Brumaire

Brumaire is the second month of the French Republican Calendar, used in Revolutionary France from late 1793 to 1805. The name derives from the French word brume, meaning fog, reflecting autumnal weather. The calendar was created to reform timekeeping away from religious and royal associations, with months named after seasonal phenomena rather than saints.

Brumaire lasts 30 days and is divided into three décades of ten days each. It follows Vendémiaire and precedes Frimaire. In the Gregorian calendar, Brumaire generally falls in late October to late November, typically from around October 23 to November 21, depending on leap-year adjustments and year numbering.

A notable historical association with Brumaire is the coup of 18 Brumaire, Year VIII (November 9, 1799), when Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the Directory and established the French Consulate. This event is often cited as a turning point in the French Revolution and is one of the best-known references to Brumaire outside of calendrical contexts.

The French Republican Calendar was abolished in 1806 and replaced with the Gregorian calendar, ending the official use of Brumaire. Today, Brumaire is primarily encountered in historical texts and discussions of revolutionary timekeeping, serving as a symbol of the era’s attempts to remake civic life and measurement.