Fighting for Freedom of Conscience:
The Camisard Rebellion and the
Struggle for Religious Liberty in France
Noah Pritt
Senior Division
Paper
La libre communication des pensées et des opinions est un des droits les plus
précieux de l’Homme. 1
_________________________________________
From the dirt and grime on their faces one would have thought that the peasants
had accomplished a difficult day toiling in the fields. No one had worked for a year,
however – the appearance resulted from years of hiding, running and fighting the king’s
soldiers. It was a look of haggardness and fatigue, but above all of determination. What
had caused these French peasants to revolt against their king? They had been deprived of
religious freedom in 1685, and those who refused to convert to Catholicism were
imprisoned, tortured, and forced to toil in the galley ships.2 The Protestant peasants were
prepared to fight to obtain freedom of conscience, even in the face of remarkable odds.
They had made a promise, to themselves and to their brothers: until they were granted
religious freedom, they would rather “die sword in hand, than go to mass.”3
Throughout the Middle Ages it was believed that citizens of a country should
practice the same religion as their king, and that any other form of worship should be
interpreted as dissent.4 In the late 14th century, John Wycliffe promoted separation of
church and state in his writings in England,5 and in the Czech Republic John Huss
published several works criticizing the Catholic Church.6 Although Wycliffe was
1
“The free communication of thoughts and opinions is one of the most precious rights of Man.” Parliament
of France, “Déclaration des Droits de l’Homme et du Citoyen,” 26 August 1789, available from
< http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/histoire/dudh/1789.asp >, accessed 29 March 2012.
2
Charles Bost, Histoire des Protestants de France, (Yvelines, France: La Cause, 1996), 102.
3
Jean Cavalier, Memoirs of the Wars of the Cevennes, (London: J. Stephens, 1726), 91.
4
Cuius regio, eius religio, “Whose realm, his religion,” was a well-known phrase. Patrick Collinson, The
Reformation: A History, (New York: Random House Digital, 2006), 147.
5
John Wycliffe, Select English Works of John Wyclif, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1871), 516.
6
Donald Kagan et al., The Western Heritage, (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1998), 326-327.
1
excommunicated and Huss was executed,7 their ideas spread and the Protestant
Reformation swept through Europe in the 16th century.8
In France, Protestantism was initially suppressed. Following the Saint
Bartholomew’s massacre of 1572 that resulted in the deaths of thousands,9 many
Huguenots10 were forced to convert or were driven into exile. Protestants who remained
in France had their rights severely limited.11
In 1589 Henry IV was crowned king. Unlike the rulers that preceded him, he
demonstrated tolerance of the Protestants, and almost immediately religious persecution
was terminated.12 On April 13, 1598 Henry issued the Edict of Nantes, which granted
religious freedom to Protestants dwelling in France. The king permitted all those of the
reformed faith to “live and dwell in all the Cities and places of [France], without being
inquired after, vexed, molested, or compelled to do any thing in Religion, contrary to
their conscience.”13 The Huguenots were jubilant.14
This freedom continued until Louis XIV, the Sun King, came to power in 1661.
He advocated a strong central government, believing that divided religion in a country
7
Ibid.
Notice that although Protestants during the Reformation were fighting against the strict bonds of the
Catholic Church, they were not advocating religious freedom. When the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I took
power in England she allowed the persecution of Catholics. Donald Kagan et al., The Western Heritage,
434-435. The Netherlands, which declared independence and complete religious freedom in 1581 was an
exception, and provided a safe-haven for a number of oppressed people, Protestant and Catholic alike.
9
Mack P. Holt, The French Wars of Religion, 1562-1629, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005),
95.
10
French Protestants.
11
Mack P. Holt, The French Wars of Religion, 1562-1629, 95.
12
Ibid.
13
Henry IV, “The Edict of Nantes,” April 13, 1598, in Donald Kagan et al., The Western Heritage, 424.
14
Anonymous, “Cantique sur l’Edit de Nantes,” 1598, in Histoire des Protestants de France, ed. Charles
Bost, (Yvelines, France: La Cause, 1996), 102. This poem was written by a Protestant on his happiness
about the Edict of Nantes.
