Un mythe liégeois réactualisé : la commémoration de l’assassinat de Sébastien La Ruelle en 1938

This article analyses the memory constructed during the interwar years of a historical event of the seventeenth century (the murder of Sébastien La Ruelle) and focuses on the multiple meanings which can be derived from the study of forms of commemoration. In 1938, reactivating this event of the past is a way of reinforcing the sense of a Liégeois identity, giving the Walloon Movement a new symbolic reference to counter the Flemish Movement. Sebastien La Ruelle, considered in his time as a popular leader who had died for his country and the defence of communal liberties, is also perceived 300 years later as a symbol of sacrifice in the cause of liberty, source of hope in a troubled time.