“This Panchaud, alias Printanier, alias Bigrenaille, later featured in several criminal proceedings and has since become a celebrity crook. […] they used to talk about him in the exercise yard called the Lions’ Den at La Force. At that fabled prison, at the exact spot under the covered way where the sewer runs that was used in the incredible breakout in broad daylight of thirty detainees in 1843, you could even read, above the flagstones over the toilets, his name, PANCHAUD, boldly carved by the man himself on the parapet wall in one of his attempts at escape.”
This reference to the infamous breakout from La Force prison in 1843 in fact seems to be inspired by / linked to a real-life event! Although— unlike Hugo’s suggestion— according to this historical article [source] there were only 15 escapees (out of which 11 were captured and again arrested). However, it indeed appears that these real criminals also used the sewer and the sewer pipes to enable their escape!
Understanding the Patron-Minette affiliates through their names and aliases
This piece is the result of a hobbyist research project I've spent an unhealthy amount of time working on with the intention of bringing some context and historical significance to the names of all the Patron-Minette's affiliates!
From analysing nineteenth-century slang and investigating real criminal figures as well as their famous schemes, to exploring Hugo's potential literary inspirations, I am a strong believer that a lot of meaning can be discovered behind the names and aliases of these minor characters through close examination.
Below is a list of all 18 of the Patron-Minette affiliates (listed in the same order as Hugo introduces them in the novel), with each character's name accompanied by a short ramble about what their aliases may reference and/or allude to.
If you want to skip to the most *objectively* interesting character names, I would recommend visiting the entries for Laveuve, Homère Hogu, Kruideniers (alias Bizarro), and Mangedentelle first. But, I hope you enjoy reading the other entries too, as almost all of these names have wonderfully complex meanings and references hidden behind them!
**I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, I am not French— and therefore I have to rely on resources available to me online (and Julie Rose's English translations of these characters' names, even though I think she often interprets these names too literally) to analyse and translate the names of these characters. So, I sincerely apologise if I misspell or misinterpret any French in the sections below!**
Panchaud; alias Printanier, alias Bigrenaille
Translation in English: Hotwhack; Springlike, Golightly
There is not much to expand upon here thanks to Julie Rose's sufficient translation of Panchaud and his various aliases into English.
'Printanier' and 'Bigrenaille' suggest that the character was fairly spritely and fast. It also arguably implies he is a young and energetic criminal. The name 'Panchaud' is also a great indicator of this character's violent nature.
The fact that the character has three different names— one with a fairly dangerous undertone— seems to me to be a purposeful choice made by Hugo in order to emphasise the character's eagerness to become a notorious and famous criminal, which he does indeed become in the 1840s.
Brujon
Information provided in canon: Comes from a dynasty of Brujons
Unfortunately, I did not find any particularly exciting information or deeper meaning behind the name to speculate over.
To put it simply, 'Brujon' is a French family name that was common in France at the time of the publication of Les Misérables , and remains a prevalent surname today. Nevertheless, this small piece of knowledge is interesting enough to me as it indirectly relates to the concept of the Brujon ‘dynasty’ quite well!
Boulatruelle
Information provided in canon: An old road-mender, who we have met before in Montfermeil
'Truelle' means trowel, and 'boule'— which is very similar to 'boula'— is a slang term for 'head' [source]. When taking these elements together, this makes Boulatruelle's very name a nice reference to the character's obsession with digging for the "buried treasure" in Montfermeil's forests.
The trowel detail might also be a nod to Boulatruelle's occupation as a road mender, since it refers to a mason's tool specifially [source]. And, with 'boule' literally translating to 'ball', perhaps there is also an allusion in the name to ball-and-chain that might connect to Boulatruelle's previous conviction and prison sentence?
Laveuve
Translation in English: the Widow
This name was particularly interesting to research because it could allude to a whole variety of relevant concepts and hence allows for a lot of speculation.
On one hand, the name could just make reference to the fact that Laveuve is a widow, which interestingly would make Laveuve a female character!
Yet, ‘veuve’ (aka 'widow') is also a Temple slang term for ‘rope’. We know this thanks to Babet, who uses the phrase during the Patron-Minette's escape from La Force. This could therefore imply that the character is a criminal known for using ropes or nooses on victims.
More fascinating still, could Laveuve actually be someone pretending to be a vulnerable, widowed woman? Surprisingly, this was a type of criminal scam sometimes famously used by certain criminals in the nineteenth-century. For example, in the 1830s there was a criminal named Jean-Francais Chardon who was a conman and female impersonator known as “la Tante” [source]. Could Laveuve have been a similar kind of criminal?
Finistère
The name appears to derive from the Latin ‘Finis Terræ’, which means ‘End of the world’. Finistère is also the name of a place in Brittany, France. As a result of these factors, I have always associated the character with dock / port work, but of course nothing can be proved of this.