8
2
attested to a lack of unity.15 In 1685 he issued the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, a
harsh blow to the Protestants. One by one each of their rights was revoked: “We forbid
our subjects of the so-called reformed religion to assemble any more for public
worship… We order all ministers of the aforesaid so-called reformed religion who do not
wish to be converted and to embrace Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman religion, to depart
from our kingdom and the lands subject to us within fifteen days… on pain of the galleys.
With regard to children who shall be born to those of the so-called reformed religion, we
desire that they be baptized by their parish priests… the children shall be brought up in
the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman religion.”16
Following the Revocation, oppression against the Protestants increased, and
reformed people were detained while worshiping and punished severely. Women were
condemned to the infamous Tower of Constance17 and men were imprisoned in dungeons
throughout France where they were forgotten “in somber and sad places.”18 Those who
refused to recant their beliefs were tortured.19 Soldiers were lodged in the houses of
15
William Beik, Louis XIV and Absolutism: A Brief Study with Documents, (New York: Palgrave
Macmillan, 2000), 221.
16
Louis XIV, “The Revocation of the Edict of Nantes,” October 1685, in Donald Kagan et al., The Western
Heritage, (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1998), 473.
17
Cavalier, Memoirs of the Wars of the Cevennes, 11. “They took many Protestants, of whom some were
hanged, others they sent to the Galleys; the Women they shaved and shut them in convents, or banished
them to the Tower of Constance.”
18
“Sombres et tristes lieux.” Jérémie Dupuy, “Vers d’un Prisonnier,” 1686, in Histoire des Protestants de
France, ed. Charles Bost, (Yvelines, France: La Cause, 1996), 185. Translation by author.
19
Henry M. Baird, The Huguenots and the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, (New York: Charles
Scribner’s Sons, 1895,) 210-211., Smiles, The Huguenots in France after the Revocation of the Edict of
Nantes, 20.
3
suspected Protestants,20 and children were seized from their Huguenot parents and placed
in Catholic schools and convents.21
The worst punishment inflicted upon Protestants was the galleys, where they were
forced to suffer for years without relief. The rowers were “loaded with chains, gnawed at
by vermin, exposed to the fury of barbarians, [and] subjugated to pain and excessive
work.”22 One witness described his utter sadness at seeing innocent people, “feet in
chains and hands attached to a revolting oar, covered in blood and sweat, heads shaved
and torso naked, exposed to the heat of the sun.”23 Voltaire, the famous Enlightenment
writer, was appalled by the idea of imprisoning people for their religious beliefs. “How
indecent,” he wrote, “to put in chains a harmless individual who has committed no crime
other than praying to God in bad French!”24
Protestants throughout France were suffering from these atrocities, and a
revolution was imminent. The region where a revolt was least expected was the province
of Languedoc, a mountainous region in southern France. Bashville, the governor of the
region, wrote to a superior several days after the Revocation was issued: “I believe that I
can now inform you of the conversion of all Languedoc. At least the Cevennes are
20
Jean Migault, “La Dragonnade en Poitou,” in Histoire des protestants de France, ed. Charles Bost,
(Yvelines, France: La Cause, 1996), 134-135.
21
Meynier, “Un enlèvement d’enfants,” in Histoire des protestants de France, ed. Charles Bost, (Yvelines,
France: La Cause, 1996), 130. In this document, a Protestant father describes how his two sons, ages 13 and
14, were seized and placed in a Catholic college in Paris.
22
“Chargé de chaînes, rongé par la vermine, [et] exposé à la fureur d’un comite barbare.” David Serres,
Letter, July 1, 1702. Quoted in Samuel Mours, Les Galériens Protestants, (Cevennes, France : Musée du
Désert, 1986), 6. Translation by author.
23
“Enchaînés par les pieds et attachés par les mains à une rame infâme, couverts de sang et de sueur, la
tête rasée et le torse nu, exposés à l’ardeur du soleil.” G. Tournier, Letter to preacher, December 2, 1694.
Quoted in Mours, Les Galériens Protestants, 7. Translation by author.
24
“Quelle conscience de mettre à la chaîne un petit être qui n'avait commis d'autre crime que de prier Dieu
en mauvais français!” Jean Gaberel, Voltaire et les Genevois, (France: J. Cherbuliez, 1857), 74-75.
Translation by author.
