The name Borrell originates from a village in French Switzerland near to the town of Lausanne. Borrell is said to mean the ‘maker of horse collars’ indicating that the original members were trades people who plied this craft.

The group of the Borrells to which we belong are said to have been Huguenots.

Origin of the Huguenots

Between 1520 and 1523 as part of the Reformation, Protestantism was introduced into France. Huguenot is the name given to Protestants in France. Protestantism was initiated in France by humanistic reformers and was related to a belief in salvation through individual faith alone and a belief in individual interpretation of scripture instead of church interpretation. Faith was given primacy over works. Individualism was emphasized based on the priesthood of all believers. The Protestant was helped by the fact that religious writing could be read in French without the need to translate from Latin.

Calvinism was an important part of this motivation because of its pioneering, rugged individualism, modern stoicism, dedication and sublimation. It inspired Presbyterians from Scotland; Walloons from the Netherlands; and Huguenots from France. Flag of Henry of Navarre is the official flag of Quebec.

Protestantism is usually thought to have been initiated by Luther, Zwingli, Calvin and Melanchton. Nevertheless there had been former protests to the RC church.

 Early years of the 12^th Century Waldenses named after Peter Waldo a wealthy French merchant in Lyons. This group which sought individual perfection apart from the RC Church rejected the official clergy, abstained from oaths and the use of force attempting to reintroduce primitive Christian fellowship and apostolic living. These people lived in the Vaudois vallys of the Piedmont, in Northern Italy so were not troubled being out of easy reach.. However they were massacred during the reign of Francis I. For several centuries they were bitterly persecuted yet never completely conquered. The movement spread to Hungary, Bohemia, France and England.

John Wycliff another reformer living between 1320-1384 was a theologian and successful teacher at Oxford University. Wycliff was supported by John of Gaunt and also by the common people against the threats of the Pope whom he branded an Anti Christ. Amongst his concepts was the Supreme authority of the Scriptures; he translated the Vulgate into English. His ideas were carried on by the Lollards endorsed by many of the nobles. The Roman Catholic Church backed by Richard II, Henry IV and V sought to suppress the movement.

John Huss was on the staff of the University of Prague. His followers formed the Hussite movement which was a democratic and national movement. Huss was tried for heresy burned at the stake 1415.

Out of the Bohemian movement came the Moravians which reverted to the tenents of the Waldenses. The Brethren laid their chief stress on conduct rather than doctrine.

Import to these movements was the dissemination of knowledge made possible by printing Gutenberg printed folio editions of the Bible in the Latin Vulgate. Translations appeared but Roman Catholic Church sought to suppress them by making translating or owning them punishable by death. Punished with death..

A Calvinist falls back on a life of action, but he can by achieving success prove to himself that he is one of the elect. Calvinism attracted men of cultivation - doctors. Professors, lawyersm lower clergy and friars and a section of the nobility. Who were full of resentment against Rome. New faith Protestantism appealed to those groups that felt themselves repressed threatened or who were in some way frustrated. This appeal touched members of the nobility, the intelligencia and the artisan middle class. Estimated that from one third to one half of the nobility became Huguenots. 

There were both political and moral causes for the rise of Protestantism. Religious writers stress moral aspects, Secular writers major more on the economic and political dynamics of the period. . Following the 100 Years war there was a shortage of clergy and churches and this made a fertile field for Protestantism. The first responses were occasioned by what we now call Humanism - the exalting of man.

Before the 15^th Cent educated people were only found in the Church. The Renaissance gave birth to many new ideas which set a new viewpoint thus laying the foundations for modern science. Humanism had special fascination to the French nobility because it brought new inspiration and new ideas which fostered adventure. Humanistic ideas tended to attack the fixed and entrenched ideas of theologians. The Prince of the Humanists was Erasmus. Erasmus wanted to purify the sources of faith by a new translation of the New Testament. The existing Latin Vulgate had many translation errors giving rise to wrong interpretations an misunderstandings. For Erasmus the ideal was to have the New Testament in the hands of the people. His objective was a spiritual one he wanted to reform the Church not revolt against the Pope which he would have seen as a political aim.