Homère Hogu
Information provided in canon: A black man (Julie Rose translates the phrase as such, but Victor Hugo uses a derogatory term when describing Homère Hogu in the original publication. I have replaced all mentions of the word with ‘n—’ where necessary below)
I found a captivating research paper about the onomastics of Les Misérables which touches on Homère Hogu being a purposeful variant of Victor Hugo’s own name:
Hugo ne s'y trompait pas lorsqu'il confia son “épopée définitive” de la “conscience humaine” (I, VII, 3; OC XI, 201) à un frère anagrammatique: ce bandit, le “n—” Homère-Hogu (III, VII, 4; OC XI, 536), est le hors-la-loi noir parmi les blancs; mais misérable “n—”, il est également par la grâce de la polysémie, celui qui est chargé par un écrivain célèbre d'écrire à sa place un roman, Les Misérables. Un nom étant un moi selon Jean Valjean, on reconnaîtra l'insaisissable poète des misérables dans ce double caché au cœur du roman. Hugo-Hogu.
[Roughly translated into English: Hugo was not mistaken when he entrusted his “definitive epic” of the “human conscience” (I, VII, 3; OC XI, 201) to a brother anagrammatical: this bandit, the “n—” Homère-Hogu (III, VII, 4; OC XI, 536), is the black outlaw among the whites; but miserable “n—”, he is also, by the grace of polysemy, the one who is commissioned by a famous writer to write a novel in his place, Les Miserables. A name being a self according to Jean Valjean, we will recognize the elusive poet of the wretched in this hidden double at the heart of the novel. Hugo-Hogu.]
I really recommend reading the full paper if this kind of topic interests you (click here to access the article). I have a limited understanding of the piece since it is written in French, but the parts that I could comprehend were absolutely fascinating!
Mardisoir
Translation in English: Tuesday Night
I don't have much to say on this name despite undertaking lots of research. It seems to mean nothing more than Tuesday evening / night. Perhaps the name alludes to an activity or event that commonly occurred on Tuesday nights, but I haven't been able to discover any information related to this idea thus far. The only *potential* research avenues that I discovered were:
'Mardi' is slang for beating up someone in Romanian [source], but no such slang seems to apply to the French language.
'Mardi s'il fait chaud' was once a popular proverb that was used in the same way as the English expression 'only when pigs fly' [source]. However, there is no likely connection between this phrase and Mardisoir's name since the phrases share nothing aside from the term 'Mardi'.
Dépêche
Translation in English: Dispatch
Whilst Julie Rose translates the name only to ‘Dispatch’, dépêche is a term that specifically refers to the dispatch of a message or information.
In addition, my own research has evidenced that in thieves' slang, ‘dépêche’ has a slightly different definition— meaning to ‘ease oneself by evacuation’, rather than simply dispatching a message [source].
Therefore there are two potential avenues for the criminal "subspecies" that Dépêche represents. Either the character is a messenger for the group, or perhaps is instead a criminal known for deserting others when things get tough.
Fauntleroy; alias Bouquetière
Translation in English: Flowergirl*
First off, let me debunk any suggestions that this character's name could in any way be linked to the famous story Little Lord Fauntleroy. It would have been impossible, since Little Lord Fauntleroy was published over 23 years after Les Misérables.
The name Fauntleroy is a real surname derived from the phrase 'le enfant le roy', which translates to 'child of the king' [source].
Fauntleroy's alias 'Bouquetière' translates to Flowergirl, likely referring to the character's occupation. Interestingly enough, at this point in history there was a common association between "Flowergirls" and prostitutes (I have previously written about this before), and I think Hugo takes advantage of this connection to coyly indicate to readers that Fauntleroy is a prostitute. Julie Rose even goes so far as to label the character as a "prostitute" in her translation, even though it is never explicitly stated by Victor Hugo.
Glorieux
Translation in English: Glorious
Information provided in canon: A freed convict
I haven't much to add here about the name apart from the related meanings of 'glorieux' that suggest this character might have once being a glorious and renowned criminal.
Aside from its direct translation to 'glorious', 'glorieux' can also mean 'self-satisfied', 'illustrious' and 'distinguished' [source]. This perhaps implies that the character had a particularly successful criminal career in the past.
Yet, I also want to point out the brilliantly ironic and sarcastic element to Glorieux's name! How can this criminal be so 'glorious' if he managed to get imprisoned in jail, and served his whole sentence (note he is a freed convict, which means he served his time in prison and did not escape in any illustrious escape!). I bet Hugo's juxtaposition of alias against the accompanying information that he was a 'freed convict' was intended to give readers a little laugh!
Barrecarrosse; alias Monsieur Dupont
Translation in English: Coachrod
Barrecarrosse’s name is almost certainly making reference to some famous nineteenth-century criminal plots involving horse-drawn carriages being ambushed and robbed by highwaymen and/or padfoots. Note that ‘barre’ means iron rod specifically, and perhaps it specifies the kind of weapon that this criminal might have carried.
