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- Title
Serving France in Rome: the Zouaves Pontificaux and the French nation.
- Authors
Simpson, Martin
- Abstract
This article examines the French contingent of the pontifical zouaves, the volunteer force that defended the territory of the papacy in the decade 1860–70. Attention is focused on the zouave myth – though it must be recognized that the zouaves themselves actively participated in the construction of their legend. With its emphasis on pain, sacrifice and expiatory suffering and a powerful emotional dimension, the zouave legend can be aligned with the mid-century revival and was employed to teach Catholic lessons. Above all, however, the champions of the zouaves stressed that the zouaves were French patriots to be placed alongside figures such Clovis, Charlemagne, Saint-Louis and Joan of Arc: serving the papacy was the French national mission. Lastly the zouaves were identified with an enduring counter-revolutionary tradition: the zouaves appealed to a large constituency who defined themselves in opposition to the values of 1789 and the Third Republic.
- Subjects
PAPAL guards; ZOUAVES; PAPACY -- History -- 1799-1870; FRENCH Revolution, 1789-1799; COUNTERREVOLUTIONARIES; FRENCH Catholics; BATTLE of Castelfidardo, Italy, 1860; BATTLE of Mentana, Italy, 1867
- Publication
French History, 2013, Vol 27, Issue 1, p69
- ISSN
0269-1191
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/fh/crs120