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Waldensian History
A Brief Sketch
© by Ronald F. Malan, M.A.
Genealogist and Trustee, Piedmont Families Organization
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- INTRODUCTION
THE EARLY PERIOD
- Historical Accounts-Then and Now
Beginnings Key Early Characteristics
Attempt at Internal Adjustment
Clerical Reactions Persecution Begins
Expansion
THE INQUISITION: INTENSIFIED
PERSECUTION
- The Inquisition and Clandestinity
Beliefs of the Poor The Question of Authority Modifications Another Crusade
THE REFORMATION
- Contact with the Reformation
Major Change The End?
THE COUNTER-REFORMATION: TURBULENT
TIMES
- The Counter-Reformation The Plague The "Piedmont Easter"
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes
Waldensian Response Death and Imprisonment The Unconquerables
Exile
FROM THE "GLORIOUS RETURN" TO THE
PRESENT
- The "Glorious Return" The Second Exile Devastation
Napoleonic Influence The Waldensian Ghetto Freedom at Last
Emigration Developments in the Valleys
The Twentieth Century Conclusion
RECOMMENDED READING
- General Waldensian Histories
Specialized Studies
Introduction
This is merely an overview of
Waldensian
history, based primarily on the sources noted below. I also include
personal observations from years of studying medieval history and
heresy.
For a more complete history, see
Gabriel
Audisio's book, The Waldensian Dissent, Persecution and Survival
c.1170-c.1570 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999) ISBN 0 521
55984 7 (paperback) or 0521 55029 7 (hardback). This is a sound, fair,
sympathetic, and highly readable Waldensian history. Other histories
abound, but they are either biased, ignore important recent published
research, or are more scholarly and detailed than the average
reader seeks-and in a foreign language. Audisio provides references to
other materials for those who desire more detail. Except as noted, the
sketch below follows Audisio.
The following fairly recent Waldensian
histories are also worth reading:
Cameron, Euan. The Reformation of the Heretics: The
Waldenses of the Alps, 1480-1580 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1984).
Cameron's claims about the dating and meaning of the synod at Chanforan
in 1532, where the decision was made to adhere to the Reformation, has
not been accepted by other historians. Further, he limits too severely
the sources of information he is willing to consider. This attempt to
eliminate sources that may bias his findings results in an unfortunate
counter-bias that skews some of his conclusions. It is primarily useful
for the detail about Waldensians in the Dauphiné (eastern
France).
Stephens, Prescot. The Waldensian Story: A Study in
Faith, Intolerance and Survival. (Lewes, Sussex: The Book Guild Ltd,
1998) ISBN 1 85776 280 0. When in stock, available in the U.S. through
the American Waldensian Society, P.O. Box 744, Whitehall, PA 18052.
Some of the early sections suffer from a tendency toward apologetics
(defending a cause-in this case the Waldensians-beyond what the
evidence supports). For later periods, his treatment is more balanced
and he is willing to discuss the occasional Waldensian weaknesses as
they dealt with their challenges. Covers to the present, much beyond
where Audisio leaves off. Very readable.
Tourn, Giorgio. You Are My Witnesses (Torino:
Claudiana, 1989). Available in the U.S. through Friendship Press, PO
Box 37844, Cincinnati OH 45222; (513) 948-8733. Ignores research
published in the 1960s and 1970s and at times tends toward apologetics
(see above) and therefore isn't as objective as history should be. But
highly readable and informative.
If you wish to read one or more of
these but prefer not to buy them, your nearest library that belongs to
the Interlibrary Loan system should be able to obtain a copy to check
out to you.
Return to Table of Contents
THE EARLY PERIOD
Historical Accounts-Then and Now
Let's begin with a comment of my own.
Many of the older Waldensian histories speak of them as a body of
Christians, hiding in the Alps from the days of the original apostles,
or at least from the time of Claude, archbishop of Turin. But the
eminent French historian Jean-Pierre Poly has shown that from 883 until
972-nearly a century-Saracen pirates fully controlled southeastern
France and the Alpine passes. All inhabitants of the areas later known
as the Waldensian Valleys were swept off. There simply could not have
been a continuous group there.