Interestingly, Barrecarrosse’s alias, ‘Dupont’, is a common French surname that translates to ‘from the bridge’.
When taken together, both of Barrecarrosse’s names invoke an image in my mind of a shady criminal who hangs around on bridges that are used by carriages to transport goods and people into Paris, waiting to encounter passing carriages and attacking them in order to steal valuables. We are even told later in the novel that this character prowls the Grenelle area, which indeed was located just on the outskirts of the city’s nineteenth-century borders, right next to the Seine.
Lesplanade-du-Sud
Translation in English: South-Esplanade
This alias has me stumped. Esplande means 'precincts' in English [source], and I am assuming the name refers to some location or place— but I have not been able to decipher any further meaning to the name thus far.
If anyone has any insights or suggestions for possible meanings behind this name I would love to hear from you!
Poussagrive
Translation in English: Pushathrush
'Grive' appears to be used in a number of French slang phrases of the nineteenth-century to describe giving out warning calls. This might imply that Poussagrive could have taken on the role of a look-out for the gang, acting like a thrush songbird and calling out when spotting danger.
The multiple meanings of the French word 'poussa' help to support this idea: it has a lot of alternative definitions other than 'push', most of which relate more-so to speech: it can be defined as 'pushed, uttered, prompted, drove, let out, urged, heaved, led him, shoved, thrust, breathed, spurred' [source]
I think it is interesting to additionally note here that 'grive' was also slang in the nineteenth-century for 'army; military patrol ; warder' [source]. So, Poussagrive could also refer to a calling used to alert or command the Patron-Minette in a ‘military’ fashion, ordering them about as if they were some kind of ‘patrol’!
Carmagnolet
The name shares similarities with the famous revolutionary song ‘La Carmagnole’, wherein a carmagnole is the name of a short jacket worn by working-class revolutionary militants [source].
So, perhaps Carmagnolet is a character interested in revolution (which would open up fascinating possibilities for this character in terms of potential connections to Les Amis). Or, might it just mean that this criminal has a rebellious, wildly anarchistic personality. Or, maybe Carmagnolet is simply known by this name because he wears a Carmagnole jacket?
*As I’ve said before I don’t speak French, and therefore don’t know how the added ‘t’ at the end of the name changes its meaning— and would really appreciate it if anybody could share some insight into this!*
Kruideniers; alias Bizarro
Kruideniers is a name with multiple interpretations, yet none seem to give away much of an idea about the character. I've simply compiled all of the unconnected pieces of research I stumbled across below. Curiously, most of the information I sourced points back to the Netherlands rather than to France:
A denier is a type of silver Frankish coin [source]. Interestingly, three deniers make a liard (lots of fun opportunities to speculate over the monetary links and any corresponding connections between the characters of 'Kruideniers' and 'Demi-Liard' here).
'krui' is Dutch slang for 'push or carry forward' [source].
Oddly enough, ‘Kruideniers’ is Dutch for grocer.
As for the character's alias, Bizarro... my research took me down a bit of a rabbit-hole and led me to the fascinating tale of Francesco Moscato, alias Vizzarru. Moscato was an Italian brigand, mass murderer, and seducer. I won't waste time recounting the entire story but if you're interested in reading about Moscato you can do so here.
Whilst the name Vizzarru is not quite Bizarro, what is important to note is that Sir Walter Scott wrote a story about Moscato in 1832 entitled Bizarro (although it was never published at the time!). And, who was known to be a good friend and admirer of Walter Scott? None other than Victor Hugo!
Of course, I cannot prove anything about Hugo taking the name Bizarro from Scott, but its fun to speculate that perhaps there had been a conversation between these two authors! Furthermore, Alexandre Dumas, another friend and rival of Victor Hugo, had taken inspiration from Vizzarru and written about the figure too! Perhaps Hugo and Dumas could have discussed Moscato / Vizzarru / Bizarro at the Club des Hashischins, and Hugo had retained the name in his head?
Mangedentelle
Translation in English: Eatlace
This one was particularly interesting to research, and in this name there is a piece of translation that I disagree with Julie Rose over.
Personally, I think Rose ended up translating this character's name too literally when referring to it in English as 'eatlace'.
Whilst Rose is objectively correct to translate 'dentelle' to lace, my own research has suggested that 'dentelle' is thieves’ argot for 'bank notes, "rags, flimsies, screenes, or longtailed ones"' [source].
To me, this definition of 'dentelle' makes more sense in the context of the name of a Patron-Minette affiliate. It seems significantly more probable that this character's name would have referred to bank notes rather than lace fabric.
However, I am still stumped as to what the 'mange' / 'eat' part of the name is meant to imply or represent. The closest, most logical thing I can think of is that 'mange' in this context translates to 'hunger' or 'appetite', as it meant originally in Old French [source].
