So, can anyone guess what John Calvin and Guy de Bres had in common?  I mean, besides the fact that they were Reformed?  While both spoke French, their native tongue was likely Picard.  Noyon was the birthplace of Calvin — Noyon is in Picardy, France.  Picard was also spoken in Mons, the town in present-day Belgium where de Bres was born.  Picard was also the lingua franca of the cities where de Bres served as a pastor:  Lille, Tournai and Valenciennes.

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