Those older histories make many
unsupported (and unsupportable) claims for the Waldensians. But during
this past century, historians interested in the Waldensians have (1)
discovered new documents, (2) compared and contrasted more carefully
the surviving relevant documents from various countries, (3) used more
formal logical methods to assess an author's purpose in creating a
document, and (d) used other disciplines such as linguistics to analyze
and interpret those documents. The result is a more reliable history.
Beginnings
All serious historians now agree that
the Waldensian movement began in Lyons about 1170. Claims to greater
antiquity came much later and are unfounded, as will be shown.
It is now also universally agreed that
the founder's name was not Peter Waldo; he was never called Peter until
some 150 years after his death; reasons for ascribing that name to him
will also be presented later.
The form of his name currently
accepted is either Vaudes or Valdes, depending on how the particular
scholar interprets the amount of influence the northern "French"
language had on the southern "Provencal" language in Lyons at the time.
We'll use the form Valdes here, as the "l" sound is maintained in the
current name Waldensian and will therefore be more familiar.
And, until joining the Protestant
Reformation in the 1500s, his followers never called themselves
"Waldensians." That term was applied to them by those who sought to
destroy them and therefore carried pejorative connotations. Rather,
they consistently referred to themselves as the "Poor of Christ," the
"Poor of Lyons," the "Poor in Spirit," or more simply "Brothers."
About 1170, Valdes, a wealthy merchant
of Lyons, had a life-changing experience. There are several versions of
the experience, but they center on his sudden awareness of Christ's
injunction to the rich young man, "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell
that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in
heaven: and come and follow me" (Matt. 19:16-21).
Deeply touched, Valdes arranged for
his wife's welfare, placed his daughters at the abbey of
Fontrevault-which bespeaks his means-paid two clerics to translate
portions of the New Testament and some maxims from the early church
fathers (Augustine, Jerome, Ambrose, and Gregory)
into Franco-Provencal, and began preaching.
Key Early Characteristics
The basic points of his efforts, which
persisted until the Reformation, were (1) the literal interpretation of
the Bible, (2) genuine poverty, and (3) preaching.
By the twelfth century, the Catholic
clergy consisted of members of the higher classes, often younger sons
who had little if any chance of having any other inheritance. The
clergy had long been highly politicized, and positions could be
bought-or wrested by force. The higher classes, whether in public or
religious stations, were used to a life of ease. They couldn't relate
to the common people and, whenever natural disasters or other
situations made life difficult, the common people could easily resent a
life style they had to support but couldn't enjoy. Further, the clergy
used Latin, little understood by the common people, and their training
inclined them to philosophy and entangled logic in interpreting the
Bible, which, again, the common people did not understand.
The people were now given the chance
to contrast their typically indifferent, often indolent priests and
bishops with these poor but fervent preachers who quoted the Bible in
their own language, preachers who could relate to their own personal
struggles. It is not difficult to see how Valdes and his followers won
their allegiance. He attracted many followers.
From about 1175 to 1184, the Poor put
their preaching appeal to use in southern France, the center of another
widespread, older heresy, Catharism. For the reasons noted above, they
were far more effective in public debate with the Cathars (also called
Albigensians) than were the Catholic clergy. At this early time, the
Poor as preachers preferred population centers, where there were larger
numbers to preach to, and appealed widely to the upper classes.
Attempt at Internal Adjustment
But Valdes was not trying to establish
a different church. He had no interest in having a religious title, nor
in heading up even his own group. Instead, he was trying to get the
Catholic clergy to return to the model of Christ, as shown in the New
Testament. This is convincingly indicated by a document called Valdes'
"Profession of Faith," which is thoroughly Catholic and orthodox.
In 1179, a small delegation,
undoubtedly including Valdes himself, went to the Third Lateran
Council. The pope was impressed enough that he supported their emphasis
on poverty and gave oral permission for them to preach, subject to the
approval of local authorities.