If we are to be convinced enough by this research, it would mean Mangedentelle theoretically translates to 'appetite for money'. To me, that makes much more sense than translating the name as 'eatlace'.
Les-pieds-en-l'air
Translation in English: Feet-in-the-air
This is a simple one to explain. The character’s name alludes to a bawdy sex position, and clearly implies that Les-pieds-en-l’air is a prostitute.
Demi-liard; alias Deux-milliards
Translation in English: Half-a-liard; Two Billion
Another relatively easy name to decipher— a demi-liard is a low value term of coinage.
The conjunction between this character's two aliases is wonderfully comedic. With the 'Demi-Liard' alias, this character is described as being extremely poor (if a liard was at one point the smallest coin in France in terms of its monetary value, then a demi-liard would have been even more pitiful!). Yet, the other alias, ‘Deux-milliards’ would suggest that the character is extremely wealthy!
Panchaud, Kruideniers, and the concept of “Celebrity Criminal”
This is a re-worked analysis of two of the Patron-Minette’s minor affiliates that I originally intended to use in my @barricadescon presentation Theatres of Crime in Les Misérables: Analysing the Patron-Minette (which I’m very excited to be presenting later today at 6pm UTC / 7pm BST / 2pm EST if you have registered for the con!) but it unfortunately ended up on the cutting room floor since I ran out of time in my recording! I’ve split these two research tangents into separate short notes below the cut. The first note explores Panchaud as a fictional criminal celebrity in the novel, and the second speculates the possibility that Kruideniers, alias Bizarro, was loosely inspired by a real-life celebrity criminal.
•
Panchaud: A Fictional Celebrity Criminal
You'd easily be forgiven for forgetting who Panchaud is. Being an extremely minor character in Les Misérables, Panchaud, alias Bigrenaille, alias Printanier, is described as a prowler of the barrières and affiliate of the Patron-Minette who is involved in the Gorbeau ambush and later arrested.
While Babet, Gueulemer, and Brujon manage to escape La Force prison alongside Thénardier during the spring of 1832, Panchaud is not as successful. Rather, in a passing sentence in Tome 5, we learn that Panchaud— together with another affiliate of the Patron-Minette called Demi-Liard— is sentenced in 1833 to ten years of hard labour in the galleys for his crimes. Yet, amid these fleeting details about Panchaud, most of which are easily forgotten, we discover that he later achieves the status of a celebrity criminal!
This passing piece of information offers a fascinating glimpse into the way society sensationalises immoral criminals, and once more is an example of crime being presented as a theatrical spectacle within the novel. Although Panchaud may be initially regarded as a cowardly character— as evidenced by his open fear of Javert during the Gorbeau ambush where he is afraid to shoot him and instead is the first of the roguish gang to turn himself in (although it is worth noting that he is the only member of the Patron-Minette to possess a gun, adding a dramatic element to his character), Marius alerts us in an earlier chapter to the fact that Panchaud had already acquired a notorious reputation for himself as a dangerous street prowler in 1832:
Cependant, quelle que fût sa préoccupation douloureuse, il ne put s'empêcher de se dire que ce rôdeur de barrières à qui Jondrette parlait ressemblait à un certain Panchaud, dit Printanier, dit Bigrenaille, que Courfeyrac lui avait montré une fois et qui passait dans le quartier pour un promeneur nocturne assez dangereux.
[Yet, whatever his painful preoccupation, he could not help remarking to himself that the barrière prowler Jonderette was talking to looked very like a certain Panchaud, alias Printanier, alias Bigrenaille, whom Courfeyrac had once pointed out to him and who passed in the quartier for a pretty dangerous night rambler. (Rose trans.)]
This detail is particularly interesting since the fame and notoriety of other Patron-Minette characters is never demonstrated in such explicit terms as we get here, not even in the case of the gang's four figure-heads! Remarkably, it is the only instance in the entire novel where a member of the general public who is not affiliated with law enforcement— Courfeyrac in this case— demonstrates an awareness of the criminal individuals that make up the Patron-Minette (although, please note that Hugo repeatedly emphasises at other points that the Patron-Minette gang was indeed widely known within the society depicted in his narrative, even if this knowledge is never explicitly portrayed).
Following this revelation that Panchaud had already attained a certain level of fame in 1832, Hugo then further intrigues us with an additional fleeting comment about Panchaud's life after the events of Les Misérables:
This Panchaud, alias Printanier, alias Bigrenaille, later featured in several criminal proceedings and has since become a celebrity crook. At the time he was still only a notorious crook. Today he is a part of the tradition among gangsters and murderers. He had a real following toward the close of the last reign. And in the evening, at nightfall, at the hour when groups huddle together and speak in hushed voices, they used to talk about him in the exercise yard called the Lions' Den at La Force. At that fabled prison, at the exact spot under the covered way where the sewer runs that was used in the incredible breakout in broad daylight of thirty detainees in 1843, you could even read, above the flagstones over the toilers, his name, PANCHAUD, boldly carved by the man himself on the parapet wall in one of his attempts at escape. In 1832, the police already had him under surveillance, but he had not yet seriously made his début (Rose trans.)