In Germany there was widespread dissatisfaction amongst the nobility because of the power of the Pope to appoint people to high position. An option which the Pope often used to promote Italians. Disquiet grew amongst the Peasants who were very poor and heavily taxed. Into this millieu came Luther whose concepts of salvation by faith brought spiritual enlightenment but whose ideas on the Church promised a way to break the power of Rome and the Popes for the nobility.

Zwingli in Switzerland advocated similar ideas. The Anabaptists in Switzerland and Holland were gaining many followers with their concepts of individual freedom and purity of life.

Calvin provided the philosophy for the Huguenots but his direction was one of remote control. Admiral Coligny and Prince de Conde gave leadership to the Huguenots. At all times they remained loyal to the French King. Nevertheless the Sorbonne and the Jesuits were unrelenting in their opposition urging the King to send them to America.

Jacques Lefevre a Prof at the U of Paris initiated Protestantism in France. The King Francis 1, however, found it useful financially to gain the support the Roman Catholic Church.

In May 1559 the Huguenot pastors of the reformed religion met in a synod in Paris and made a confession of faith founded upon the Scriptures; their ecclesiastical discipline founded upon the independence of the churches. Protestants now refused obedience to the orders of a persecuting monarchy when contrary to their faith and interests so creating a State within the State. This factor ultimately brought about the defeat of the Huguenots. The Huguenots denied the Kings absolute power; in this they were staunch republicans. The French peasants as a group remained loyal to Catholicism. In France Protestantism was the religion of a liberal semi aristocratic elite.

Leadership of women was striking in French aristocratic families that converted to Calvinism. Widows and women who had their own business became Huguenots. Protestantism offered women a major change in their religious status. Women with their husbands could discuss scripture. Protestant women joined in singing Psalms in the vernacular. This led to more equality between spouses.

Part of the Protestant youth revolt was against paternal authority of the clergy and a generational conflict amongst Catholic youth.

With the infusion of Calvinism and the opposition to the Huguenots y kings, there were times when opposition to tyranny was viewed as divinely ordained and obligatory of a Huguenot

With our current 20^th Century concepts of individual freedom and tolerance of differing points of view it is quite difficult to understand the universal and deep rooted horror of heresy which prevailed from 12^th to 18^th century in Europe. Heresy was considered treason against an institution needed for salvation and civil order. Criticism of the Pope and clergy was not treason. But to question the existence or necessity for the Church was. Heretics were regarded as the as the anarchists of the Middle Ages.

Huguenots in co operation with Catholics organized poor funds and their beliefs had some appeal to the poor. But their general class orientation was to the aristocratic classes and middle class artisans.

In many cities the Huguenots formed the economic leadership. In other cities the Protestant Catholic struggles resembled an economic class struggle between Catholic proletariat and Protestant bourgeoisie.

Huguenots emphasized religious education and the individual study of the Bible. They also required their ministers to be well educated. Calvin taught that hard work, industry, and thrift were moral virtues along with an emphasis on asceticism.

Throughout the rise and fall of the Huguenots in France there were three institutions which were their enemies. The Sorbonne, the Parliament and the Jesuits who all worked to further the Roman Catholic Church.

Sorbonne. Robert of Sorbon began a school to teach theology in 1259. During the Reformation it was the animating spirit against Protestants.

Parliament of Paris. Permanent court of justice. Made laws.

Jesuits. Band of spiritual soldiers living under martial law and discipline.

French History. Deep political divergence between north and south. Paris never preferred Protestantism whereas the south did. Renaissance was wrought in the palaces of princes and bankers not in universities.

In each reign there was a woman who determined what was going to happen to Protestants, In no other country has the influence of women been so potent as in France. Often tools of the Church particularly the Jesuits.

Francis I was little inclined to religion. But in time he regarded Huguenots and others them as heretics working against the King. As well the rigid code of morals repelled him condemning many of the aspects of his and his court’s life styles. .

