The Catholic theocracies of Europe saw the Protestant Reformation, starting in 1517 with Martin Luther, as a serious threat to their power, authority, and wealth. In France, the nobility, of Normandy especially, espoused the theology of Calvin and later, that of Jansen. It wasn't long before the king of France and the Pope felt compelled to deal with the Protestant threat.

The persecution of the Calvanists who came to be called Huguenots started in earnest when Francois I issued a General Edict in 1536 calling for the extermination of the heretics. In spite of this, the Huguenots became more numerous until in 1562 the hostility escalated with the massacre of 1200 Huguenots sparking the French Wars of Religion which continued until 1598.

Henry IV ended those Wars of Religion in April 1598 with his Edict of Nantes which granted certain rights to the Protestants, but not complete freedom. The Huguenots flourished not only religiously but economically as tradesmen, artisans, and professionals until October 22, 1685 when Louis XIV issued his Revocation Edict repealing the Edict of Nantes.

The Edict completely banned the Reformed Protestant Religion and imposed severe penalties for practicing its heresy. Property would be confiscated, men would be condemned to the galleys and women to prison if they attempted to leave the country, whereas they had previously been driven out. Children would be taken from their parents to ensure that they would be raised as Catholics.

Of course, the Huguenots did flee in droves unable to bear the conditions and fearing the recurrance of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of August 1572 in which as many as 100,000 might have been killed throughout France. For some, there was no escape. For whatever reason they were used to set an example for the rest of the Huguenots.

The exact number of resulting trials is unknown, but at least 84 executions occurred during 1686 culminatiing in the desecration of the cadavres. These victims suffered unbelievable punishment as this one whose trial and execution occurred on the same day: "Le Parlement le condamne aux supplices de la claie et du bûcher", that is, the Parlement condemned him to the torment of the tray and of the stake. The torment of the stake was the grande finale, the burning at the stake. What came before that, the torment of the tray, seems to have been at the discretion of the executioner. One had his ears nailed to a pillory, one was boiled, one eviscerated, and one was hung on a butcher's hook.

As a final insult, the remains were not allowed to be buried. They were dumped on the roadside or walkway possibly in an open sewer and left for the public to view. "Le reste de son corps fut jeté dans la voirie" which translates to: The rest of his body was dumped in the street. Voirie can also mean garbage dump roadside gutter that served as an open sewer.

Huguenot Persecution 1686:

Translated from an article of the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

What happened on June 11, 1686 in Cany, Pays de Caux deserves to never be forgotten. The jailer who was keeping the corpse of a Dieppe woman named DIEL charged the gathering townspeople a fee to view the woman's body. He excited the curiosity of the people by inviting them to see the corpse of a person who was damned, a Huguenot heretic.

The peasants being credulous expected to see a corpse quite different from the usual that would be marked by some obvious sign of damnation, and they ran in large numbers to see that new spectacle. At least 700 people paid for the showing since the jailer charging each person only 2 liards nevertheless made 17 francs.

In Bergerac, the Declaration was executed against so many people of both sexes that the judges refused to accept any more denunciations. A cry of horror and repudiation was soon heard throughout the country from those who were at first in favor of the declaration and from the most determined of converters (convertisseurs).

In his letter to Seignalay dated 21 April 1686, six months before the Revocation Edict, Fenelon tells of dragging a Huguenot on the "claie" for execution. He thought the execution would, in time, bring "good effects", but noted that the example he made of the victim troubled and irritated the people. He reported, "The actual, unfortunate, impression is regrettable; it awakens a violent desire to get out of the kingdom. To avoid the "voirie", everyone will receive the rites of the church in hypocracy".