Clerical Reactions
The new archbishop of Lyons, however,
was not anxious to have Valdes and his group put the local clergy in a
bad light, nor was he willing to share the prestige and power that
always accompanied preaching in a day when few could read and few were
authorized to speak in public. Those two forms of communication,
reading and speaking, provided genuine power-then and now.
Rather than stop preaching, which they
felt was a divine injunction, Valdes and his followers were driven from
Lyons. They went, naturally, where they could preach: southern France,
northern Italy, Burgundy, Lotharingia. They established followers in
all these locations.
But because he refused to bow to local
interdictions against preaching, in 1184 Valdes and his followers were
excommunicated as "schismatics" (disobedient), rather than as
"heretics." Thus, the church hoped to have them change their views and
return, and Valdes and his followers hoped to have the excommunication
overturned. They continued preaching and, despite the excommunication,
some Catholic bishops still debated publicly with them as late as 1207.
And the Poor of Lyons still preached in public, in at least some
places, as late as 1228.
But about 1205 or 1207, Valdes died,
perhaps in Bohemia. After the Council of Pamiers in 1207, some of the
Poor of Lyons returned to the Catholic Church, which authorized a new
order, the "Poor Catholics." The leader of this returning group was
Durand of Huesca, who had been one of Valdes' associates. But not many
Waldensians followed Durand's example.
Persecution Begins
In 1208, a systematic crusade began
against the Cathars (also called Albigensians, after their center at
Albi), and it lasted some twenty years. This crusade destroyed many of
the Poor of Lyons in the area as well.
In 1215, "anathema" (condemnation) was
pronounced upon them by the Fourth Lateran Council. They were now
officially heretics. Yet the Roman Church had learned a useful lesson
from these early dealings with the Poor of Lyons, and dealt differently
with later calls for poverty, such as that of St. Francis of Assisi.
Expansion
By about this time, the missionary
efforts of the Poor had reached eastward into Provence (southeastern
France), the comtat Venaissin, Burgundy, Franche-Comté,
the borders of Lorraine and Alsace (all in eastern France), and
Lombardy. Although there was as yet no national language (French), all
these areas spoke a form of French that posed few if any problems to
the preachers.
A Poor of Lyons document of 1218,
related to a discussion held at Bergamo, shows a split between two
groups of the Poor, both in northern Italy. The group in Lombardy had
proceeded more toward a formal organization, and there were eight other
items of disagreement between them and the group in the Alps. Three
representatives from each group met together and came to agreement on
seven of the nine dividing issues.
Return to Table of Contents
THE INQUISITION: INTENSIFIED PERSECUTION
The Inquisition and Clandestinity
The Inquisition began in 1231. At
first it targeted only the preachers, not their followers. The feeling
was that the followers would return to the Roman church if they were
taught properly, so the effort was to remove those who raised questions
in the people's minds. The centers of the Poor in southwestern France
had to be abandoned, and the movement changed from public preaching and
from an urban society to a rural one. Because they could no longer
safely preach where the titled and wealthy were, the Poor stopped
attracting the upper classes. After 1250, there are no signs of the
Poor living in the towns of Burgundy, Gascony, and Rouergue, previously
among their centers.
Intense persecution led to
clandestinity, a direct contraction to the fervent feeling of Valdes
that the gospel should be preached openly, as the apostles had done.
But the group faced a choice: continue preaching and all die, or
accommodate to circumstances and perpetuate the movement. A few
remained preachers, but not openly so, while most settled into a
regular lifestyle, marrying and working as craftsmen, farmers, and
herdsmen to support their families. The focus became to perpetuate the
group, rather than to increase it through converts.
Beliefs of the Poor
The documents of their persecution
show them to have been staunchly against telling falsehoods or taking
oaths for any reason, as well as opposing the notion of purgatory. This
Catholic doctrine, not at all a biblical idea, was only fixed in 1274;
until 1255 it wasn't even considered heretical to oppose it.
