Fortress of the Soul

"During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, French Huguenots made enormous contributions to the life and culture of colonial New York. Huguenot craftsmen flourished in this open setting, turning out unrivaled works of furniture that were distinguished by unique designs and arcane details. More than just decorative flourishes, however, the curious patterns of the Huguenot artisans reflected a distinct belief system, a visual language that developed during the religious wars of sixteenth-century France."

"In Fortress of the Soul, Neil Kamil traces the Huguenots' journey to New York from the Aunis-Saintonge region of southwestern France, where, in the sixteenth century, artisans had created a subterranean culture of clandestine workshops and meeting places inspired by the teachings of Bernard Palissy. A potter, alchemist, and philosopher, Palissy rejected the communal, militaristic ideology of the Huguenot majority in the walled city of La Rochelle. He and his followers instead embraced a more fluid, portable, and discrete religious identity that encouraged members to practice their beliefs in secret while living safely - even prospering - in hostile communities.

When these artisans first fled France for England and Holland, then left Europe for America, they carried with them both their skills and their doctrine of security through artisanal secrecy."

"Drawing on deep archival research and fresh interpretations of Huguenot material culture, Kamil offers an exhaustive and highly sophisticated study of the complex Huguenot worldview. From the function of sacred violence and alchemy in the visual language of Huguenot artisans to the impact among Protestants everywhere of the destruction of La Rochelle in 1628 to the ways in which New York's Huguenots interacted with each other and with other communities of religious dissenters and refugees, Fortress of the Soul places American colonial history and material life firmly within the context of the early-modern Atlantic world."--Jacket.