Was Napoleon short? Reasons for imposed misconceptions
How tall was Napoleon?
History gives birth to myths. People create myths about themselves. But the truth is that history is created not by myths, but by real people, who are sometimes difficult to discern in well-known characters. It turned out that the banal question about the height of the French emperor turned into one of the great mysteries of history.
Of course, Napoleon was short. Everyone has heard about this. But which one? The Museum tours Russian cities wax figures. The height of Napoleon’s figure is 157 cm. Museum workers try to be faithful to the historical truth. You can find the same number in different sources. However, in several French novels, Napoleon's height ranges from 166 to 172 cm. And this discrepancy is suggestive.
Where did the number 157 come from? This is similar to the translation into metric system measures 5 feet 2 inches. Which would be 157.58 cm if the units of measurement were English. However, over the last century or two, people have managed to forget that feet are not only English, and almost no one bothers to imagine that the shortness of the French emperor is somewhat ... exaggerated.
Napoleon. The question of its growth is one of the mysteries of history.
Napoleon's height was indeed 5 feet 2 inches and 4 lines - as recorded after his death. But this is 168.79 cm. Discarding the error (2 mm), we can talk about 169 cm. Since Napoleon was 51 years old at that time, and the vertebrae are compressed with age (the observed decrease in height can be up to 6 cm), we can safely assert that Napoleon’s height at the height of his career was no less than 170 cm. Which is not so little, especially considering the acceleration that has occurred since then: the average male height has increased over the past two centuries by about 10 cm. And the notoriously “short” emperor in fact, he fell short of the grenadier’s height by only 3–4 cm.
Napoleon's height - 169 cm - is also indicated in the "Napoleon's Dictionary" edited by J. Tulard.
Why did Napoleon's height become the talk of the town during his lifetime?
Perhaps due to the peculiarities of the addition. Napoleon had a large head from birth, and the general disproportion influenced the perception of him as a man. Moreover, young Bonaparte looked almost like a boy. And the commander-in-chief of the Italian army could have earned the nickname “little corporal” not so much for his short stature as for his youth. The thin, fragile general could not look tall. It is also known that Napoleon's generals were mostly tall, even very tall (at that time). But it is impossible to imagine that Napoleon, like Louis XIV, would start putting decks of cards in his shoes to make himself appear taller. A shameful reception for his pride! On the contrary, he begins to cultivate his difference.
The boy general who conquered Italy, the “little corporal” is only the beginning of the image of a modest ruler of the world, who will be remembered not in gold and feathers, but in a gray overcoat without insignia. He will even tear off the uniform gold embroidery from his cocked hat, leaving only the tricolor French cockade. He will appear in a simple uniform, the shortest among the tall, glittering gold adjutants. The gaze immediately stops on him - by contrast. And this modest appearance so contradicts the height of his position that it cannot fail to impress eyewitnesses. (Does this not resemble the later modest jacket without insignia and the overcoat of Joseph Vissarionovich?)
Was Napoleon's height the cause of his complex? It can be seen that the emperor's height is not so small that he could suffer greatly because of this. But Napoleon was certainly ambitious and definitely experienced some kind of inferiority complex. However, in the memoirs of Napoleon there is no mention of the fact that the future emperor was teased as a child because of his height. And it was difficult to mock his height if Napoleon’s main school opponent (and then opponent on the battlefield) Le Picard de Felippo was half a head shorter than him!
There were much more significant reasons for the complex. All memoirists tell how French classmates reproached the Corsican for his origins. At the age of nine, Napoleon was brought to the country that conquered his homeland. He was the son of a man who fought against the French. He spoke the language of the conquerors poorly. He had an unusual name for France. And he was poor at the same time. There are many reasons to become the best candidate for school whipping boys.
So, the real source of the “Napoleon complex” was his, Napoleon’s, origins. While studying at the Paris Military School, he will be among the representatives of the highest French aristocracy. And the humiliation to which they will subject him will not pass without a trace for him. He constantly had to defend himself - alone against everyone. To become equal with them, he simply had to be better than them. And all his life he will try to prove to everyone that he is not only no worse, but better than others.
“The thought that I was not the first student in the class was unbearable for me,” he later recalled. A fierce sense of self-esteem will lead him from irreconcilable school fights, first into the ranks of the fighters for Corsican independence, and then into the French Revolution. Thus the conquered will become the conqueror.
