A signal made by drum or trumpet from a besieged town or fortress indicating a desire to negotiate surrender or truce.
From French 'chamade', possibly from Spanish 'chamada' (call), derived from Latin 'camare' (to call). Used in military contexts during sieges, particularly in 16th-18th centuries.
Before modern communications, a chamade was literally a drumbeat that could decide whether hundreds of soldiers lived or died—the drummer's rhythm was a matter of life and death.
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