In July 1789, as part of the Great Fear, French peasants were gripped by the belief that 'brigands' hired by aristocrats were roaming the countryside to destroy their harvests. This fear led to the formation of militias and the preemptive attack on chateaus, which helped topple the feudal system. The panic, though largely unfounded, was a powerful catalyst for the radicalization of the French Revolution and the abolition of noble privileges.

The Great Fear and the 'brigands' panic have been depicted in numerous works of French literature, from the memoirs of revolutionaries to the poetry of Victor Hugo and others who chronicled the revolutionary era. The event symbolizes the power of rumor to drive history and has been used by writers to explore themes of popular sovereignty, class conflict, and the irrationality of mass movements. It remains a central event in the literary and historical imagination of the French Revolution.