View source for L'Escalade

{{Short description|Annual festival commemorating failed attack on Geneva by Savoy in 1602}}
{{Coord missing|Switzerland}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox holiday
| holiday_name  = ''Fête de l'Escalade''
| type          = historical
| longtype      = 
| image         = Escalade-battle-2.jpg
| caption       = An imaginative illustration of l'Escalade, drawn by [[Matthias Quad]] or the workshop of [[Frans Hogenberg|Franz Hogenberg]] around 1603.
| observedby    = [[Geneva]], [[Switzerland]]
| begins        = 
| ends          = 
| date          = 
| date2019      = 6 December to 8 December<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://lenews.ch/2019/12/02/genevas-escalade-festival-promises-to-repulse-savoyard-attacks-from-9-dec/ |title=Geneva's Escalade festival promises to repulse Savoyard attacks from 6 Dec 2019 |last=Harby |first=Bill |date=2019-12-02 |work=Le News |access-date=2019-12-06 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
| date2020      = cancelled due to [[COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland|COVID-19 pandemic]]<ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-10-01 |title=Le covid terrasse même le cortège de l'Escalade |language=fr |work=Le Temps |url=https://www.letemps.ch/suisse/covid-terrasse-meme-cortege-lescalade |access-date=2020-11-28 |issn=1423-3967}}</ref>
| celebrations  = 
| duration      = 3 days
| frequency     = Annual
| observances   = 
| relatedto     = 
}}

'''''L'Escalade''''', or '''''Fête de l'Escalade''''' (from [[escalade]], the act of scaling defensive walls), is an annual festival in [[Geneva]], [[Switzerland]], held each December commemorating the defeat of an attempt to conquer the [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[city-state]] by the [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] [[Duchy of Savoy]] in 1602. The celebrations and other commemorative activities are usually held on 12 December or the closest weekend.

Savoyard troops sent by [[Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy]] attempted a surprise attack during the night of 11–12 December 1602, but were repulsed by the Genevese defenders. According to legend, this was possible thanks to individual acts of bravery by Genevese citizens, notably by local resident Catherine Cheynel (also known as ''la Mère Royaume''), who dumped boiling [[vegetable soup]] on the invaders and alerted the townsfolk.

==Background==
For years, the duke coveted the wealth of Geneva. When Charles Emmanuel came to the throne of the [[House of Savoy]] in 1580, he aimed to make Geneva his capital north of the [[Alps]] and crush Protestantism. [[Pope Clement VIII]] offered encouragement, and in 1602 he appointed [[Francis de Sales]] as Catholic bishop of Geneva. Sales was an effective preacher who had recently{{when?|date=November 2023}} been successful in re-Catholicizing the [[Chablais]] district of [[Savoy]] on the south side of Lake Geneva.{{fact|date=November 2023}}

==Battle==
[[File:Savoyardarmour.jpg|thumb|Savoyard armor captured by Geneva during l'Escalade, now in the [[Musée d'Art et d'Histoire (Geneva)|Musée d'Art et d'Histoire]]]]On the night of 11–12 December 1602—the darkest night of the year—the Savoyard forces, under the command of the seigneur d'Albigny, and those of Charles Emmanuel's brother-in-law, [[Philip III of Spain]], launched an attack on Geneva.<ref name="Mercurius">Gaspare Lorchano, ''[[Mercurius Gallobelgicus]]'', vol. 4 (Cologne, Wilhelm Lutzenkirch, 1603), p. 465f. [https://books.google.com/books?id=if07AAAAcAAJ Available on Google Books]</ref> Numbering over 2,000, the troops marched along the river [[Arve]] at night and assembled at [[Plainpalais]], just outside the walls of Geneva, at around 2:00 a.m. on 12 December. The original plan was to send in a group of commandos to open the [[city gate]] and let the other troops in.{{fact|date=November 2023}}

The citizens of Geneva defeated the invaders by preventing them from scaling the wall using cannon fire, and by fighting in the streets against the few who managed to climb over. The alarm was raised, the church bells were rung, and the Genevese were alerted. The night guard Isaac Mercier cut the rope holding up the [[portcullis]], foiling the plan to open the main city gate. The citizens fought alongside the town militia and repelled the Savoyard invasion, forcing them to retreat. The tactics used in this fight were based on the ones League of Lezha used in their defense against a much greater enemy.<ref>https://ina-online.net/qysh-u-mbrojt-gjeneva-me-shembullin-e-skanderbeut/</ref>

In the fighting, the Genevese suffered 18 fatalities, while the Savoyards suffered 54 fatalities. 13 Savoyards who had been taken prisoner, including several well-born men, were summarily hung the following day as [[Brigandage|brigands]] since they could not be treated as [[Prisoner of war|prisoners of war]], peace having been repeatedly sworn on the part of Savoy.<ref name="Compagnie1602">[http://www.1602.ch/ Compagnie de 1602] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225161720/https://www.1602.ch/ |date=2019-12-25 }}.</ref>

According to Genevese legend, Catherine Cheynel ("''Mère Royaume''{{-"}}), a cook originally from [[Lyon]] and the wife of Pierre Royaume, seized a large [[cauldron]] of boiling hot vegetable soup and poured it on the attackers when they were scaling the walls. The Royaume family lived just above the La Monnaie town gate. The heavy cauldron of boiling soup landed on the head of a Savoyard attacker, killing him. The commotion that this caused also helped to rouse the townsfolk to defend the city.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/lescaladetroisr00gengoog |title=L'escalade: trois récits |last1=Denkinger |first1=Henri |last2=Guillot |first2=Alexandre Henri |last3=Goth |first3=Charles |year=1902 |publisher=Ch. Eggimann |pages=[https://archive.org/details/lescaladetroisr00gengoog/page/n103 96] |language=fr}}</ref>