These same documents indicate that
the Poor believed in confession and Donatism (the idea that the
validity of the sacraments hinges on the worthiness of the priest; that
is, an unworthy priest cannot perform a valid sacrament). This also led
them to reject belief in the intercession of saints, as some of these
had been canonized by "unworthy" popes.
Except for these items-and of course
the persistent beliefs about poverty and preaching, using the Bible in
the popular tongue-the group "acted" Catholic.
The Question of Authority
But charges of "newness," raised by
the clergy, and by the Inquisition in particular, were unsettling. In
that day, antiquity was considered evidence of being the "correct"
church. Those charges gave rise to attempts by the preachers to link
the Poor to earlier dissents and, finally, to the apostles themselves.
But much of this claim depended upon a document, the "donation of
Constantine," which was shown much later to have been falsified. There
is today no shred of evidence to push the Waldensian movement beyond
Valdes himself. Even if some of his early converts had previously been,
or descended from, earlier dissenters, these dissents did not reach
beyond the previous century at most. There simply is no thread linking
the Poor back to a "purer" church. But that does not diminish their
devotion to trying to live as they understood the Bible intended them
to live.
Modifications
Audisio further points out that by
the 1500s, the development of a merchant and banking class in society
had changed the view of the Poor about poverty. They no longer sought
to give away all they had to the poor. They had to be concerned about
the transmission of family goods from one generation to the next-of
providing for their children. And they had to conform to such cultural
practices as dowries. Analysis of their wills shows them to have been
more generous than their Catholic counterparts, and less inclined to be
concerned with accumulating wealth.
I personally think this attitude was
deeply ingrained in the Poor long before the economic developments
Audisio mentions. If Audisio is correct that some of the first
generations of preachers continued to preach but that most settled
down, married, and raised families, that very change would modify the
inclination to give away all and to live by donations only. Such people
would have had to devote much of their effort to providing for their
families, including legacies for heirs. Still, devotion to principle to
the degree found among the Poor would also find them generous,
according to their means, in supporting those who chose to remain
preachers. That attitude would extend to caring for the poor.
Another Crusade
In 1487, Cattaneo began his two-year
crusade against the Poor in Dauphine. Cameron provides convincing
evidence that Cattaneo and his assistants were not motivated by
religious convictions, but rather by greed. They confiscated lands and
then charged illegal fees for the Poor to avoid penalties or to have
reversed those penalties already imposed. But the area was devastated.
Many of the Poor fled to Provence, and groups also went to southern
Italy.
Return to Table of Contents
THE REFORMATION
Contact with the Reformation
The first evidence of contact with
the Reformation appears about 1523. Some of the preachers, called
barbas by then in the Alpes and
Provence, wondered if the transmission of their beliefs over centuries,
their adherence to the Bible message, was still accurate. The first
inquiries revealed
substantial differences on such key matters as Calvinistic ideas of
predestination, the role of preachers or ministers, and clandestinity.
The Poor had always felt that works were an essential part of living
the gospel, but predestination rejected the value of works.
The Reformation had ministers
marrying, settling down and owning land, which rejected the original
and still-maintained value among the Poor of having the preachers
remain unmarried and landless. This had permitted the preachers to
devote all their time and energy to their itinerant ministry. And the
Reformers were shocked at what they considered the hypocrisy of the
Poor in keeping their worship hidden from the authorities so as to
avoid persecution as much as possible.
In 1532, a synod of barbas decided to
adhere to the Reformation, although the decision was not unanimous. Two
barbas even traveled to Bohemia in hopes of getting support from that
branch of the Poor, but their effort had no effect on the decision.
Major Change
Audisio raises the question of what
would cause the people to make such an abrupt rupture with their
centuries-old past, and isn't fully satisfied with answers he can
infer.
I suppose that some of the barbas
became confused
at the articulate arguments of those of their number who had more
education and prior contact with the Reformation. I suspect that a
significant consideration also was the persistent danger they faced.
