The Marian exiles were English Protestants who fled to Continental Europe during the 1553–1558 reign of the Catholic monarchs Queen Mary I and King Philip. They settled chiefly in Protestant countries such as the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany, and also in France, Italy and Poland. Exile communities According to English historian John Strype, more than 800 Protestants fled to the continent, mainly to the Low Countries, Germany, and Switzerland, and joined with reformed churches there or formed their own congregations. A few exiles went to Scotland, Denmark, and other Scandinavian countries. Notable English exile communities were located in the cities of Aarau, Basel, Cologne, Duisburg, Emden, Frankfurt, Geneva, Padua, Strasbourg, Venice, Wesel, Worms, and Zürich. The exiles did not plan to remain on the continent any longer than was necessary; there was considerable controversy and anxiety among them and those who remained in England over the legitimacy of fleeing, rather than facing, religious persecution. This concern contributed to the attention and authority given to those who remained in England and were martyred, as in the writings of one of the most famous exiles, John Foxe. During their continental sojourn, few of the exiles became well integrated economically or politically into their new communities. With the exception of the exile community in Aarau, the majority of exiles were clergy (67) or theological students (119). The next largest group was composed of gentry (166) who, with others back in England, financed the exiles. This group included Elizabeth Berkeley (Countess of Ormond), Sir Peter Carew, William Cecil, Sir John Cheke, Sir Anthony Cooke, Sir Francis Knollys, Sir Richard Morrison, Dame Dorothy Stafford, and Sir Thomas Wroth. Of about 500 known English exiles, there were 40 merchants, 32 artisans, 7 printers, 3 lawyers, 3 physicians, 3 yeomen, 13 servants, and 19 men with no profession. Of the artisans 12–17 were weavers who settled in Aarau. Strype names London merchant and exile Thomas Heton (or Heyton, Eaton) as the host-general of all the exiles. Financial backers for the exiles included London merchants Richard Springham and John Abel. Support also came from the King of Denmark, the Prince Palatine of the Rhine, the Duke of Württemberg, the Duke of Bipont, and many continental leaders of the reformed movement: Heinrich Bullinger, Konrad Pelikan, Bibliander, Josias Simmler, Wolphius, and Ludwig Lavater. The Marian exiles included many important or soon-to-be important English Protestant leaders. Former and future bishops among