CHANNILLO
The Burghers of Calais, heroes in their time
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On this day in 1347 six burghers of the besieged French city of Calais surrendered to King Edward III of England, in hopes of relieving the siege.
Eustache de Saint Pierre, volunteered first, and five other townspeople joined him, ready to face death for the sake of their fellow citizens. Happily, their lives were spared by the intervention of England’s queen, Philippa of Hainault, who persuaded her husband to exercise mercy.
Self-sacrifice to the extent of dying in place of another person is held to be one of the finest human acts possible. It is always heroic. How far would we go? Would we have joined Eustache de Saint Pierre in 1347? Perhaps instead, we need to w...
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