in a sermon declared that the Lutherans ought to be cahed Huguenots as krnsmen of King Hugo, inasmuch as they would only go out at nrght as he did Thrs nickname became popular from 1560 onwards, and for a long time the French Protestants were always known by rt

France could not stand outsrde the relrgrous movement of the 10th century. It rs true that the French reform movement has often been regarded as an offshoot of Lutheranism; up to the middle of the century rts adherents were known as Lutherans But rt should not be forgotten that so early as I§ 12 Jacobus lnrber (q t') of Etapies published his Sami Pauli Epzslolac xw. rum commuzlarm, which e nun crates the cardinal doctrine of reform, justification by faith, and that in 1523 appeared hrs French translation of the New Testament. The first Protestants were those who set the teachings of the Gospel against the doctrines of the Roman Church. As early as 1525 Jacques Pavannes, the hermit of Livry, and shortly afterwards Louis de Berqurn. the first martyrs, were burned at the stake. But no persecution could stop the Reform movement, and on the walls of Paris and e en at Amboise, on the very door of Francis I.'s bedroom. there w ere found placards condemning the mass (1554). On the 20th of January 1535 an edict was published ordering* the extermination of the heretics. From this edict dates the emigration of French Protestants, an emigration which did not cease trll the middle of the 18th century. Three years later (1538) at Strassburg the first French Protestant Church, composed of 1 500 refugees, w as founded.

Of all these exiles the most famous was John Calvin (q.°v.). the future leader of the movement, who fied to Basel, where he is sard to have written the famous Instilutio chnstranae relzgzmzis, preceded by a letter to Francis I. in which he pleaded the cause of the reformers The first Protestant community in France was that of Meaux (1546) organized on the lines of the church at Strassburg of which Calvin was pastor, The Catholic Florrmond (lc Remond paid it the beautiful tribute of saying that it seemed as though “ la chretiente fut revenue en elle a sa primitive nnrocencef

Persecution, however, became more rigorous. The Vaudois or Cabrreres and Merindol had rn 1545 been massacred by the orders of Jean de Mayrner, baron d'Oppede, lieutenant-general of Provence. and at Paris was created a special court in the parlenrent for the suppression of heretics, a court which became famous in history as the Clzambre ardenle (1540). In spite of persecution the churches became more numerous; the church rt Paris was founded in 1556, They realized the necessity of uniting rn defence of their rights and their liberty, and in 1558 at Poitiers it was decided that all the Protestant churches in Frame should formulate by common accord a confessron of faith rnrl an ecclesiastical discipline, The church at Paris was commissioned to summon the first sy nod, which rn spite of the danger of persecution met on the 25th of May 1559. The bynod of Paris derived its inspiration from the constitution introduced by Calvin at Geneva, w hrch has srnce become the model for all the presbvterian churches. Ecclesiastical authority resides ultrnrately in the people, for the faithful select the elders who are charged with the general supervision of the church and the choice of pastors The churches are independent units, and there can be no question of superiority among them, at the same time they have common interests and their unrty must be maintained by an authority which is capable of protecting them Thc association of several neighbouring churches forms a local council tm/1o¢;u¢') Over these stands the provincial synod, on which each church rs equally represented by lay delegates and pastors. Supreme authority resides rn the National Synod composed of representatives, lay and ecclesiastic, elected by the provincial synods The democratic character of this constitution of elders and synods is particularly remarkable in view of the early date at which it began to flourish. The striking individuality of the Huguenot character cannot be fully realized without a clear understanding of this powerful organization which contrived to reconcile individual liberty with a central authority, The svnorl of 1 sw was the beginning of a remarkable increase xru 28

rn the Reform movement; at that synod fifteen churches were represented, two years later, in 1561, the number encreased to 2150 The parlements were powerless before this increase, thousands left the Catholic Church, and when it was seen that execution and popular massacre provided no solution of the drfiiculty the struggle was carried into the arena of national politics. On the side of the reformers were ranged some among the noblest Frenchmen of the age, Coligny, La Noue, Duplessis Mornay, Jean Cousrn, Ramus, Marot, Ambroise Paré, Olivier de berres, Bernard Palrssy, the Estrennes, Hotrnan, Jean de Serres, with the princess Renée of France, Jeanne d'Albret, Louise de Colrgny. The policy which refused lrberty of conscience to the reformers and thus plunged the country into the horrors of civil war came near to causing a national catastrophe. For more Ulflll fifty years the history of the Huguenots is that of France (1560-1629). Francis II., who succeeded Henry II. at the age of sixteen, married Mary Stuart, and fell under the domination of the queen's uncles, the Guises, who were to lead the anti-Reform party The Bourbons, the Montmorencies, the Chatrllons, out of hostility to them, became the chiefs of the Huguenots.

The conspiracy of Amborse, formed with the object of kid napping the king (March 1500), was discovered, and resulted in the death of the plotters; it was followed by the proclamation of the Edrct of Romorantin which laid an interdict upon the Protestant religion. But the reformers had become so powerful that Colrgny, who was to become their most famous leader, protested rn therr name agarnst this vrolatron of liberty of conscience. The Gurse party caused the prince of Conde to be arrested and condemned to death, but the sentence was not carrred into effect, and at tlns moment Catherine de' Medicr became regent on the accession of Charles IX. She introduced Italian methods of government, alternating between concessions and vigorous persecution, both alike devoid of sincerity. For a moment, at the colloquy of Poissy (Oct. 1561), at which Roman Catholic and Protestant divines were assembled together and Theodore Beza played so important a part, it seemed as though a modus vivendi would be established. The attempt farled, but by tlre edict of January 1562, religious liberty was assured to the Huguenots. This, however, w as merely the prelude to crvil War, the signal for which was grven by the Guises, who slaughtered a number of Huguenots assembled for worship in a barn at Vassy (March 1, 1562). The duke of Guise, entering Paris in trrumph, transferred the court to Fontainebleau by a daring coup d'élat in defrance of the queen regent. It was their that Conde declared “ qu'on ne pouvait plus rien espérer que de Dreu et ses armes, " and with the Huguenot leaders signed at Orleans (April 1 1, 1562) the manifesto in which, havrng declared their loyalty to the crown, they stated that as good and loyal subjects they were driven to take up arms for liberty of conscience on behalf of the persecuted saints. The first civil war had already broken out, till the end of the century the history of France rs that of the struggle between the Huguenots upholding “The Cause” (La Cause) and the Roman Catholics figlrtrng for the Holy League (La Sainte Ligue). The leading events only wrll be related here (see also FRANCE: Hzslory), The Huguenots lost the battle of Dreux (Dec, 19, 1562), the duke of Gurse was assassinated by Poltrot de Mere (Feb 18, 1565) and nnally Conde signed the Edict of Amboise which put an end to this first war. But the League gradually extended its action and Catherine de' Medici entered into negotiations wrt h Spain, 'l he Huguenots, seeing their danger, renewed hostilities, but after their defeat at St Dems (Nov. 10, 1567) and the revolt of La Rochelle, peace was concluded 'at Longjumeau (March 23, 1568). This truce lasted only a few months Pope Pius V. did not cease to demand the extermination of the heretics, and the queen mother finally issued the edict of the 28th of September 1568, which put the Huguenots outside the protection of the law, The Huguenots once more took up arms, but were defeated at Jarnac (March 13, 1569), and Condé was taken prisoner and assassinated by Montesquiou. But Jeanne d'Albret renewed the courage of the vanquished by presenting to them her son Henri de Bourbon, the future Henry IV Coligny, whose heroic courage rose with adversity, collettcd the

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