Camisards (kămˈĭsärdz, Fr. kämēsärˈ) [key], Protestant peasants
of the Cévennes region of France who in 1702 rebelled against
the persecutions that followed the revocation (1685) of the
Edict of Nantes (see Nantes, Edict of). The name was probably
given them because of the shirts they wore in night raids. Led
by the young Jean Cavalier and Roland Laporte, the Camisards met
the ravages of the royal army with guerrilla methods and
withstood superior forces in several battles. In 1704, Marshal
Villars, the royal commander, offered Cavalier vague concessions
to the Protestants and the promise of a command in the royal
army. Cavalier's acceptance broke the revolt, although others,
including Laporte, refused to submit unless the Edict of Nantes
was restored; scattered fighting went on until 1710. See A. E.
Bray, The Revolt of the Protestants of the Cévennes (1870), H.
M. Baird, Huguenots and the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes
(1895). The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright
© 2012, Columbia Univer