In 1572 Coligny was murdered and then followed the Massacre of St Bathomelew when thousands were killed in Paris.

After the trauma of the St. Bartholemew’s Day Massacre in 1572 Huguenots began to repudiate the idea of royal absolutism. From a tradition deeply embedded in respect for the monarchy the Huguenots had changed.

Henry II feared Huguenots and so persecuted them. At that time about one quarter of the population of France was Huguenot. Francis II under the control his mother Catherine de Medici continued the same policies. Henry III carried on a struggle against the Huguenots.

Henry IV came to the throne and promised the Huguenots freedom of worship but this did not please the Catholic League. Henry IV was a Protestant opposed by the League. Edict of Nantes 1598 gave the right to hold synods, to open schools. This brought an end to the religious wars.

Louis XIII was only nine years old and so his his mother held the regency power. Richeliu came to power during this period. Richelieu it was who brought to an end the political power of the Huguenots. He opposed them on political rather than religious grounds. The stronghold La Rochelle was forced to yield to French king and so ended the power of the Huguenots. The English sought to help but failed. Louis XIV brought about a migration of Huguenots from which France never recovered.

Those who migrated numbered around some 400,000 who Louis XIV literally drove out of France and so committed a grave error France lost most of her skilled artisans who were the secret of French manufacture. Many went to Netherlands. French commerce was prostrated.

All through their lives French kings resented any form of opposition and this they frequently sensed existed amongst Huguenots. Their moral lives were such that Huguenots refused to be coerced by them,. On account of their political importance Huguenots were feared hated and persecuted. But they always revived being such excellent artisans and so industrious.

Louis XIV had been brought up to consider himself Vice God He hated the Huguenots because of their opposition. He cut of all privileges to Protestants, excluded from teaching etc. Children encouraged to opt for Catholicism.

In the end he revoked the Edict of Nantes 1685 ordering all Protestant worship to cease.

By 1685 The Huguenots found life intolerable and left France by the scores of thousands.

² Huguenot Contributions to England’s Intellectual Life and commerce in Europe 1680-1720

Huguenots fled to England at four different periods.

First during the second half of the sixteenth century at the time when Catherine de Medici and the Duke of Alva in the Netherlands were persecuting them.

Second during Richelius reign when he successfully ended the State within a State by the capture of La Rochelle.

Third and largest after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685

Fourth when the Peace of Aix la Chapelle left the Jesuits to hunt down Huguenots with the help of the military.

It has been estimated that two million Huguenots fled France. They did not form large and homogeneous groups. The reasons for this were that this was not a mass movement of people. It was illegal to flee France capture meant the galleys. The border was crossed in secret by small groups of people. The Huguenots soon assimilated into English as theirs was not essentially a political movement but rather a protest against protest against a corrupt civilization. Seeking to put moral fiber back into French character.

Britain’s intellectual imports from Europe were also enriched by the activities of Huguenots as translators and commentators. Many Huguenots with a knowledge of French and Latin were able to breakthrough into the world of letters by taking on work as proof readers as devils for scholars and as translators.

The problems involved in operating a shoe string enterprise in a highly competitive market led to heavy dependency of material pillaged from other periodicals.

Between 1680 and 1720 16 Huguenots were elected as Fellows of the Royal Society. Huguenot influx into England 40-50,000 during Louis XIV’s reign.

The Stranger Community in the Great Metropolis 1558-1640: This was an uneasy period in which to live and especially difficult for strangers unfamiliar with the language and customs of the land.

London for centuries had housed a large and active stranger community and as such attracted strangers. These strangers were not all refugees for religion, some came for economic reasons others because their friends were there. 36% came for economic reasons. The majority of the strangers came from that North Western part near to England; Holland, Belgium, NE France, upper NW Germany. In 1593 776 immigrants; in the reign of Charles 1, 911;

In Elizabethan times authorities anxious to suppress dangerous sectarian groups kept a close watch on the membership of stranger churches. By the Stuart period the emphasis had changed. It lay in the political allegiance. . Whether he would accept James as his sovereign.

