In December 1552, the Duke of Guise forced the Holy Roman forces to lift the siege of Metz. Ronsard celebrated the event in July 1553 with a long poem, La Harangue que fit Monseigneur le duc de Guise aux soudars de Mez, dedicated to the cardinal of Lorraine. The warlike heroism he celebrates does not correspond to the kind image of him that our age wants to maintain. Yet it appears to be one of the poet's most daring pieces at the beginning of his career, one of those that earned him the highest prestige.