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Huguenots
(659 words)

The name “Huguenots” for French Protestants at home and abroad derives from the transferring of a local story from Tours concerning Hugh Capet (d. 996) to the Protestants who met by night. It does not derive etymologically from Iguenots (= Eidgenossen, “confederates,” i.e., part of the Swiss Confederation) but is a diminutive of Hugo. It was used by others from about 1555 and adopted by the Protestants, especially emigrants, as a term for themselves after 1685.

The rise of the party name marks the transition from the Protestant movement to a church that, under the influence of Calvinism, …

Cite this page
Schneider, Hans, “Huguenots”, in: Encyclopedia of Christianity Online. Consulted online on 28 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2211-2685_eco_H316>
First published online: 2011
First print edition: ISBN: 9789004169678, 20080512



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