4
entirely converted. There is not a place of any size which I have not visited… and
everybody was converted at [my] coming.”25
The Protestants of the Cevennes were used to hardships, however, and simply
converting did nothing to change their beliefs.26 In 1686, one year after the Revocation
of the Edict of Nantes, they had already begun forming Assemblées au Désert,
clandestine religious assemblies in the mountainous wilderness of the region.27
Occasionally the assemblies were discovered by the king’s soldiers; in such cases the
Protestants fought back rather than surrender. A soldier wrote: “They shot at us five
times, one of which almost hit us… we returned fire all together, [and then] we were
skirmishing with the rebels.”28 The worshipers were common peasants; the fact that they
possessed the courage, passion and determination to battle with the king’s soldiers was a
precursor of the ensuing revolt, and should have warned the king that the people of the
Cevennes were prepared to fight for their freedom.
Open revolt began on July 24, 1702. The Abbot of Chayla, a “fierce and cruel
man,”29 had arrested several Huguenots and was preparing to execute them.30 A small
band of Protestants led by a minister named Seguier marched on the Abbot’s house.
Surrounding the building, they commanded Chayla to release his prisoners, adding that
25
Basville, Letter to the Controller General, October 19, 1685. Quoted in Baird, The Huguenots and the
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 218.
26
Baird, The Huguenots and the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 216.
27
Anonymous soldier, “Une assemblée surprise dans les Cévennes,” 1686, In Histoire des protestants de
France, ed. Charles Bost, (Yvelines, France: La Cause, 1996), 153. In this report, a general describes a
Protestant assembly in the Cevennes.
28
“Ils nous lâchèrent cinq coups de pistolet dont l’un traversa notre perruque… Nous donnâmes tous
ensemble, [et ensuite] nous étant mêlés avec les rebelles.” Ibid. Translation by author.
29
Cavalier, Memoirs of the Wars of the Cevennes, 36.
30
Abraham Mazel, Memoires Inedits d'Abraham Mazel et d'Elie Marion sur la Guerre des Cevennes, ed.
Charles Bost, (Paris: Fischbacher, 1931), 6.
5
“if [the prisoners] would be delivered quietly, they would not commit any disorder.”31 In
reply Chayla ordered his personal guard to open fire, killing two and wounding a number
of others.32 Charging the door, the Protestants broke in and killed the Abbot.33
The Protestants did not disband after murdering Chayla; marching through the
towns of the Cevennes, they attacked the houses of various Catholic nobles. Some
attempted to resist the band and were killed, while others scattered into the fields and
mountains.34
Several days later Louis XIV declared that he was “willing to pardon all those
who were concerned in the death of Abbot Chayla, provided they would lay down their
arms, and retire to their houses; otherwise they would be declared rebels.”35 The king’s
interest in the rebellion at this early point in time shows the extent of the popularity of the
revolt. The Protestants refused the offer: “Those that knew the Court of France, knew
there is no truth in it, witness the Edict of Nantes.”36
Upon hearing that the Protestants refused to surrender, the king ordered that an
army be raised to destroy the rebellion. Several members of the band were captured
including Seguier, who was executed in a matter of days.37
After Seguier’s death the rebellion almost died out as many of the remaining
Protestants were in favor of leaving France.38 However, a veteran soldier named Pierre
Laporte persuaded them to remain: “Why depart into the land of the stranger? Have we a
31
Cavalier, Memoirs of the Wars of the Cevennes, 36.
Mazel, Memoires, 9.
33
Ibid.
34
Smiles, The Huguenots in France after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 103-104.
35
Cavalier, Memoirs of the Wars of the Cevennes, 38.
36
Ibid.
37
Mazel, Memoires, 13-14.
38
Cavalier, Memoirs of the Wars of the Cevennes, 108.
