CORDELIERS, the name given to the Franciscans in France, from the cords which they wore round their waists; and also the name of a notorious club of the time of the French Revolution, so called because it met in a Franciscan chapel. Early in 1790 this club was thoroughly organized under the presidency of Danton. Among its other members were Marat and Camille Desmoulins, and the latter edited a paper expressing its views, under the name of Le Vieux Cordelier.