The Short Chronicle, is an account of the history of the reformation in Geneva written by a Genevan Catholic nun named Jeanne de Jussie. Written from the Convent of Saint Clare and published in 1611, Jussie's narrative is comprised of fragmented anecdotes on events that occurred during the period of Reformation in Geneva. Jussie's accounts not only reflect her personal experience of the Reformation, but also include various references to wider social, political, and economic conflicts during the time. When examining The Short Chronicle as a historical source, however, the accuracy and reliability of the text face unceasing debate. The Short Chronicle is a good source for the history of the reformation in Geneva, if taken for what it is, a biased account told from the perspective of a Catholic nun living in Geneva during the tumultuous religious, social, and political upheaval of the Protestant Reformation.
On one hand, as written from a singular perspective, there should be no dispute concerning the accuracy of the source. The events included in the text are as accurate and true to reality for Jussie as they ever could be.
The anecdotes clearly represent events that ultimately shaped her opinions and reactions to the Reformation in Geneva. What does fall under scrutiny, however, is the reliability of these accounts, as it is evident that Jussie herself was not present during some of the incidents she reports on.
Despite its faults, this is without a doubt an accurate depiction of Jussie's personal, emotional reactions to the events occurring during her life. Additionally, The Short Chronicle is undoubtedly accurate in terms of its portrayal of the inner world of a convent during this historical period. As a nun, Jussie was presumably privy to certain information or conversations of which the general public may not have been made aware.
Arguably one of the most significant accuracies of this text, however, is Jussie's overall portrayal of Catholic views of protestant beliefs. On page 127, Jussie writes, "They completely condemned the Holy Mass as worthless and the divine sacraments as filthy and abominable things and all the other sacraments of the holy church," (127). She goes on to list several of the differing Protestant views.
Moreover, Jussie makes many references to historical events that have been accounted for in other records, thereby solidifying her reliability in terms of including factual events. Her text includes various accounts of iconoclastic behavior. She writes:"A wooden cross that stood in front of the convent of Madame Saint Clare was pulled up and thrown into the well by a wretch who had been at the destruction of the churches and holy places. He did not remain unpunished, for in the month of November three of those profaners were struck with the plague and [47] died in the hospital. Two of them returned to God and publicly confessed to throwing down the cross and to other crimes, and they asked for forgiveness and ended up as good Christians. The third one never recognized his God and died in heresy and stubbornness (60)."
Although it is unclear whether Jussie herself was present at the scene of these events, or whether the reports are from another source, these accounts give the reader a sense of some of Catholic faith.
Jussie's story implies that God ultimately punished the men who destroyed relics and sacred' objects.
Here we can see just how much Jussie's text blurs the line between accuracy and inaccuracy. In one way, this quote conveys the true actions of individuals during the reformation period in addition to relaying Jussie's beliefs to the reader. Conversely, from the Protestant perspective, which Jussie ignores, they destroyed icons as an extension of their beliefs. They had to destroy these relics or the misled' Catholics would burn in Hell.
Although there are many arguments for the accuracy of The Short Chronicle as a historical source, the aforementioned examples also contain examples of Jussie's text's inaccuracies. The reliability of the text is primarily questioned due to the inclusion of Jussie's biases. Told from the perspective of a Catholic nun, it is difficult to imagine that Jussie's anecdotes would not be heavily saturated with Catholic beliefs and predispositions. Almost immediately, the reader can see some of Jussie's bias against Protestants in her description of reformers as "heretics." She whole-heartedly believes that, "those dogs desired nothing but to harass pious people and to abolish the state of virginity and divine worship," (46).
Jussie's biases extend into her descriptions of the violence amongst the Catholics and the Protestants.
Throughout the text, there are several descriptions of events that involved the capture, imprisonment, torture, or killing of individuals. However, Jussie seems rather hypocritical in her reactions to Catholics being tortured versus Protestants being tortured. She describes:
"A perverted and wicked Christian. His body was almost all covered in filth, and he was a glutton and had drunk too much. When he was on his way back from Ere, near Tournai, and was near the Sainte-Fontaine gate he started to beat a poor, sinful woman. When she saw she was being assaulted, she began to shout and scream, and she looked up at the statue of the Virgin above the gate and said out loud, Blessed Virgin Mary, please help me and come to my aid,' (67)."
This quote not only shows that Jussie (and presumably other Catholics during the early modern period) believed that God's intervention into certain situations ultimately influenced the outcome of an event. Here, a woman being harassed by a Protestant pleads with the Virgin Mary and receives a miracle in return. However, it is also important for the reader, upon reading this passage, to question Jussie's involvement in these events. It does not seem as though she were actually there when these events took place, so the dialogue between the woman and her assaulter, and the event as a whole, could simply be a fabrication that Jussie and other Catholics told to give assistance to their overall agenda.
