ABDIAS

MAUREL (d. 1705)  , Camisard leader, became a cavalry officer in the French army and gained distinction in Italy; here he served under Marshal Catinat, and on this account he himself is sometimes known as Catinat . In 1702, when the revolt in the Cevennes broke out, he became one of the Camisard leaders, and in this capacity his name was soon known and feared . He refused to accept the peace made by Jean Cavalier in 1704, and after passing a few weeks in Switzerland he returned to France and became one of the chiefs of those Camisards who were still in arms . He was deeply concerned in a plot to capture some French towns, a scheme which, it was hoped, would be helped by England and Holland . But it failed; Maurel was betrayed, and with three other leaders of the movement was burned to death at Nimes on the 22nd of April 1705 . He was a man of great physical strength; but he was very cruel, and boasted he had killed 200 Roman Catholics with his own hands .