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Despite the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, a great many Huguenots continued to serve in the French army during the eighteenth century. They were often accepted, provided they avoided scandal. The army needed men and often cast a blind and pragmatic eye to their religious beliefs. And so, the army remained a refuge for Huguenots. In foreign regiments, an age-old tradition of service to the French king ensured tolerance for mercenaries hailing from across Europe. Capitulations guaranteed freedom of conscience and religion to foreign soldiers, although these religious privileges were closely monitored. From the sixteenth century onward, protestant soldiers from Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Scotland, and Hungary served by the thousands in the royal troops. They were tolerated as long as their religious practices remained inconspicuous. In this way, over the course of the eighteenth century, the French army invented an original form of religious coexistence. This military tolerance, while limited, offered religious minorities a way to serve the royal state and, by doing so, to gain honor and rewards. The army remained a shielded microcosm within a broader French society where non-Catholics were largely cast out. In doing so, the military provided an opportunity for social inclusion.