CHAPTER II 

 THE HUGUENOTS IN FRANCE 



Define^d °' ^"T ^ ^^ ^^^"^ ' ' Hugueiiot, " as it is applied in history, 

 I and as it is to be understood throughout this 

 JL book, means a member of the Protestant evan- 

 gelical party in France. It is therefore equivalent to the 

 expression used in the Edict of Nantes and other royal 

 edicts, '^member of the Pretended Reformed Religion." 

 The Huguenot Church was the Reformed Church of 

 France. 

 Origin of the The Origin of the word has been lost in obscurity, but 



Name " -^ ' 



many theories have been advanced as to its derivation ; 

 among which are the following : 



1. Hugon's tower at Tours, a place where the early 

 Protestants secretly assembled for religious worship. 



2. Seghenen, or htiguenen, a Flemish word equivalent 

 to Puritans. 



3. Says Verdier, in his Prosopographic, ' ' Les Hugue- 

 nots ont ete ainsi appelez de Jean Hus, duquel ils ont suivi 

 la doctrine ; comme qui dirait les Guenons de Hus.'^ (The 

 Huguenots were so called from John Huss, whose doctrine 

 they followed ; as one would say, the disciples of Huss.) 



4. Hues quenaus., which signifies in the Swiss patois, a 

 seditious people. 



6. Benoit observes that some supposed the term had 

 originated from an incorrect pronunciation of the word 

 gnostic. 

 The 6. The most generally received etymology is traced to 



the word Eignot, derived from the German Eid-genossen — 

 federati, confederates or allied. There was a party thus 

 designated at Geneva. 



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