Jean Daniel Abraham Davel (20 October 1670 - 24 April 1723), known as Major Davel, was a Swiss soldier and patriot of Vaud. He was sentenced to death and beheaded for calling for Vaud's independence from the Bern authorities.
The son of a Protestant minister, Abraham Davel studied in Lausanne, where his family moved after the death of his father in 1676. In 1688 he began his career as a notary, and also worked as land commissioner in the neighbouring town of Cully. He started his military career in 1692 in the service of Prince Eugene of Savoy and John Churchill. Back in the Confederacy, he participated alongside the Bernese in the second Villmergen War of 1712. After the victory of the Protestant alliance, Davel settled in Vaud where he resumed judicial office. In 1717, he was given a sizeable pension and appointed to the rank of Major by the Bernese, and received the command of the Vaud militia of the district of Lavaux.[1]
Rebellionedit
In the face of Vaudois resistance to the introduction of the Helvetic Consensus, Davel had felt himself to be called since 1691 by what he called La belle inconnue ("the beautiful unknown woman") to liberate his country from the arrogance and tyranny of Bern.[1] On 31 March 1723, pretexting a military parade for the Easter week, he entered Lausanne in the company of 600 troops at a moment when the Bernese bailiffs were absent. Leaving his men to guard the cathedral, he walked alone to the city hall and assembled the municipal council to present them with a manifesto in which a number of failures and abuses were levelled at the government. The council asked for a delay and immediately reported the incident to Bern. Davel was arrested on 1 April and imprisoned in Saint-Maire Castle. Interrogated five times, tortured twice, he maintained that his undertaking was suggested directly by God and that he had no accomplices. He was sentenced to death by the court of citizens, in Lausanne, and was beheaded on 24 April at Vidy.[1]
Legacyedit
Initially derided as crazy, Davel became a martyr of Vaudois independence after his rehabilitation by Juste Olivier first and then Frédéric-César de La Harpe in the mid-18th century.[2][3] Today the Vaud section of the Swiss fraternity, Zofingia, commemorates the sacrifice of Major Davel every 24 April, in a procession following his route on that day in 1723, leaving from the Château Saint-Maire in Lausanne and leading up to the monument at Vidy, the site of his execution. A stele was erected in Louis Bourget Park at the place where the scaffold was placed. It bears the following inscription: "Here Davel gave his life for his country, 24 April 1723".
A series of streets are named in his honor: "rue du Major Davel" in Baulmes, "rue Davel" in Cully, "avenue Davel" ("avenue Jean-Daniel-Abram-Davel") in Lausanne, "chemin du Major Davel" in Morrens, "chemin Davel" in Pully, "rue Davel" in Riex, "avenue du Major-Davel" in Vevey.
^"Davel, Jean Daniel Abraham". Historical Dictionary of Switzerland (in French). from the original on 2019-06-05. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
^Vartzbed, Eric (2014-04-24). "Les trois morts du major Davel". Le Temps (in French). ISSN 1423-3967. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
Bibliographieedit
Gilbert Coutaz, Le Major Davel. Naissance du premier patriote vaudois, Orbe-Yverdon, 2022, 256 p.
January 01, 1970
abraham, davel, jean, daniel, october, 1670, april, 1723, known, major, davel, swiss, soldier, patriot, vaud, sentenced, death, beheaded, calling, vaud, independence, from, bern, authorities, jean, daniel, statue, major, davel, front, château, saint, maire, la. Jean Daniel Abraham Davel 20 October 1670 24 April 1723 known as Major Davel was a Swiss soldier and patriot of Vaud He was sentenced to death and beheaded for calling for Vaud s independence from the Bern authorities Jean Daniel Abraham DavelThe statue of Major Davel in front of the Chateau Saint Maire in LausanneBorn 1670 10 20 20 October 1670Morrens Swiss ConfederacyDied24 April 1723 1723 04 24 aged 52 Lausanne Swiss ConfederacyNationalitySwissAlma materUniversity of LausanneOccupation s Notary soldierKnown forFirst martyr of the independence of Vaud Contents 1 Early life and military career 2 Rebellion 3 Legacy 4 See also 5 References 6 BibliographieEarly life and military career editThe son of a Protestant minister Abraham Davel studied in Lausanne where his family moved after the death of his father in 1676 In 1688 he began his career as a notary and also worked as land commissioner in the neighbouring town of Cully He started his military career in 1692 in the service of Prince Eugene of Savoy and John Churchill Back in the Confederacy he participated alongside the Bernese in the second Villmergen War of 1712 After the victory of the Protestant alliance Davel settled in Vaud where he resumed judicial office In 1717 he was given a sizeable pension and appointed to the rank of Major by the Bernese and received the command of the Vaud militia of the district of Lavaux 1 Rebellion editIn the face of Vaudois resistance to the introduction of the Helvetic Consensus Davel had felt himself to be called since 1691 by what he called La belle inconnue the beautiful unknown woman to liberate his country from the arrogance and tyranny of Bern 1 On 31 March 1723 pretexting a military parade for the Easter week he entered Lausanne in the company of 600 troops at a moment when the Bernese bailiffs were absent Leaving his men to guard the cathedral he walked alone to the city hall and assembled the municipal council to present them with a manifesto in which a number of failures and abuses were levelled at the government The council asked for a delay and immediately reported the incident to Bern Davel was arrested on 1 April and imprisoned in Saint Maire Castle Interrogated five times tortured twice he maintained that his undertaking was suggested directly by God and that he had no accomplices He was sentenced to death by the court of citizens in Lausanne and was beheaded on 24 April at Vidy 1 Legacy editInitially derided as crazy Davel became a martyr of Vaudois independence after his rehabilitation by Juste Olivier first and then Frederic Cesar de La Harpe in the mid 18th century 2 3 Today the Vaud section of the Swiss fraternity Zofingia commemorates the sacrifice of Major Davel every 24 April in a procession following his route on that day in 1723 leaving from the Chateau Saint Maire in Lausanne and leading up to the monument at Vidy the site of his execution A stele was erected in Louis Bourget Park at the place where the scaffold was placed It bears the following inscription Here Davel gave his life for his country 24 April 1723 A series of streets are named in his honor rue du Major Davel in Baulmes rue Davel in Cully avenue Davel avenue Jean Daniel Abram Davel in Lausanne chemin du Major Davel in Morrens chemin Davel in Pully rue Davel in Riex avenue du Major Davel in Vevey nbsp The arrest of Major Davel by Francois Bonnet nbsp The execution of Davel by Charles GleyreSee also editFrederic Cesar de La HarpeReferences edit a b c Pizzotti Laurent Meuwly Olivier 2015 Histoire vaudoise Gollion Suisse Infolio ISBN 978 2 88474 765 3 OCLC 944274534 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Davel Jean Daniel Abraham Historical Dictionary of Switzerland in French Archived from the original on 2019 06 05 Retrieved 2021 07 07 Vartzbed Eric 2014 04 24 Les trois morts du major Davel Le Temps in French ISSN 1423 3967 Retrieved 2021 07 07 Bibliographie editGilbert Coutaz Le Major Davel Naissance du premier patriote vaudois Orbe Yverdon 2022 256 p Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Abraham Davel amp oldid 1188571884, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
