Stéphane Gerson

Town, Nation, or Humanity? Festive Delineations of Place and Past in Northern France, ca. 1825–1865*

The belfry bell and municipal chimes rang loudly in Cambrai on the evening of August 14, 1834, informing residents and visitors that the fete communale had begun. Three days and three nights of festivities awaited this middling agricultural and textile center, one of seven subprefectoral seats in the department of the Nord. As in years past, the program called for crossbow contests, public balls, an artistic and industrial exhibit, and, to conclude it all, fireworks by the Parisian master Ruggieri. Its highlight, however, was a seven-float marche historique that retraced Cambrai’s history from its Gallic origins to its incorporation into France in 1677. Each float anchored a local tableau: the free city under Charlemagne, the return of the Crusaders, the defense of Cambrai