Database: Roi des Thunes

"Roi des Thunes" (Roughly "King of Beggars") is a title claimed by various influential figures among the indigent population of Paris. The first written references to someone using that name date to the reign of Louis XIV, but it's likely the term is much older. Some were benevolent spokespeople and organizers, others were ruthless extortionists and murderers.* -- * But it's fair to say that whoever they were, if they walked around calling themselves the "King of Beggars" you could be pretty sure they were complete jackwagons. -- Direct attestations are difficult to come by, but anecdotal evidence suggests that the man claiming the title in 1791 may have been the unacknowledged, illegitimate son of a minor nobleman who rose to a position of power in the Cour des Miracles district sometime in the late 1770s.

His fate remains unknown, but in an unpublished letter dated early February 1791, the Marquis de Sade remarked "the King is dead, and none of his miracles can now save him". Since Louis XVI would not be executed for almost two more years, it's suspected that this may refer to the Roi des Thunes.* -- * * Assassins, 2; Templars, 0 --