He will treat with ridicule, as it deserves, attempts to establish his descent from Charlemagne or from Julius Caesar. He will refuse to take into account even the undoubtedly noble origin of his undoubted ancestors. He will place all his merits in his own merits. And this is not so much modesty as ambition.
He will not be ashamed of his poor lieutenantship. He will allow himself to say to the crowned heads sitting at the table with him: “When I was a junior lieutenant...” And, seeing everyone’s confusion, he will repeat with cheerful boyish insolence: “When I had the honor of being a junior lieutenant...”
Losers tend to justify their failures by the absence of rich parents, poor education and ugly appearance. Such people are usually reminded that Napoleon Bonaparte’s height barely exceeded 150 cm. His short stature did not prevent the “Little Corporal” from achieving success in life. However, modern researchers have been able to prove that Napoleon's short stature is nothing more than a legend that arose as a result of a mistake.
Early years
The future emperor was born in Corsica and came from a family of poor aristocrats who had lived on the island since the first half of the 16th century. Carlo, Napoleon's father, worked as a service assessor, which allowed him to have a good income. Carlo Buonaparte was able to achieve high status thanks to his marriage to the daughter of a Corsican official, Letizia Ramolino. Carlo and Letizia had 13 children. Only three daughters and four sons managed to survive to adulthood.
Napoleon was different from his brothers and sisters. He was not like his peers who played carefree in the street. Historians have little information about early years future emperor. It is known that the boy probably suffered from tuberculosis. The sickly and unsociable child preferred reading books to the company of his peers. He devoted a lot of time to self-education, locking himself in the farthest room in the house, which no one ever entered. Most of all the boy loved historical literature. Napoleon's native language was the Corsican dialect of Italian. IN elementary school he mastered classical Italian, then began studying French. Despite all his efforts, Bonaparte was never able to learn to speak French without an accent.
Much is known about Napoleon's life interesting facts, indicating the unusualness of this person:
- At birth the boy received a very rare name, which was practically not used either among the Italians or the Corsicans. Bonaparte was named after his great-uncle.
- Napoleon slept very little. For good rest two hours was enough for him. Sleep could overtake the emperor at the most inopportune moment, for example, during a battle.
- Bonaparte amazed even seasoned generals with his courage. At the same time, Napoleon was terribly afraid of cats and could not stand their presence.
- Bonaparte had more than just military talent. He was a good mathematician and could read at a speed of up to two thousand words per minute.
It is generally accepted that Napoleon Bonaparte's height did not exceed 157 cm (in some sources - 153 cm). The contemporaries of the brilliant commander do not comment on his height at all. Historians claim that the reason for the appearance of the legend was the emperor’s nickname – “Little Corporal”.
The reason for the nickname was not his short stature. Bonaparte had an overly large head, which seriously disturbed the proportions of his body. There are other explanations. At the age of 26, Napoleon had already become a general. Such rapid movement up the career ladder was rare. The nickname may have indicated youth rather than height. In addition, the military men surrounding the commander were very tall people. Bonaparte may have seemed “small” to them. Moreover, if Napoleon was among civilians of average height, he was no different from them.
There is a legend that the emperor was sincerely jealous tall people. He did his best to restrain the career advancement of his senior subordinates. It is possible that this is just a fiction. Napoleon not only did not envy people with “normal” height, but also did not experience an inferiority complex. Proof of this is the emperor’s refusal to follow contemporary fashion. Bonaparte did not wear plumed hats or high heels to appear taller.
Scientists have only recently been able to answer the question of how the myth about the short stature of the French emperor appeared. Confusion arose from the use of different systems of measurement. When Napoleon died, an autopsy was performed and his height was measured, which was recorded as 5/2 (5 feet 2 inches) by the Emperor's personal physician. The doctor was referring to the English system of measures, which differs significantly from the French one. If we convert the data into the modern metric system, we can conclude that Napoleon was no shorter than 169 cm. It should also be taken into account that at the time of his death the emperor was no longer young. In old age, the intervertebral discs recede slightly. In addition, there is a gradual loss of bone mass. In his youth, the height of the French emperor could exceed 170 cm.
