Protestant Exiles from France/Book First - Chapter 5 - Section III

by David Carnegie Andrew Agnew

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III. Cousin.

The pasteur, Jean Cousin, as a sound divine, a beneficent Christian, and an able and influential man, was never equalled among all the refugee clergy. Although Bishop Grindal’s superlatives were entirely laudatory, and not intending any personal comparisons (in fact, Cousin at the time had no colleague), yet they were literally true. He was the most faithful and most beloved of the ministers of the French Church (D. Joannes Cognatus,^[1] Galliae ecclesiae, quae apud nos est, minister fidelissimus et frater meus in Domino carissimus). He was educated for the ministry at Geneva, and was sent to Caen in 1559, to organise the Protestant Church. The church was joined by important persons, among whom Haag mentions Vincent Le Bas, Pierre Pinchon, and sixteen nuns from the Abbaye aux Dames. In a short time the Protestants were a majority of the inhabitants of Caen, and in 1560 they occupied two of the established churches. It appears that Cousin went to London soon after the accession of Elizabeth, in order to assist the pasteur Des Gallars. He was at Caen in the thick of the civil war of 1562, either as its minister or as a visitor. In that year the Huguenots attacked and devastated those Romish ecclesiastical buildings which they did not require for their own worship; and Cousin told the magistrates that idolatry had been tolerated too long, and was now to be overthrown. To counteract this religious revolt the Marquis d’Elbeuf, on the part of the Royalists, took the command of the garrison and retired into the castle. All his sorties were repulsed by the citizens re-inforced by fugitives from Rouen. The townspeople then sent for the Admiral Coligny, who compelled the garrison to surrender. But this success was of little material advantage, because the proclamation of peace through all France left Caen without any title to Protestant public worship, and the citizens had to worship in the surrounding villages of Vimont, Fontaines, and Allemagne.

In June 1563, on the departure of Des Gallars from England, Cousin became the sole pasteur of the London French Church. His old preceptor and correspondent, Theodore Beza, became the chief pastor of Geneva, on the death of Calvin in May 1564. 1565 he wished to receive some token of encouragement or sympathy from our Queen Elizabeth. Cousin’s letter to Cecil, preserved in our State Paper Office, throws no light upon the nature of Beza’s request, but I have copied it as a specimen of the writer’s style:—

A Monsieur, Monsieur Cecille, Secretaire du Privé Conseil de Sa Majesté.

“Très honnoré Seigneur, Il pleut à sa majesté restant à Richemont me dire qú’elle feroit response par son Secretaire à Theodore de Beze. A cause dequoy j’ay retenu l’homme messagier jusques à ce jour, or pour ne defaillir au devoir d’ amitié selon la requeste du d^ct De Beze à moye specialement faite par ses lettres de luy envoyer quelque response. C’est l’occasion, mon Seign^r, pour quoy j’ay prins la hardiesse de vous escrivre ce mot de Lettres, le vous presentant par un mien amy accompagné du messagier, fousse moymesme fait volontiers le voyage, tant pour ent^re [entendre?] par v^re grace l’intention de Sa Majesté que pour faire la reverence à vostre seigneurie. Mais la charge de l'eglise (parce que je suis seul) m’a retenu

qui sera,

priant Le Seigneur n^re Dieu,
Monsieur Le Secretaire, vous
impartir de plus en plus les graces
de son saint Esprit, et du santé—
vous donner longue et heureuse vie,

De Londres ce 22 d’Aoust 1565,
V^re très obeissant serviteur,

Cousin.

In 1568 the trade of the refugees received a shock through a proceeding of the Duke of Alva. The Spanish government attempted to get possession of some cargoes in English ports, but the queen having ascertained that these cargoes were private property, took them under her guardianship. Accordingly the Duke seized all English cargoes in Spanish ports; the Queen retaliated by seizing Dutch cargoes in her ports. This arrestment suspended the business of many refugees of all the foreign churches.^[2] Pasteur Cousin laid their case before the Bishop of London (Grindal); and after an interview, he wrote the following pithy letter to Bishop Grindal;—

Honoré Seigneur,

Suyvant l’advertisement je vous ay donné touchant les Complaintes de nos Marchans, pour les incommodités qui leur surviennent bien grandes et journellement en leurs traffiques, je vous supplie d'avoir souvenance, és lettres que vous ferez pour la Cour, de points suivans.

