The bronze Burghers of Calais near the Houses of Parliament, as well as being one of the 19th century's greatest pieces of sculpture, also captures the love-hate relationship that England and France engaged in for generations.The sculpture illustrates a moment in 1347, during the Hundred Years War, when the English monarch Edward III laid siege to the French port of Calais. After 11 months, with the people on the verge of starvation, six of the town's leaders offered themselves as hostages tot he king in return for sparing their fellow citizens. Edward agreed, ordering them to come out dressed in their underclothes, wearing nooses around their necks and carrying the keys to the city. He had intended to kill them,
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