Character Catalog

A vast codification of French civil law comprising 2,281 articles, unifying the laws of the Ancien Régime and the Revolution. Still largely in force today, it has influenced the legal systems of many countries around the world.

An agreement signed with Pope Pius VII that reconciled revolutionary France with the Catholic Church. It settled the question of Church property sold during the Revolution and established a new legal status for the French clergy.

Napoleon established the baccalaureate as the diploma marking the end of secondary education, the first step in a unified national education system. This examination, reformed many times over, remains France's national reference diploma to this day.

A national order of merit rewarding exceptional military and civilian service rendered to the Nation. The Legion of Honor still exists today and remains France's highest distinction.

A financial institution founded to stabilize the French economy after the upheavals of the Revolution and to finance the State. It has remained the central institution of the French banking system to this day.

The law of 28 Pluviôse Year VIII created the prefects, representatives of the State in each department. This centralized system of territorial administration still structures the organization of France today.

A series of military campaigns that extended French influence from Spain to Poland and from Holland to Italy. At its peak, the Napoleonic Empire directly or indirectly controlled the majority of continental Europe.

Laws are binding throughout the French Republic from the moment their promulgation could have been made known. The promulgation made by the First Consul shall be deemed known in the department where the government of the Republic sits, one day after promulgation.

Soldiers, you are naked, poorly fed; the government owes you much, yet can give you nothing. Your patience, the courage you display among these rocks, are admirable; but they bring you no glory, no lustre is reflected upon you. I want to lead you into the most fertile plains in the world.

My true glory is not to have won forty battles: Waterloo will erase the memory of so many victories. What nothing will erase, what will live eternally, is my Civil Code.

Frenchmen! Upon my return to the shores of France, I found division and misery reigning throughout all institutions. Factions were openly disputing the government and threatening to plunge the homeland into the horrors of disorganization.

I wish my ashes to rest on the banks of the Seine, in the midst of the French people whom I have loved so dearly. I die prematurely, assassinated by the English oligarchy and its hired killer: the English people will not be long in avenging me.

Napoleon Bonaparte's birthplace, born on August 15, 1769 into a family of minor Corsican nobility. The Bonaparte family home, the Maison Bonaparte, is today a national museum.

Napoleon's principal residence as First Consul and then Emperor. It was from this palace that he governed France and directed his empire; it was destroyed in 1871 during the Paris Commune.

Napoleon's favourite imperial residence, where he worked intensively and received Pope Pius VII. It was in the council chamber of this palace that he signed his abdication on April 6, 1814.

Site of the Battle of Austerlitz (December 2, 1805), regarded as Napoleon's tactical masterpiece. He crushed the Austrian and Russian armies there on the first anniversary of his coronation.

A remote British island where Napoleon was exiled after Waterloo in 1815 and where he died on May 5, 1821. It was there that he dictated his memoirs, forging the Napoleonic legend.

The monument where Napoleon's ashes have rested since their solemn return in 1840, beneath the golden dome. His tomb of red porphyry makes it one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in France.

A two-cornered hat that Napoleon always wore sideways (en bataille), perpendicular to his shoulders, contrary to the fashion of the time. This way of wearing it made him instantly recognizable on the battlefield.

A long grey coat that Napoleon often wore over his uniform during military campaigns. Its deliberate simplicity contrasted with the ornate uniforms of his marshals and reinforced his image as a leader close to his soldiers.

An optical instrument essential to Napoleon for observing battlefields and adjusting his maneuvers in real time. He would spend hours scrutinizing enemy positions before launching his decisive attacks.

A body of laws promulgated in 1804, which Napoleon considered his greatest achievement. He carried a copy with him everywhere, including on campaign, and discussed it regularly with his legal advisors.

Napoleon took a hot bath daily, even in the middle of a military campaign — a remarkable habit for the era. His valets transported a travel bathtub and heated water under the most difficult conditions.

Napoleon considered himself the heir of the great conquerors of Antiquity. He kept several busts and portraits of Caesar in his residences, openly displaying his admiration for the Roman general and his own imperial ambitions.