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The ‘Weakness of Conscience’ in the Reformed Movement in the Netherlands: The Attitude of the Dutch Reformation to the use of Violence Between 1562 and 1574
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 March 2016
Extract
The most important cause of the French civil war, starting in 1562, was religion. Of course, there were other motives too, especially the resistance of nobles to the centralization of power in Paris, but it was the struggle for freedom of religion which gave this war such a destructive character. The young Calvinist churches provided their warriors with all the mental and spiritual support they needed. In their opinion it was a struggle for the sake of God; it was a just war. As magistratus inferiores the nobles had the right, even the duty, to control and eventually to oppose the higher authority of the king. With arguments borrowed from the old testament and natural law they even defended the right of violent resistance to the government. Theological support came also from Geneva, especially from Theodore Beza. Without the Calvinist reformation there would not have been such a violent civil war, such a revolt, at that moment in the history of France.
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- Copyright © Ecclesiastical History Society 1983
References
1 van Schelven, A.A., Het ‘heilige Recht van Opstand’ (Kampen 1920)Google Scholar gives a summary of the most important French authors defending violent resistance to the government. Beza is supposed to be the author of Du droit des magistrats sur leurs sujets (1574). He was moderateur of the synod of La Rochelle in 1571, which gave open support to the struggle of the Huguenots. See for the text of this synod: Aymon, J., Tous les synodes nationaux des Églises Réformées de France (The Hague 1710) 1 part 2 pp 98–111 Google Scholar.
2 The most important author on this subject next to J. Knox was George Buchanan: De iure regni apud Scotos (1579). See for the cooperation between Calvinism and nobility the text of the Covenant in 1557: A Source Book of Scottish History II (1424-1567), edd Dickinson, W.C. and Donaldson, G. (Edinburgh 1958) pp 148–150 Google Scholar. The successor of J. Knox, Andrew Melville, had also studied in Geneva and held the same theocratic ideal as Knox himself, as we see in his ‘Second Book of Discipline’ printed in A Source book of Scottish History III (1567-1707) pp 22-30.
3 One of the best writers on the revolt of the Netherlands, Parker, Geoffrey, quotes with approval that ‘we have considered the religious side of the struggle too much’; Spain and the Netherlands, 1559-1659, ten studies (Glasgow 1979) pp 19, 20Google Scholar.
4 Quoted by Rogier, L.J., ‘De tolerantie in de Statenbond der Verenigde Nederlanden’ Terugblik en Uitzicht 1 (Hilversum/Antwerp 1964) pp 85, 86.Google Scholar
5 In 1559 king Philip II left the Netherlands. He never came back, but he held the most important decisions in his own hand. The general feeling against being ruled by a (hated) foreign government grew extremely when, in 1567, the duke of Alva came with a strong army to punish the Netherlands for the iconoclasm of 1566. Of course, there were elements of civil war in this conflict too, for example when the army of William of Orange tried to conquer towns wanting to stay faithful to the king.
6 This is even the opinion of Parker, Geoffrey, however much attention he has given to other influences. His study The Dutch Revolt (London 1977)Google Scholar gives the best survey about this war in recent times.
7 This does not mean, that all the preachers coming from France or Geneva hoped to unchain a religious war.
8 See van Schelven, A.A., ‘Het begin van het gewapend verzet tegen Spanje in de 16e-eeuwsche Nederlanden’ Handelingen en Mededeelingen van de Maatschappij der Nederlandsche Letterkunde te Leiden over het jaar 1914-1915 (Leiden 1915) pp 126–156.Google Scholar
9 Crew, Phyllis Mack wrote a very interesting study about this subject [Calvinist Preaching and Isonoclasm in the Netherlands 1544-1569 (Cambridge 1978)Google Scholar]. Scheerder, J., [De beeldenstorm (Bussum 1978)]Google Scholar made an investigation in all the places where iconoclasm had been. His conclusion was, that generally speaking the iconoclastic fury was a religious, not a political movement.
10 A short overall picture has been given by Nauta, D., Aard van de opstand in de Nederlanden des zestiende eeuw (The Hague 1976)Google Scholar, for the fund-raising (three million guilders) see pp 40, 41.
