Huguenots and the French Reformation 

My family fled France in the mid 1600's because they were Huguenots. They wandered what is present day Germany and Netherlands before moving to New York in 1675. Their names at that time was Broucard, but eventually changed to Brokaw. Thanks for posting this, as I was able to learn a little bit about where that part of my family tree came from.

Clear exposition, clear voice, rivetingly told story of the Huguenots. Thanks.

Mr. Reeves, I just want to tell you how much I have enjoyed your lectures. They are clear, comprehensive and provide an even handed analysis of all sides of the issues. Your lack of bias is so refreshing! I don't know much about you and am still trying to guess which denomination you belong to. Well done, and thank you!

Good video. My mothers side are of French Huguenot ancestry. They eventually left for England then made their way to what is now South Africa three hundred years ago.

Henri 4 is one of the most dear and fondly remembered king in France. You can say he was a cynic, but he did put an end to the religious wars who were destroying the country.

That painting by Millais (<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1401">23:21</a>) is not a Huguenot couple: it is a Huguenot man and his Catholic lover. She is attempting to give him a white armband (a token that he is Catholic and shouldn't be murdered) while he is pulling it away to show that his faith is more important to him than his life.

I very much enjoyed this video. I am of French Huguenot descent myself so it was very interesting to learn some historical background to my ancestors. Thank you for posting.

Descendant of Huguenots myself. Who fled France and came to America...by passage of the English. Where here, his later family studied theology more. They were pioneers of this great country and played an important role in the revolutionary war. Is even a small monument to one of my great grandfathers and his wife during that period. The guy was practically a preacher, yet took up arms. They were additionally honored because they used their home as a sort of field headquarters. Where the sick and wounded could be treated. And where men could be rallied. Him and his wife took great care of those men.

Yeah the Huguenots were an interesting bunch. Some South Africans still commemorate what we call "Bartlomeusnag". Of the Huguenots that settled in South Africa, more than 50% were Flemish Huguenots. They made very significant contributions to the existing reformed church, especially in terms of expansion and missionary work. However, the Huguenots initially weren't well received. The Dutch and German settlers of course had a lot of preconceptions about the French, so they initially settled farther from the others.

I am of french huguenot decent as well and honestly had never heard of the whole word huguenot before even knowing I was decended of them. I feel somewhat guilty they fled by force their own country to keep their own traditions and believes and my family has not been religious for quite a few generations its a weird thing knowing if this whole thing had not been going on how my whole family and other ones too had not existed then.

My Family where Hugeunots, Lilley, Lillie, Lilly Lylie from France married into the Bourbon family fled and settled in Ireland after the Massacre 1580 our French Church had services and records of births,deaths in French. With them they brought Ship building, fine Lace etc they where trades people they can be traced from Dublin all the way to Belfast in fact Belfast is a Huguenot town known for its Shipbuilding, Lisburn some 15miles away was also known for its fine linen weaving industry.

My De Marest family left Normandy in 1567. We are now the Demarest family. There is a Demarest New Jersey site of David's sawmill on 5000 acres, the first in New Jersey, a Demorest, Georgia and a Demorestville Ontario (Tories) David came here to be the magistrate of Haarlem in Manhattan. There is a plaque in the Huguenot Church honoring him and his wife Marie Sohier (now Sawyer) as founders. My other g'Grandfather Pierre Cresson came here as Peter Stuyvesant's adjutant. He was sent to South Jersey and Delaware to chase the Swedes out. He stayed and bought land and is the founder of Woodbury New Jersey and Cresson PA. Admiral Coligny (Co-lin-yee) was also the brother in law of Sir Walter Raleigh. I can't believe this guy got the year of the St. Bart's Day Massacre wrong. It was in 1572 not 1570. Protestantism came to the nobility first since they could read. Later it was adopted by the military members, the Merchants and tradesmen, such as millinery, leather goods silk production and goods processed from it and just about everything produced for import especially works in gold and silver. Paul Revere was a silversmith but made his fortune in pewter. The Faberge grew rich as the jewelers to the Romanov Czars.As they left France it became poor with everything having to be imported in. England and especially the Netherlands became rich and powerful as they become exiled in those countries. So did Germany and Prussia. Many went to South Africa and became Boers. Paul Revere (Apolis Rivoire) and others became great patriots. John Jay was the first justice of the Supreme Court. Elias Boudinot was president of the Continental Congress.He is technically the first president of the US under the Articles Of Confederation. George Washington's Grandfather was a Huguenot. Fort Caroline didn't last. Spanish sailors executed the Protestants (Lutheranos) and wiped the colony out. Another colony outside of the Marine Corps recruit training camp in Paris Island was wiped out by Yellow Fever. There is a monument there. Pronunciation: In French, U-geh-no. Henri spent three years in Paris because the French Parliament and the Sorbonne would not allow a Protestant to be king. Upon Henri's "conversion" they allowed it. AND WHERE THE HECK IS ANY MENTION OF THE EDICT OF NANTES THAT HENRI NEGOTIATED THAT STOPPED THE CIVIL WARS FOR A TIME? Louis XIV cancelled the edict and the wars started again Huguenots were abused and imprisoned for trying to leave France. Soldiers were quartered in their homes and they had to feed them. Rape was common. Many became Catholic just to stop the abuses. Cardinal Richelieu tried to stop it because as Prime minister he saw France's fortunes falling as they left and took their trades with them but was ineffectual against the Guise and the king. (apres Moi le deluge)

