A Lyon orator whose fiery speeches earned him the nickname Jordan-Chevelure — Jordan of the flowing hair — Camille Jordan began on the wrong side: he took up arms in 1793 in the Lyon revolt against the Convention. A refugee in Switzerland, he returned in 1796 in the opposite role, that of the moderator, and defended until his death a middle way between the Old Regime and the Revolution. David d'Angers sculpted his medallion.
The story
“Jordan-Cloche,” Jordan the Bell: the nickname came from a report of 1797 in which he asked that country parishes be allowed to ring again the bells the Revolution had silenced. Born in Lyon on 13 January 1771, the son of a merchant, Camille Jordan had nonetheless begun among the enemies of the Revolution — in 1793 he took part in the Lyon rising against the Convention.
The repression drove him to Switzerland, then to England. He came back in 1796 in the opposite role: that of a moderate. A deputy in the Council of Five Hundred, he argued for a middle way between the old regime and the Revolution — an uncomfortable position, held until his death in 1821.
His stone carries two words: “Camille JORDAN.” A medallion by David d'Angers adorns it — the most sought-after funerary sculptor of the century, who lies in this same Division 39. The moderate and his portraitist are neighbours.
The grave
A medallion by David d'Angers — the most sought-after funerary sculptor of the century, buried in the same Division 39 — and an inscription of two words: “Camille JORDAN.” The name is elsewhere, and larger: the chemin Camille-Jordan, which runs alongside the tomb, was named in his honour. Several alleys of the cemetery carry in this way the name of the dead they run past.
On site, do not miss
A medallion signed David d'Angers, who rests in the same Division. The inscription, for its part, fits into two words: “Camille JORDAN.” The path that runs alongside the tomb bears his name.
Visitors' questions
Where is Camille Jordan's grave?
In Division 39, on the chemin Camille-Jordan, first row: the cemetery alley bears his name. Other alleys of the cemetery carry the name of a man buried there in the same way: the chemin Adanson, the avenue Delille. He died in 1821.
David d’AngersWhy “Jordan-Chevelure”?
For his burning speeches: the nickname — Jordan the Mane — came from his manner at the tribune. The son of a Lyon shopkeeper, he had fought the Revolution first, before becoming one of the men who moderated it.
Jean-Baptiste SayWhich side was he on?
None, and that was the whole point: a man of the middle way between the Ancien Régime and the Revolution. He had taken part in the Lyon revolt against the Convention in 1793, fled to Switzerland, and came back in 1796 to moderate.
Prosper EnfantinWho carved his medallion?
David d'Angers, the most sought-after funerary sculptor of the century — who lies himself in the same Division 39. The inscription, by contrast, runs to two words: “Camille JORDAN”.
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