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| The Waldensians from reformationsa.org/ |
The Waldensians began as an ascetic movement in pre-Reformation Europe. Originally called the Poor of Lyon, tradition states that their founder was Peter Waldo or Valdes, a wealthy merchant who abandoned his rich lifestyle for the call to a life of poverty. Waldensian teaching came into conflict with the Roman Catholic Church, and the Church declared the teaching of the Waldenses heresy. By the Sixteenth century, the Waldensian church was absorbed into Protestantism under the leadership of Swiss reformer Heinrich Bullinger. This paper aims to explore the origins of the Waldenses and the discussions among historians.
Heresy is a word with far less meaning
today than during the Middle Ages, as the consequences for heresy often carried
deadly consequences for the one accused. The heretic might face banishment from
their home and family, torture, or even death. During the first centuries of
Christianity, the church viewed heresy as a fall from sound doctrine instigated
by Satan, who enticed some within the church into following heretical teaching.[1]
The charge to separate the faithful from erroneous doctrines finds root in the
Scriptural commands to reject heretical teaching. The Apostle Paul, in his
final address, to the Ephesian elders, implored them saying,
Pay careful
attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made
you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own
blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not
sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking
twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. (Acts 20:28-30)
From
the beginning, Christianity set boundaries between orthodox and unorthodox
teachings. The boundary lines tightened as the church defined itself through
councils and creeds. The need to refute heresy led to the church to debate and
redefine the formation of orthodox Christian doctrine. In Medieval Latin
Christianity, a heretic was a baptized Christian who obstinately maintained
belief in false doctrine after being told that the doctrine is false.[2] The church maintained that it had a duty to
prevent and oppose heresy and those spreading false doctrine.
At the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE, the
church established orthodoxy to distinguish itself from Arianism. The embracing
of heresy was apostasy and the duty of the church was clear, for the church's duty was to establish orthodoxy and oppose heresy. The church viewed the
heretic as a traitor to the truth, no matter the good intentions of the heretic
or their community. In his description of the Cathars, Franciscan friar James Capelli describes a common attitude held by the church toward heretics.
For I bear them
witness that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they
have not submitted themselves to the justice of God. But under this cloak of
good works, in fact, they steal away the hearts of the foolish through sweet
words and blessings and by magnifying the wickedness and the bad customs of the
clergy they make them pretexts for blaspheming the Church of God before men and
for destroying the Catholic faith.[3]
Among the many groups considered
heretical by the Catholic Church, the Waldenses emerged near the end of the twelfth
century. Like many ascetic groups, the Waldensians began as an effort to recover
the simple faith of the Apostolic Church. Unlike many denominations and sects
the origins of the Waldenses remain enigmatic and shadowy. Historians even disagree
over the name and even the existence of
the founder. The goal of this paper is to examine the origins of the Waldenses by
investigating the sources and the historiography of the Waldensians. The
objective of this examination is to provide the groundwork for a future study
into the Waldensians and their origins and early history.
