SANS-CULOTTES (French for “without knee-breeches”), the
term originally given during the early years of the French
Revolution to the ill-clad and ill-equipped volunteers of the
Revolutionary army, and later applied generally to the
ultra-democrats of the Revolution. They were for the most part men
of the poorer classes, or leaders of the populace, but during the
Terror public functionaries and persons of good education styled
themselves citoyens sans-culottes. The distinctive costume of
the typical sans-culotte was the pantalon (long trousers)—in
place of the culottes worn by the upper classes—the carmagnole
(short-skirted coat), the red cap of liberty and sabots (wooden
shoes). The influence of the Sans-culottes ceased with the
reaction that followed the fall of Robespierre (July 1794), and
the name itself was proscribed. In the Republican Calendar
the complementary days at the end of the year were at first
called Sans-culottides; this name was, however, suppressed
by the Convention when the constitution of the year III. (1795) was adopted, that of jours complémentaires being substituted.