Philip II., king of Spain, son and successor to the emperor Charles V.,
who from the depths of his cabinet, like another Tiberius, shook all
Europe with his often cruel policy, wishing to stop the rapid progress
of Lutheranism in the provinces of Flanders, put weapons into the hands
of executioners, and endeavoured to establish the Inquisition in those
happy and tranquil countries. This barbarous tribunal, conforming so
little with Scriptural precepts and mildness, disgusted the Flemings,
and gave birth to that famous confederation, at the head of which was
William of Nassau, surnamed the Taciturn, prince of Orange. All the
confederates were clothed in grey, wore upon their caps little wooden
porringers, and round their necks a medal, upon one side of which was
the portrait of the king, and on the reverse a _wallet_ suspended from
two hands, crossed and pressed together in sign of faith, with this
inscription: “_Faithful to the king and to the wallet._” This was in
allusion to the name of beggars, which the count of Barlemont had
given them. They exhibited themselves in this guise before Marguerite
of Austria, duchess of Parma and gouvernante of the Netherlands.
They presented, in a manner sufficiently humble, a petition to this
princess, in which they asked for liberty of conscience, and the
revocation of the edict which established the Holy Office. An answer
to these prayers was eluded, and the yoke of the Protestants, and
even of the Catholics, was made so intolerably heavy, that the people
in all parts prepared for revolt. The inhabitants of Valenciennes
were the first to raise the standard; they were almost all Huguenots,
and had intimate connections with what are called the heretics of
France. The gouvernante charged the seigneur de Noircarmes, commanding
in Hainault, to establish a sufficient garrison in Valenciennes
to restrain the audacity of the burgesses. Noircarmes preferred
employing mildness; before he approached the walls of the city, he
agreed to undertake nothing, if the public exercise of heresy were
proscribed. The people consented to this, but retracted the moment
after. Noircarmes presenting himself at the gates, for the purpose of
entering the city and completing the agreement, one of the populace
had the temerity to shut the gates in his face, and to drive him from
them by a discharge of arquebuses. Valenciennes was then declared to
be in a state of rebellion, and its siege was commanded. The news
soon spread. Some French Huguenots immediately flew to the aid of the
proscribed city, and these were soon followed by three thousand foot
and a few horse, got together in the nearest cantons of Flanders. These
troops, provided with several pieces of cannon, advanced under the
orders of John Soreas, who had assembled them. Noircarmes immediately
got together a few companies of infantry, with some horse, and set
forward to combat this rash and inexperienced body of soldiers. Their
defeat was the work of a moment: Soreas perished in the action, and
his followers were massacred. Some in vain attempted to find refuge
in Tournay; the peasants of the neighbourhood pursued and dispersed
them. Noircarmes, animated by this success, after having subdued
Tournay, advanced towards Valenciennes. The rebels, still obstinate,
rejected all his propositions with disdain, and he was therefore forced
to think seriously of besieging the city. He quickly established a
formidable battery, which destroyed the ramparts, and spread terror
and despair among the besieged. They had expected powerful assistance,
but, frustrated in their hopes, their courage was changed into
consternation, and after several rude attacks they surrendered at
discretion. Noircarmes imposed such laws as the gouvernante dictated.
The submission of Valenciennes for a time depressed the spirits of
the confederates, and the vigorous government of Marguerite seemed to
prognosticate obedience; but the glorious results of these beginnings
are of the best and most instructive pages of history.