Flemish speaking refugees used the society called Dutch Church and the Walloon the French. There were a few who played an active and an astounding part but most were small men. In 1593 only 23 per cent were householders. Majority ran their businesses as a family concern. Yet a few employed outside help. One and Five children per family. We find the strangers engaged in almost every possible occupation which could be found. Some of these occupations were new to the country. Silk making, glass making, needle making. As expected cloth making headed the list with 502 persons. Those engaged in some aspect of clothes tailors button makers hat makers lace makers 202 persons.

Most persistent restriction was on the open sale of wares in competition with Englishmen. It times of stress attempts were made to restrict the employment of strangers. There is also evidence that strangers had to pay certain local dues other than those exacted of merchants for package, scavage and porterage.

Huguenots Upholsterers and Cabinet Makers in the Circle of Daniel Marot. The importance of the Huguenots in shaping the whole development of the decorative arts in England between 1695-1714 is indisputable. On the one hand we have the long list of carvers, joiners, cabinet makers, upholsterers, weavers and mercers. On the other the wonderfully ornate state beds and couches. looking glasses, tables and stands all in the French taste.

It was of course difficult for foreigners before the Revocation to avoid the restrictions imposed by the cities guild system. One important loophole was the Great Wardrobe. Keeper of the Great Wardrobe was allowed grant exemption from taxes and duties. Daniel Marot was of course the guiding spirit behind the great state beds of the 1690s.

Huguenots in the English Silk Industry in the 18th Century. Weavers Company of London. At the beginning of the century 1700 17.6 % of the Company were Huguenots by 1720 the percentage had risen to one fifth.

Foreign Protestants came to England to have freedom of worship. Formed congregations. Church in London now in Soho Square

Two unusual settlements were made in Lincolnshire by the Dutch engineer Vermuyden when he drained the fens and brought over Dutch and Flemish Protestants around 1626. Lincoln city turned down admission of a colony of weavers and thereby passed up much prosperity. At Sandcroft where the Isle of Axholm was one of Vermuyden’s reclaiming land projects a church was built which eventually merged with the congregation at Thorney in Cambridgeshire.

By the middle of the eighteen century the number of French churches in England greatly diminished due to assimilation into the body politic of England.

C of E during the early period of the Reformation became Calvinistic and remained that way for many years. At the time of the Huguenot migration there was no antagonism between the Reformed Church of England and the Reformed Church on the continent.

Scotland

Martyrdom for Protestants in Scotland began as early as 1433 when Paul Crawar was accused of importing the doctrines of Wycliff and Huss and burned at the stake.

The basic fact in the history of the Scottish state is fear of England. English kings for defensive purposes sought to annex Scotland to the English crown. Scotland to protect itself sought alliance with France.

Mary Queen of Scots brought the Huguenots and the Covenanters (an organisation that opposed the use of the Anglican Prayer Book in Scotland) together by the birth of her son James. Resistance of the Huguenots in France greatly influenced the Covenanters in Scotland in formulating a thorough going attitude toward the Church and State. Reform in Scotland meant not only freedom in Church matters but independence from the Monarchy. It was essentially a liberal movement.

John Knox born 1505 -1515 studied in Glasgow soon became known for his learning. Adopted Luther’s doctrine of salvation. Joined the band that killed the Archbishop of St Andrews. Captured by the French and made a galley slave for nineteen months. Fleeing from Mary Tudor he went to Frankfurt then to Geneva where he became a Calvinist. Preached at Dieppe amongst Huguenots.

In 1559 returned to Scotland formed the Lords of the Congregation which led to the destruction of Catholic Churches in Perth. Appointed Minister in Edinburgh where he took a leading part in the proceedings of the Protestants. Leading part in the confession of faith adopted by the Parliament of 1560.

The Huguenots traced thus far came from three main areas of France. Picardy, Bas Poitou and Normandy.

Why did they enter the silk industry? There was a Community in Canterbury in the 16th Cent. In 1640 Strangers Church for the most part was composed of distressed exiles. Many did go on to London. Those who settled here wove all kinds of plain fine flowered and wrought silks.