After the defeat, the Duke of Savoy accepted a lasting peace, sealed by the [[Treaty of St. Julien]] of 12 July 1603.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ville-geneve.ch/faire-geneve/decouvrir-geneve-quartiers/histoire-geneve/histoire-escalade/ |title=Histoire de l'Escalade |publisher=City of Geneva |language=fr |trans-title=History of the Escalade |access-date=2019-12-06}}</ref>

==Celebration==
[[File:Geneva Medal 1840 Commemoration of L'Escalade 1602, obverse.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.7|Geneva Medal 1840 Commemoration of L'Escalade 1602, obverse.]]
[[File:Geneva Medal 1840 Commemoration of L'Escalade 1602, reverse.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.7|Geneva Medal 1840 Commemoration of L'Escalade 1602, reverse. It shows the 17 names of Genevese killed directly in the battle.]]Although the armed conflict actually took place after midnight, in the early morning on 12 December, celebrations and other commemorative activities are usually held on 11 December or the closest weekend. Celebrations include a large ''marmite'' (cauldron) made of chocolate and filled with [[marzipan]] vegetables and candies wrapped in the Geneva colours of red and gold. It is customary for the eldest and youngest in the room to smash the ''marmite'', while reciting, "''Ainsi périrent les ennemis de la République!'' " (Thus perished the enemies of the Republic), referring to the legend of Catherine Cheynel. Other traditions include [[mulled wine]], large servings of vegetable soup, and children in various types of costumes knocking on people's doors and singing l'Escalade songs for candies. It is also common for children in school to prepare vegetable soup, which is served to parents and families that night. Teenagers tend to throw eggs, shaving cream, and flour at each other as part of the celebration. The high school students parade together by first going to "conquer" each other and end up in the central square of the old town after walking through the ''rues basses'' to the ''plaine de Plainpalais'' and back.<ref name="l'Escalade Festival Tourist Information">{{cite web |url=http://www.geneva.info/events/escalade/ |title=L'Escalade |publisher=Geneva.info |access-date=2019-12-06 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

There is also a parade on Friday evening. The names of the eighteen Genevese fatalities—Jacques Billon died of his wounds a year later—are called out one by one. The historical procession on Sunday features around 800 people from old Genevese families wearing historical costumes, some of whom carry the remaining fragments of the ladders used by the Savoyards and ride horses. This parade, organised since 1926 by the [[Compagnie de 1602]], attracts tens of thousand spectators annually.<ref name="l'Escalade Festival Tourist Information" />

=== Escalade Run ===
Since 1978 there has been another element to the celebration of l'Escalade, the Escalade Run, a [[road running]] event held the weekend of or preceding the night of 11 December (depending on whether or not it falls on a weekend). The run traditionally starts in the ''parc des Bastions'' and goes through the Old City of Geneva before eventually circling back to the start. It is one of the most significant annual events in Geneva.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/multimedia/video/Fete_de_lEscalade.html?cid=28995618&itemId=28995606 |title=Geneva celebrates historic defeat of Savoy enemy |website=swissinfo.ch |publisher=Swiss Broadcasting Company |date=2010-12-10 |access-date=2019-12-06 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> There are multiple events for different age groups.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://escalade.ch/courir/les-courses/ |title=A chacun sa course |publisher=Course de l'Escalade, Genève |access-date=2019-12-06 |df=dmy-all |archive-date=6 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191206172925/https://escalade.ch/courir/les-courses/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Commémoration de l'Escalade à Genève 05.jpg|A soldier in the commemorative parade
File:Marmite-Escalade.jpg|A chocolate "marmite de l'Escalade"
File:Marmite-Escalade-window.jpg|The window of a chocolate shop in [[Carouge]] selling marmites
</gallery>

== Legacy ==
The story of L'Escalade is told in a song called "Cé qu'è l'ainô", written in a [[Franco-Provençal language|Franco-Provençal]] dialect around 1603 by an unknown author. The song has become the "national" [[anthem]] of Geneva. While the complete version comprises 68 stanzas, only four of them are usually sung.<ref>''Cé qu'è lainô'': National hymn of Geneva [http://un2sg4.unige.ch/athena/helvetia/cqlaino.html Lyrics and French translation]</ref>

It was also celebrated in verse by [[Samuel Chappuzeau]] in his ''Genève Délivrée''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Chappuzeau |first=Samuel |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k117262s.texteImage |title=Genève Délivrée |publisher=Jules-Guillaume Fick |year=1862 |language=fr |via=Bibliothèque nationale de France |orig-year=1662}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rboPAAAAQAAJ |title=L'Escalade, son origine et ses conséquences |trans-title=The Escalade, Its Origins and Consequences |last=Gaberel |first=Jean |year=1852 |language=fr}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20191225161720/https://www.1602.ch/ Compagnie de 1602], the group who organises the yearly festival.
* [http://www.escalade.ch La Course de l'Escalade].
* [http://www.zum.de/whkmla/military/17cen/geneva1602.html  World History at KMLA: The Savoyard attack on Geneva].
* [https://archive.today/20130116000601/http://www.cosmopolis.ch/english/cosmo43/fete_de_l_escalade.htm  Fête de l'Escalade]: a yearly celebration in Geneva in memory of the night attack by the Savoyards in 1602.

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Escalade}}
[[Category:1602 in the Holy Roman Empire]]
[[Category:17th century in Geneva]]
[[Category:Battles involving Savoy]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1602]]
[[Category:Culture in Geneva]]
[[Category:December]]
[[Category:Festivals in Switzerland]]
[[Category:History of Geneva]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Geneva]]
[[Category:Winter in Switzerland]]