Sainte-Pélagie Prison
prison in Paris actively used between 1790-1899
Sainte-Pélagie was a prison in Paris, in active use from 1790 to 1899. It was founded earlier than that, however, in 1662, as place for "repentant girls" and later "debauched women and girls." The former Parisian prison was located between the current group of buildings bearing No. 56 Rue de la Clef with Rue du Puits-de-l'Ermite in the 5th arrondissement of Paris at the old Place Sainte-Pélagie.
The penal structure held many noted prisoners during the French Revolution, with Madame Roland, Grace Dalrymple Elliott and Marie-Louise O'Murphy being among the known prisoners. After the revolution, the Marquis de Sade was imprisoned here, as was the young mathematician Évariste Galois. During the July Monarchy, the "April insurgees" were also detained there, and some managed to escape through a tunnel. The painter Gustave Courbet was also imprisoned here for his activities in the Paris Commune. He painted a self-portrait titled, Gustave Courbet: Self-Portrait at Sainte-Pélagie.
See also
Bagne of Toulon
Grand Châtelet
La Force Prison
Timeline of the French Revolution
References
Hopkins, Tighe (1897). "The Dungeons of Old Paris: Being the Story and Romance of the Most Celebrated Prisons of the Monarchy and the Revolution".
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Sainte-Pélagie Prison” as prison in Paris actively used between 1790-1899. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as prison in Paris actively used between 1790-1899. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1641986. Authority coordinates are 48.843, 2.353. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1790, 1899, 1662 and 1897.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Sainte-Pélagie Prison”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Sainte-Pélagie Prison primary sources, Sainte-Pélagie Prison archive and Sainte-Pélagie research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Sainte-Pélagie Prison”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Sainte-Pélagie Prison” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.