The rise in demand for silks must be explained by more general economic factors. English trade was increasing with the American Colonies. The riches gained in such trade increased demand for consumer goods. The most obvious success of the Huguenots was their prosperity. Wills of many Huguenots refer to house property, money in public funds, books, silver, gold. Few Huguenots went bankrupt. Their contribution to the Weavers company is noted but they also were good citizens serving on Vestry Committees.

Huguenot loyalty to their adopted country was evident in their charities. They supported the London Hospital in their lifetime. They were interested in education. They did not support unorthodox charities like the Foundling Hospital but several joined the Royal Society of Arts.

Great Britain as Envisaged by the H of the 17th Century: Even when the Edict of Nantes was fairly administered as in some early periods of the 17th Cent the French Reformed Churches knew and felt themselves to be ‘under the cross’ as the King of France was not of their faith. This was a handicap before the French court became openly bitter and hostile to Protestants. Huguenots were prone to look for support amongst the European Protestant camp. It was above all a kind of Calvinistic International that bolstered Huguenot morale, since this constituted their best support outside of France. Apart from Geneva, the Swiss Cantons , the Palatinate and the United Provinces England was their strongest shield.

Huguenots were either blind to the peculiarities of the Anglican or they grossly under assessed it. The memory of the help given to Henry IV by Elizabeth 1 would be sufficient to account for the sympathy. They shared a basic solidarity that stemmed from a common and deep hostility to Roman Catholics.

In general French people’s knowledge of England was confined to what they read in French gazettes. The decisive factor was a static view of England born of an idealized and simplified view of the Elizabethan period whereas under James 1 and Charles 1 big changes had taken place. Moreover H unaware of their own ethnocentrism were apt to interpret anything they learned by references to the values of their own absolutist society. It was on ecclesiology that the Huguenot constantly showed a complete misunderstanding of the Church of England. They took no account of the individuality of the Anglican via media or the bitterness of the conflicts which lead to the estrangement of the Puritans. The origin of this blind spot seems to be founded less on their tenet about equality amongst the minister ( an opinion that denied episcopacy) than in the assertion of the priesthood of all believers. The French reformed laymen were received with open arms in Anglican parishes. Nobody required from them the least disavowal of their faith. Meanwhile things were quite different for French pastors who were asked to submit to the Bishop. The watchfulness of Anglican Bishops was due to their hostility to the Scots Kirk who internal organization was similar of the French Reformed Churches. There had been Anglicans who worried over the prospect that the flow of Huge refugees would strengthen dissent in England.

Patterns in the Study of H Refugees in Britain : Past, Present and Future

The arrival of so many refugees in the 16th and 17th centuries could hardly escape the notice of Englishmen. They were the subject of sympathy sometimes opposition and in any case frequent and heated discussion. Especially in the 1680s saw the removal of the RC James II and the glorious revolution. Popular saying in the 18th century that a drop of Huguenot blood in the veins is worth 1000 pounds a year. By the time of the Napoleonic wars the Huguenot had been virtually completely integrated into British Society and expenditure on relief had ended.

Cottret B: Huguenots in England 1550-1700

Cambridge U Press 1991

The French Protestants arrival in England was accompanied by a number of justifications. Despite their position of obvious weakness, the Huguenots had several assets They represented an unmistakable economic force. their numerical strength, skills and mysteries offered several guarantees to the State which welcomed them on its soil.

Geographic origins of refugees:

Picardy 7.3% , Ile De France 3%, Normandy 25%, Poitou 37%, Saintonge 7.8%.... Languedoc 2.5%, Various 16%

A wide ranging ideological campaign took up the plight of the Huguenots. Protestantism is in danger. The immigrants were able to draw on this advantage that they were not simply foreigners but brethren in religion.

The first waves of migration preceded the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes.

Were there 80,000 or 50,000? They were heavily concentrated in certain areas as In London. About 1% of the English population.

The 1680s proved decisive in the life of the English Refugee. The shameful revocation of the Edict of Nantes and the glorious overthrow of James 1 tended to highlight the sympathy of most Englishmen for the Protestant cause.

