villainy. While the historical and contemporary views of these men have their legitimate grounding in their actions, I chose to attempt to respect the complexity of their being. 

One could argue, "but you chose a weasel, aren't they villainous?" And yes, while granted, pine martins seem to have less of a reputation for this. Instead, I've seen them valued for their playfulness, energy, and wit. 

Pine martins are quick, sharp, and perceptive; often tackling prey twice their size. And when moving with frenetic energy it's akin to a visual stutter to me, complimenting Camille's real-life stutter. 

These traits combined with their small size felt befitting of Camille. He was once defended by his then friend and prior schoolmate Maxime who argued Camille was a "child" when accused of treason. When Maxime told Camille to burn his journalism criticizing  Jacques Hébert, he stood strong to his once friend and declined.

This act, along with the accusation of him assisting Danton in scandals, sent Camille to the guillotine. On the way to the tumbril, he learned of his wife's arrest. Since arrest almost always equaled death in later years of the revolution, Camille went mad. He screamed, thrashed, and tore his shirt in defiance. He begged the mob, not for his life, but for that of his wife and child's.

What's ironic about the execution of Camille's wife is that it ( presumably ) left his child an orphan and Maxime once fought for the welfare rights of orphans and bastards. 

Georges Danton
( European boar ) 

I couldn't find much concerning Danton'ds youth beyond him being attacked by bulls and pigs as a child and apparently being a strong boy. 

Danton being brash and stern in his beliefs and actions appeared consistent from youth to adult. In one instance, he defended a classmate from corporal punishment in a manner his teacher found brash. 

He was a key proponent of the revolution and offered his services to the guards of his district in the storming of the Bastille. While St-Just appeared to be the brains of army service, Danton appeared to be the bulk, although he was a smart man too. "We ask that anyone refusing to give personal service or to furnish arms shall be punished with death," Danton declared during a  provisional government meeting.

Danton is depicted as a strong, scarred, and intimidating figure in almost all portraiture. Boars are respected for their strength and ferocity. Despite their capacity to thrash and cause immense harm, they are also clever beasts.

Contemporaries claimed that, even if did not seek it out, he was an opportunist and full of avarice if an opportunity was offered. This led to the scandal of the French East India Company and his later execution.