I've been on a Huguenot kick lately. Because of it, I'm learning the history of a group I previously knew little about beyond the fact that theologically, they were Calvinists and dealt with some persecution. The Huguenots in France enlightened me.
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Written by Samuel Smiles in the 1870s, the book is an excellent account of the persecution the Huguenots suffered in France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. It’s unsettling as well in light of the fact that Christians in China and parts of Africa are facing similar persecution today.
Huguenots is broken into three sections. The first half details the cause of the revocation and subsequent torture of the Huguenots by the Roman church and the government of France that occurred for nearly 100 years after. The author goes into great detail about the sufferings of the Protestants, the flight from France for those who could afford it, and the devastation to towns and to France itself after Huguenot doctors, judges, artists, scientists, manufacturers, soldiers and more fled the country in the face of such cruelty. Of those who remained, men who weren’t shot or else-wise killed when caught at a worship service were sentenced to life as a galley slave and the women to life in a dungeon. Their children were sent to the Jesuits and to nunneries. The persecution was so intense, even Voltaire got involved despite his disdain for religion.
After reading of the risks they took to worship the Lord according to the scriptures and their conscience, I stopped lamenting over the fact that two of the three services we have at our church each week occur at night when I’m weary. How easy we have it.
In the second half of the book, about one quarter is devoted to essays of prominent Huguenots, and the other focuses on the church and a visit to Vaudois by the author. According to the author, a tradition among the Vaudois is that residents of the region received the gospel from Early Christian missionaries, who shared the gospel and scriptures in its “primitive form.” As isolated as they were in that region of France, they maintained those teachings even after the Roman church grew in power and “departed more and more from its primitive condition, until at length it was scarcely to be recognized from the Paganism which it had superseded.” After the Roman Catholic Church noticed them, severe persecution began.
The Huguenots of France is an excellent reminder of the importance of staying true to the scriptures and persevering in the faith. I recommend it for all Christians. There is a free, public domain version with decent formatting on Amazon Kindle.