Every person can, regardless of whether he is the height of Napoleon Bonaparte or a basketball player. The great commander was distinguished by many unusual qualities. Not everyone is able to sleep 2 hours a day, as Bonaparte did. However, many can become as purposeful and self-confident as the French emperor.
He was short. There is even an expression “Napoleon complex”, the meaning of which is that a short person, in order to compensate for the lack of height, strives to dominate in society. In fact, Napoleon was by no means short! He could have a complex because of his poverty or provincialism, because of his ridiculed Corsican accent or disproportionate physique - for various reasons, but not because of his height!
Napoleon was a very famous historical figure, he lived relatively recently, and many documentary sources have been preserved about him. Why has the misconception about his height become so widespread?
Reason 1: feet and meters
One of the distorting factors was the incorrect translation of the height of the legendary French emperor into the metric system. Napoleon's height, officially recorded after his death, was "5 feet 2 inches 4 lines." If we translate English feet and inches to centimeters, you get about 157 cm. Indeed, for a man this is a small height.But what kind of “lines” appear in the number indicating the length of the body?
The point is that the feet and inches in which his height was indicated are not English but French, used before the introduction of the metric system in France. One French foot was equal to 0.3248 m, one inch - 0.0270 m, and one line - 0.002255 m. Thus, Napoleon's real height is 1.6879 m (see, for example:), i.e. rounded 169 cm. But this is at the age of 51, and by this time a person’s height decreases by at least 1 cm. Therefore, most likely, Napoleon's real height is at least 170 cm. Most of the soldiers and officers of his army were shorter! Such a person, neither then nor now, can in any way be called short.
However, the reason mentioned is clearly not the only one, because the myth that the great emperor was a short man appeared during his lifetime.
Reason 2: evil tongues
Napoleon became famous at a fairly young age, and then he looked even younger than his years. Using this fact for propaganda purposes, Bonaparte’s political opponents often sought to belittle him and called him a boy, an upstart youth. For example, while commanding troops in Italy, he received the nickname "little corporal", and although "small" in this case is due to his age (26 years old) and not because of his body size, such derogatory epithets contributed to the downplaying his height.However, the propaganda of political opponents is also not the least of the reasons for the emergence of the myth about Napoleon’s short stature. Having taken his place at the pinnacle of power, he often showed himself to large masses of people, so why did people, as a rule, not notice that he was very tall?
Reason 3: fallacy of visual perception
Apparently, from the outside, Napoleon did not look so tall compared to the people with whom he appeared in public. Yes, next to the dashing hussars he would stand out good growth(see picture below). But the elite grenadier soldiers accompanying him were on average 10 cm taller than their emperor. Among Napoleon's associates there were also extremely tall people (for example, Marshal Ney was 178 cm tall, Marshal Murat was 190 cm, and Marshal Marshal Mortier was as much as 195 cm). By the way, Napoleon’s main opponent in the military campaign of 1812-1813, Field Marshal Kutuzov, with a height of 171 cm, also seemed short from the outside, because the average height of a Russian grenadier was about 182 cm, and there were also plenty of tall people among Russian generals.The Russian Emperor Alexander I was also significantly taller than Napoleon: 178 cm. The meeting of the two emperors at the conclusion of the Peace of Tilsit in 1807 is captured in images and verbal descriptions, and it is not surprising that Russian eyewitnesses, talking about that meeting, especially emphasized that “our tsar is higher than the French Bonaparte.”
Let's also not forget that Napoleon had the glory of an invincible warrior. Of course, in the imagination of people who had not met him before, he seemed to be a strong man of enormous stature, and therefore, seeing in front of them a man of average physical characteristics, many were disappointed that the famous hero was not as huge as they expected.
Another perception factor that influences the assessment of a person’s height is physique, body proportions. Napoleon's disproportionately large head visually reduced his height, and having reached great heights, he gained weight, which could also make him seem somewhat shorter than he really was.
The sunny, clear day of August fifteenth, 1769 is known in history as the birthday of the most famous man in Europe - Napoleon Bonaparte. The boy was the second in a family belonging to an ancient but poor family, but his amazing perseverance and determination made him one of the greatest commanders in the world.