32
6
country of our own, the country of our fathers? It is, you say, a country of slavery and
death! Well! Free it! ... Better [to] die by the sword than by the rack or the gallows!”39
Soon more peasants joined the rebellion. Laporte became their leader, along with
his nephew Roland who had served in the king’s army.40 The Protestants called
themselves Camisards, a name probably derived from the only uniform they wore, a
common blouse called a camisa.41 The mountainous region of the Cevennes provided the
ideal environment for guerilla warfare, and soon the Camisards began to venture out of
hiding to plunder the houses of Catholic nobles and gather provisions.42
In the spring of 1702, four companies of dragoons43 arrived in the Cevennes to
oppose the Camisards. At their head was the Marshal of Villars, one of the most brilliant
military leaders in French history and one of only six generals to be promoted to the rank
of Marshal General. Upon his arrival, Villars led an army that ambushed and killed
Laporte.44
Laporte’s death coincided with the arrival of a well-known Protestant named Jean
Cavalier who had been living in exile in Switzerland. Although only twenty-one years of
age, Cavalier was quickly recognized as the new leader of the revolt.45
The Camisards realized that to openly defy the king would bring disaster on the
Protestants. Thus, they declared that they were not attempting to oppose the king, but
rather Catholic oppression.46 On multiple occasions Cavalier asserted that if Louis XIV
39
Quoted in Smiles, The Huguenots in France after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 109.
Eugène Bonnemère, Histoire des Camisards, (Paris: E. Dentu, 1877), 172.
41
Baird, The Huguenots and the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 255.
42
Smiles, The Huguenots in France after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 132-133.
43
Royal horsemen. Dragoons were universally dreaded in France.
44
Baird, The Huguenots and the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 216.
45
Mazel, Memoires, 17.
46
Interview with Chrystel Bernat, Professeur d’Histoire, La Université de la Sorbonne, email interview, 19
February 2012.
40
7
would restore their freedom of conscience, then the Camisards would peacefully lay
down their arms. He wrote: “I would serve [the king] with all my heart, and provided my
demands were granted, he should find his Majesty had not a more faithful subject.”47
However, the Protestants refused to accept anything less than complete freedom of
religion: “We were resolved either to have our just demands, or die with our arms in our
hands.”48
For two years the Camisards resisted the king’s troops despite monstrous odds.
The Protestants would strike and disappear into the mountains before the soldiers could
retaliate.49 By 1704 France had entered the Wars of Spanish Succession. The Camisards
were a constant annoyance, distracting troops that were needed in the war, and finally
Villars announced that Louis XIV had agreed to come to terms with the rebels.50 The
Sun King had been forced to concede to the demands of peasants!
The negotiations were conducted at Nîmes in May.51 Villars informed Cavalier
that since “the King’s intentions were to spare his subjects, and to use easy methods to
reduce them to their duty,”52 Louis XIV had agreed to cede rights to the Camisards if
they surrendered. All Protestants detained in prisons or galleys for their religious beliefs
would be freed, and they would be permitted to hold religious assemblies.53 The
population was joyful, celebrating and “imagining all their troubles and misfortunes were
at an end.”54 However, Cavalier had proved a better military leader than a negotiator:
47
Cavalier, Memoirs of the Wars of the Cevennes, 269.
Ibid.
49
Mazel, Memoires, 17-28.
50
Cavalier, Memoirs of the Wars of the Cevennes, 265.
51
Mazel, Memoires, 65.
52
Cavalier, Memoirs of the Wars of the Cevennes, 267-268.
53
Ibid, 272-273.
54
Ibid, 275.
48
8
Villars had not been obliged to sign any of the articles mentioned.55 Moreover, historians
believe that “[Villars] had never breathed a word of the negotiations in his
correspondence with the court.”56
Several days after the negotiations, Cavalier learned that “the Marshal had posted
troops in all the chief places of the country, especially those leading to the places where
we used to assemble… which looked as if he intended to surround us, and probably seize
me.”57 The Camisards were then issued a message from Villars: they were forced to
leave the country or serve France in the king’s army.58 The Protestants were miserable
and angry; it was evident that “no dependence could be had from the promises of the
Court of France.”59
Cavalier escaped France with his followers, traveling to Switzerland and offering
his services to the Duke of Savoy who was opposing France in the Wars of Spanish
Succession.60 Meanwhile the remaining Camisards, weary of war and nearly leaderless,
began to lose hope.61 Roland, however, refused to lay down his arms, announcing that
“he resolved to die sword in hand, unless the Edict of Nantes was restored in its full
power and extent.”62 In August a body of Camisards was surrounded at night by
dragoons. Roland leapt on horseback and fled into the woods but was overtaken by the
55
Mazel, Memoires, 65.
