The Martyrs of Compi\u00e8gne<\/strong> were the 16 members of the Carmel<\/a> of Compi\u00e8gne, France<\/a>: 11 Discalced Carmelite<\/a> nuns<\/a>, three lay sisters<\/a>, and two externs (or tertiaries<\/a>). They were executed by the guillotine<\/a> towards the end of the Reign of Terror<\/a>, at what is now the Place de la Nation<\/a> in Paris<\/a> on 17 July 1794, and are venerated as beatified<\/a> martyrs<\/a> of the Catholic Church<\/a>. Ten days after their execution, Maximilien Robespierre<\/a> himself was executed, ending the Reign of Terror.[b]<\/a><\/sup>[1]<\/a><\/sup> Their story has inspired a novella, a motion picture, a television movie, and an opera<\/a>, Dialogues of the Carmelites<\/a>,<\/em> written by French composer Francis Poulenc<\/a>.<\/p>\n **********************<\/p>\n A crowd gathered, as usual, at the Place du Tr\u00f4ne Renvers\u00e9 (now called Place de la Nation<\/a>),[a]<\/a><\/sup> the site of the executions, to watch, but the sisters showed no fear and forgave their guards. The final song the sisters sang was Psalm 116<\/a>, Laudate Dominum<\/em>.[a]<\/a><\/sup> Sister Constance, a novice, the youngest of the group and the first to die, "spontaneously"[19]<\/a><\/sup> began the chant, but it was cut short by the guillotine blade. Each sister joined her and was silenced in the same way.<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n