Encroaching upon the privileges of native subjects or engrossing certain specific activities had been a common accusation leveled at foreigners in the 1620s. The greatest single occupation of the Franco Walloon community was weaving. Calvinism was a social just as much as a religious phenomenon it implied in practice a redefinition of men’s relationships with society.

Calvin

Calvin leaves France and goes to Basle. Her he wrote and published is Institutes in 1536.

Calvin accepted a strong pressure in 1536 to stay in Geneva. Became an organizing genius who was both realist and idealist. Humanism previously dominant but now stark austerity, self discipline a life praising God with prayer and preaching sin vice and self indulgence rebuked.

Ruled Geneva as a Protestant Pope 1541-1564. Geneva became the city of refuge for French fleeing from persecution.

Grew in Lyons, Normandy, Languedoc and the valley of the Rhone. The Huguenot party soon became a State within the State disturbing the King.

Huguenots in the British Isles

As early as Edward III a large number of Flemings came over and settled in London and environs. Reigns of successive English kings to that of Henry VIII migrants came.

During Edward VI’s reign that the influx began . The Rhine river provided transport to the Dutch and Flemish ports. Because they were skilled and Protestant they were welcomed. Opposed by townspeople who feared the competition.

Manufacture of cloth spread to the north and west of England.

English encouraged industry. Produced large quantities of wool which were sold to Flanders and France. .

The Huguenot Struggle for Recognition N M Sutherland Yale U Press New Haven and London 1980

Henry II of France dies in a jousting accident in 1559. Passed edict of Compiegne 1557 had outlawed all Protestants not only for heresy but for other offenses. He also meant to support the claim of Mary queen of Scots to the throne of Protestant England. The Huguenot struggle had international ramifications. The Guises became influential seeking to keep out the claims of Protestants who were princes of the blood. By 1559 power and religion were interlinked. The fight for one was a fight for the other. Huguenot faction from being a persecuted religion minority became a party in the State.

Conspiracy of Amboise March 1560. Trying to break the hold of the Guise on court and council and to end their policy of persecution.

The essential struggle in 16^th Century France was not between Huguenot and crown but between the Crown and Catholic extremists. These extremists led by the Guises were the Huguenots principle enemies.

March 1560- January 1562 first Huguenot struggle for recognition. Measure of toleration secured. None of these edicts were to do with religion itself but with the disorders arising from religious dissent in other words peace law and order.

From 1561-1598 Catholic extremists resisted all moderation between the Crown and Huguenots.

Huguenots not strong enough to defeat the Catholics but were capable of waging a war of attrition in the south and west.

The murder of Coligny in August 1572 and the subsequent massacre of St Bartholomew both proceeded from a determination to avert an invasion of the Netherlands and war with Spain.

In the summer of 1574 the Huguenots were back to where they started in 1559 . Nothing but freedom of conscience and three fortified towns.

The Beginning of the Protestant Persecution 1521-1547

The Huguenots were Calvinists. Doctrine of justification by faith originated with Lefevre d:Etaples in 1512 adopted and taken further by Luther. This quest for purer spirituality was in fact a European movement whose scholarship was derived from two great supranational forces the printing press and Erasmian humanism.

Lutheranism is known to have reached Paris in 1519. Lefevre was working on his translation of the Bible. Sorbonne pronounces Luther a pernicious enemy of the church of Christ 1520

As the Protestant movement developed in France far more was involved than merely religious matters.

Notes:

1. Lavender A D French Huguenots
2. Peter Lang NY 1990
3. Scouloudi I Huguenots in Britain and their French Background Mc Millan London 1987
4. Reaman G E The Trail of the Huguenots Genealogical Publishing Baltimore 1966
5. Sutherland N M The Huguenot Struggle for Recognition Yale U Press New Haven and London 1980
6. Lefanu W E Proceedings of the Huguenot Society of London Vol XIX No 6 Pg 1958
7. Smiles Samuel Their Settlements, Church and Industries in England and Ireland New York Harper and Brothers 1874