In 1884 the French city of Calais commissioned Auguste Rodin to create a memorial honoring six citizens of the Hundred Years' War who in 1347 volunteered to leave the defeated city barefoot, tied by rope at the neck, and offer their own lives and the keys to Calais to King Edward III of England. Their fortitude, determination, and devotion to their community preserved Calais from being pillaged at the end of a devastating siege. Rodin showed them at the moment of departure from the city and used the episode to celebrate the idea that heroic deeds may be performed by ordinary people. Rejecting tradition, he did not idealize the figures but depicted the emaciated hostages as distinct individuals whose faltering steps, despairing gestures, and anguished expressions convey the inner turmoil of men struggling between fear of death and devotion to their cause.