The Inquisition had been quite effective in eliminating a number of
them. Tortured, they ultimately identified the homes they had stayed
in, and that meant the families who previously had hosted the traveling
barbas had either fled or been arrested as well. Perhaps some of the
barbas therefore saw a dim future, and the power of the Reformation in
Switzerland, the German states, and elsewhere may have seemed like a
refuge.
Whatever the reasons, the formal
decision did not result in immediate adherence to the Reformation in
everyday life. Not until 1555-1560 does evidence of the Reformation
appear in the personal lives of the Poor. In essence, a whole
generation passed before the change started to be evident in practice.
It would be interesting to know how
the Poor, those who had been among the group for generations, reacted
to the conversion of most of their neighbors in the Alpine Valleys. And
how did they feel about the erection of formal buildings of worship, in
place of the traditional secret meetings in the open or, for smaller
groups, in homes? The openness increased their numbers, but being more
visible also made them seem more of a threat and increased their
persecution.
The End?
To Audisio, adherence to the
Reformation marked the end of the Poor as a religious movement-for he
considers them not yet to have effected a formal organization. To him,
they abandoned their primary tenets: living by the Bible without
dependence on intricate analysis or philosophy; poverty; and preaching,
which had meant nurturing rather than directing the flock-being
shepherds rather than sheepherders, we might say. Further, they
abandoned their native tongue, a Provencal dialect; to him, they
abandoned their identity.
Whereas they had always previously
resisted organizing as a "church," in 1558 they adopted a church
organization based on the Genevan model. Later they modified it to
conform more to the French-style synodal system. And they came to
accept being called Waldensians, which the Reformation turned from an
aspersion to a compliment.
Audisio doesn't explore another facet
of the change. I find it intriguing that, up to their adherence to the
Reform, one reason the Poor had distrusted the Catholic clergy was
because of their learning in philosophy and rhetoric. This, the Poor
felt, gave rise to complicated attempts to interpret and explain the
scriptures. Yet it wasn't long after they adopted the Reform before
their own pastors received just such higher education. This education
took place in Switzerland and was Protestant rather than Catholic, to
be sure. But they abandoned their centuries-held belief that it was not
necessary-in fact, wasn't even desirable-to have university training in
order to understand and preach the gospel.
Audisio emphasizes that the
Waldensians survived as an ethnic and cultural group, even though they
had thoroughly changed their religious identity. For him, it is
erroneous to speak of the "Waldensian Church" as having survived for
eight centuries.
(The procedure in his historical
analysis is to clearly identify the earliest characteristics of the
Poor, compare them to the characteristics after full adoption of the
Reformation, and let the comparison logically indicate whether it was
the same "church." It is an interesting approach. I wonder what the
result would be if he applied the same criteria to an analysis of the
early Christian Church: Would he then logically conclude that the
Christian Church of the fourth or fifth century-or any later
century-survived as a cultural entity and as ethnic groupings, but was
not at all the same "Church" as Christianity in the first century?)
There is some evidence in defense of
Audisio's conclusions about the Waldensians. The records show much of a
tendency toward that direction. Yet the change wasn't complete, and it
certainly wasn't unanimous. The parish registers still show signs in
the early 1700s of the Provencal dialect. And family histories passed
down in my own family reveal serious family discussion in the mid-1800s
about whether or not adhering to the Reformation had really been the
proper decision. These ancestors, and other Waldensians around them,
still discussed one of the fundamental issues raised at Bergamo in
1218: the question of authority.
Return to Table of Contents
THE COUNTER-REFORMATION: TURBULENT TIMES
The Counter-Reformation
But let us continue our survey of
their history. For a century after 1560, the Waldensians experienced
severe pressure from the Catholic Counter-Reformation. From 1540,
persecution of Waldensians in Provence
intensified, leading to the infamous massacre at Merindol in 1545. In
1560, the Waldensian settlements in Calabria were destroyed. Many of
these families had fled Dauphiné during Cattaneo's crusade some
seventy years earlier.
