What is a "Huguenot"?
The term Huguenot was applied to Protestants in France during and since the Reformation period. "The Huguenots," says Froude, the historian, "were possessed of all those qualities which give grandeur to human nature - men whose lives were as upright as their intellect was commanding, and their public aims untainted with selfishness, unalterably just where duty required them to be stem, but with the tenderness of a woman in their hearts, frank, true, cheerful, humorous and able in some way to sound the keynote to which every brave and faithful heart in Europe instinctively vibrated."
The Huguenot immigrants, as a class, we may safely say without fear of contradiction, have furnished a larger number of men of eminence in proportion to their numbers than any other nationality. So strongly marked were their characteristics that neither time nor amalgamation with other races has, as yet, extinguished the traces of their high moral sentiments and love of liberty from the character of their descendants.
The character is the dominating force in our national life. "In the fire of the pulpit, the eloquence of the legislative hall, in the various fields of learning and research, the Huguenot spirit still leads the van. On the field of battle and on the trackless seas, they have maintained our Nation's honor, and have opened new eras in the world's history."
 The Huguenot Cross is not only beautiful and symbolic but possesses the added charm afforded by the romance of history arid tradition. It eloquently recalls a period of valor, constancy, faithfulness and loyalty to truth; and is more and more becoming a sign among the descendants of the Huguenots throughout the whole world. It is worn today with consciousness of pride and honor.
During the First World War, the Protestant Deaconess of France adopted its use for their order, and many a French soldier fastened one of these little silver crosses to his cap as he left for the front. They desired in this way to testify to their Protestant origin and their Christian Faith, believing that if their valiant grandmothers formerly loved to carry them to their secret assemblies for worship in the desert, where they placed themselves in danger of their lives, this venerable relic ought also to fortify them in the line of battle and in the face of death, and hoping, if wounded, to be in this way recognized by a Protestant nurse or chaplain.
It is impossible to state precisely the period in which our Huguenot ancestors adopted the usage of what they called the Sainted Spirit. It certainly existed before the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685).
It was worn as an emblem of their faith. The eight corners of the four arms of the Cross of Malta were regarded as signifying the Eight Beatitudes; the fleur-cle-lis, the Mother Country of France; and the suspended dove, the Church under the Cross.
The particular design (the Languedoc Cross) was discovered by the Rev. Andrew Mailhet in the Province of Languedoc and dates from the eighteenth century. The ribbon was adopted by the National League of Huguenot Societies in the United States of America and is white, edged with stripes of French blue and yellow (the golden fleur-de-lis), symbol of the ideals and traditions of the Huguenots.
Huguenot Noteworthy Dates
August 5, 1536
John Calvin, Reformation leader, leaves France for Geneva, Switzerland; publishes famous "Institutes of Christian Religion".
May 25, 1559
First Synod of French Reformed Church held in Paris; followed by persecutions and issuance of Edict prohibiting "heretical" worship.
August 24, 1572
Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day in which thousands of Huguenots were slain; followed by Huguenot wars.
April 13, 1598
Edict of Nantes, giving religious and civil liberty to the Huguenots.
October 22, 1685
Revocation of Edict of Nantes; followed by persecution and emigration of thousands of Huguenots.
November 28, 1787
Promulgation of Edict of Toleration. |
