5.2.3. PROTESTANTS SEPARATE THEMSELVES

MANY LIVE OUTSIDE THE WALLS SO THAT THEY CAN PRAY AS THEY WISH  

They stand out by their unornamented sober dress; respect the saints but do not venerate them or join the innumerable events in their honor; do not participate in any Catholic activities, including funerals. 

They disengage from a world in which all is connected:  

• Commerce, fetes and quarrels take place in the streets without sidewalks.  

The Fight between Carnaval and Lent by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1559 / zoom; enlarge the figures with your mouse.

• The color and music of religious processions bring people together. 

Window at Saint-Etienne du Mont, 19th century / zoom 

• Professionals living within the city belong to guilds, which set standards, prices, the number of apprentices and make other rules. Members take part in their rituals and celebrations. 

Banquet of the Crossbowmen's Guild by Bartholomeus van der Helst, 1648 / zoom

• Notables and the Church are allies.

Zoom  

A bishop and leaders of charitable organizations in 19th-century Normandy.

 

• Saints are part of daily life. Days of the year are named after them: "Saint Valentine's Day" is a vestige. So are most streets. Individuals' "saint's day" are more important than their birthday.*

*Tolstoy introduces Natasha, heroine of War and Peace, through the festivities being prepared for her saint's day.

Corner of rue Saint-Denis and Boulevards

As God's righteous, separate elect, Protestants are literally "holier than thou." 

There is also a practical reason for hate.

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Next,

5.2.4. 

The traditional faith put brakes on gain