In 1559, the most frequented promenade in Paris was the _Pré-aux-Clercs_,
situated where a part of the Faubourg St. Germain is at present. The
students of the university were generally in favour of the reformed
religion, and not only made a profession of it, but publicly defended its
principles. They had been in the habit of meeting at this place for several
years, and the monks of the Abbey St. Victor having refused to let them
assemble in the Pré-aux-Clercs, a serious affair sprung out of the refusal,
and several rencounters took place, in which blood was shed; the students,
being the most numerous, carried their point, the monks resigned the field
to them, and the Pré-aux-Clercs was more than ever frequented. It became
the grand rendezvous of all the Protestants, who would sing Marot's psalms
during the summer evenings; and such numbers giving confidence, many
persons declared themselves Protestants, whose rank had hitherto deterred
them from such a step. Among such, the most eminent was Anthony of Bourbon,
first prince of the blood, and, in right of his wife, king of Navarre.
_Browning's History of the Hugonots._
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