THE HUGUENOTS IN FRANCE 45 



erty of any one against whom they could bring evidence 

 of heresy. But these efforts of the chiu'ch failed to achieve 

 any Listing results, and tended to spread the work of ref- 

 ormation by driving the reformers into various parts of 

 France. Before a great while the faith which these early 

 martyrs had sealed with their blood was deeply rooted in 

 many sections of the countiy, making headway even in 

 Paris. 



As the Huguenots increased in numbers the severity TheVaudois 

 of the authorities grew more merciless and frightful. 

 The most stringent laws were enacted and the sweet air 

 of France reeked with the smoke from hundreds of holo- 

 causts. Not content with bnrning a heretic here and 

 there, those in power commenced the persecution of 

 entire communities. The expedition against the Vaudois 

 was one of the most dreadful of these wholesale butcheries. 



The Vaudois lived in the valley of the Durance, a few 

 miles east of Avignon, They were known far and near 

 for peaceable folk who strove to be honest in their deal- 1540 

 ings with men and to lead just and upright lives. But in 

 the minds of their bigoted enemies these facts did not 

 outweigh their hatred, for the simple reason that the 

 Vaudois were accustomed to read their Bibles and to 

 worship God after the fashion of the earliest Christians. 

 For a long time they had been the butt of various perse- 

 cutions and had still remained steadfast in their faith, so 

 it was finally decided to make them such a signal example 

 as would frighten the very stoutest Huguenot heart. In 

 1540 the Parliament of Provence decreed that fifteen men 

 from the village of Merindol who had failed to come to 

 court to answer to a charge of heresy were to be burned 

 alive. If not "apprehended in person, they will be 

 burned in effigy, their wives and children proscribed, 

 and their possessions confiscated." Further than this, 

 the decree ordered that all the houses in the village 

 should be burned and that every trace of human habita- 

 tion should be removed. 



