Tortured to deny or admit statements attributed to them and/or to reveal their associates
1544-1549
JEHAN BUTELEUX, shoemaker
Tortured to confess or deny scandalous and erroneous statements regarding the sacrament of the Eucharist and to reveal his associates and where they met. If he confesses to the statement regarding the Eucharist under torture he is sentenced to be burnt at the stake. If he does not confess, he is to make honorable amend, undergo public whipping, and be banished from the kingdom of France for life, with his property to be confiscated by the King. Source A.N. X2B6, 23 July 1544.
PIERRE GUERARD (or Guenard) | Accused of heresy
Tortured “to learn the truth from his own mouth.” He had first been interrogated by the court of Parlement on 12 July 1544 (see/link to the account of this interrogation). after which he was subjected to torture. The court decided that even if he denied the allegations under torture he should be punished “short of death” by making honorable amend, being whipped, and then being confined for life in a monastery in or near Amiens. Source A.N. X2B6, 12 July 1544.
FRANCOIS GUERARD | Accused of heresy and blasphemy
Tortured “to learn the truth from his own mouth,” he was condemned to make honorable amend before the main entrance of the cathedral of Amiens on a Sunday following the celebration of high Mass, and on the following days to be beaten and whipped around the main squares of the city, after which he is sentenced to be confined to a monastery in the Amiens area for the remainder of his life. Source: A.N. X2B6, 30-31 July in a packet marked “last day of July” 1544. See also decision of 9 July 1544.
JEHAN TURPIN | Accused of scandalous and erroneous statements, also of heresy
Ordered by the Parlement of Paris on 12 December 1544 to be tortured i.e. “hoisted up” (”soublevé”) [presumably with his arms behind his back (?)] After denying the allegations under torture, he was ordered on 16 December 1544 to be released from custody. Source: A.N. X2a97.
FRANCOIS DE FENYN, apothecary
Tortured to confirm or deny statements attributed to him regarding the sacrament of the eucharist. Apparently denied allegations under torture and did not receive an extreme sentence. A. N. X2B6 11 July 1544. N. Weiss, “How they interrogated prisoners” article in Bulletin de la Société de l’Histoire du Protestantisme Français.
JACQUES CHASSIN and JEHAN DEGREZ
Under torture and ‘extraordinary rendition’ (“torture et question extraordinaire)” both denied blasphemous statements. Jehan Degrez was sentenced to perform amende honorable before the main entrance of the cathedral of Amiens, to be whipped for three days, and then banished for life and his goods confiscated. Jacques Chassin was sentenced to attend a high mass at the cathedral. Ref, C.A., Case No. 220 25 February 1549 n.s.
GUILLEMETTE HECQUET, wife of AUGUSTIN COURTIN, implicated with her
Under torture, she denied the blasphemous statements of which she was accused and was sentenced along with her husband to perform amende honorable (public penance) in their parish church in Amiens Ref: Weiss C.A. Case 213, p. 333, 21 February 1549 n.s. and Case 95.
MATHIEU GLENARD | Blasphemous statements regarding the sacraments
Sentenced to be tortured in Amiens“to reveal his associates and followers” (adherents) before being publicly executed by hanging and burning. Ref. Weiss, C.A., Case 246, p. 346, 21 March 1549, n.s.
JEHAN DESSARS
Same sentence as Mathieu Glenard. To be tortured in Amiens to reveal hs associates and followers before being publicly executed by hanging and burning. Weiss, C.A. Case 247, p. 347. 21March 1549 n.s.
PIERRE BEAUQUESNE
Tortured “to reveal the truth of the blasphemy against the sacraments attributed to him”; if he confesses, he is to be burned. Later one sees that he denied the accusation under torture and was condemned to perform amende honorable with a rope around his neck and be present at the execution of Glenard and Dessars above. Weiss C.A. , p. 347, Case 249, 22 March 1549 n.s.
ROBERT COULLECTE |
Charged with blasphemous statements. He denied the accusations under torture and was sentenced to perform amende honorable in front of the main doors of the cathedral and to be present at a special sermon. Weiss, C.A., p. 355, Case No. 268, 4 April 1549.
