The List of Suspects by Parish: July 1562

Halfway into my research in France, I came across a document at the National Library of France in Paris which showed the extent to which Protestantism had been gaining ground in Amiens despite efforts to suppress it.  Taking their cue from the Catholic authorities in Paris who had expelled some of the most committed protestants from the capital in June 1562, lay and church leaders in Amiens, as part of their counter-offensive, decided to offer the many individuals who had shown an interest in the Protestant movement an opportunity to return to the fold while those who refused the offer risked being expelled from the city, as some of the faithful actually already were. The curés in the various parishes of the city were instructed to compile lists of persons in their parishes who had attended protestant services or failed to perform their expected Easter obligations. For a week beginning July 6, 1562,  1,735 men, women and adult children were convened parish by parish, obliged to listen to a sermon of reconciliation by the vicar of the bishop, and asked to subscribe to a Catholic confession of faith.  For many the return to the traditional faith, undoubtedly influenced by the policy of expulsions, was insincere: a number of "suspects" later appeared as parents or godparents on the Protestant Register of Baptisms between 1564-65 when Protestantism was briefly legalized.

 A transcription of the List of Suspects which I made was subsequently published by the Antiquary Society of Picardy as Vol. 25 of their Memoires Series. I was also able to construct a map of the city showing higher or lower concentrations of suspects. M.Jean-Paul Roelly and Mme Chantal Roelly recently added the names of the suspects to their online website Protestantism in Picardy, a treasure trove for genealogists currently nearing 2 million visits.

St. Remy

St. Remy

The cover image is the suspect list of St. Leu.