Any examination of the Waldenses begins
with an exploration into the origins of the movement. The Waldenses of the
later medieval period had little understanding of their beginnings, and some
believed that their beginnings dated from the fourth century, while others
maintained a direct line to the apostles.[4] Tradition
states that the founder of the Waldensians was a wealthy merchant from the city
of Lyons. Little is known of the man, often known as Peter Waldo, except that
most historians dispute that “Peter” was his first name, and the name was likely
a later addition to identify their founder with the apostle Peter.[5] His
name has seen spellings as varied as Waldes, Valdes, Valdesius, or Vaudes, and
while many of these are likely variations of the same name, the circumstances
add mystery to the origin of the Waldenses. An examination of the confession of
faith given in 1180 reveals the name of the Waldensian founder as Valdes or
Vaudes. With only the Latin translation available, it becomes difficult to
determine the exact form of his name spoken by those who knew him. Gabriel Audisio
maintains that working back to the original leaves only Valdes or Vaudes as the
only viable options.[6]
The conversion of Valdes to a life of
poverty and preaching occurred in 1173, according to an anonymous chronicler in
the city of Lyon. A wealthy citizen named Valdes “amassed a great fortune
through the wicked practice of lending at interest.”[7]
The chronicler describes how Valdes witnessed a crowd assembled around a
minstrel and found himself profoundly affected by the words of the minstrel’s
ballad. The song centered on the legend of St. Alexis, a popular medieval tale
often sung to inspire Christians toward devotion. The ballad told of a rich
fourth-century noble Roman inspired to abandon his wealth on his wedding night
for a life of chasteness and a life among the poor. Alexis spent his life
collecting alms for the poor gathered with him at the portico of the Church of
the Virgin Mary in Asia Minor. Eventually returning to his father’s household
near the end of his life, Alexis ended his life satisfied. No matter the
details, Valdes felt the call to follow Christ into a life of poverty.[8]
The tale of the minstrel is possibly a
fanciful twist to the call of Valdes to add seasoning to his origin. Another
version tells of Valdes struggling with uncertainties regarding his salvation.
Fearing that his wealth provided an impediment to salvation, Valdes began to
ask questions about the gospel. Hearing the reply of Jesus to the rich young
ruler, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the
poor,” Valdes remained determined to change his direction and follow a life
dedicated to Christ.[9] He
approached his wife and bequeathed to her all his real estate, while he also
made restitution to all he cheated. His daughters, he sent to a convent.[10] The
greatest portion of his wealth, he dispersed to the poor. During a famine,
Valdes met the needs of the hungry by providing bread, meat, and vegetables to
all who needed sustenance. He possibly ran a soup-kitchen for about two months,
ministering to the hungry of Lyon. Valdes revealed a desire to follow life of
poverty based on Christ and the apostles while exhorting and preaching to those
around him. Determined to remain a layman, Valdes guided his instruction using
vernacular translations of both the Scripture and the Church Fathers.[11] Etienne de Bourbon, a Dominican priest in Lyon adds
more detail to Valdes’ use of Scripture,
A certain rich
man of the city [Lyons], called Waldo, was curious when he heard the gospel
read, since he was not much lettered, to know what was said. Wherefore he made
a pact with certain priests, the one, that he should translate to him the
Bible, the other, that he should write as the first dictated. Which they did;
and in like manner many books of the Bible, and many authorities of the saints,
which they called Sentences. Which
when the said citizen had often read and learned by heart, he proposed to observe
evangelical perfection as the apostles observed it; and he sold all his goods,
and despising the world, he gave all his money to the poor, and usurped the apostolic office by preaching the gospel,
and those things which he had learned by heart, in the villages and open
places, and by calling to him many men and women to do the same thing, and
teaching them the gospel by heart, ... who indeed, being simple and illiterate
men and women, wandered through villages and entered houses and preached in open
places, and even in churches, and provoked others to the same course.[12]
On the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed
Virgin, he handed out money to the poor, crying out, “No man can serve two
masters, God and mammon.” [13]
Exhorting those around him, Valdes attracted a following. Those looking to dedicate
themselves to God as he had as the number of his followers grew, they became
known as the Poor of Lyon.
