ABSTRACT
While in such cases the Reformed chose to direct poor relief through their ecclesiastical channels, in the churches 'under the cross' this was a necessity. As the latter established themselves in the Netherlands they began to provide relief for the faithful, just like the similarly oppressed AnabaptistsY Collections for the Reformed poor were sometimes organized during the presches held during the summer of 1566.1H At 'sHertogenbosch a Catholic contemporary commented: 'They [the Cal-
During the fifteenth century immigrants from the Low Countries had established several fraternities in London, which attracted not only the poorer immigrants but also the more wealthy.26 Inevitably, social welfare became an even more pressing concern for their sixteenth-century successors, because in addition to the more usual objects of relief, the new exile communities also had to help those who arrived as refugees. Many people fled from the Netherlands leaving behind property, businesses, and goods subsequently confiscated by the Conseil des Troubles and depended on the Reformed communities for relief. In Geneva the bourse franfaise had been established to deal with the refugee problemP Yet not all of those who fled from the Netherlands should be characterized as penniless refugees; some were able to escape with considerable resources or had entrusted their property to relatives who remained on the Continent. 28 Furthermore, like their co-religionists who belonged to the churches 'under the cross', the exiles were excluded from existing local provision. The Reformed churches were therefore forced to develop their own distinct system in order to cope with these exceptional demands as well as with the more conventional needs of their members. While this has been examined for a number of case studies, there is as yet no comparative analysis of the system practised by the foreign congregations. This essay will focus on the relief provided by the French-speaking exile churches.
