! FACULTY OF ARTS AND PHILOSOPHY Department of History Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 35 - 9000 Gent THE PEOPLE’S FAITH RELIGIOUS IDENTITIES AND PEASANT COMMUNITIES IN THE RONSE DEANERY (1650-1725) Roman Roobroeck Supervisor: prof. dr. Anne-Laure Van Bruaene Examiners: prof. dr. Thijs Lambrecht and prof. dr. Christa Matthys Master’s thesis presented to the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy in order to obtain the degree of Master of Arts in History 2014-2015 Verklaring betreffende de consulteerbaarheid van de scriptie De auteur en de promotor geven de toelating deze studie als geheel voor consultatie beschikbaar te stellen voor persoonlijk gebruik. Elk ander gebruik valt onder de beperkingen van het auteursrecht, in het bijzonder met betrekking tot de verplichting de bron uitdrukkelijk te vermelden bij het aanhalen van gegevens uit deze studie. Het auteursrecht betreffende de gegevens vermeld in deze studie berust bij de promotor. Het auteursrecht beperkt zich tot de wijze waarop de auteur de problematiek van het onderwerp heeft benaderd en neergeschreven. De auteur respecteert daarbij het oorspronkelijke auteursrecht van de individueel geciteerde studies en eventueel bijhorende documentatie, zoals tabellen en figuren. De auteur en de promotor zijn niet verantwoordelijk voor de behandelingen en eventuele doseringen die in deze studie geciteerd en beschreven zijn. For Marie, my little sister Thank you for always making me smile, even in the most trying of times Contents Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................................................... iii List of Abbreviations ...................................................................................................................................... v List of Illustrations ......................................................................................................................................... vi Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 1 The Masquerade of Oudenaarde ........................................................................................................... 1 The Concept of Identities ...................................................................................................................... 3 Geographical and Chronological Demarcation .................................................................................. 4 Methodology and Sources ...................................................................................................................... 6 PART I THE INTERNALISATION OF CATHOLIC IDENTITIES: WITCHES, FEAR, AND MILITANCY ........................................................................................................... 8 Chapter 1 A Confessional People: from Peasants to Parishioners .......................................... 9 1.1 Tridentine Restoration of the Religious Order ............................................................................... 9 1.2 Communicating a Confessional Identity .......................................................................................... 11 1.3 Through Trial and Error: Confessionalism in the Ronse deanery ............................................... 13 Chapter 2 A Magical People ............................................................................................................... 18 Chapter 3 The Prequel of 1656: Maleficium and Fear ................................................................ 23 3.1 The Marginality of Catherine Merye .............................................................................................. 23 3.2 Acknowledging Witches: Dread and Fear ..................................................................................... 25 3.3 Envisaging Maleficium: Confessional or Popular? ...................................................................... 27 Chapter 4 The Witch-Hunt of 1678-1683: Catholic Militancy and Hierarchical Identities ........................................................................................................................... 31 4.1 A New Cast of Protagonists and Antagonists .............................................................................. 31 4.2 The Christianisation of Maleficium ................................................................................................ 33 4.3 Militancy as a Catholic Identity Expression .................................................................................. 35 Chapter 5 The Causality of Identity Appropriation .................................................................... 39 5.1 Cultural Preconditions ..................................................................................................................... 40 5.2 An Extensive Range of Precipitants .............................................................................................. 41 5.3 Triggers and the Importance of Micro-Events ............................................................................ 46 Chapter 6 Intermediate Conclusion: Identities From Below ................................................... 49 PART II THE EXISTENCE OF DISSIDENT IDENTITIES: PROTESTANT LIFE IN A CATHOLIC WORLD ........................................................................................... 51 Chapter 1 A Forgotten People ........................................................................................................... 52 Chapter 2 The Dominance of Lateral Identities: Communities within Communities, 1650-1670 ........................................................................................................................ 58 2.1 Surviving in a Catholic World ............................................................................................................ 58 2.2 The Expression of Protestant Otherness ........................................................................................ 62 Chapter 3 Gradual Hierarchisation of the Protestant Identity, 1670-1685 ............................ 66 Chapter 4 Through Fire and Flames: Violence and Self-Confessionalisation, 1685-1725 .................................................................................................... 70 4.1 A Catholic Backlash ............................................................................................................................ 70 4.2 The Protestant Faith Above All Else: Organisation and Victimisation ...................................... 75 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................. 79 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................... 81 A. Sources ................................................................................................................................................... 81 a) Archival Sources ................................................................................................................................... 81 b) Unpublished Sources ............................................................................................................................. 83 B. Literature ............................................................................................................................................... 84 Summary in English ....................................................................................................................................... 92 Nederlandse samenvatting ............................................................................................................................... 93 Acknowledgements “This is how you do it: you sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until it's done. It's that easy, and that hard.” That is how Neil Gaiman, English novelist and 2009’s winner of the John Newbery Medal, once described the ‘secret’ to finishing a story. After months of long nights and early mornings, full of the gloom of creative slowdowns or the ecstasy of sudden ‘aha! moments’, I finally understand what Gaiman was on about. No matter how daunting the task might seem at times, the only thing that gets the job done by the end of the day, is day after day diligently and tirelessly labouring, regardless of doubts and deadlocks. It is that simple, because the logic behind it is so sound. But it is that hard, because the practice behind it is so challenging. This seemed particularly true for this Master’s thesis, as I can honestly say that writing about such a compelling topic was the most demanding, but at the same time the most rewarding experience of my life. I have assiduously worked everyday for the past two months, reflecting on everything I wrote, wondering if it is enough, if it could even slightly capture the imagination of those who will read it, because I believe that this is what a historian must hope to accomplish in the end. Indeed, 99% of writing a dissertation consists of persistence, self-doubt, constant contemplation, and completely losing yourself in deep thoughts, but the most precious element in every work is that remaining 1%: inspiration. It is the most difficult component to seize, but I hope that I have at least managed to partially sneak some thought-provoking features into my work. Of course,