AMBROYSE PETIT, called “Golden Tongue”
Tortured by the provost of Paris to confess or deny blasphemies attributed to him. According to the court, if he confesses he will be burned. If he denies the accusations, he will be required to perform amende honnorable and be present at a public sermon where his errors will be refuted.
Note: Ambroyse Petit is targeted as the central figure in a group including several other accused persons; Pierre Groscoeur, Pierre Le Mort, and Clement Le Rat, but Petit is seemingly the only one tortured.
PIERRE WIET | Accused of Lutheran errors and blasphemies regarding the sacraments
Under torture, he denied the accusations. (A.N., X2B10, 2 October 1549 or shortly before)
MARIETTE CAULIER, wife of HERCULES DE MONCHEAULX
Under torture she denied the accusations, was warned, and released. Hercules de Moncheaux, a weaver, was godparent at two Protestant baptisms in 1564-65. In March 1573, after St. Bartholomew’s Day, “the widow of Hercules de Moncheaux.” not named but presumably Mariette Caulier, fled to England and was given aid by the French-speaking Refugee Church in Threadneedle Street, London. (ADS, Reg Bapt I.3 ;Ms. 194, Elders Accounts, Fols. 57v and 61.)
Spotlight
Jean Bouteleux
Five years after the shoemaker Jehan Bouteleux was sentenced to be banished, Etienne Bouteleux, also a shoemaker, no doubt a relative, was brought before the Parlement on blasphemy charges and sentenced to make amende honorable. In February 1562, this Etienne was voted a small sum by the Amiens town council “in consideration of his poverty and his long detention in prison.” In May 1562 Etienne was one of the Non-Decorators in the parish of St. Leu. In July 1562 he and his wife were on the List of Suspects from that parish. (Weiss, C.A., case 254, page 350, 23/03/1549; Arch Mun Amiens, Series BB, fol 55, 5 Feb 1562; HH 273, fol. 13, Etienne received master shoemaker, 23 November 1558).
Guillemette Hecquet and Augustin Courtin
Guillemette Hecquet is on the list of suspects in the parish of St. Remy, July, 1562. Augustin Courtin, a wool comber, who reported his age as 60 in 1560, was killed with a pistol shot in a religiously motivated murder in a village outside Amiens (Taigny or Taisnil?) on October 27, 1562, according to the account of Theodore Beza.
François de Fenin/Fenyn
One of the more extensively documented of the Protestants:
Rearrested in 1549, a leader and spokesperson for the Ascension Day Non-Decorators in 1562. His house was attacked and torn down by a Catholic mob on two occasions. Godparent in the Protestant Church 1564-65.
Pierre Wiet (or Wier)
There is mention of his banishment from the city for five years in the Deliberations of the Amiens town council A.M. Series BB 26, Fol. 42v, 7 November 1549. A Pierre Wyer is registered as a weaver and son of a weaver, 11 November 1560 (HH 273, 101 verso). A Pierre Wyer/Wier and wife Marguerite Guerard baptized a daughter “Marthe” in the Protestant Church of Amiens 12 November 1564.
Mariette Caulier, wife of Hercules de Moncheaux
Hercules de Moncheaux, a weaver, was godparent at two Protestant baptisms in 1564-65. In March 1573, after St. Bartholomew’s Day, “the widow of Hercules de Moncheaux.” not named but presumably Mariette Caulier, fled to England and was given aid by the French-speaking Refugee Church in Threadneedle Street, London. (ADS, Reg Bapt I.3 ;Ms. 194, Elders Accounts, Fols. 57v and 61.)
Ambroyse Petit (also Petû) known as “Golden Tongue”
Emigrated to Geneva and registered as a “habitant” there on 17 December 1554 (T. Geisendorf, ed. Vol 1) He worked as a “weaver and maker of demi-ostade.” In Geneva, Petû and his wife gave birth to a son “David” who was baptized in the church of St. Gervais by none other than Theodore de Bèze.