As seen in the above quote, Jussie also tends to convey her biases in the form of exaggeration. There are several points in the text when Jussie's descriptions seem hyperbolic. In many cases, she exaggerates the nature or scope of an individual's reaction to a certain event. In another of Jussie's reports she describes a Christian man who was in a church while Protestants were pillaging it.
Concerning the man's reaction to the pillagers' iconoclastic behavior, Jussie writes, "That good man declared that he firmly believed angels had lifted it up from that place and called it back to an honorable place unknown to us," (53). While this man may have said these words, there is no way to be certain. First, it is unlikely that Jussie herself was there. Second, if similar words were actually spoken and relayed to Jussie, she may have taken liberties in her narration of these events, including the man's account after the pillaging occurred.
However, like the story about the Virgin Mary's statue crying blood, it seems as though this anecdote serves more as a "moral lesson" which could serve to support the Catholic agenda rather than a true-to-life account.
Jussie often includes numbers in her descriptions of events, often inserting large numbers to represent the number of people fighting on each side of the cause. In her description of the events of the Battle of Kappel, on page 60, Jussie writes, "Our Lord granted the Christians such great courage and force that seven hundred of them miraculously defeated nine thousand," (60). Yet, it is important to ask how accurate these numbers can be. If she were present at these events, it would be difficult to make such a rough estimation, particularly of such large number. If Jussie was not present, then, can the reader trust the calculations of the third party that reported these numbers to her? If this is simply a story, then it could serve to support the Catholic idea that their faith was real and true. The idea that 700 Catholics could defeat 9,000 Protestants seems far more than "miraculous." However, Jussie could simply be twisting the facts in order to make a larger statement about Catholics as a whole. This anecdote would certainly serve as a crucial reminder to other Catholics that the perseverance of their faith, despite horrific events, had its rewards.
Another important aspect of Jussie's biases to consider in this quote is her belief in the supernatural.
Jussie's exaggerations are amplified by her insertion of supernatural elements into her anecdotes. Just as the Protestant man stopped harassing the Catholic woman because of the crying Virgin Mary, just as "the Lord" had allowed for 700 Catholics to defeat 9,000 Protestants, it seems as though Jussie's description of miraculous events always ultimately rely upon the powers of God. In another example, she writes:
"Our Lord protected and nourished them with his grace and worked a miracle so that the bread that by all reason should have lasted only two days was multiplied by God's will so that they lived for twelve days on it, with their good fathers and servants, and they gave some of it to their visitors and still had plenty to eat, (54-55)."
Jussie's inclusion of God and other supernatural elements definitely shifts the reader's focus. How reliable is her report that the bread lasted so long? Or, is this simply another strategy to solidify Catholic beliefs in the miraculous interjection of God in daily human life?
For Jussie, the outcomes of all problems essentially rely on God's will. Therefore, any reader who reads this anecdote is also presumably capable of believing that God's will allowed these people to eat for a greater length of time than seemed possible. The other important aspect of Jussie's supernatural inclusions, however, is that this reliance on God's will hides other factors that could have come into play. If these people did eat for a longer period of time than possible, how did they get this food, if not through God?
Jussie's significant Catholic bias also establishes the major blind spot of the text, particularly for students of the Reformation. This blind spot includes opinions and views of the other, Protestant, side.
Although the reader secures a crucial grasp on the attitudes of Catholics during the reformation, the beliefs and attitudes of the Protestants are absent from the account, or told in skewed detail. Jussie extends her personal opinions and views to encompass the whole city of Geneva's attitude. She often makes broad general statements concerning the attitude of Geneva and Genevans as a whole. On page 47, she writes, "they should also have no fear for their religion, for the city does not want to be Lutheran," (47). Obviously there were innumerable supporters of the Protestant Reformation; therefore, it is clear that Jussie is not objective when she suggests that Geneva, as a whole, did not want to be Lutheran. This expansion essentially serves to silent the supporters of the Protestant Reformation, hindering the ability of a historical scholar to gain a full perspective on how individuals within the community of Geneva reacted towards the events of the reformation.
One woman's perspective may not be enough to offer a complete, full, well-rounded account of all peoples' ideas about the Reformation. However, there is much to be said about the strengths of The Short Chronicle
as a historical source. For one, Jussie offers the readers the opportunity to view larger issues at work in Geneva at the time. References to large scale economic, social, and political issues are present throughout the text. In addition, Jussie includes the unique perspective of a female writing about gender roles in the reformation with a particularly feminist depiction of Catholic women at the time. Undoubtedly, these were important issues during the period of reformation in Europe.
