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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Huguenots
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French Protestants, many of whom came to Britain in the last two decades of the 17C after prolonged persecution under *Louis XIV. This had culminated in 1685 in the revocation of the Edict of *Nantes, a law passed in 1598 to guarantee religious freedom for the Protestants. Some of those who came were expert craftsmen in silver, an area in which the Huguenots set new standards in Britain; in the following generation Paul de Lamerie (1688–1751) became the best-known of English silversmiths. Other craftsmen ensured the success of *Spitalfields silk. There has been much elaborate speculation (but no firm conclusion) as to the origin of the word Huguenot, which was in use from the 16C.
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