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L'Escalade Of 1602: History, Myth, And Commemoration, Jill Fehleison

Swiss American Historical Society Review

L'Escalade, the Duke of Savoy's failed attack against Geneva in December 1602, is to the annals of this city not unlike the Fourth of July is to the popular culture of the United States. The colorful narrative of L'Escalade has all the necessary ingredients for a historical event to become mythical: heroes, villains, deception, and success. There is a universal appeal to a story about ordinary citizens triumphing over a larger invading army. The brazenness of the attack is an enduring image that has proven highly malleable for poets, preachers, and politicians, and L'Escalade 's celebration has continued through the …