In 1561, the Agreement at Cavour was
supposed to grant the Waldensians the right to worship. But the
agreement was not properly ratified, thus providing a loophole the
clergy used without end to try to force their will on the people. The
practical result was that Waldensians could not live nor own land
outside the restricted territory of their native valleys.
The Plague
In the early 1630s, the plague
decimated their population. The notarial records provide evidence of
the devastating effect on families. And the plague took eleven of their
thirteen pastors as well. They had to call upon Geneva for more
ministers, and this appears finally to have completed the transition to
the Reformation camp.
The "Piedmont Easter"
In April 1655, the Waldensians were
ordered to quarter the ducal troops. Early on Easter morning, at a
given signal, these troops arose and brutally murdered and pillaged
their hosts. This became known as the Piedmont Easter, and led the
English poet Milton to write his famous sonnet, "On the Late Massacre
in Piedmont," about the "slaughtered saints."
A small band, under the leadership of
Josuè Janavel, a local farmer, began guerilla raids that kept
the people from total annihilation and absorption into Catholicism. In
August, the duke was compelled to treat for peace, but one price was
that Janavel and his band were exiled.
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes
In 1685, Louis XIV of France, who
wanted to be called the "Sun King" (to outdo the ancient pharaohs, who
were only "sons of the sun"), revoked the Edict of Nantes. That edict,
established in 1598, had guaranteed French Protestants the right of
worship. The revocation decreed that it was illegal for Protestants to
live within the country but also forbade them from leaving, another
attempt at forced conversion to Catholicism. Many fled to exile,
despite the law.
The Duke of Savoy at the time, Victor
Amadeus II, was the nephew of Louis XIV. In January 1686, he succumbed
to his uncle's pressure and issued a decree paralleling the Revocation
of the Edict of Nantes. The Waldensian pastors were expelled,
Waldensian worship was forbidden, and all children were to be baptized
Catholics.
Waldensian Response
On March 6, the Waldensians defied
the order and, on the basis of Acts 4:19 (it is better to obey God than
man), resumed worship services. The duke, of course, was not pleased.
Six days later, the Waldensians met at Roccapiatta. The pastors, with
the Swiss delegates who had come to plead their cause before the duke
(unsuccessfully), tried to persuade the people to accept exile. This
time, except for the small Swiss delegation, the Protestant nations
were not intervening with the duke. The people had all but decided to
accept his counsel. But one of the pastors, Henri Arnaud, gave such an
impassioned appeal that they changed their minds. He convinced them
that God would be with them and would use them to bring about the final
destruction of their tormentors.
Death and Imprisonment
Arnaud meant well, but it seems to
have been a poor decision. Without substantial Protestant pressure on
the duke, military action lasted just three days. Tourn estimates that
more than 2000 Waldensians were killed in those three days. Some
capitulated and became, in name, Catholic. About 8500 were herded off
to fifteen detention centers. These consisted of fortresses, prisons,
and old castles. They were not provided food, water, or shelter, for
the intent was their entire extermination. Tourn reports that of 1400
in the dungeon at Carmagnola, only 400 survived; of some 1000 at Trino,
only forty-six survived.
The Unconquerables
The duke's forces felt they had taken
care of the Waldensian problem because they had combed the mountains,
routing out those who resisted or were found hiding. Soon, however, a
few they had missed began guerilla raids again. They became known as
the "Unconquerables." The duke had intended to repopulate the
Waldensian areas with dependable Catholics, but found it difficult to
achieve. The Waldensians had proven so durable over the centuries that
many Catholics doubted they could permanently hold the land.
Exile
The cruelty of the affair again
aroused international indignation. Under intense pressure from the
Protestant nations, the duke finally agreed in January, 1687 to
perpetual exile for the survivors. But he wanted them moved far beyond
his borders, to northern Germany.
Thirteen groups of survivors were
released from their prisons, the first leaving Piedmont on 17 January
and the last reaching Geneva on 10 March. That is not an easy time of
year for someone in good health to cross the Alps, and those surviving
the imprisonment were no longer robust. Tourn reports that of 2700 who
began the trek into exile, 2490 actually reached Geneva. This means
that, on average, one person died per mile. In addition, many children
were kidnapped, to be placed in Catholic families.