And it is here where we get to witness Panchaud’s ascent to true celebrity status, even if it initially seems undeserved— for we never witness him performing any remarkable deeds within the narrative! In this passage he is reminiscent of Schinderhannes with his daring prison escape, although we are still left to wonder if he was actually successful in fleeing. The success or failure of his escape is inconsequential however, seeing as the core of Panchaud's status as a criminal celebrity lies within the theatrical narrative that has been constructed around him. surrounding them. We don't get to read or experience his daring feat first-hand; instead, we are presented with a dramatic retelling, as if we were reading a sensational Penny Dreadful about the character.
Panchaud's act of carving his name into the walls of La Force also draws parallels to Brujon's father, another (briefly mentioned) character who carved his name into these same walls in 1811. Much like how the name of Brujon's father being remembered by prisoners indicates his famed criminal reputation and legacy, Panchaud's name being remembered bestows a similar sense of notoriety and fame upon him. And, it is these stories that are told about him which appear to solidify his reputation in the 1840s.
All of the glimpses that we catch of Panchaud's actions and personality— the very qualities that make him a "celebrity"— are inherently theatrical. His status is granted by the sensation he generates, and we become engrossed in the constructed image of the dramatic tales surrounding Panchaud, rather than truly knowing who he is. Like the figure-heads of the Patron-Minette, he too assumes a role and creates a persona, and his fame is constructed upon the stage that is crime. Thus, his celebrity status is intricately tied to the concept of theatrical crime and sensationalised criminals as seen popularised throughout society in the nineteenth-century (and continues to be seen even today)!
•
Kruideniers: Inspired by a Real Criminal Celebrity?
Like Panchaud, Kruideniers is a minor affiliate of the Patron-Minette who is mentioned only briefly in the novel, appearing on two occasions: first, when Hugo initially lists the names of the gang's affiliates— and second, in a fleeting moment where we learn that Brujon managed to sneak a note out to Kruideniers from within La Force prison.
However, what makes Kruideniers intriguing to me— and what makes him particularly relevant to the ‘theatrical crime’ concept— is not his actions, but rather his alias: Bizarro. Through the use of this alternative and unique name, it appears that Kruideniers' alias may have been loosely inspired by a real-life celebrity criminal!
Francesco Moscato, also known as Vizzarru or Bizzarro, was a real-life Italian brigand, mass murderer, and seducer. After being enlisted in the army for seducing the unmarried daughter of the family he worked for as a servant, he formed a famous band of murderous brigands and hunted men with his dogs. While he may not be widely recognised now and is rarely discussed outside of Italian and some French texts… during the nineteenth-century he was certainly a figure of fame, as evidenced by the numerous statues and artworks depicting him and his gang:
Although the name ‘Vizzarru’ is not an exact match for ‘Bizarro’, the near-identical similarity between Moscato's and Kruideniers' aliases is notable. It is also worth mentioning that other authors of the time, such as Alexandre Dumas and Sir Walter Scott, had also been inspired to write stories about this real-life celebrity criminal in this period. In 1832, Walter Scott wrote a novella entitled "Bizarro" (although it was not published at the time), and Dumas later wrote about Bizzarro in numerous texts including "Cento anni di brigantaggio nelle province meridionali d'Italia" (1863). I mention these two authors specifically since they were well known to Victor Hugo, and although this cannot prove that Hugo would have known about the famous Vizzarru, it does at least partially strengthen the idea that he might have been aware of this real rogue.
If we consider Hugo's fleeting use of the name Bizarro as a subtle reference to a real-life celebrity criminal, we once again witness the blending of fiction and actual criminality in an inherently sensational, theatrical manner. It also offers another glimpse into how Hugo's fictional criminals were likely inspired in part by various famed and dramatic rogues of Europe.
An exhaustive timeline of the Patron-Minette and their appearances in Les Misérables
Have you ever wanted to know the movements and actions of every single Patron-Minette character (including all affiliates?), throughout the narrative of Les Misérables and beyond? Well, this is the post for you!
This information is either collected from scenes that we as readers witness directly in Les Misérables, or pieced together (as best as I have been able to piece things together) from indirect snippets that Hugo gives us about these characters in passing. I haven’t listed the chapters where this information is located, but if you are curious feel free to message me and I can provide information!
P.S: There are many other wonderful Les Misérables timelines out there, which I urge you to check out! Please note that this timeline only contains information relating to the Patron-Minette, and that whilst Thénardier is featured multiple times in this timeline, he is not actually officially associated with the gang as an affiliate, but is rather a standalone crook that just happens to engage with the group in multiple scenes.
c.1793-1797;
Gueulemer likely born at some point in this period. In 1832 he is described as having ‘a mass of crow’s feet, though not yet forty years old’, and in 1815 he is working as a porter— so must have been an adult, or at least close to adulthood, in that year. Taken together, this information suggests that Gueulemer was probably born around within these years.