Bonaparte's triumphal path is well known: he was the first French consul, then the emperor of France, and led brilliant military campaigns that turned his mighty empire into one of the most powerful powers in Europe. Then there was a campaign against Russia, complete collapse, abdication of the throne and, at the end, death on the island of St. Helena.
The name of this man has always been associated with many legends and rumors, some of which have already become so ingrained in human minds that they have begun to be perceived as reality. And strange as it may sound, the height of Napoleon Bonaparte, always considered very small, also belongs more to the realm of rumors than to reality.
His name is often cited as an example of the human “low” syndrome, when people are attributed aggressiveness as a compensation for this lack of build.
It was traditionally believed that Napoleon Bonaparte's height barely reached 156 centimeters, but this is at least strange, because his contemporaries never called him short. Moreover, many sources speak of him as an emperor 165 centimeters tall.
Then where does the legend “Napoleon Bonaparte’s short stature” come from? Many researchers believe that the reason for this is his nickname.
It is known that Napoleon was called the “Little Corporal”, and the reason for this was not short stature, but disproportions in his figure. The emperor was disproportionately conspicuous in his lifetime images. And it is likely that he was nicknamed “Little Corporal” precisely because of the apparent fragility of his figure combined with his youth. After all, Napoleon was already a general at the age of twenty-six. And it just so happened that he was surrounded mostly by enough people against whom he really looked small, and besides, he did nothing to look taller: he didn’t wear boots that were fashionable at that time. high heels or hats with lush plumes. He fundamentally wanted to be perceived as exactly the kind of person the soldiers loved him.
The mystery of his short stature was solved only recently. It turns out that when Napoleon Bonaparte's height was measured after his death, they found five feet two inches and four lines. Later, when converting this value into centimeters, scientists relied not on the French foot in force in those years, but on the English one. Hence the difference. And if we proceed from the table of European feet presented in the Brockhaus and Efron encyclopedia, we can see that they really differ.
Consequently, Napoleon's height after death was approximately one meter 69 centimeters, and despite the fact that he was already a rather decrepit old man. Hence the conclusion: in his youth, the French emperor was a man of average build, and not at all a short man.
Therefore, the opinion that has developed over centuries that Bonaparte was a very small “fat man” -
I. MUKHLAEVA, mathematician (Taganrog)
Napoleon Bonaparte during the war with Russia of 1812.
The feet used in Europe are shown in metric units. (Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron.)
Napoleon among the ruins of Moscow (from the first painting) half of the 19th century century).
History creates myths. People create myths about themselves. But the truth is that history is created not by myths, but by real people, who are sometimes difficult to discern in well-known characters. I offer readers a few sacramental questions about the popular hero of world mythology - Napoleon.
HOW HIGH WAS NAPOLEON?
Of course, small. Everyone has heard about this. But which one? The Wax Museum tours the cities of Russia. The height of Napoleon's figure is 157 cm. Museum workers try to be faithful to the historical truth. You can find the same number in different sources. However, in several French novels, Napoleon's height ranges from 166 to 172 cm. And this discrepancy is suggestive.
Where did the number 157 come from? This is similar to converting 5 feet 2 inches to metric. Which would be 157.58 cm if the units of measurement were English. However, over the last century or two, people have managed to forget that feet are not only English (see the table below), and almost no one bothers to imagine that the short stature of the French emperor is somewhat exaggerated.
Napoleon's height was indeed 5 feet 2 inches and 4 lines - as recorded after his death. But this is 168.79 cm. Discarding the error (2 mm), it is permissible to talk about 169 cm. Since Napoleon was 51 years old at that time, and the vertebrae are compressed with age (the observed decrease in height can be up to 6 cm), we can safely to assert that Napoleon’s height at the time of the rise of his career was no less than 170 cm. Which is not so little, especially if we take into account the acceleration that has occurred since then: the average male height has increased over the past two centuries by about 10 cm. And so notoriously “short” the emperor in fact fell short of the grenadier's height by only 3-4 cm. Napoleon's height - 169 cm - is also indicated in the "Napoleon's Dictionary" edited by J. Tulard.
Why did Napoleon's height become the talk of the town during his lifetime?
