Abraham Mazel

Abraham Mazel (5 September 1677 – 17 October 1710), was a French Huguenot from the Cévennes region and camisard revolutionary, known for leading the insurrection that led to the Wars in the Cévennes (1702-1704), also known as War of the Camisards.

Biography[]

Abraham Mazel was born to a Huguenot family at Saint-Jean-du-Gard, Languedoc, France, on 5 September 1677, to David Mazel (1648-1719), a woolcomber, and Jeanne Daudé (1650-1680).

In October 1701, Mazel was visited by "the spirit of prophecy" urging him to free his fellow huguenots imprisoned by abbot François Langlade, archbishop of the Cévennes. He was well known in the Cevennes for his brutal repression of French Protestants

On 24 July 1702, about fifty peasants, led by Mazel and Ésprit Séguier, marched onto the archpriest's residence at Pont-de-Montvert, to inflict vengeance upon him, and release the imprisoned huguenots. At night, they raided Langlade's residence, first releasing the prisoners from their cells underground, and then set the house on fire. Langlade fell and was injured while trying to flee from a window, and was then finished by the peasants.

In 1704, while Jean Cavalier was negotiating peace with field marshal de Villars, leader of the royal troops, others kept on fighting, and among them Abraham Mazel. In January 1705 he was arrested but spared thanks to the help of the parish priest of Saint Martin de Coronac whose life Mazel had formerly spared.

On 24 July 1705, he escaped from the Tour de Constance (Gard) with seventy-six other prisoners.

With the guarantee that he would be taken to a foreign country, he surrendered and managed to join up with his friend Elie Marion. With his comrades he went to Geneva and Lausanne where he received an allowance as an officer in the "camisard regiment". In November 1705 he took part in the attempted landing of the camisards and Savoyard partisans in Savoie. He sought refuge in England and participated in the « Cévennes prophets » group activities. He felt called to go back to the Cévennes, where he returned.

In March 1709 with Daniel Guy nicknamed "Billard" and Antoine Dupont, he went to the Vivarais region and formed a troop of young men led by Jean Justet de Vals.

On June 22 the camisards attacked the Swiss regiment de Courten but the latter withdrew without fighting. On July 8 they were defeated at Leyrisse, where Justet and probably Dupont were killed. The remainder of Mazel's troops were dispersed at Font-Réal near Saint-Jean Chambre (Ardèche). Guy Billard was killed near Vors, but Mazel managed to escape once more. He took refuge in the Cévennes, met up with lay preachers who were still active, such as Claris, Corteiz and others. He then prepared another armed uprising.

On October 17, 1710, he was made prisoner and killed at the Mas de Couteau near Uzès (Gard).

A commemorative tablet was placed in the Reformed church in Uzès, a former Franciscan convent taken by the Reformed in 1791.

References[]