1811;
At La Force, Brujon’s father, who is also called Brujon, is locked up. He carves ‘BRUJON, 1811’ into the courtyard wall in the “Lion’s Den” at La Force.
[SPECULATIVE] Brujon is born. I suggest this only because of the line, ‘the Brujon or 1811 was the father of the Brujon of 1832’, which I feel implies Brujon must have been born around this time. Brujon is also described in 1832 as a ‘lad’, so must have been fairly young. If he was born in 1811, he would be 21 in 1832, which seems to align with the ‘lad’ description too.
c.1813-1814;
Montparnasse is born.
1815;
Gueulemer works as a porter in Avignon.
August 2nd
Gueulemer likely involved in the assassination of Marshal Brune.
Sometime before November, 1823;
Boulatruelle had been arrested and imprisoned for a crime we are not privy to, and likely was locked up on the Orion ship (since it is implied he recognised Valjean later in the novel).
He is released from prison and tries to find work in Montfermeil, but is unsuccessful. The only job he can get is for the administration, who hire him as a reduced-rate road mender. He is treated as an outcast by the people of Montfermeil.
1823;
‘Several days’ after November 16th
In Montfermeil, Boulatruelle continues his work as a road mender, but leaves his post early constantly to creep about in the forest. Thénardier, who still owned the inn at this time, gets Boulatruelle drunk in order to get him to reveal what he does in the forest. Boulatruelle reveals that he is trying to look for and dig up some treasure that he had seen an ex-convict whom he recognised (aka Valjean) hide in the woods. He is unsuccessful in finding this treasure.
Sometime before 1830;
Babet works a variety of jobs, including as a clown at Bobinos, and showing ‘freaks’ at fairs. During this time, he owns a booth with an advertisement that reads ‘Babet, dental artist, member of the academies, conducts physical experiments on metals and metalloids, extracts teeth, tackles stumps abandoned by his colleagues. Price: one tooth, one franc, fifty centimes; two teeth, two francs; three teeth, two francs, fifty. Take advantage of this opportunity.’
Babet gets married. He has children (it is not disclosed how many, but from the plural usage of ‘children’ rather than ‘a child’, we can assume he has more than one). The family travel together in his ‘booth-on-wheels’.
Babet’s wife and children disappear one day: ‘he had lost them the way you lose your hankie’. Soon after he decides to go and “tackle” Paris.
1830;
Patron-Minette begin ‘ruling’ the dregs of Paris.
Sometime between 1830-1832;
When out together one time, Courfeyrac points out Panchaud to Marius, seemingly aware of his reputation as a ‘dangerous night rambler’.
Montparnasse likely begins murdering people in this period as, by 1832, he already has ‘several corpses to his name’.
[SPECULATIVE] In this period Brujon had ‘done over’ a police station, out of sheer bravado. This information is revealed in a passing comment in the rue Plumet scene, which would mean that Brujon’s feat would have occured before June 1832, and, with Brujon being a fairly young ‘lad’, I am assuming that he would have only managed this feat in the last couple of years, after the Patron-Minette had begun to ‘rule’ the dregs of Paris.
1832;
We know that in 1832 the Patron-Minette has four heads, Babet, Gueulemer, Claquesous, and Montparnasse. We also know they have a vast network of associates - we learn 18 of their names; Panchaud*, Brujon*, Boulatruelle*, Laveuve, Homère Hugu, Mardisoir, Dépêche, Fauntleroy, Glorieux*, Barrecarrosse*, Lesplanade-du-Sud, Poussagrive, Carmagnolet, Kruideniers*, Mangedentelle, Les-pieds-en-l’air, and Demi-Liard*. [the affiliates who have an asterisk next to their name appear in the novel. The others sadly do not appear in any scenes].
February 2nd, evening
Brujon and Demi-Liard watch a melodrama at the Gaîté Theatre.
February 3rd, in the day
Thénardier converses with Panchaud near the rue de la Barrière-des-Gobelins, likely informing him of his plans for the Gorbeau ambush that evening. Marius sees them (and recognises Panchaud).
Later in the day, Brujon and Demi-Liard meet on the rue du Petit-Banquier, and Brujon convinces Demi-Liard to partake in the Gorbeau ambush that evening.
February 3rd, 6pm; the Gorbeau ambush
Babet, Claquesous and Gueulemer are present at the ambush.
Panchaud, Demi-Liard, Brujon, and Boulatruelle are present at the ambush.
Montparnasse is not present at the ambush. He shows up but stops on the boulevard outside the building to talk to Éponine, before they go off and ‘play Némorin’ together instead of help out on the job.