Perhaps due to the peculiarities of the addition. Napoleon had a large head from birth, and the general disproportion influenced perception. Moreover, young Bonaparte looked almost like a boy. And the commander-in-chief of the Italian army could have earned the nickname “little corporal” not so much because of his short stature, but because of his youth - more apparent than in reality (26 years old). The thin, fragile general could not look tall. It is also known that Napoleon's generals were mostly tall, even very tall (at that time). But it is impossible to imagine that Napoleon, like Louis XIV, would put decks of cards in his shoes in order to appear taller. A shameful reception for his pride! On the contrary, he begins to cultivate his difference.
The boy general who conquered Italy, the “little corporal” is only the beginning of the image of a modest ruler of the world, who will be remembered not in gold and feathers, but in a gray overcoat without insignia. He will even tear off the uniform gold embroidery from his cocked hat, leaving only the tricolor French cockade. He will appear in a simple uniform, the shortest among the tall, glittering gold adjutants. The gaze immediately stops on him - by contrast. And this modest appearance so contradicts the height of his position that it cannot fail to impress eyewitnesses.
This is how a legend was created.
Historical literature mentions that the height of Admiral Nelson was 160 cm, Pushkin - 166, Stalin - 165, Churchill - the lion of the British Empire - 166 cm. But all this did not become a legend. Nelson's legend was his blind eye, Pushkin's sideburns, Stalin's pipe and mustache, and Churchill's cigar. Height became one of Napoleonic trademarks.
WAS THE RISE OF NAPOLEON THE CAUSE OF THE COMPLEX?Napoleon's height is not so small that he could suffer greatly because of it. But Napoleon was certainly ambitious and definitely experienced some kind of inferiority complex. However, in the memoirs of Napoleon there is no mention of the fact that the future emperor was teased as a child because of his height. And it was difficult to mock his height if Napoleon’s main school opponent (and then opponent on the battlefield) Le Picard de Felippo was half a head shorter than him!
There were much more significant reasons for the complex. All memoirists tell how French classmates teased the Corsican about his origins. At the age of nine, Napoleon was brought to the country that conquered his homeland. He was the son of a man who fought against the French. He spoke the language of the conquerors poorly. He had an incredible name in France. And he was poor at the same time. There are many reasons to become the best candidate for school whipping boys.
So, the real source of the “Napoleon complex” was his, Napoleon’s, origins. While studying at the Paris Military School, he will be among the representatives of the highest French aristocracy. And the humiliation to which they will subject him will not pass without a trace for him. He constantly had to defend himself - alone against everyone. To become equal with them, he simply had to be better than them. And all his life he will try to prove to everyone that he is not only no worse, but better than others.
“The thought that I was not the first student in the class was unbearable for me,” he later recalled. A fierce sense of self-esteem will lead him from irreconcilable school fights, first into the ranks of the fighters for Corsican independence, and then into the French Revolution. Thus the conquered will become the conqueror.
He will treat with ridicule, as it deserves, attempts to establish his descent from Charlemagne or from Julius Caesar. He will refuse to take into account even the undoubtedly noble origin of his undoubted ancestors. He will place all his merits in his own merits. And this is not so much modesty as ambition.
He will not be ashamed of his poor lieutenantship. He will allow himself to say to the crowned heads sitting at the table with him: “When I was a junior lieutenant...” And, seeing everyone’s confusion, he will repeat with cheerful boyish insolence: “When I had the honor of being a junior lieutenant...”
He called the throne a "piece of wood." He did not attach any value to tinsel - other than propaganda value. But at the time of his command of the Italian army, offended by the arrogance of the Austrian negotiators, he still breaks down, as he once did as a cadet, and furiously throws in their faces: “By origin I am equal to your princes!”
He will soon consider this argument pathetic and will strive to surpass the merits of not only the monarchs of his time, but also Charlemagne himself and Caesar. Once a professor reprimanded him: “Who are you?!” "I'm human!" - blurted out 11-year-old Napoleon.
WAS NAPOLEON A BRUNETTE?A southerner is supposed to be brunette. Not only filmmakers, artists or writers, but also professional historians find themselves captive to this stereotype. You, of course, have met - or will meet - A. Z. Manfred’s colorful description of the black mane of the young Bonaparte. When describing Bonaparte's appearance, the author refers to the memoirs of a contemporary. But if you take these memoirs, you will find that in the said fragment there is no mention of Bonaparte’s hair color. In the same way, the historian calls the “blue eyes” of the head of the Corsican government, General Paoli, “rare for a Corsican.”