Once in exile, the Swiss were unable
to convince the Waldensians to make permanent settlements. In addition,
they needed much care and the burden was heavy. Some were sent into
Germany, easing the load somewhat.
Return to Table of Contents
FROM THE "GLORIOUS RETURN" TO THE PRESENT
The "Glorious Return"
On 17 August 1688, a commando force
began what has become known as the "Glorious Return." The troop lost
30% of its thousand-man force just in making the 130-mile return to
their homeland. They had to move quickly, yet many were still weak.
This time, they used Janavel's military manual, based on his 1655
experience, which had been disregarded at such high cost in 1685.
By 2 May 1689, only 300 Waldensian
troops remained and they were cornered on a high peak, called the
Balsiglia. Arrayed against them were 4000 French troops with cannons.
The final assault, however, was delayed by storm and then by cloud
cover. The French commander was so confident, he sent a message to
Paris that the Waldensian force had been destroyed. But when the French
prepared for their final assault the next morning, the Waldensians were
nowhere to be found. During the night, guided by one of their number
familiar with the Balsiglia, they had made a completely impossible
descent and were miles away.
A few days later, with the Waldensian
force still in most dangerous circumstances, the duke suddenly severed
his alliance with France and joined with England and Austria. For
political reasons, the exiles were invited to come home. The
vacillating duke needed these intrepid mountain folk to help protect
his borders against the French.
The Second Exile
A second exile took place shortly
after the war with France ended. As part of the peace accord, Louis XIV
demanded that the duke stop giving "refuge and protection" to French
Protestants. The intent was to force them all back to France, to become
Catholic.
Although some French Huguenots had
taken refuge in the Valleys, the great injustice of the demand lay in
the fact that in the peace treaty, France and Savoy had exchanged
certain areas. Because of that, many French Waldensian families had
become subject to Savoy and, under terms of the treaty, now had to
leave the very homes their ancestors had held for centuries.
The result was that in 1698, some
2,000 "French" Waldensians left the Valleys, most of them forever. They
traveled through Switzerland into Germany, where they established
permanent settlements. Over time, some left Germany for other lands.
Devastation
But even for the non-French
inhabitants of the Valleys, who numbered more than the French exiles,
life was most difficult. The land was a wilderness. The area had not
yet recovered from the military action in 1685. The villages were still
essentially destroyed. Further, the duke's representatives soon found
ways of harassing the Waldensians again. In hopes of enticing
Waldensians to convert, Catholics were not taxed, while Waldensian
taxes were increased to make up the difference. Waldensians could not
purchase land outside their three restricted, traditional valleys. A
fund was set up to help Catholics purchase the Waldensian lands in
default because of the heavy tax burden. As the population grew, all
this created enormous economic pressures.
Napoleonic Influence
The French Revolution resulted in the
Napoleonic Empire (1804-1815), and Napoleon granted some relief to the
Waldensians. He closed the infamous "home for Waldensian children," in
which kidnapped or enticed children had been raised as Catholics, their
parents not even permitted to visit them. And a Waldensian church was
built in San Giovanni, a town previously outside the approved area. But
Napoleon also made the Waldensian Church a part of the French
Protestant movement.
The Waldensian Ghetto
When Napoleon fell in 1815, the duke
returned and so did the repressive rules. Charles Beckwith, an English
officer who had lost a leg at Waterloo, retired to the Valleys and
wielded enormous influence in helping the Waldensians rise above their
"ghetto" status. His primary contribution was the building of local
schools. As a result, illiteracy was substantially reduced in the
Valleys.
Freedom at Last
The political scene was changing.