The effects of the Protestant Reformation extended far beyond matters of religion. The violence and instability created by unceasing conflict between Protestants and Catholics resulted in subsequent warfare. Jussie notes, "Because of that war, food was very expensive in the land all year long," (53). Here, the reader can imply that conflicts spawned by religion had detrimental economic effects for the general public. Economic consequences such as price increases on foodstuff would have certainly impacted many demographic statistics. Historians could put to good use the implication that warfare as a result of religious conflict ultimately influenced population sizes and health statistics (including the spread of disease, mortality rates, and fertility rates). These elements are crucial when getting to know a community during a particular period of history. In other words, religious conflict significantly contributed to the development of our society throughout history. When we examine these factors, we can gain a bigger picture of who these individuals were, how they viewed the world around them, and how they viewed their respective roles within that world. Additionally, we can begin to gain an understanding of how these individuals reacted to changes in their society and ultimately use these adaptations to mold the society we live in today.
Furthermore, Jussie's description of certain economic issues also help to paint a picture of a financially and morally deprived community as a result of political decisions.
Jussie describes the prince of Chambery's decree that no goods should be brought into Geneva. She writes:
"So the good prince went back to his city of Chambery and forbade anyone in his lands, under great penalty, to bring food or anything else to Geneva, which was a pity and caused great poverty in the town, especially the lack of wheat and wood, because the snow and cold were the severest they had been in twenty-five years. Houses fell to the ground. It was a piteous thing to hear the wails and lamentations of poor beggars.
That prohibition on supplies lasted from the Feast of Saint Sebastian [January 20, 1532] until the Feast of Saint Peter's Chair [February 22, 1532], when the prince called it off, (65)."
This example of how political decisions made by civil authorities as a result of religious conflict had negative consequences for the general public in Geneva. Jussie's description of the time of "great poverty" is reemphasized by her diction. Words such as "severest" and "lamentations" work to support her portrayal of the time as depressing and hopeless. Of course, however, this prompts the question of motive.
Does Jussie paint such a striking picture of poverty during the time as an objective description? Or, is this a technique used to call attention to the impoverished means by which "good" or "true" Catholics reaffirmed their faith in God?
Also important to note is Jussie's inclusion of issues such as disease. Although one might hope for an objective description of statistics concerning infection, ironically, Jussie uses the diseases spread indirectly by religious conflict to highlight the firm line drawn between the opposing sides. In other words, just as warfare inevitably influenced population sizes and mortality rates, it would have presumably influenced an increase in the spread of disease.
However, rather than suggesting that the conflict between the Catholics and the Protestants stop, Jussie's account is biased in that it suggests that the Protestants were at the root of spreading diseases affecting the community. She writes:
"That whole year there were many deaths caused by the plague because some people who were already heretics had plotted to kill all the leaders of the town so that they would then be lords over the whole town, and they took the infection and rubbed it on the locks of doors and threw it in the street in fruits and in handkerchiefs and in other pretty little things they dropped. Everyone who picked those things up was stricken, and so many honorable people died, (56)."
Jussie's belief that Protestants were spreading disease offers the readers an interesting perspective on how Catholics might have interpreted disease during the reformation. This is not something that would be typically found in historical sources such as the Genevan Consistory Records and provides an interesting glimpse of human psychology during the period of reform.
As Jussie's description of disease sheds light on the psychology of the people during the time, it is noteworthy that her text, as a whole, also offers crucial perspectives on psychological factors that influenced people's daily lives at the time. In her many descriptive anecdotes, Jussie often refers to the emotional state of the people involved. For example, she notes, "People were paralyzed with fear," (52).
This interesting tidbit is significant because of its relevance to our understanding of this community in the context of the reformation. People's state of mind could certainly have effected their actions and behaviors, and could contribute to an understanding of the horrific, violent acts that took place at the time. As a result of religious conflict, "everyone in Geneva lived in continual fear and melancholy, especially the honorable people, but mainly the poor ladies of Saint Clare," (105). Here, Jussie again exaggerates her own feelings and reactions to encompass the attitudes of Genevans as a whole. While all Genevans may not have felt the same way, Jussie's account sheds light on not only her personal experience of the reformation, but the experiences of many other nuns, women, or Catholics.
Jussie, as a woman writer, also provides a unique account of the reformation through the eyes of a woman.
