II., a loan of 200,000 livres was raised for his use by the commonalty of the city of Lille. Among the names of the bourgeois who came forward to buy lettres de rente on the loan appears that of Jehan, Houbelon. 'De Jehan Houbelon fitz de feu Jehan, pour achat fait le 2

For

aôut 1554, de vi livres v sol de rente heritière par an, écheant (en deux termes) le 11 jour de Febvrier et d'âout, au denier xvi, au rachat de cent livres.' this sum, then, of a hundred livres, Houbelon received six per cent. payable twice a year; and the payment of

From an engraving in the Wappen und Stammbuch of Jost Amman. Published at Frankfort in 1589.

Résolutions des Bourgeois de Lille.

VOL. I.

C

1554

the interest comes into the accounts of the city and is shown for many years to have been regularly paid. Georges Houbelon, one of the sons of Jehan,, married and renewed his bourgeoisie early in 1556; and in the Registre aux bourgeois, in which the fact is recorded, Georges is designated as the son of 'le feu Jehan Houbelon' of Lille.' The death of Jehan must therefore have occurred after the 2nd of August 1554, when the security on the royal loan was purchased, and before the renewal of the bourgeoisie of his son Georges, on the 12th of March 1556. Henceforth the interest of this loan was paid to his widow, Catherine Bave, and the accounts of the town of Lille show it to have been 1578 paid to her every year till 1578, when Catherine herself died. The next recipients of the interest of the loan were the heirs of Franchois Desquyre, her son-in-law. Both François and his wife being already dead, their children inherited the security under their grandmother's will.

1556

CHAPTER III

PERSECUTION

'No more shall Commerce be all in all, and Peace
Pipe on her pastoral hillock a languid note.'
TENNYSON's Maud.

THE overmastering passion in the life of Philip II. of
Spain was his devotion to the idea of the universal
supremacy of the Church; and on his succession to
the throne he determined at all costs to stamp out
the reformed opinions in his vast dominions. In this
resolution he but continued the policy of the Emperor
Charles v., by whom the tendency of the Reformation
was fully apprehended. Charles directed his energies
towards stifling heresy for the same reasons that he
attacked the privileges and franchises of the great
communes, both alike being in his eyes un obstacle
qui le génait dans son chemin';' but the policy of
his son was prompted wholly by religious zeal irre-
spective of all other considerations, and the end to
Philip's mind justified the means.
As later he brought
disaster upon himself by the infatuation which led him.
to embark upon the invasion of England, so the ardour
with which he pursued the persecutions in the Nether-
lands resulted in the loss of their richest provinces.

Although in the Dutch Netherlands a vast number had early adopted the reformed opinions, with respect to Walloon Flanders it appears that until the year 1544, the movement in this direction-unlike that in the

1 Derode, Histoire de Lille, ii. 18.

1544

1544-50

1550

northern provinces-was in part restrained by the great influence possessed by the Church. Moreover, after the persecutions inaugurated by the Inquisition and later by the Duke of Alva had subsided, the country having meanwhile been purged of heretics, most of whom had been either killed or had fled into exile,—this influence reasserted itself in strength.

It was at an early stage in the religious movement at Lille, that Pierre and Nicolas, two of the sons of Jehan, Houbelon the merchant, fled from their home. Edward VI. was on the throne when they found refuge in England, where many Flemish artisans had already arrived and received a hospitable welcome. Anxious to profit by their skill and encourage their industry, the King granted a charter to those of the refugees who desired to settle in London, and they accordingly set to work to gain their living under his protection. The Walloon church in Threadneedle Street, afterwards called the French protestant church, was founded in 1550, and Nicolas Houbelon was one of the earliest members of its congregation. But the 1553 refugees had only a few years of peace; at the death of Edward they were again forced to wander into exile, for on the accession of Mary and during the persecutions which followed, the Queen caused the 'poor Protestants' from the Low Countries and elsewhere to whom her brother had given refuge, to leave the kingdom, and from this order the denizens, or naturalised foreigners only, were excepted. So great a stringency was certainly not exercised in respect of those 'Merchant Strangers' who had already begun in London to develop an extensive business with the Netherlands and elsewhere; for Nicolas Houbelon and the other foreign merchants lived on in London undisturbed throughout the five years of Mary's stormy reign. Pierre, however, had already left London for Cornwall.

Before their departure from Lille, the brothers had become so much identified with the new teachings as to entirely alter their relations with other men of their class; but active persecution had not yet begun in respect of those of the bourgeoisie who had adopted the new religion; their privileges protected them. What, then, caused their flight? Writers who have followed the story of the refugees, the times at which periodical emigrations took place, the character and social status of the people, etc., all agree that at this stage of the reform movement -at any rate in the Netherlands-the overwhelming majority of the Protestants were drawn from the common people. The poor, that is to say those who had nothing to lose socially or politically in all the busy centres of industry, followed and drank in the new teaching with avidity. For years the translated Scriptures, long withheld from the people, had been secretly disseminated with other literature, for many books and pamphlets were brought over from England and elsewhere (chiefly packed with merchandise), and scattered broadcast by means of the pedlars or colporteurs; but with respect of the bourgeoisie, at the date of the expatriation of Pierre and Nicolas, very few had as yet thrown in their lot with reform. Unlike their catholic brothers they had never claimed the privilege of bourgeoisie. Though the son of a freeman was privileged to do this as of right, his being freeborn did not of necessity make him a burgess; he had to present himself for election to the magistracy of the city; and as Protestants, the brothers would scarcely have been considered eligible by their exclusive fellowcitizens. Their flight would thus appear to have been voluntary, and because they were unable to meet the contempt of their class. On the other hand, Jehan,, their eldest brother, who shared their religious opinions, remained for many years in his native country, though