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From: "Raymond Timmons" <>
Subject: Re: [HWE] Huguenot or Walloon
Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2005 11:09:01 -0500


Hi Elizabeth,

The best way to start a good conversation is to say something that's not
exactly
right! While there were Walloons in Holland, you are exactly right, the term
really
refers to people inhabiting that part of Belgium which comprises the
provinces of
Hainaut, Namur, Li'ege, and Luxembourg, and about one third of Brabant.
Where I get confused is the bottom of Holland that is Brabant. You are also
right that the Walloon language is a dialect of French and the term does
not indicate that they were Calvinist. However, the 3 lower provinces of the
Netherlands spoke Walloon and another definition of Walloon is those that
speak the Walloon language. The people in my line, that came from the
Netherlands, were from the lower part that did speak Walloon and were
Calvinist - it doesn't take much to mislead me. The Spain part is confusing
to
me also. As I understand it, Spain ruled Holland and Belgium in the
1500-1600
time period. A largely Calvinist Dutch guerrilla army fought Spain. But the

bodyguard of the Spanish monarch was called the Walloon guard because it
was originally made up of Walloons.

Where I was most wrong is that I did not realize - although a Huguenot
was a Calvinist, a Walloon was not even necessarily a Protestant. I blame
the name of this list for that false assumption <grin>.

(Hopefully anything I said wrong here will be corrected by others.)

Ray



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