Charles Bost, Editor’s notes on Memoires inedits d'Abraham Mazel et d'Elie Marion sur la guerre des
Cevennes, 65.
57
Cavalier, Memoirs of the Wars of the Cevennes, 285.
58
Louis XIV, De Par le Roi, June 1704, available from
< http://www.museeprotestant.org/Pages/diaporama.php?Nid=1943&mid=1468&reset=1&Lget=EN>,
accessed 04 April 2012.
59
Cavalier, Memoirs of the Wars of the Cevennes, 288.
60
Jean Cavalier, Letter to Monsieur de Chamiliard, September 4, 1704. In Cavalier, Memoirs of the Wars of
the Cevennes, 327-328.
61
Smiles, The Huguenots in France after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 186.
62
Cavalier, Memoirs of the Wars of the Cevennes, 278.
56
9
king’s men. His back to a tree, Roland ferociously fought the multitude of soldiers
converging on him, but was eventually shot.63 The Camisard revolt was over.
The Camisards had struggled to obtain freedom of conscience and reestablish the
Edict of Nantes. Neither of these goals was accomplished, and after the end of the revolt
Protestants were forced to convert to Catholicism publicly and maintain their true religion
in secret.64 Huguenot persecution continued late into the 1700s.65 Marie Durand, a
Camisard woman, was imprisoned in the Tower of Constance from 1730 to 1768.66 The
last Protestant galley slaves were not released until 1775.67
One might think that the Camisard rebellion ended in failure. It did not. The
persecutions of the Camisards were well known68 and had a wide-spread impact,
influencing the work of many French Enlightenment writers, including Voltaire,
Rousseau, and Montesquieu. Voltaire met Cavalier in England in 1722,69 and
Montesquieu knew a Camisard veteran named Georges Tessier.70 These French
philosophes actively advocated religious freedom.
In his Traité sur la Tolerance, Voltaire wrote: “One does not need grand art or
well-sought eloquence, to prove that Christians should tolerate each other. I go further; I
say to you, that one should view all men as brothers. What! My brother the Turk? My
brother the Chinese? The Jew? The Siamese? Yes, without doubt, for are we not children
63
Smiles, The Huguenots in France after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 188.
Ibid, 191-192.
65
Antoine Court, An Historical Memorial of the Most Remarkable Proceedings against the Protestants in
France, from the Years 1744-1751, (Belfast: Printed by J. Magee, 1753), 50-51. Court was a Huguenot
pastor who secretly organized Protestant churches in the Cevennes.
66
Marie Durand, Lettres de Marie Durand: 1711-1776, (Montpellier, France: Les Presses du Languedoc,
1986).
67
Smiles, The Huguenots in France after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 272.
68
A number of works were published in the following years, including Cavalier’s Memoirs of the Wars of
the Cevennes in 1726 and an eight-volume history of the revolt, Histoire des Camisards, in 1744.
69
Geoffrey Adams, The Huguenots and French opinion, 1685-1787: The Enlightenment Debate on
Toleration, (Ontario, Canada: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1991), 54.
70
Adams, The Huguenots and French Opinion, 66.
64
10
of the same father, and creatures of the same God?”71 In 1748 Montesquieu wrote The
Spirit of Laws, in which he included a chapter on religious freedom. Rousseau wrote:
“The Protestants would never have taken up arms in France it they had not been
persecuted there. If they had been allowed to live in peace, they would not have
revolted... the exercise of the Protestant religion is, in my eyes, legitimate in France.”72
The work of these Enlightenment philosophes led to the French Revolution of
1789 and influenced the Declaration of the Rights of Man, which was issued by the new
parliament. “No one should be disturbed on account of his opinions, even those that are
religious,” the document reads. “The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of
the most precious of the rights of man; thus, every citizen can speak, write, and print
freely.”73 With this statement the Declaration granted liberty to people of all religions.
Finally, after hardship and bloodshed, victories and defeats, the Camisards had achieved
their goal: freedom of conscience.
