Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord

(1754 - 1838)

A graduate of the Sorbonne, Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord was named bishop of Autun shortly before the outbreak of the French Revolution. From that position he facilitated the nationalization of all church property, earning him the nickname “bishop of the Revolution.” He later served in Napoleon’s cabinet; one British cartoonist depicted their relationship with an illustration of Napoleon as the “butcher of Europe,” waving a meat cleaver around a carcass-strewn barn while “Talley” attempts to restrain him.