11 About the religious feelings of William of Orange, van Gelder, H.A. Enno has written an article ’The godsdienst van Prins Willem van Oranje‘ Van Beeldenstorm tot Pacificatie (Amsterdam/Brussel 1964) pp 80–115 Google Scholar.
12 See for the course of events during this “second revolt”, as he called it, Parker, G., The Dutch Revolt, or Groenveld, S., Leeuwenberg, H.L.Ph., Mount, N., Zappey, W.M., De kogel door de kerk? (Utrecht 1979) pp 80–95 Google Scholar.
13 Fugitives, often from the southern parts of the Netherlands, having left their country after the coming of Alva in 1567, came back, following the trail of the geuzen, the pirates of the prince. Together with them they imposed on the original population of the conquered towns a ‘Calvinist minority-dictatorship’, as Rogier, L.J. called it in Eenheid en Scheiding (Utrecht/Antwerp 1968) p 82 Google Scholar. After some time the original Reformed groups in these parts of the Netherlands accepted the new possibilities.
14 The text of the synod of 1574 is edited by Rutgers, F.L., [Acta van de Nederlandsche Synoden der zestiende eeuw (The Hague 1889)] pp 120–220 CrossRefGoogle Scholar. The text is as follows ‘De dienaren ende ouderlinghen sullen wel voor hen sien datze niet en handelen inden Consistorien, Classen ende Sijnoden, dan t’ghene dat kerckelick is. Maer die dinghen die ten deel kerckelick ten deel politisch sijn, alsoo daer veel dinghen in huwelixen saecken voorvallen, soo daer eenighe swaricheijt in voor valt, soo sullen sij aen het oordeel ende autoriteijt der Overheijt aensoecken’ p 149. See on this synod Bremmer, R.H., Uit de geboortegeschiedenis van de Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (The Hague 1977)Google Scholar.
15 The text of the synod of 1571 Rutgers, F.L. pp 42–119. See on this synod: De synode van Emden 1571-1971 [(Kampen 1971) edd Nauta, D., van Dooren, J.P., de Jong, Otto J.]Google Scholar.
16 See Dankbaar, W.F., [Hoogtepunten uit het Nederlandsche Calvinisme in de zestiende eeuw (Haarlem 1946)] pp 41–85 Google Scholar.
17 ‘. . . voorghedragken van Philippus van Marnix, genaemt van Mont St. Aldegonde, uut name ende van wege mijnes Genadigen Heere den prince van Oranien etc. (...) dese naest volghende articulen: (...) Item dat daer een goede overeenkominge ende onderlinge verstandt opgericht wordden mach in politicke saeken, belangende de wederoprichtinge der Nederlanden. Ende dat tot dien eynde alle gemeynten verstandt ende overdracht hebben mit sijner Excellentie, overschrijvende wat daer sekerlijcx omgaet. Sy hebbeti beloefft, een yegelijck sijn beste hierin te doene voor so vele, als een yeder gemeynte vernemen kan. Item datse eendrachtelijck besluyten willen over de beroepinge sijner F(urstliche) G(nade) ende de gerechticheyt der were ende waepens etc., om de swacke gewissen deste beter daerdoor te stillen etc. -De vergaderinge en twijfelt daer niet aen en sullen arbeyden tselvige in te belden.’ The text of the synod in Bedburg is edited by Goeters, J.F.G., 400 Jahre Bedburger Synode (Jülich 1971)Google Scholar; quotation pp 18, 19 (with a german translation).
18 W.F. Dankbaar p 63.
19 van ‘t Spijker, W, ’Stromingen onder de reformatorisch gezinden te Emden‘ De synode van Emden 1571-1971 pp 72–74 Google Scholar.