When Javert interrupts the ambush, all of the Patron-Minette characters present are arrested and taken to La Force. Azelma, Mme Thénardier, and Thénardier are also arrested. Thénardier is also sent to La Force along with the Patron-Minette, Mme Thénardier is sent to Saint Lazare, Azelma is sent to Les Madelonettes.
Night of February 3rd / morning of February 4th
Claquesous is ‘lost’ and manages to escape from the police’s clutches whilst being transported to La Force. He is free.
Éponine is found and ‘nabbed’, being sent to Les Madelonettes alongside her sister.
The Patron-Minette characters are all put into solitary at La Force.
Mid-February
Brujon released from solitary confinement and into Charlemagne yard, with the police hoping that he might reveal something whilst chatting. He spends his days in the yard staring at the canteen’s price list and complaining of being ill, shivering and trying to get sent to the infirmary. Secretly, he is plotting an escape.
The other arrested Patron-Minette characters remain in solitary.
‘Towards the end of February’
All captured Patron-Minette members remain in prison.
Brujon sends out notes to three previously unmentioned Patron-Minette associates, Kruideniers, Glorieux, and Barrecarosse [confirmed by the line ‘these men were somehow affiliated with the Patron-Minette gang], who patrol the areas of the Panthéon, the Val-de-Grâce’ and the barrière de la Grenelle respectively. These men are arrested by the police, who suspect that Brujon is planning a scheme from prison.
Brujon writes his note to Babet, informing him of rue Plumet. He is caught and sent to solitary for a month, but the note still gets to Babet.
Babet, using his mistress (locked up at La Salpêtrière) is able to transfer this note to Magnon, who delivers the note to Éponine as soon as she is released from Les Madelonettes.
Azelma and Éponine released from Les Madelonettes.
‘A few days later’; c. end of February / early March 1832
Éponine delivers a biscuit, meaning that there is nothing worth doing at rue Plumet, to Magnon, who transfers it to Babet’s mistress, who transfers it back to Babet.
‘Less than a week after that’; c. early March 1832
Babet and Brujon bump into each other, as one heads into the ‘preliminary’ and the other returns from it. Babet informs Brujon that there is nothing worthwhile at rue Plumet and the scheme is aborted.
March
Brujon is still spending his time in the correctional chamber, after being caught writing his note, and distributing notes outside of prison. Whilst there, he plans his escape, and makes a rope.
After being released from the correctional chamber, he is transported to the New Building. Here he finds Gueulemer and a nail.
One evening in early April
Beyond the Salpêtrière - in the Austerlitz area, Montparnasse follows Valjean with a rose in his mouth. He tries to attack the old man but is overpowered, and instead treated to a long lecture. Valjean hands Montparnasse his purse. Gavroche, who witnessed the whole thing whilst hiding in some shrubbery, then steals it from Montparnasse’s pocket and leaves it for Mabeuf.
The following day
Babet escapes prison in the morning, as he was being transported from La Force to La Conciergerie.
Gavroche bumps into Montparnasse at the corner of rue des Ballets, near La Force. Montparnasse tells Gavroche that he is off to find Babet and informs him that Babet has escaped (it is not clear how Montparnasse found out this information, or if he had seen Babet earlier that day, but regardless he still is aware of what happened). Montparnasse puts two quill pieces wrapped in cotton up his nose, disguising himself and making his voice sound different. He also carries his cane that contains a concealed knife within.
In the early hours of the next morning, ‘towards one o’clock’
Babet and Montparnasse meet up and prowl around La Force, waiting on Gueulemer and Brujon to escape. It is a windy, rainy night.
Brujon and Gueulemer get up in the middle of the night and start using the nail that Brujon had found before to break the chimney which their beds stood against. They scale the chimney, force the iron grating apart, and end up on the roof. They secure the rope that Brujon made to the iron railing and descent down the eighty foot drop down to the bathhouse, and exit onto the street, and regroup with Babet and Montparnasse. Brujon pulls the rope down, some of it tears and is left on the roof. This escape only takes 45 minutes.
Thénardier sees Brujon and Gueulemer escape on the roof from his cell.
One hour later, at around two o’clock
Thénardier drugs the conscript watching his cell with stupefying wine and steals his bayonet. He makes his way up to the roof (no further detail about how he made it onto the roof is given)
The remnants of Brujon’s rope left on the rood are far too short for Thénardier to use to escape. He is stranded there until 4am.
Two hours later, at four o’clock
The police are alerted of Thénardier’s escape. Babet, Montparnasse, Gueulemer, and Brujon congregate beneath the roof that Thénardier has been stuck above for the last couple of hours, arguing about whether they should leave him, or wait a little longer. They spot him once he throws down the remainder of the rope left on the roof at their feet. Montparnasse tells Brujon to tie the rope together again and throw it up, that way Thénardier can climb down. However, Thénardier is too cold to move. They determine they need a ‘nipper’. Montparnasse runs towards the Bastille.