Premierement, Leurs Debiteurs font refus de les payer.

Secondement, Leurs Crediteurs ne less veulent supporter, ains^[3] les pressent par importunité pour avoir payement.

Tiercement, Quant aux Lettres de Change, ils tombent en reproche et prejudice de leur credit.

Votre humble serviteur,
Jean Cousin.

The government undertook to except the cargoes belonging to Protestant refugees. And with this view, lists of names were called for. All church members born in Flanders, and in other places under the dominion of the King of Spain, were included in the list. The French list, dated January 1569, was signed by Jean Cousin, Antoine de Pouchel and Pierre Chastelain, pasteurs, and by Michel Chaudron, Gerard de Lobel and others, anciens. (Strype’s Life of Grindal, Book I., chap. 13.)

In 1569 Cousin presided at consistories held about a foreign minister, a Spaniard by birth, but a French preacher by education, known as Corranus, or rather as Antonio Corrano (aliàs Bellerive?) That minister was learned and eloquent, but his piety was brought under suspicion through the reckless and irreverent style of his theological speculations. Cousin would not adopt the idea that instead of making provision for the instruction of the people in definite truths, the church should provide perches, provender, and dormitories for “enquirers;” because to give to a blundering enquirer the salary intended for a teacher would be an abandonment of the souls of the people to perish for lack of knowledge. Corrano’s case came up through his own petition for admission to the London French Church. But his opponents laid on the table a letter, which he admitted to be his own writing, and which contained a series of heterodox statements. He defended himself by pleading that the letter was written by way of questioning, not of affirmation. Cousin replied, “Such kind of questioning is not meet in these times for a minister of God’s church.”

In November 1571 he is entered in the census of strangers as residing in Blackfriars, and as a denizen. Great liberties were taken with the spelling of names in those old lists. In a list for 1568 printed in Strype’s “Annals of Elizabeth,” vol. iv., he and his family are entered as residents in Blackfriars thus:— “Mr Cossyn, Frenchman, minister, and Breugen, his wife, came for religion, with three boys and two wenches, which go to school, and are of the French Church.” In 1571, the enumerator mentions, “John Costen, minister of the French Church, and Burgoniena, his wife, both French borne,” and adds, “He came into this realme about ix. yeares past for religion.” The reader will find still greater liberties taken with the surname if he consults the imprint of the ledger, entitled, “The Spending of the Money” of Robert Nowell:—

“1569. 12 of febr. Geven to John Tawsin, minister to the frenche churche, as apperethe by his acquitance. 53s. 4d.”

“To a poore frenche minister in the p’sence of m^r Coosyns the frenche p’chere the the 16^th of Novemb^r A^o 1571. 10s.”

“Too m^r Coosynns the frenche preacher the 16^th of februarye A° 1573. 10s.”

In May 1578 there is this entry, “Too one m^r Coosins wieffe, a poore wyddowe stranger. 2s. 6d.” This may have been the good pasteur’s widow. We may, therefore, conjecture that it was on account of Mr Cousin’s death, that in February 1578 the London Church petitioned the Synod in France that Messieurs De Villiers and De la Fontaine, formerly his volunteer coadjutors, might be settled in London.

1. The able and successful translator of the Zurich Letters (Parker Society) made a mistake in translating Cognatus into Cousins — a singular form into the plural. The popular form of the name in England was Cousins; but the bishop knew better, and was familiar with his signature “Jean Cousin,” or usually “Cousin” only.
2. Perhaps this or some similar arrest is alluded to in the census of 1571, which says that Henry von Diepenbeck, born in Antwerp and dwelling there, came with Mons^r. de Swevingham “about the matters of tharrest,” and sojourneth together with Andreas de Formestraux, David Shorer, and Hans Browne.
3. This word was in use as a synonym for “mais.” Boyer said of the word (in his Royal Dictionary), “il est vjeux et ne se dit qu’en raillant.” Miége marks it as obsolete, and translates it — but, but rather.