71
“Il ne faut pas un grand art, une éloquence bien recherchée, pour prouver que des Chrétiens doivent se
tolérer les uns les autres. Je vais plus loin; je vous dis, qu'il faut regarder tous les hommes comme nos
frères. Quoi! Mon frère le Turc? Mon frère le Chinois? le Juif? le Siamois? Oui, sans doute; ne sommesnous pas tous enfants du même père, et créatures du même Dieu?” Voltaire, Traité sur la Tolerance,
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1763), 188. Translation by author.
72
“Jamais les Protestants n'ont pris les armes en France que lorsqu'on les y a poursuivis. Si l'on eût pu le
résoudre à les laisser en paix, ils y feroient demeurés... l'excercice de la Religion Protestante est, selon moi,
légitime en France.” Rousseau, Citoyen de Geneve, à Christophe de Beaumont, Archevêque de Paris,
(Paris: Chez Marc Michel Rey., 1763), 77-78. Translation by author.
73
“Nul ne doit être inquiété pour ses opinions, même religieuses… La libre communication des pensées et
des opinions est un des droits les plus précieux de l’Homme : tout Citoyen peut donc parler, écrire,
imprimer librement.” Parliament of France, “Déclaration des Droits de l’Homme et du
Citoyen.” Translation by author.
11
Primary Sources
Books
Cavalier, Jean. Memoirs of the Wars of the Cevennes Under Col Cavalier. London: J.
Stephens, 1726.
This book is Cavalier’s memoirs of the Camisard revolt. It includes
detailed accounts of the events of the war, as well as several letters and
documents. It was one of my most important sources, and I cited it frequently in
my paper.
Court, Antoine. An Historical Memorial of the Most Remarkable Proceedings against the
Protestants in France, from the Years 1744-1751. Belfast: J. Magee, 1753
.
Antoine Court was a pastor who led secret assemblies in the Cevennes in
the years after the Camisard revolt. In this volume, Court includes lists of names
of those persecuted for their faith, including Protestant nobles who were degraded
from their positions, Huguenots who were sent to the galleys, and children who
were taken from their parents and raised in Catholic schools and convents. I cited
it to show how persecution continued in France after the revolt.
Durand, Marie. Lettres de Marie Durand: 1711-1776. Montpellier, France: Les Presses
du Languedoc, 1986.
.
Marie Durand, whose brother was a Camisard pastor, was imprisoned in
the Tower of Constance for thirty-eight years from 1730 to 1768. I cited this
12
book in my paper when discussing religious persecution in the years following the
Camisard revolt.
Mazel, Abraham. Memoires inedits d'Abraham Mazel et d'Elie Marion sur la guerre des
Cevennes. Edited by Charles Bost. Paris: Fischbacher, 1931.
Mazel was another Camisard, and his memoirs cover the entire revolt,
from the assassination of the Abbot of Chayla to the end of the fighting. It was
extremely important to me when I was writing my paper, as it is one of few
primary sources on the Camisard rebellion. I cited it frequently.
Montesquieu. The Spirit of Laws. Printed for G. and A. Ewing and G. Faulkner, 1751.
In this volume, Montesquieu lists the laws that a country should possess,
including freedom of conscience. I cited it in my paper when showing how he
advocated religious freedom after being at least partially influenced by the revolt
in the Cevennes after meeting with a Camisard veteran.
Rousseau. Citoyen de Geneve, à Christophe de Beaumont, Archevêque de Paris. Paris:
Chez Marc Michel Rey., 1763.
In this book, Rousseau writes about the persecution of French Protestants,
adding that if the King had left them in peace, then they would not have revolted.
I quoted it in my paper.
Voltaire. Traité sur la Tolerance. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1763.
13
Voltaire was inspired by the suffering of French Protestants and their
revolt to produce this work on religious tolerance. I quoted it in my paper when
describing the impact of the Camisard rebellion.
Wycliffe, John. Select English Works of John Wyclif. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1871.
Wycliffe was an early advocate for religious freedom who was martyred
for his beliefs. This book contains many of Wycliffe’s writings, and I cited it in
my paper when discussing his belief in separation of church and state.
Documents
Anonymous. “Cantique sur l’Edit de Nantes.” 1598. In Histoire des Protestants de
France, ed. Charles Bost. Yvelines, France: La Cause, 1996.
This poem, written by a Protestant after the Edict of Nantes, describes the
writer’s joy over religious freedom. I cited it to show how jubilant Protestants
were after the Edict.
