Montagnards

Montagnards, or simply MONTAGNE, 'the Mountain,' the name given to the extreme democratic politicians in the first French Revolution, because they seated themselves on the highest benches of the hall in which the National Convention met. The body included both Jacobins and Cordeliers; its principal members were Danton, Marat, Robespierre, St Just, and Collot d'Herbois, the men of 'the Reign of Terror.' The antagonistic party were 'the Plain,' the Girondists (q.v.), who sat on the lowest benches, on the floor of the house. After the overthrow of the Girondists this part of the house was styled 'the Marsh or Swamp,' and included all the members whose votes were under the control of 'the Mountain.' In 1848 the extreme party in the National Assembly, composed of revolutionary democrats and communists, sometimes flattered itself by assuming the title of 'the Mountain.'