‘Seven or eight minutes later’
Montparnasse returns with Gavroche, who helps Thénardier escape. Gavroche recognises him as his father, but Thénardier does not recognise Gavroche as his son, not even when Babet pulls him aside and informs him that the boy who saved him was his son.
June 3rd, in the morning
Brujon sees some sparrows fighting.
June 3rd, in the evening
Brujon encounters a woman arguing.
June 3rd, 1 hour after nightfall; rue Plumet attack
Babet, Gueulemer, Claquesous, Brujon, Montparnasse, (and Thénardier) show up to rue Plumet, carrying an array of various horrible weapons. Gueulemer is specified to be carrying a pair of fanchons. They encounter Éponine, who had not seen her father in four months.
Montparnasse and Éponine exchange awkwardly flirtatious dialogue, and she does not address him as Monsieur. She grabs his hand and he warns her that she’ll cut herself on his knife.
After failing to convince them that rue Plumet is a biscuit, Éponine leans against the gate and threatens to scream, before making her powerful (and devastatingly tragic) speech.
Babet reasons that there is something the matter with Éponine, and remains keen on doing the job. Montparnasse threatens her with a knife. Brujon however, who is described as a bit of an ‘oracle’, reveals that he is against entering the house now. He is superstitious, and recollects the fighting birds and woman he saw earlier in the day as a sign that the job was bad.
The gang resolves to clear out. As they leave, Montparnasse declares that he would have slit Éponine’s throat, if they would have wanted him to. Babet responds with ‘not me, I don’t touch women’.
June 5th, at night, but before ten o’clock
Le Cabuc**, a mysterious stranger, is at the barricades and drinking. He decides to try and get into one of the large houses along rue Saint-Denis, banging at the door. When he is denied entry, he shoots the porter. He is executed by Enjolras, and his body tossed into rue Mondétour.
**Early June, a short while after the barricades fell
In the morgue, Le Cabuc’s body is searched and a police agent’s card is found on his person. Victor Hugo (practically) confirms that Le Cabuc was Claquesous.
A special report on this subject is written for the Prefect of Police. Hugo claims that in 1848 he held this exact report.
‘Some little time’ after June 7th
Boulatruelle is released from prison, as there is not enough evidence to charge him for the Gorbeau ambush, since he was so drunk. He goes back to the road between Gagny and Lagny, where he used to work as a road mender before. His alcoholism becomes worse.
Soon after; ‘one morning, shortly before daybreak’
Boulatruelle spots a man walking in Montfermeil’s forests. He tries to follow him, but keeps losing sight. He eventually stumbles upon the location of the treasure he had so long dreamed of finding. But, the hole had been dug up, and it was empty.
c.1833;
Panchaud and Demi-Liard are sentenced to ten years in the galleys for their crimes during the Gorbeau ambush.
1835;
Patron-Minette stop ‘ruling’ the dregs of Paris. It is not clear whether that means the group disbanded or if they had simply become too weak and slipped from their position of power.
1843;
Panchaud makes a famous prison escape at La Force [unclear if the escape is successful]. We are informed that this escape happened in broad daylight, and involved thirty prisoners.
As Panchaud makes his escape, he writes his name above the culvert at the entrance to the sewer.
c.1848;
Panchaud has become a ‘celebrity crook’, and is spoken of as a legend by prisoners in La Force. (Hugo writes in 1862 that ‘he had a real following towards the close of the last reign’, which I believe is making reference to the reign of Louis Philippe - as the Second Republic did not have a king, but rather Presidents... but, I could most certainly be wrong!)
Important question (now that I FINALLY have polls)!
I’m genuinely curious to know which Patron-Minette character is your favourite? Montparnasse is excluded because we all know the poll would swing in his favour anyway.
Anyone want to talk about how the walls of La Force in Les Misérables canonically have both BRUJON, 1811 (Brujon’s father) and PANCHAUD carved into them?
There’s something about the image of those rotting walls of the prison’s exercise yard just being filled with etchings of the names of imprisoned Patron-Minette gang members that sets me off. I wish there was a detail included in the novel about whether Babet, Brujon, or Gueulemer engraved their names on the stone when they were locked up after the failed Gorbeau ambush— or if any of the other affiliates of the gang did. Maybe there might have even been a form of generalised Patron-Minette graffiti carved into the walls also…
You know it’s not talked enough about how Panchaud literally brought a PISTOL to the Gorbeau ambush, even though he was too scared to use to against Javert in the end.
I love this little detail for so many reasons but mainly because I think it really highlights Panchaud’s desire to become a famous, fanciful rogue (like we do indeed see him achieve by the 1840s!). To me, it’s fascinating that he owns a gun, yet there is no mention of any other Patron-Minette character owning a gun themselves— instead the gang generally use knives and blunt weapons, like cudgels.