Apparently I’m of french Huguenot descent, according to one of my great uncles or something who traced back our family. We’re from The Netherlands, and our last name is de Breuk (which I can barely find anything on and the only people I can find are known family members lol), I don’t know if our last name was ever different though. I am going to Haarlem (in the province of North Holland) soon though, in a few days, because I’ve always been interested in my ancestry, and my family’s record is kept there in a church because one of our ancestors was a council man or something like that, and to visit family of course (Rotterdam). I’d like to research my English family history at one point as well though, because I am pretty sure that my Nan’s side is from up north (Nottingham she was born in I think, and it traces further up) which is pretty cool to me ig since I’m from the South East, but I don’t know anything about my Grandad’s side, as far as I know they’ve always been from the south-east, but my Grandad and I definitely one of his parents (my mum and uncle, and my brother and me) have olive skin, dark brown hair and eyes, and they all have really thick hair (which I unfortunately didn’t get). And when my Grandad used to tan he went extremely dark, so I just think maybe there’s something else mixed in, and I want to find out about that stuff as well.

Your Galileo video reached me, these old videos are equal in quality. Which is to say very good.

I really enjoy your lectures! So much better than these others that keep saying "we'll talk about that later" or I'll tell you about that later " after every other sentence.! You definitely know how to speak with a flow of ideas. Hard to find here despite all their supposed knowledge!✌️

It's hard to find any resource on the Huguenots in French. Pretty ironic if you ask me... sigh

Excellent work. Thank you.

Very good informative documentary session!!

Thanks for the history lesson.

Gotta say I felt sad about the persecution of the Huguenots...

Thank you for posting Ryan, according to 23andme and LivingDNA a lot of British and Colonial Americans have been getting a significant portion of French DNA; me being no exception. So yes, I agree the study of Hugenots is important. :)

Well done, thanks for your study!!

------------ THE EXILE FROM FRANCE… Your sunny shores, Your rugged peaks, Your vineyards, fields, and forests, Your flowery gardens in bloom, With red, yellow, lavender, pink, and blue, Your meandering rivers, Your flowing streams, Your roads that lead everywhere, Your humble hamlets, Your teeming towns, Your courtly cities ablaze, Your toiling farmers, Your masterful merchants, Your artful artisans and would-be scholars, Your poor, pious, pampered, and princely, Men and women of all nuances and shades, Your lives so colorful, Vivaciously vibrant, But oppressive, Struggling to be free, To break the shackles of an ancient age, Blood of my fathers, Tears of my mothers, Roots of my branches, All intertwined in your soil so deep, My mother earth, My father land, How my heart weeps for you, From whom I was so cruelly exiled, In leaking boats, Over frightful borders, Hurried journeys in the darkened nights, Leaving behind so much of me, Embittered, impoverished, but free, Angered by the fearful tyrant, The betraying countrymen, The yoke of intolerance, Saddened by the theft of freedom, The rupture of dreams, The hopeful hope of a speedy return, A new beginning, In a strange new land, Different, engulfing, demanding, But flexible, sensitive, and free, This land that welcomed me, Exhausted, lonely, afraid, Sadder, but wiser, Stronger and prouder, Reaffirmed in honor, From a life torn asunder, This exile that became me, Days turned into years, And years into decades, And generations multiply and divide, A new language, A new name, A new home, New loves to love, In this no longer strange new land, But, your sunny shores, Your rugged peaks, Your vineyards, fields, and forests, Your flowery gardens in bloom, With red, yellow, lavender, pink, and blue, My colorfully vibrant memories, That my mind cannot repress, My meandering gazes ablaze, That go with me everywhere, My mother earth, My father land, How my soul dreams of you, I am a part of you, And you are a part of me, The dreams, The hope, The faith, That neither tyranny, Nor time, Can ever erase. Abraham D. Lavender

I must say these are really great. It challenges my general assumptions about Gordon-Conwell.

Excellent lecture. I enjoyed it very much. thank you!

Amazing history. Thanks!

Gonna have to check on this. I thought there was an edict of Nantes and the revocation thereof.

Dr Reeves thank you for this video; it is highly informative. Could I please ask for a list of recommended reading/bibliography for my own personal research? Many thanks.

The "s" in Guise is not silent. Otherwise, this is a very interesting video. Thank you very much.

Strange that the French went for such a radical and demanding form of reformed Christianity rather a more moderated form. Also that it took strongest root in southern east France which is the reverse to pattern to rest of Europe.

And do you know that the first puritans, from which half had lived for a decade in Holland, fled from Holland not because of persecution, but because of they thought the netherlands were too free... Gives another perspective, doesn't it?