Anonymous soldier. “Une assemblée surprise dans les Cévennes.” 1686. In Histoire des
Protestants de France, ed. Charles Bost. Yvelines, France: La Cause, 1996.
In this document, a royalist general describes his company coming upon a
religious assembly in the Cevennes and how the worshipers fought back rather
14
than surrender. I quoted it in my paper when discussing the clandestine Protestant
worship services.
Dupuy, Jérémie. “Vers d’un prisonnier.” 1686. In Histoire des Protestants de France, ed.
Charles Bost. Yvelines, France: La Cause, 1996.
This is a poem written by a Protestant prisoner who was detained for his
religious beliefs after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. It is a beautiful,
meticulously written poem, and I briefly quoted it when describing the
imprisonment of Protestants.
French Parliament. “Declaration of the Rights of Man.” 26 August 1789. Available from
< http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/declaration.html>, accessed March 01,
2012.
This is the Declaration of the Rights of Man, a document issued during the
French Revolution which finally granted freedom of conscience to the citizens of
France.
Henry IV. “The Edict of Nantes.” April 13, 1598. In The Western Heritage, Donald
Kagan, Steven Ozment and Frank M. Turner. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1998.
The Edict of Nantes granted rights to Protestants in France and terminated
the oppression of Protestants in France until 1685, when the Revocation of the
Edict of Nantes was issued. I quoted the Edict of Nantes in my paper.
15
Louis XIV. “De Par le Roi.” June 1704. Available from
< http://www.museeprotestant.org/Pages/diaporama.php?Nid=1943&mid=1468 >,
accessed 7 April 2011.
This order, issued by the king near the end of the Camisard Rebellion,
commanded the Camisards to leave the country or serve in the king’s army. I
cited it in my paper.
Louis XIV. “The Revocation of the Edict of Nantes.” October 1685. In The Western
Heritage, Donald Kagan, Steven Ozment and Frank M. Turner. New Jersey:
Prentice-Hall, 1998.
This is the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, which removed the rights
given to Protestants by the Edict of Nantes. Following the Revocation,
persecution of Protestants in France became extremely severe, and ultimately led
to the Camisard rebellion. I quoted it in my paper.
Meynier. “Un enlèvement d’enfants.” In Histoire des Protestants de France, ed. Charles
Bost. Yvelines, France: La Cause, 1996.
In this document a father describes how he was forced to send his sons to
a Catholic college. I cited it when writing about the hardships Protestants were
forced to endure after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes.
Migault, Jean. “La dragonnade en Poitou.” In Histoire des Protestants de France, ed.
Charles Bost. Yvelines, France: La Cause, 1996.
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In this document a Protestant school teacher describes how he was forced
to billet soldiers in his house on account of his religion. I cited it when discussing
the atrocities committed against Protestants in France.
Letters
Cavalier, Jean. Letter to the Marshal of Villars. May 1704. In Jean Cavalier, Memoirs of
the Wars of the Cevennes Under Col Cavalier. London: J. Stephens, 1726.
Cavalier sent this letter to Villars to inform the general that his Camisard
regiment, which he had planned to take to Portugal under the king’s orders,
refused to leave France until the terms of the treaty were carried out. I quoted it
in my paper.
Cavalier, Jean. Letter to Monsieur de Chamiliard. 4 September 1704. In Jean Cavalier,
Memoirs of the Wars of the Cevennes Under Col Cavalier. London: J. Stephens,
1726.
In this letter, Cavalier explains his motives behind leading a force in
Switzerland, which fought against France during the Wars of Spanish Succession.
“Reflect on the reasons,” he wrote, “which have obliged me to it, which will
convince you that I could not act otherwise…if his majesty would grant us
[freedom of conscience] all my comrades would lay down their arms, and we
should be ready to sacrifice our lives and fortunes for his service … the king did
not use treaties with rebellion, but rather exterminated than pardon them.”
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Secondary Sources
Books
Adams, Geoffrey. The Huguenots and French Opinion, 1685-1787: The Enlightenment
Debate on Toleration. Ontario, Canada: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1991.
This book describes the French Enlightenment writers’ connection with
French Huguenots. It proved extremely useful to me when I was writing about
the significance of the Camisard rebellion, and I cited it multiple times.