A life of poverty entails a loss of
respect and the security that comes with wealth, and Valdes’ wife, family, and
neighbors feared for his sanity.[14]
Addressing the concerns of those thinking he lost his mind, Valdes addressed
them,
My friends and
fellow townsmen! Indeed, I am not, as you think, insane, but I have taken vengeance
on my enemies who held me in bondage to them, so that I was always more anxious
about money than about God and served the creature more than the Creator. I
know that a great many find fault with me for doing this publicly. But I did it
for myself and also for you: for myself, so that they may henceforth see me in
possession of money may think I am mad; in part also for you, so that you may
learn to fix your hope in God and to trust not in riches.[15]
The
anonymous chronicler of Loan also records the actions of devotees following the
example of Valdes and vowing never to possess either gold or silver, nor worry
about the future. They gave up all their possessions for the poor and “became
devotees of voluntary poverty.”[16]
By 1170-1175, a community formed
around the example of Valdes and served as itinerant preachers, calling all who
would listen to repent. The Poor of Lyons escaped scrutiny due to the threat
caused by the growth of the Cathars. At first glance, the Waldensians or Poor
of Lyons appeared similar in form to the Cathars, but the followers of Valdes
greatly differed in substance to the Manichean theology of the Cathars and
regularly preached against Cathar doctrines.[17] The
Confession of Valdes became instrumental in demonstrating the orthodoxy of the
Waldensians. It is likely that the confession was not original with Valdes and
possibly was a composition drafted for him. The confession bears similarities
with the Confession of Henri de Marcy and has similar wording to the Statuta Ecclesia Antiqua, composed in
the fifth century. During later years, two groups of Waldenses employed the
confession to reconcile themselves with the Roman Catholic Church under
Innocent III in 1208 and 1210.[18] The
confession identifies Valdes and demonstrates the intention of the community to
remain faithful to orthodox doctrine. In his confession, Valdes confirmed his
faith in the Trinity and of ‘the blessed and ever Virgin Mary.” He affirms his
belief in orthodoxy by stating the truthfulness of the Nicene Creed and Athanasian
Creed, as well as both Old and New Testaments. He accepted the mission of John
the Baptist and the full humanity and deity of Jesus Christ. He affirmed the
One Holy Catholic Church and the mission of the church to distribute the
sacraments and that outside of the church, “no one can be saved.” He declared
that the devil became evil by his “own will.” Valdes affirmed his faith of the
Resurrection of the dead and that the faithful will rise in their own flesh.[19]
In 1179, Valdes reportedly arrived at
the Third Lateran Council and appeared before Pope Alexander III. The
appearance of Valdes at the council is uncertain, but the appearance of either
Valdes or his followers is certain. The results of the meeting are less
certain. It’s apparent that the Waldenses presented a French translation of
parts of Scripture to Pope Alexander III, and afterward, the Pope questioned the
group on their acceptance of Trinitarian doctrine and whether they believed in
the Virgin Mary.[20]
The Loan Anonymous chronicler reports that the “pope embraced Valdes, approving
his vow of voluntary poverty but forbidding preaching by himself or his
followers unless welcomed by the local priests.[21]
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| Pope Alexander III from Wilipedia |
Another source reporting on the
Waldenses at the Third Lateran Council was English priest, Walter Map, an
attendee at the council. Map represented English monarch Henry II at the
council and assumed the position as interrogator. According to Map, the council
intended to examine the Waldensians to determine their fitness to preach. It’s
apparent that the attitude of Map toward the Waldenses was one of derision and
arrogance.
At the Roman
council held under Pope Alexander III, I saw simple and illiterate men called
Waldenses, after their leader, Waldes, who was a citizen of Lyons on the Rhone.
They presented to the lord pope a book written in French which contained the
text and a gloss of the Psalms and many of the books of both Testaments. They
most urgently requested him to authorize them to preach because they saw
themselves as experienced persons, although they were nothing more than
dabblers.[22]
The Waldenses examined by the
council received mostly scorn and laughter, as Map describes the reaction to
the awkward and fumbling responses from the Waldenses as an occasion for
laughter. Herbert Grundmann describes Map as a “man of the world with a good
eye for what was amusing or interesting, but he had no perception of what was
spiritually important and politically essential.”[23]
 |
| Walter Map from Wikipedia |
But,
the laughter and rebuff directed toward the Waldenses not only revealed an
attitude of superiority by the prelates, but the reality of the fact that the
clergy saw these uneducated laypeople as a threat to the church and their
position of authority. Map expresses not only a threat to his position but a
concern for the “unchanging, untouchable order of the hierarchical Church
itself.”[24] Map
concludes his account of his interaction with the Waldensians by describing
these men who approach humbly but present a real threat.
