THE CAMISARDS

The images of Claude Brousson lingered in Antoine’s young mind as his mother’s story came to an end. Quietly he drifted back to the present, his eyes fixed on the dancing flames beside him. Staring at the flames he vowed that he would never let anything or anyone force him to renounce any part of the Protestant faith of the Huguenots.

“What about the war Maman?” His brother’s voice made him snap to attention

“Yes,” he said abruptly, finding his own voice “What about the war of the Camisards? How did that start?”

The war was a subject of much conversation in every Huguenot family and the Court household was no exception. The war of the Camisards had begun in 1702 and was still raging fiercely around them. A feverish excitement hung in the air and many Huguenots were hopeful that the war would bring them the freedom they so deeply longed for. But not everyone shared these sentiments. Many Huguenots did not think that war was the solution to their problems.

Marie Court was silent for a moment as she contemplated how much she should tell her young children.

“The war began because many of the Huguenots were desperate for freedom” she finally said, measuring her words “They were tired of not having freedom of conscience and felt that war was the answer”

“What does freedom of conscience mean Maman?” Antoine asked.

“It means that you have the freedom to live and worship according to your own conscience, that still small voice in your head that the Holy Spirit uses to speak to you”

“But how can anyone control someone else’s conscience?” Antoine’s sister asked

“Well they can’t, no one can read your thoughts except God but the Catholic church has tried to control how we worship for many centuries. The persecutions we face today are not new. Other Huguenots that lived before us faced similar persecutions too and they chose to submit to God alone”

Marie paused as she turned the matter over in her head. The heart of the issue the Huguenots had faced for centuries was religious freedom.

“So how did the war start?” Antoine’s brother asked

“Well, there was once a very tyrannical priest by the name of  Du Chaila…”

As his mother began yet another story Antoine shifted himself into a more comfortable position and settled in.

Du Chaila was appointed as the Inspector of Missions in the region of the Cevennes. He had recently returned from a missionary trip to Siam and was placed in the Cevennes in the hope that the Huguenots could be converted to Catholicism by his particular talents. In this region, Du Chaila moved from place to place until he settled in the little town of Pont-de-Montvert. Here he was given the home of a former Huguenot who had been martyred for his faith and here he set up his base of operations. He had eight other young priests living with him and together they formed a missionary team. From Pont-de-Montvert Du Chaila and his priests travelled from place to place throughout the Cevennes.

He would preach, conduct inspections and interrogate Huguenots, treating them worse than animals wherever he went. Before long he converted the cellars under his home into dungeons which he used as prisons for the Huguenots.

Every day he would creep into the dungeons to torture his prisoners. For a while, he was able to continue his reign of terror without resistance but soon the Huguenots of the Cevennes began to grow restless and frustrated by his cruelty. His friends began to warn him that his behaviour would get him into trouble with the people.

“The way you treat Huguenots,” his cousin remarked to him one day “it almost seems like you are trying to work towards a promotion. Perhaps you have your eye on being a bishop?” when he was greeted with silence he continued “But I fear that your expectations will be disappointed if you continue like this. You will soon become  a victim of your cruelty”

“What happened to him?” Antoine broke into the story.

His mother smiled at him “If you’re patient, you’ll find out soon enough” she teased

Antoine grinned and settled back to listen and his mother continued the story

In July of 1702, a group of Huguenots decided that they had had enough of Du Chaila’s tyranny and decided that they would escape to Geneva. The group of men and women enlisted the help of a man named Massip. Massip was a guide who had led many other groups of Huguenots safely across the mountains into Switzerland.

On the morning of their departure, they gathered at the appointed meeting place. The women were disguised as men and they each had a horse. They chose a route that was not particularly well known and made their way over the mountain trails on horseback. Du Chaila heard of their escape and sent his men to capture them. They were captured and sent to Pont-de-Montvert, where Du Chaila interrogated them. He sent the women away to prisons in Mende and he threw the men into the dungeons underneath his home where he tortured them mercilessly.

When the relatives of the captured Huguenots heard about it they hurried to Du Chaila to plead for their release but the priest was like a mad man and refused to show mercy.

“They will receive the full penalty of the law” he shrieked angrily “to the galleys they will go as slaves and their guide, Massip will be sent to the gallows and hanged!”

A week later a group of angry Huguenots, led by Pierre Seguier entered the town of Pont-de-Montvert in search of Du Chaila. It was ten o’clock at night when they arrived in the town, singing a battle hymn at the top of their voices. The people of the town huddled around their windows, holding their candles aloft, to see what the commotion was all about. When the Huguenots saw the shadows against the windows they held up their pistols against the light of their torches. The entire town was gripped with a sense of expectation and fear.

For his part, Du Chaila at first thought the commotion was a group of Huguenots organising a nightly meeting. He ordered his servants to go down and break up the gathering. But by the time his men had gathered themselves the Huguenots were already inside Du Chaila’s front garden.

In unison, they chanted “The Prisoners! The Prisoners!”

Peeping out of a window and seeing the group of men with their torches and pistols Du Chaila shouted: “be off, be off you rascally Huguenots!”

Soon there was terrible confusion everywhere. Shouts and gunshots broke the still night air and the Huguenots rushed to break into Du Chaila’s house and free the prisoners. That night the Huguenots killed Du Chaila.

“And that is how the war began?” Antoine asked

“Yes son, that is how the war began”

The three children were quiet as they absorbed the information their mother had given them. All around them the war was still being fought. They had become so accustomed to living in the midst of it that it almost seemed like second nature for them to duck and hide and be on the lookout for priests and soldiers.

Sometimes at night, they could hear the sound of gunshots echoing in the distance and their imaginations would conjure up images of what the battle was like. Antoine’s eyes wandered back to the fireplace as he thought over everything he had heard that evening.

His mother knelt down beside them and smiled. “It is time to say our prayers and get ready for bed my dear ones,” she said reaching out to ruffle Antoine’s hair. He smiled at her and shifted on to his knees.

That night, as he settled into bed, Antoine’s mind kept going over the stories he had heard again and again. He didn’t think that fighting was the solution, the war was not something he was fond of. But what other options do we have? He asked himself as he lay quietly in the darkness listening to the steady breathing of his family around him.

How can my people ever be free?