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History
The Huguenots were French Protestants most of whom eventually came to follow
the teachings of John Calvin, and who, due to religious persecution, were
forced to flee France to other countries in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries. Some remained, practicing their Faith in secret.
The Protestant Reformation began by Martin Luther in Germany about 1517,
spread rapidly in France, especially among those having grievances against
the established order of government. As Protestantism grew and developed in
France it generally abandoned the Lutheran form, and took the shape of
Calvinism. The new "Reformed religion" practiced by many members of the
French nobility and social middle-class, based on a belief in salvation
through individual faith alone without the need for the intercession of a church
hierarchy. They held to the major principles of the Reformation including:
- Sola Scriptura - The Bible alone is our infallible source of truth
- Sola Gratia - Men can be delivered from their sins by grace alone, not by any works which they can do in their own power.
- Sola Fide - The instrument by which sinful men receive God's grace is by faith alone, not by some combination of faith plus good works.
- Sola Christus - God's grace is given to us in Christ alone, not through angels, saints, or any church ceremonies
Their belief in an individual's right to interpret scriptures
for themselves also placed these French Protestants in direct theological
conflict with both the Catholic Church and the King of France in the
theocratic system which prevailed at that time.
Followers of this new
Protestantism were soon accused of heresy against the Catholic government
and the established religion of France, and a General Edict urging
extermination of these heretics (Huguenots) was issued in 1536.
Nevertheless, Protestantism continued to spread and grow, and about 1555 the
first Huguenot church was founded in a home in Paris based upon the
teachings of John Calvin. The number and influence of the French Reformers
(Huguenots) continued to increase after this event, leading to an escalation
in hostility and conflict between the Catholic Church/State and the
Huguenots. Finally, in 1562, some 1200 Huguenots were slain at Vassey,
France, thus igniting the French Wars of Religion which would devastate
France for the next thirty-five years.
The Edict of Nantes, signed by Henry IV in April, 1598, ended the Wars of
Religion, and allowed the Huguenots some religious freedoms, including free
exercise of their religion in 20 specified towns of France.
The Revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV in October, 1685, began a
new persecution of the Huguenots, and hundreds of thousands of Huguenots
fled France to other countries. The Promulgation of the Edict of Toleration
in November, 1787, partially restored the civil and religious rights of
Huguenots in France.
Since the Huguenots of France were in large part artisans, craftsmen, and
professional people, they were usually well-received in the countries to
which they fled for refuge when religious discrimination or overt
persecution caused them to leave France. Most of them went initially to
Germany, the Netherlands and England, although some found their way
eventually to places as remote as South Africa. Considerable numbers of
Huguenots migrated to British North America, especially to the Carolinas,
Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York. Their character and talents in the
arts, sciences, and industry were such that they are generally felt to have
been a substantial loss to the French society from which they had been
forced to withdraw, and a corresponding gain to the communities and nations
into which they settled.
Origin of the Word Huguenot
The exact origin of the word Huguenot is unknown, but many consider it to be
a combination of Flemish and German. Protestants who met to study the Bible
in secret were called Huis Genooten, meaning "house fellows." They were also
referred to as Eid Genossen, or "oath fellows" meaning persons bound by an
oath. Two possible but different derivations incorporating this concept can
be found in the Encyclopedia Britannica:
1. "Huguenot", according to Frank Puaux, at one time President of the
Société Francaise de l'Historie du Protestantisme Francais and author of the
article about the Huguenots in the eleventh edition of the Encyclopedia
Britannica:
"is the name given from about the middle of the sixteenth century to the
Protestants of France. It was formerly explained as coming from the German
Eidgenossen, the designation of the people of Geneva at the time when they
were admitted to the Swiss Confederation. This explanation is now abandoned.
The words Huguenot, Huguenots, are old French words, common in fourteenth
and fifteenth-century charters. As the Protestants called the Catholics
papistes, so the Catholics called the protestants huguenots. The Protestants
at Tours used to assemble by night near the gate of King Hugo, whom the
people regarded as a spirit. A monk, therefore, in a sermon declared that
the Lutherans ought to be called Huguenots, as kinsmen of King Hugo,
inasmuch as they would only go out at night as he did. This nickname became
popular from 1560 onwards, and for a long time the French Protestants were
always known by it."
2. The current edition Encyclopedia Britannica offers a somewhat different
explanation, although agreeing the word is a derivative of the German word
Eidgenossen:
"The origin of the name is uncertain, but it appears to have come from the
word aignos, derived from the German Eidgenossen (confederates bound
together by oath), which used to describe, between 1520 and 1524, the
patriots of Geneva hostile to the duke of Savoy. The spelling Huguenot may
have been influenced by the personal name Hugues, "Hugh"; a leader of the
Geneva movement was one Besancon Hugues (d. 1532)."
Huguenot Society of UK
Huguenot Society of Texas
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