They have no fixed habitations. They go about two by two,
barefoot, clad in woolen garments, owning nothing, holding all things common like
the apostles, naked, following a naked Christ. They are making their first
moves now in the humblest manner because they cannot launch an attack. If we
admit them, we shall be driven out.[25]
It is also worth noting that Map began
his account of the Waldenses at the council in Rome by mentioning that the pope
received Scripture in the vernacular French. Map includes the presentation of
the Scripture with the desire of the Waldenses to obtain permission to preach.
On every dot of the divine page, noble thoughts are wafted on so many wings, and such wealth of wisdom is amassed that he alone to whom God hath given something [to draw with] may drink from the full [well]. Shall, therefore, in any wise pearls be cast before swine, and the word given to laymen who, as we know, receive it foolishly, to say nothing of their giving what they received? No more of this, and let it be rooted out![26]
A
century later, Dominican inquisitor said of the Waldensians, “they have the
gospels and the epistles in the vernacular usually and even in Latin since some
of them understand it.”[27]
Gabriel Audisio explains that the
Waldenses had three primary foundational principles on which the community
rested. Scripture remained a central foundation for Valdes as the direction of
his life changed dramatically after hearing the words of Jesus. The need to
understand and apply the Bible necessitated a translation that allowed
understanding and application. Valdes hired two clergymen from Lyons to begin a
translation, beginning with the gospels. With a vernacular Scripture, reading, and application became possible, and an expectation of Scripture being “applied to the letter.”[28]
Valdes also applied the call to poverty
as a foundational standard for his life and community. Observers such as Walter
Map attest to the Waldensian commitment to poverty, as do inquisitors such as Etienne
de Bourbon and Bernard Gui. The Poor of Christ and the Poor of Lyons, names
chosen by the followers of Valdes, that they identified themselves with poverty.[29] A
description of Waldensian life in the late thirteenth century reveals how the
practice of poverty continued after the early years of the movement,
In this sect
both men and women are received, and they are called “Brothers” and “Sisters.”
They do not possess any immovable goods, but they renounce their own property
and follow poverty. They do not work, they do not acquire or earn anything by
which they could be supported, but they are supported by the goods and alms of
their friends and believers. ... They [the Brothers] live in houses and
households, two or three in a hospice with two or three women [the Sisters],
who pretend to be their wives or sisters.[30]
While many objected to the practice of begging, Valdes countered this complaint with the practice of preaching. For the Poor of Lyon, the necessity of preaching stemmed from Jesus’ command to his disciples before leaving them physically. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20 ESV) For Valdes, the call to preach and spread the word of Christ was a nonnegotiable.[32] Etienne de Bourbon, in the source shared earlier revealed the Waldensian compulsion to preach, but pointed out that Valdes “usurped the apostolic office by preaching the gospel.”[33] The Waldenses refused to cease their preaching as they believed that the duty to preach originated directly from God. Tradition reserved the right to preach and restricted the cure of souls to the pope, bishops, and clergy. Canon law limited preaching to the clergy, with very rare exceptions.[34] The insistence of the Waldenses to preach created an eventual collision between the followers of Valdes and the church.
