"Who sculpted ""The Burghers of Calais""?"
The Burghers of Calais The Burghers of Calais Les Bourgeois de Calais is one of the most famous sculptures by Auguste Rodin. It commemorates an event stated to have occurred during the Hundred Years' War, when Calais, a French port on the English Channel, was under siege by the English for about eleven months. Calais commissioned Rodin to create the sculpture in 1884 and the work was completed in 1889. In 1346, England's Edward III, after a victory in the Battle of Crécy, laid siege to Calais, while Philip VI of France ordered the city to hold out at all costs. Philip failed to
The Burghers of Calais lift the siege, and starvation eventually forced the city to parley for surrender. Medieval writer Jean Froissart (c. 1337 - c. 1405) tells a story of what happened next: Edward offered to spare the people of the city if six of its leaders would surrender themselves to him, presumably to be executed. Edward demanded that they walk out wearing nooses around their necks, and carrying the keys to the city and castle. One of the wealthiest of the town leaders, Eustache de Saint Pierre, volunteered first, and five other burghers joined with him. Saint Pierre led this envoy of volunteers