ABSTRACT
At a rural intersection in the township of St Maria-Horebeke, east of Oudenaarde, Belgium, there is a curious emblem of religious coexistence in early-modern Europe (see Figure 3.1). Amid the rolling hills of East Flanders, protected by a grove of trees, there stands a modest Protestant church, a nineteenth-century red brick structure with a bell tower, little interior decoration and hard wooden pews as befits its austere Calvinist roots. Behind the church there is a small private cemetery beyond which one finds the meeting room of an older 'hidden church' as well as the parsonage for this tiny, but still active congregation. Across the Korelestraat, perhaps 50 metres down a narrow country lane, there is a small Protestant Historical Museum, which commemorates the nearly 500-year history of Protestant 'difference' in this overwhelmingly Catholic society. A pamphlet published by the Museum calls this place the 'Beggars' Corner' (Geuzenhoek) 1 (see Figure 3.2).