Among the most troubling of the
Waldensian practices was the common occurrence of women actively preaching. The
practice horrified the church and most objected to what they believed was a
practice of sexual confusion, which clearly contradicted the sexual roles set
aside for women in 1 Timothy 2:12, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to
exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.” The urge for
many women to follow the apostolic model laid out by the Waldensians remained
strong in spite of the cultural pressures to conform.[34]
Before their appearance at the
Lateran Council, the Wadenses were in conflict with the archbishop of Lyon who
issued a ban against their preaching publicly. They cited the scripture that
commanded them to preach the gospel to all creatures and reminded the
archbishop from Acts 5:29 that they “must obey God rather than men.” While the
church insisted that only ordained representatives of the Church were allowed to
preach and perform the sacraments. Initially, the Waldensians had no dispute
over the unique role of the church to distribute the sacraments, but they did
insist on a good and moral priest. As the conflict widened, the Waldenses
asserted that a moral layperson might hear confession and dispense communion.[35]
On November 4, 1184 the Council ofVerona under Pope Lucius III issued the decree Ad Abolendam with the purpose “to abolish diverse malignant
heresies.” The decree anathematized the Cathar and Patarene heresies as well as
“those who falsely call themselves Humiliati
or Poor of Lyon. The decree is one of
the first sources to use the term “Poor of Lyon” to describe the Waldenses, and
both the Humiliati and the Waldenses previously
received permission conditional approval. The decree appears directed to the
Wadenses as it specifically forbids unapproved public preaching.[36]
Euan Cameron maintains labeling the
Poor of Lyon or the Waldenses as heretics remains possible after 1184, even if
their preaching had opponents within the Church. Before 1184, the Waldenses
were merely a pastoral problem within the Church. Yet, the clergy found itself
unable to oblige to the needs of zealous lay people. Cameron points out that
each side expected too much of each other.
If the
Archbishop had been more patient, or Valdesius more obedient, there would
probably still have been irregular, unlicensed lay evangelists at work in
twelfth-century Europe. They might not have been called Waldenses, but there
would still have emerged some groups who preferred the self-proclaimed mission
to the legally sanctioned hierarchy.[37]
The
late twelfth century witnessed a number of itinerant preachers feeling the call
to poverty, but the church failed to take into account the doctrines of each group.
Nor did they offer helpful correction. This was largely due to the threat of
the Cathars mounting in southern France. The Cathars confessed a Manichaean
dualism which separated the world into two principles of good and evil with the
physical world being evil. The threat posed by Catharism possibly led the
Church to disregard the theological underpinnings of Waldensianism and treat
the movement as a greater menace than it was.[38]
Gordon Leff maintains that Waldensians and Cathars “remained not only distinct
but fundamentally opposite. Their affinities were the result of circumstances,
not nature.”[39]
Both movements opposed the Catholic Church but neither shared similar
“dispensations.” Leff points out that the Waldensians were formerly Catholic
Christians that evolved into an independent Christian Church although regarded
as heretical by the Catholic hierarchy. The Cathars were non-Christian in both
doctrine and practice, who began and ended outside the Church. The Cathars
rejected Christian doctrine and practice, while the Waldensians appropriated
Christian doctrine for themselves.[40]
Richard of Poitiers describes that,
after their excommunication, heretics were scattered through Provence and
Lombardy, “where they mingled with other heretics, and imbibed and spread
around their errors.”[41] Another
important source describing the changes seen in the Waldenses after their
excommunication is the account of Rainier Sacchoni,
a Dominican inquisitor. Sacchoni served as a bishop
among the Cathars for seventeen years before converting to Catholicism. His
treatise written in 1250 directs most of its focus toward the Cathars but gives
a glimpse into the changes seen in the Waldenses after the declaration of
condemnation. But Sacchoni’s goal is not to provide a description of heresy,
but to guide inquisitors in their examination of heretics, therefore his
account is helpful but one must remember the purpose of the source.[42]
The first, the
Poor Men from across the Alps, say that the New Testament prohibits all
swearing as mortal sin. They also reject secular justice on the ground that
kings, princes, and potentates ought not to punish evil-doers. They say that an
ordinary layman may consecrate the body of the Lord, and I believe that they
apply this to women as well for they have never denied it to me. They allege
that the Roman Church is not the Church of Jesus Christ.
The Poor Men of
Lombardy agree with the others about swearing and secular justice. On the
eucharist they are even worse, holding that it may be consecrated by any man
who is not in mortal sin. They say that the Roman Church is a church of evil,
the beast and the harlot which are found in the Book of Revelations…They also
say that the Church of Christ remained in bishops and other prelates until St
Silvester, and failed in him, until they restored it, though they do say there
have always been some who feared God and been saved. They believe that children
can be saved without baptism.[43]
The
account from Rainier Sacchoni reveals the success the Waldenses achieved in
spreading their message through Europe. But, we also observe the gulf created
between the Church and the Waldensians. The Poor identified the Catholic Church
as a corrupt and evil institution closely identified with the beast and harlot in
the book of Revelation. The conflict that began over public preaching grew into
each side convicting each other of sin.