There are, however, striking differences between Jussie's description of Catholic women versus descriptions of Protestant women, who are, in Jussie's eyes, just as heretical, if not more, than their husbands. Catholic women, on the other hand, "bore it heroically," (64).
Later, Jussie writes about interfaith marriages, which is also an interesting perspective to consider in the context of the reformation. She writes:
"Married men brought their wives. But many heretical men in Geneva had good Christian wives who, to defend the holy religion, suffered worse than martyrs because [167] since they did not renounce their religion, they were very severely beaten, tricked, and tortured. Yet women were always found to be much more steadfast and constant in the religion than men, and young girls and women were especially virile during those Lutheran errors, (116)."
Jussie portrays Catholic women as strong and steadfast' in their faith.
Perhaps her opinion on the role of women in the reformation is influenced by the fact that she herself is a female; however, it is important to note that many women at the time were likely to have faced challenges similar to those described above during this time.
Jussie also notes women's role in the reformation on the protestant side of events. She writes, "Amy Levet's wifewas meddling in preaching and proclaiming the Gospel," (159). Here we can see that women took active roles in the reformation, particularly on the Protestant side, where they were allowed to preach. Later in her account, however, she refers to the woman preacher as a "devilish-tongued woman," reiterating Jussie's already well-known bias.
The discrepancies between Jussie's description of women's roles on the Catholic side versus women's roles on the Protestant side of the debate further demonstrates one of the most significant weaknesses of the text as a historical source: the absence of the protestant perspective. However much the reader hopes for an objective account of the events taking place during the reformation, it is improbable that as a Catholic nun, Jussie could have offered that narrative.
The inherently Catholic bias of the text also leads to its next major weakness, its considerable reliance on the interjection of God and/or other supernatural beings as an explanation for certain events. Devoutly Catholic, Jussie would have, without question, surrendered herself to God as an explanation for events she witnessed or heard about.
Therefore, instead of being a critical analysis of these events, Jussie's account is simply a Catholic's interpretation of reality at the time. On page 112, Jussie writes about a man who came to the convent intent on terrorizing the nuns and eventually left them alone:
"God allowed his heart to be wholly transformed by pity, and he did not know what to say, except to reassure them and to promise that he would never do them any harm again, and he offered to do all he could to guard and protect them against anyone who tried to harm them. He went away completely edified without causing any more trouble, (112)."
This fails to consider the rational notions or explanations behind this man's decision to leave. Were their secret bribes involved? Private discussions? These are possibilities that we may never be able to fully explore, however, it is important to note that the sheer existence of these possibilities are noticeably absent from Jussie's accounts of events or reactions to these events.
The problem with the analysis of historical documents, however, always falls on reliability. How reliable is The Short Chronicle as a historical source, in comparison, for example, with the more straightforward Genevan Consistory records? As legal documents, one might imagine that the Consistory records would be a more objective account of events. While this may, in fact, be the case, it is important to consider the similarities and differences between these documents when evaluating the effectiveness of a document such as The Short Chronicle
as a historical source.
First and foremost, both The Short Chronicle and the Consistory records are fragmented works. Just as the records are comprised of brief descriptions of an event, the parties involved, and the outcome, Jussie's text is comprised of brief accounts she experienced or heard about through another party. The fragmentation of both documents, however, serves as further proof that present-day readers may never have a full account of past events. In both texts, the snapshots offer tiny pieces of daily life that imply larger issues on wider scales.
Regardless, there are still pieces missing from these texts that we may never be able to account for.
The main differences between the two sources include a major Catholic bias and the overwhelming presence of emotion. The Consistory records certainly do not have the bias of a Catholic nun behind them.
Furthermore, they are straightforward, direct, and free of emotion. Jussie, on the other hand, often peppers her descriptions with emotions, either her own or those that she perceives to be felt by whomever is involved in the event she is describing.
In conclusion, The Short Chronicle is a good source for the history of the reformation in Geneva, if taken for what it is. It is a biased account from the perspective of a Catholic nun writing from a point of view which is limited to many things, but also privy to a great deal of other aspects upon which the text touches. In some ways, Jussie's account can be considered historically accurate. For the most part, the events she reports upon are true, and her personal beliefs and emotions are also included in the narrative. However, the text can also be considered highly inaccurate as a historical source. Jussie's Catholic biases permeate throughout the text as she frequently depicts miraculous' events and attributes them to God. The question is to what degree Jussie is exaggerating and including her biases in her text. Is she doing this consciously to support a grander Catholic agenda, or is it simply the result of the influence of the people and events surrounding her at the time.