20 A striking example can be found in the archives of Kampen in Overijssel. In 1578 118 family-heads asked the local government’s permission for protestant services in one of the churches. Before the government could take a decision the army of the prince took possession of the town. The geuzen pillaged churches and cloisters. Calvinism had won. But there is a great difference between the list of the 118 family-heads and the list of members of the Calvinist church in 1579. Only a few names appear on both lists. The majority of protestants must have wanted another reformation. See Jelsma, A.J., ’De calvinisering van Kampen‘ Theologische Hogeschool Kampen 1982 vol 18 (1982) pp 3–8 Google Scholar.
21 See a letter of members of the Dutch church in London in which they complained about the use of violence in the Netherlands: Hessels, J.H., Epistulae et Tractatus cum reformattonis turn ecclesiae Londino-Batavae Historiam Illustrantes (1544-1622) (London/ Amsterdam 1889) 2 no 104 p 357 Google Scholar. For the conflict between the consistories of Antwerp and London van Schelven, A.A., Kerkeraads-Protocollen [der Nederduitsche Vluchtelingenkerk te London 1560-1568 (Amsterdam 1921)] pp 308–323 Google Scholar. About Adriaan van Haemstede, Collinsem, Patrick, Archbishop Grindal 1519-1583; the struggle for a Reformed Church (London 1979) pp 134–146 Google Scholar; Jelsma, A.J., Adriaan van Haemstede en zijn martelaarsboek (The Hague 1970)Google Scholar.
22 About the differences between the Reformed groups in the Netherlands, W. van ‘t Spijker in De synode van Emden 1571-1971 pp 50-75.
23 About the relations between the Reformed ministers and the troubles of 1566, Phyllis Mack Crew pp 140-182.
24 I don’t agree with the suggestion of J. Scheerder p 115, that the offering of the money was only a pretext and not a serious appeal. It was well known in the Netherlands how badly the Spanish king needed money. More careful about the fund-raising is Phyllis Mack Crew p 17.
25 Especially the towns of Valenciennes and Tournai.
26 See Hoog, I.M.J., De Martelaren dn Hervorming in Nederland tot 1566 (Schiedam 1885)Google Scholar. As far as I could discover in the archives of Kampen only rebaptised people were killed there.
27 Rothmann, B., ’Bericht von der Wrake‘ Die Schriften Bernhard Rothmanns, ed by Stupperich, R. (Münster 1970) pp 284–297 Google Scholar.
28 Stayer, J.M., Anabaptists and the sword (Lawrence, Kansas 1973) pp 227–280 Google Scholar; Jelsma, A.J., ’De koning en de vrouwen; Münster 1534-1535‘ Gereformeerd Theologisch Tijdschrift vol 75 (1975) no 2 pp 82–107 Google Scholar.
29 See the excuse of the Dutch consistory because they had called the church of Antwerp Anabaptist: ‘Oeck zo bekenden wij dat wij wel behoirden onsen brief minnelicker gescreven te hebben (. . .) also oft wij hen den oproerischen Wederdoperen ende den ghespuys des Thomae Munzeri waren ghelijck achtende’ A. A. van Schelven, Kerkeraads-protocollen pp 320-322.
30 This process began soon after the fall of Münster in 1535. A famous example was Wouter Delen, teacher in Amsterdam, who was involved in an Anabaptist revolt in this city in 1535 and took refuge in London. There he became one of the most important leaders of the Dutch Reformed fugitives. See Mellink, A.F., ’Prereformatie en vroege reformatie 1517-1568‘ Algemene Geschiedenis der Nederknden VI (Haarlem 1979) p 159 Google Scholar. His son Petrus Delen was one of the ministers in London accusing the Reformed Church of Antwerp because of the use of violence against the government.
31 Important reasons for this process 1) the violence of the geuzen in 1578 in Ghent and its environs; 2) the decree of pope Gregory XIII in 1578, in which he threatened to excommunicate every catholic who gave his support to the Dutch revolt; 3) the defection of the stadholder of the northern part of the Netherlands, count Rennenberg, to the Spanish side, see L.J. Rogier, Eenheid en Scheiding pp 88-96.
32 The rule was repeated at all the following synods and is still in use today in some Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, with the consequence that these churches have always to defend their discussions about political issues.
33 I should like to thank Mrs. K. Harris for her help in checking my use of English.