Anonymous. Histoire des Camisards : Ou l'on Voit par Quelles Fausses Maximes de
Politique, et de Religion. London: Chés Moise Chastel, 1744.
I had the opportunity to read one of the original copies of this eightvolume book on the history of the Camisards, published in 1744. I cited it in my
paper to show that the Camisards were well known at the time of the debate.
Baird, Henry M. The Huguenots and the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. New York:
Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1895.
This book, obviously exhaustedly researched, contains detailed accounts
of the events from the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes through the Camisard
rebellion. It proved extremely important and I cited it frequently in my paper.
Beik, William. Louis XIV and Absolutism: A Brief Study with Documents. New York:
Palgrave Macmillan, 2000.
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This book examines the motives behind Louis XIV and his reign. I cited it
in my paper as it describes Louis’ belief that divided religion in a country attested
to a lack of power and unity.
Bonnemère, Eugène. Histoire des Camisards. Paris: E. Dentu, 1877.
Although published in French in the 19th century, this book is fairly
readable and I cited it several times over the course of my paper.
Bost, Charles. Histoire des Protestants de France. Yvelines, France: La Cause, 1996.
This book is a textbook for French students, but utilizes fairly
understandable language. It contains a collection of primary sources on the
history of Protestantism in France, many of which I cited in my paper.
Collinson, Patrick. The Reformation: A History. New York: Random House Digital, 2006.
This book focuses on the early stages of the Protestant Reformation, and
gives a brief overview of Protestantism in various countries. I cited it in my paper
when discussing the common belief that a king’s religion should be followed by
his people.
Ducasse, André. La Guerre des Camisards. Cevennes, France: Publications du musée du
Désert, 1991.
This pamphlet on the Camisards gives a brief overview of the revolt, and it
proved an extremely interesting and informative read. Although I did not cite it in
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my paper, it was indispensable when I was studying the background of the
Camisards.
Gaberel, Jean. Voltaire et les Genevois. France: J. Cherbuliez, 1857.
This book includes a quote by Voltaire describing Protestant galley slaves
after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. He expresses his astonishment over
the cruelty of the brutal punishment, and I quoted it when writing about the
hardships Protestants were forced to endure on the galleys.
Holt, Mack P. The French Wars of Religion, 1562-1629. New York: Cambridge
University Press, 2005.
This book contains a detailed narrative of the French Wars of Religion. I
cited it several times when discussing the Saint Bartholomew’s massacre and the
religious persecution which followed it.
Kagan, Donald, Steven Ozment and Frank M. Turner. The Western Heritage. New Jersey:
Prentice-Hall, 1998.
This textbook contains an overview of events in the wars of religion
throughout various countries – it proved a valuable source in keeping my paper
together, and I cited it frequently. It also includes several primary source
documents, such as the Edict of Nantes and the Revocation, which I quoted in my
paper.
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Mours, Samuel. Les Gelériens Protestants. Cevennes, France: Publications du musée du
Désert, 1986.
This book is about Protestant galley slaves after the Revocation of the
Edict of Nantes. It contains several quotes about the toil and hardship on the
galleys, which I quoted in my paper.
Smiles, Samuel. The Huguenots in France after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes.
New York: George Routledge and Sons, 1881.
Although arguably utilizing old-fashioned rhetoric, this work on the
French Huguenots was indispensable during my early stages of work and I cited it
multiple times in my paper.
Interviews
Amblard, Damien, Ph.D., Email interview. 20 February 2012.
In this interview Amblard led me to several articles on the Camisards, and
although I did not cite any of them in my paper they proved extremely
informative and I benefited from them immensely.
Bernat, Chrystel, Ph.D., Professor d’Histoire, La Université de la Sorbonne. Email
interview. 19 February 2012.
Bernet is a history professor at the University of the Sorbonne in France,
and this interview was conducted completely in French. Bernet explained to me
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in great detail the influence that the Camisards had in Europe, and I cited this
interview multiple times in my paper.
Chabrol, Jean-Paul, Ph.D., Professor d’Histoire, Aix en Provence. Email interview. 27
February 2012.
This interview was also conducted in French. Chabrol is a history
professor in France who specializes in the history of French Huguenots. He
answered several questions that I had about the influence of the Camisard revolt.
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