Another valuable source pointing to
the early years of the Waldenses is an early thirteenth manuscript presently at
Yale University. Beinecke Library MS Marston 266, contains a little-known work
by Durand of Huesca. Durand was an early follower of Valdes, who left the
Waldenses, to be legitimized in 208 by Pope Innocent III and given the charge
as Pauperes catholici, or Poor Catholics. Innocent charged the Poor Catholics
with the duty to preach against the Cathars. This source provides some insight
into the early work of the Church against the Waldensian movement and how the
concern over Catharism consumed the church.[44]
As the Waldenses moved, they spread
their message of poverty and spirituality. This leads us to question the
conditions leading to the emergence and spread of the Waldensians. Cameron
indicates that the first Waldenses “caught a mood in the age.”[45] The Waldenses emerged during a time when many faithful, saddened by the wealth and influence of the Catholic Church, sought meaning in new spiritual movements. The Waldensians, while much different than the Cathars, theologically bore some similarity in practice. It is no coincidence that the
spiritual journey of Valdes began when others such as Cathars, Patarine, and the
Humiliati also appeared, as each sect appealed to a searching and spiritual
mood.
Michael Frassetto also points to the
rise of heresies within the context of the social and religious strife existing
during the twelfth century. Both Church and state existed during a period
dominated by a rural-agrarian context. Changes in the twelfth century saw an
increase in a more commercialized and urban culture, along with a growing
population. The church was slow to react to the vast changes in the social and
economic order, which caused a shift in medieval society. Wondering priests and
preachers appealed to a desire to return to the apostolic ideal. Devout and
sincere Christians looked to the example of monks, seeking to live their daily
lives much as the apostle did. During
the time of Valdes’ conversion, the call to model one’s life on the apostles
became the burning desire of many twelfth century Christians.[46]
The origins of the Waldensians provide
interesting historiographical debate. Peter Biller presents both sides in his
article, “Goodbye to Waldensianism?”[47] Whareas, earlier historians expressed
confidence in the origins of the Waldenses, current historians’ express
skepticism about the early history of Waldensianism. Biller presents two
historians with contrasting views of the Waldenses, British historian Euan
Cameron and Italian historian Grado Merlo. Cameron wrote his first work, The Reformation of the Heretics: The
Waldenses of the Alps, 1480-1580 published in 1984, followed by another
volume in 2000, Waldenses: Rejections of
Holy Church in Medieval Europe. Cameron expresses some of the doubt
regarding Waldensianism in his 1984 volume,
The character of
the 'Waldensian' or 'Vaudois' heresy was normally linked with the personality
and image of its supposed founder, a merchant Lyons called Waldo or Valdes ...
[The] heresy duly spread to areas of southern France, northern Italy, and
ultimately, it is claimed, to the Empire as well. We probably can never
discover whether there was any historical continuity between the followers of
the pious merchant of Lyons and the 'Waldenses' of the south-western Alps whose
presence was first officially noticed in the mid-fourteenth century ... Perhaps
no more than a vague resemblance, or a conviction that all new dissent must
necessarily follow old patterns, led the churchmen of Embrun and Pinerolo to
stamp the epithet of 'Waldensian' on the most self-righteous and self-reliant
of their mountain flocks.[48]
Biller
argues that while Cameron brings insight and intelligence to the study of the
Waldenses, he “also made doubt about the continuity and identity of the sect
its keynote.”[49]
Also, in 1984, Merlo presented in
Italian the first of two volumes, Valdesi
e valdismi medievali, the Italian title demonstrates Merlo’s intention that
scholarship needed to use a plural when looking at the Waldensian movement.
