Theology, Politics and Letters at the Crossroads of European Civilization

The Character of Seventeenth-Century French Protestantism and the Place of the Huguenot Refuge following the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes Thirty-seven years ago the late Emile-G. Leonard regretted that there were so few historical studies of seventeenth-century French Protestantism and no general 1 historical synthesis for the period as a whole. At the time Leonard's observation was accurate. Seventeenth-century French Protestantism traditionally remained a questionable and problematical subject for historians. All too frequently historians neglected it in favor of emphasizing its origins in the second-half of the sixteenth century and its renascence since the French Revolution. When the rare historian broke his silence and considered French Protestantism in the seventeenth-century, was meager and generally ambivalent or negative. The historiographer his treatment of seventeenth-century French Protestantism could only cite the outstanding works of Jean Pannier and Orentin Douen, which taken together emphasized the new pre­ eminence of Parisian Protestantism in the seventeenth century, and the genuine works of synthesis by John Vienot and Matthieu Lelievre, which again had to be placed side by side in order to complete coverage of the whole of the seventeenth 2 century. The only true intellectual history of seventeenth-century French Protestantism was the study by Albert Monod, which, however, dealt with the second-half of the century and, then, only in the broad context of both Protestant 3 and Catholic thought responding to the challenge of modern rationalism.

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I. From the City of Joan of Arc to the United Provinces of William III and the grand pensionary Heinsius.- 1. The Basnages of Rouen: Huguenot avocats in the Parlement of Normandy and pastors of the French Reformed Church.- 2. The Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in Rouen.- 3. Refuge in Holland: Ministry in the Walloon Church of Rotterdam and the Republic of Letters in the time of Pierre Bayle, 1685-1709.- 3.1. Introduction: The two French-speaking Protestant waves to enter the United Provinces.- 3.2. Vocation in the Rotterdam Walloon Church.- 3.3. Early writings on French Protestantism after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes.- 3.4. Early literary friendships and quarrels.- 3.5. Advancement of the Walloon Church in the United Provinces.- 4. Refuge in Holland: Ministry in the Walloon Church of The Hague and Protestant diplomacy, 1710-23.- 4.1. Calling in The Hague Walloon Church.- 4.2. Diplomatic agent of the grand pensionary Heinsius.- 4.3. A last treatise on French Protestantism after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes.- 4.4. Later acquaintances in the Respublica litteraria et Christiana.- 4.5. Activity in the Synods of the Walloon Church.- II. Dimensions of the Huguenot intellectual of the 'Diaspora'.- 5. First modern historian of the Jews: Rational criticism versus Xenophobia and the Wall of Silence.- 6. Critic of Bossuet and historian of the Protestant churches: The position of dissenters in an absolute monarchy.- 7. Religious controversialist and the issues of Unigenitus, Jansenism, and Gallicanism.- 8. Contributor to the Histoire des Ouvrages des Savans: Journalism in the service of the Republic of Letters.- 9. States' historian of the Dutch first Stadholderless period and the Republic under William III.- 10. The progress of history from barbarism to civilization: Social change in duelling and chivalric orders.- 11. Toward a redefinition of Calvinist theology and Society? The problem of religious toleration and freedom of conscience.- Conclusion: The role of the Baylean moderate party in the Second Huguenot Refuge.- Select bibliography:.- 1. Bibliographies and guides to materials.- 2. Original manuscripts: Unprinted.- 3. Original manuscripts: Printed.- 4. Contempory works of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.- 5. Later works.