Well done, especially as to choices of imagery and context. First rate. For what it's worth, I found the absence of the influence of the, so called, Catholic League, or its relation both to financing the activities in that regard of the House of Guise, a little strange. Balanced with mention of Elizabeth and Philip II of Spain might have added even greater and familiar context. To underscore the aspect of "vendetta," it might have been helpful to mention Admiral de Coligny's role in the 1569 La Chapelle-Faucher "massacre." Another helpful example of the sorts of information that might have been included is the Siege of Paris and how it might have been brought to an end by Henry IV when he was reported to have made his conciliatory remark of the worth of Paris being that of a Mass in 1590. I'm not sure the picture used to illustrate Charles IX was actually he, and it might have helped to identify Mary Stuart when her marriage to Francis II comes into the picture. But... these may seem like trifles, of course. Though the effective diaspora of the Huguenot in eastern North America, for example, and the effect also of that movement by the arrival of Henry of Navarre back in Paris, the Armada and the twilight of Elizabeth of England's long reign-certainly helped illustrate how these events certainly have echoed down through history, up to and including the shape of our own time, and the character of many nations. Again, hat's off! Well done!

Fort Caroline Jr. High school, Jacksonville, FL. Huguenot Park.

On the 21st of January, 1793, two hundred and fifty-eight years from the very day that fully committed France to the persecution of the Reformers, another procession, with a far different purpose, passed through the streets of Paris. “Again the king was the chief figure; again there were tumult and shouting; again there was heard the cry for more victims; again there were black scaffolds; and again the scenes of the day were closed by horrid executions; Louis XVI, struggling hand to hand with his jailers and executioners, was dragged forward to the block, and there held down by main force till the ax had fallen, and his dissevered head rolled on the scaffold.”-Wylie, b. 13, ch. 21.

l love the video thank you. To commenters In case you want to find more info, images and links re the French Huguenots history or their super fine skills and enterprise in their adopted countries I have over 40 boards on Pinterest about them ie Paul Crespin silversmith the Courtauld family or Famous Huguenots ie 21 US presidents Ann Wardley

my impression is that Saint Barthelemy´s night was a pure political move from Catharine de Medici, using religion as an excuse... don´t you think?

My ancestors were Huguenots. My last name was of French, not British heritage. It was Ryves. After leaving France for England, he changed the spelling to the English spelling.

The Huguenots fleeing France is in some ways like the Jews fleeing Germany in the 1930's. Also. the Huguenots were a strong middle class group and the lost of them to France hurt the economic stability of France. One could draw a linkage from the dispersion of the Huguenots to the French Revolution. That might be a bit of a stretch but an argument can be made. In a similar manner one can argue that the Protestant "victory" in England helped to mitigate socio-economic stresses inoculating Great Britain and preventing the revolutionary fever in 1790's France from jumping the Channel.

As I read the comments I noticed people are blaming Catholics outside the realm of the French peoples. One has to realize that this happened between themselves; that is, the French peoples were only involved. It was not a conspiracy of the heads of the Catholics. 🌳

you completely left out the War of the Three Henry's. That is the best part.

good

Does anyone know anything about the painting at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="147">2:27</a>?

ok but you do not mention anything about people becoming saved...or about the passion for Christ and that the passion has or has not anything to do with people becoming non-Catholic.

helpful..

Just on a small point of fact the Saint Bart. massacre took place in August 1572. Great lecture though.

Everything old is new again!

These guys seemed to be nice to Jews....saved a lot of my people .שלום

When the mob is rampaging do you not get the chance to do a quick conversion to whatever "faith" is needed to survive?

My dad's paternal ancestry is said to be the French Huguenots.

I like to pronounce the T in huguenot because it makes them sound like astronauts.

All of the petty criticism are irrelevant. Why are you here? To learn or be hyper critical. My suggestion is go get a PhD from Cambridge and start teaching your way. Until then stop trolling and listen and learn.

Either pronounced Hugh-ge-nots or (original version, as you say) Ohh-ge-no (the H is not pronounced in French!).

are the cathars and huguenots related at all by blood or ideaology?

If you are going to use that pronunciation then you need to drop the "H". There is not "H" in French just as the "t" is silent at the end of the word.

Think what France could have become and achieved if they had embraced the Huguenots. Mr. Nigel Farage, who took a tiny party, UKIP, in hand to move England out of the EU. He is of Huguenot decent in England. The loss of drive, brainpower, and manpower that the Huguenots represented had to have adversely impacted France.

Wow..I never realized how much hatred and violence there was between Christians. So many burnings genocide persecutions...of each other let alone us jews...So sad. We were stuck in between these maniacs and somehow survived. Sounds alot like Islam today. Excellent lectures...as a Jew I never studied Christian history. Thank you. שלום

Nobody in the English speaking world says "Hugh-gin-not". No mater what country one lives in it is always pronounced Huguenot.

Could you please find someone at your school to teach you how to pronounce Guise and Coligny correctly?

The covert stuff is Jesuit or Catholics not Protestant.

I think the real reason for them being offed was a time traveller wanted to do away with Nigel Farage, but got the wrong family branch.

Religion ! Same story , different name.

boring