Instead of Waldensianism, Merlo maintains that one should look at Waldensianisms of “different and varied communities
that were thus labeled.” Most of the earliest sources containing evidence of
the Waldenses comes from records of trials from varied areas from 1240 to the
1480s. Merlo examined the sources and found subtle difference between Waldensian groups of different regions causing him to
put forward his argument of Waldensianisms as opposed to a single unified group
of Waldensianism. Merlo contended that instead of seeing the medieval Waldenses
as a single unified group, that the movement consisted of different regional
groups developing separately from each other.[50]
Biller responds to the skepticism of
Cameron and Merlo with a number of counterpoints. Regarding Cameron, Biller
points out that as a Reformation historian, he operates from a different
chronological angle. A historian of the Reformation, looking backwards to the
heresies might notice the paucity of sources, while a medieval historian notices
the opposite. In addition, Biller remarks that Cameron’s fixation with the
“demolition of post-medieval Protestant myths and the impulse to minimize
medieval Waldensianism seems to have a strong personal basis.”[51]
Regarding Merlo, Biller argues that
Merlo proves to be a consistent critic of Waldensian historical myths and
despite his involvement with modern Italian Waldensians sees it as his duty as
a historian to demolish what he sees as Waldensian myths.[52]
Biller also argues that Merlo is selective in his use of the evidence, especially
regarding sources regarding the Waldenses of the Italian Piedmont. Biller
claims that Merlo is suspiciously selective in the way he deals with evidence
of heterodox presence in the Piedmont town of Pinerolo. In describing the statute
condemning heretics dated from the thirteenth century, Merlo discusses the
sources as possible evidence, one should not exaggerate its importance, or the
source could mean nothing. In his examination of sources, Biller believes that
Merlo remains prejudicial toward sources that do not fit his thesis. According
to Biller, “Merlo edges the Pinerolo statute towards the exit door of the
exclusive club of historical facts.”[53]
Biller contends that Merlo’s extension
of Waldensianism into the plural Waldensianisms of local communities remains
useful as it exposes the variety of belief and practice within the movement.
But, Biller claims that the argument leads to a reductio ad absurdum.
Modem scholarly
erosion of Waldensianism and its dissolution into the plural Waldensianisms of local
communities and then, beyond them, into the Waldensianisms of local individuals
they contained, is no more and no less the erosion of any lived faith that has
an identity a community of different individuals of varying minds and
experience.[54]
With
much of the evidence for the Waldenses’ existence coming from Catholic sources,
Biller believes that historians need to “expand the evidence not contract it.”
An example of expanding he evidence is Gabriel Audisio’s statistical analysis
of the wills of families, affiliated with the Waldensians demonstrating that
the bequests compared to those of catholic families reveals a religious awareness,
when compared to even small bits of evidence can reveal Waldensian support.
After the 1184 decree of Verona
pronounced Waldensianism a heresy, the Waldenses faced intense persecution. The
surviving Waldensians retreated for the safety of the alpine valleys of
southeastern France and northern Italy. Eventually, a split occurred between
the Waldenians in Lombardy and those in France. During the fifteenth century,
the Waldensians again suffered heavily from the Inquisition, with some
reconciling and reconverting to Catholicism while others identified with the
Protestant Reformation. Even today, a remnant community of Italian Waldenses
endures in northern Italy, while others reside in the United States. The
stubborn existence of the Waldensians demonstrates the need to examine their
origins and history.
While the evidence supporting the
details surrounding the life of Valdes remains scant and rests upon Catholic
sources, one can remain confident that Valdes was a historic person. There exists enough source material to understand that Valdes attracted a following of pious laypeople, who formed a movement in the Piedmont region of France, Italy, and Germany. Continued study of the Waldenses will both broaden
and deepen an understanding of medieval heretics, as well as the larger
religious atmosphere of the Middle Ages.
Bibliography
Ames, Christine
Caldwell. Medieval Heresies: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015.
Audisio,
Gabriel. The Waldensian Dissent: Persecution and Survival c. 1170-1570.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Biller, Peter.
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