In fact, Paoli was not only blue-eyed, but also blond. And blond by German standards. Young Goethe met with the 44-year-old General Paoli, who was passing through Germany on his next exile. “He was a beautiful, slender blond...” writes the poet.
This hair color is by no means an anomaly in Corsica. P. Merimee, making his first trip to Corsica, also expected to find among the Corsicans people similar to the Provencal ethnic type - black hair and black eyes. The reality was surprising: “Among the Corsicans [...] black-haired people are as rare as among the inhabitants of the northern provinces of France.” This difference between Corsicans and their neighbors is explained by the island isolation of the population. An ancient ethnic type has been preserved on the island.
It is known that among Napoleon’s ancestors there were both Tuscans and Genoese. But Tuscan or Genoese origin also does not guarantee black hair. The Tuscan Leonardo da Vinci and the Genoese Christopher Columbus (Cristoforo Colombo) - victims of the same stereotype - were blue-eyed blonds. So was Napoleon's father. But Napoleon himself?
Many memoirists say that Napoleon had blue-gray eyes and brown hair. Balzac calls Napoleon a “blue-eyed and fair-haired monarch,” which is especially noteworthy because it was Balzac who wrote the memoirs of the Duchess d’Abrantes, to which A. Z. Manfred refers. And the novelist, of course, had every opportunity to question in detail the woman who knew the emperor young men, about the appearance of their hero.
Denis Davydov first saw Napoleon in Tilsit, during the meeting of the French Emperor with Tsar Alexander I. The future hero of the War of 1812, familiar with the widespread portraits of Napoleon, was first of all surprised by the color of his hair: “His hair was not black at all, but dark blond.” The emperor’s “blue eyes” also came as a complete surprise to him, sharply contrasting with his “almost black” eyelashes and eyebrows. Even the nose, which D. Davydov imagined from portraits as “large and humpbacked,” turned out to be “completely straight, with a small hump.”
Napoleon was then 38 years old, and people darken with age - until they turn gray. Since Napoleon died without beginning to turn gray, it remains to be assumed that he was simply a fair-haired lieutenant, and certainly fair-haired as a child.
WHAT WAS NAPOLEON'S REAL NAME?It is believed that Napoleon's real name was Buonaparte.
You will find information that Napoleon Frenchized his last name from the most serious historians. A. Z. Manfred, the author of the best Russian monograph on Napoleon, writes that, having been appointed commander-in-chief of the Italian army of the French Republic, General Bonaparte removed the non-French “u” from his surname, and “this short name already sounded quite French." J. Tulard, the highest authority in world Napoleonic studies, confirms that Napoleon from time to time, "up to the age of 33," signed his former, non-French, surname. That is, for a long time being First Consul French Republic.
But is the surname Bonaparte really that French? If the Italian "buon" is equivalent to the French "bon", just as the prepositions "a" are equivalent in both languages, then the Italian "parte" would be logical to replace with the equivalent French "part" or even "partie". But Napoleon did not do this. Why didn’t he complete his Frenchization, since it was enough for him to lose just one, the last, letter in his surname?
The answer is simple. Real name Napoleon - Bonaparte. It sounds differently in French and Italian, but is nonetheless written the same. Walter Scott also noted that in his birth certificate Napoleon is recorded under the surname Bonaparte, while his father is also called Buonaparte.
There are reasons for this. The ancestors of Napoleon’s father, who lived in Corsica, wrote their surname “Bonaparte” for centuries. It was only in 1759, having received official confirmation of the origin of the Corsican Bonaparte family from the famous Florentine Buonaparte family, that family members began - not always - to use this Tuscan spelling of their surname. Napoleon's father goes so far that, along with the Tuscan "u", he adds to his surname the title of count, which once belonged to his Florentine ancestors.
Napoleon himself never called himself a count. Such pathetic ambition was not his taste. The Tuscan version of his surname was documented in France during his studies and subsequent military service. Not too appreciative of the pompous title of noble Tuscan patricians, the general returned to his Corsican roots. And the fact that “this short name sounded quite French” was only to his advantage, a foreigner.
