Editing Beeldenstorm (section)

==Background==
In France, unofficial episodes of large scale destruction of art in churches by [[Huguenot]] Calvinists had begun in 1560; unlike in the Low Countries, they were often physically resisted and repulsed by Catholic crowds, but were to continue throughout the [[French Wars of Religion]].<ref>Eire, 279–280</ref> In Anglican England much destruction had already taken place in an organized fashion under orders from the government,<ref name="Buchanan2009">{{cite book|last=Buchanan|first=Colin|title=The A to Z of Anglicanism|date=4 August 2009|publisher=Scarecrow Press|language=en|isbn=9780810870086|page=26|quote=Royal Injunctions order the reading of biblical passages in English at the mass, along with the destruction of images and the provision of a “poor men's box” for alms.}}</ref> while in Northern Europe, groups of Calvinists marched through churches and removed images, a move which "provoked reactive riots by Lutheran mobs" in Germany and "antagonized the neighbouring Eastern Orthodox" in the Baltic region.<ref name="Marshall2009">{{cite book|last=Marshall|first=Peter|title=The Reformation|date=22 October 2009|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=9780191578885|page=98|language=en|quote=Iconoclastic incidents during the Calvinist 'Second Reformation' in Germany provoked reactive riots by Lutheran mobs, while Protestant image-breaking in the Baltic region deeply antagonized the neighbouring Eastern Orthodox, a group with whom reformers might have hoped to make common cause.}}</ref><ref name="Lamport2017">{{cite book|last=Lamport|first=Mark A.|title=Encyclopedia of Martin Luther and the Reformation|date=31 August 2017|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|language=en|isbn=9781442271593|page=138|quote=Lutherans continued to worship in pre-Reformation churches, generally with few alterations to the interior. It has even been suggested that in Germany to this day one finds more ancient Marian altarpieces in Lutheran than in Catholic churches. Thus in Germany and in Scandinavia many pieces of medieval art and architecture survived. Joseph Leo Koerner has noted that Lutherans, seeing themselves in the tradition of the ancient, apostolic church, sought to defend as well as reform the use of images. "An empty, white-washed church proclaimed a wholly spiritualized cult, at odds with Luther's doctrine of Christ's real presence in the sacraments" (Koerner 2004, 58). In fact, in the 16th century some of the strongest opposition to destruction of images came not from Catholics but from Lutherans against Calvinists: "You black Calvinist, you give permission to smash our pictures and hack our crosses; we are going to smash you and your Calvinist priests in return" (Koerner 2004, 58). Works of art continued to be displayed in Lutheran churches, often including an imposing large crucifix in the sanctuary, a clear reference to Luther's ''theologia crucis''. ... In contrast, Reformed (Calvinist) churches are strikingly different. Usually unadorned and somewhat lacking in aesthetic appeal, pictures, sculptures, and ornate altar-pieces are largely absent; there are few or no candles; and crucifixes or crosses are also mostly absent.}}</ref>
[[File:Holzschnitt Schoen Bildersturm 1530.jpg|thumb|A German [[woodcut]] of 1530 titled ''Klagrede der armen verfolgten Götzen und Tempelbilder'' (English: "Complaint of the poor persecuted idols and temple pictures") by [[Erhard Schön]].]]

In Germany, Switzerland and England, conversion to Protestantism had been enforced on the whole population at the level of a city, principality or kingdom, with varying degrees of discrimination, persecution or expulsion applied to those who insisted on remaining Catholic. The [[Low Countries]]<ref>except for the [[Bishopric of Liège]], part of the Empire and ruled by the bishop (shown in brown on the map); now approximately [[Limburg (Belgium)|Belgian Limburg]].</ref> were part of the inheritance of [[Philip II of Spain]], who was a devoted Catholic and supporter of the [[Counter-Reformation]]; he [[Origins_of_the_Eighty_Years'_War#Events_and_developments|attempted to suppress]] Protestantism through his governor-general [[Margaret of Parma]], the illegitimate daughter of [[Emperor Charles V]], who was herself more willing to compromise. Protestants so far represented only a relatively small proportion of the Netherlandish population, but including disproportionate numbers from the nobility and upper [[bourgeoisie]]; nevertheless, but the Catholic Church had evidently lost the loyalty of the population, and traditional Catholic [[anti-clericalism]] was now dominant.<ref>Elliott, 90–91</ref>

The region affected was perhaps the richest in Europe, but still seethed with economic discontent among parts of the population, and had suffered a poor harvest and hard winter. However, recent historians are generally less inclined to see the movement as prompted by these factors than was the case a few decades ago.<ref>Arnade, 95–98, and 116, especially note 105 (where "reputation" is presumably a misprint for "refutation"). Elliott, 89–91, first written in 1968, reflects a version of the older view, for which the German Marxist historian Erich Kuttner was the standard-bearer.</ref><ref>Pollmann, 170–175.</ref>

[[File:Die Predigt Johannes des Täufers (Bruegel).jpg|thumb|An outdoor sermon depicted by [[Pieter Bruegel the Elder]] as ''[[The Sermon of Saint John the Baptist (Bruegel)|The Sermon of St John the Baptist]]'', 1566.]]
The Beeldenstorm grew out of a turn in the behaviour of Low Country Protestants starting around 1560, who became increasingly open in their religion, despite penal sanctions. Catholic preachers were interrupted in sermons, and raids were organized to release Protestant prisoners from jail, who then often fled into exile in France or England. Protestant views were spread by a large movement of "hedgerow sermons" or open-air sermons ({{langx|nl|hagepreken}}) held outside towns, and therefore out of the jurisdiction of the town authorities. The first took place on the ''Cloostervelt'' near [[Hondschoote]], in what is now the [[arrondissement of Dunkirk]] in [[French Flanders]], very close to where the attacks later began, and the first one to be armed against disruption was held near [[Boeschepe]] on 12 July 1562, two months after religious war had broken out again over the (then) French border just nearby.<ref>Petegree, 74–75</ref>

These open-air sermons, mostly by [[Anabaptist]] or [[Mennonite]] preachers, spread through the country, attracting huge crowds, though not necessarily of those leaning to Protestantism, and in many places immediately preceded the iconoclastic attacks of August 1566. Prosecutions for [[heresy]] continued, especially in the south, although they were erratic, and in some places clergy of clearly heretical views were appointed to churches. By 1565 the authorities seem to have realized that persecution was not the answer, and the level of prosecutions slackened, and the Protestants became increasingly confident in the open.<ref>Petegree, 82–86</ref> A letter of 22 July 1566 from local officials to the Regent, warned that "the scandalous pillage of churches, monasteries and abbeys" was imminent.<ref>Arnade, 97</ref>