Savoy had been an independent principality for about 800 years, but now
became part of Italy. Responding to the political pressure,
particularly at the grass-roots level, the duke having become king of
Sardinia, issued a declaration on 17 February 1848, granting
Waldensians full rights of citizenship. For the first time in
centuries, Waldensians could hold public office, choose the profession
they wished, and acquire land; and their children could qualify for
higher education. But the declaration failed to provide greater
religious freedom. Still, it was the beginning of that process. At
receiving the news, the Waldensian villages celebrated by building
bonfires, visible all up the mountainside.
Although religious liberty for Italy
was still emerging, Beckwith urged Waldensian leaders toward a renewal
of missionary efforts, which had been essentially dormant for
centuries. The pastors, and then the people, learned Italian-and became
Italian. But Italy continued to suffer from political struggles, and it
wasn't until 1870 that papal political control was reduced by
regulation, and longer still before it was a practical reality.
Emigration
During the last half of the 1800s,
the Waldensians suffered serious economic difficulties. The cause was
the increasing population, combined with crop failures from drought and
plant diseases. That led to emigration. From the 1840s, young men had
found work on the French Riviera, returning to the Valleys in the
off-season. Others then went to Lyons, Geneva, and other localities
and, over time, they settled permanently into these areas. In most
cases, they became assimilated into the local Protestant group.
Starting in 1856, small groups began
emigrating to Uruguay and, later, to Argentina. Widely dispersed with
few pastors, they had difficulty maintaining their identity at first.
By the turn of the century, there were several thousand Waldensians in
South America.
In 1875, a splinter group left
Uruguay and went to New York, and from there went to Monett, Missouri.
A few Waldensians had found their way to North America in the 1600s,
fleeing persecution. A later group of immigrants established a
Waldensian settlement in North Carolina. Smaller groups went to Texas
and Illinois. In the mid-1850s, Waldensians who had joined the LDS
Church emigrated from the Piedmont Valleys to Utah, and were joined in
1880s and 1890s by
other Waldensians from the Valleys and from North Carolina.
Developments in the Valleys
In the meantime, Waldensians in the
Valleys expanded their work, focusing on service activities. They built
schools, including a junior college in Torre Pellice. Here, a group of
teachers started the Société
d'Histoire Vaudoise (Society of Waldensian History) and published the
Bulletin de la Société
d'Histoire Vaudoise. The group later changed
their name to the Società
di Studi Valdesi (Society for Waldensian Studies) and the name of the
periodical to Bollettino della Società
di Studi Valdesi. The Bulletin/Bollettino is a helpful resource for
genealogical and historical research.
The Twentieth Century
But Waldensian troubles were not
over. In 1911, new government rules caused some schools to close and
the effort to build new ones was set aside. In 1915, Italy joined World
War I, which was disastrous for the country, for it permitted Fascism
to become established. A major war between two Protestant countries,
Great Britain and Germany, significantly reduced Protestant influence
in Italy.
In 1929, Mussolini and the Catholic
Church signed a Concordat which repudiated the notion of a free state.
The Waldensian Church was only "permitted," and all Protestants were
suspect because they had contacts abroad and were known for their
passion for liberty and their spirit of autonomy.
In 1979, the Waldensian and Methodist
Churches in Italy became "federated," with one synod and one
constitution. They exist as separate churches, but cooperate on a
number of efforts.
Conclusion
The Waldensians thus represent a
remarkable history. Audisio cites a statement that John of Salisbury
attributed to Bernard of Chartres in the Twelfth Century. Neither of
them was speaking of Waldensians, of course; but the idea well conveys
our debt to, and our gratitude for, our Waldensian ancestors:
"We are dwarfs, set upon giants'
shoulders."
Return to Table of Contents
RECOMMENDED READING
(NOTE: Titles no longer in print may be available through
libraries participating in the Interlibrary Loan program.)
General Waldensian Histories
Audisio, Gabriel. The Waldensian Dissent,
Persecution and Survival c.1170-c.1570 (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1999) ISBN 0 521 55984 7 (paperback) or 0521 55029 7 (hardback).
Cameron, Euan. The Reformation of the Heretics:
The Waldenses of the Alps, 1480-1580 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1984).
Stephens, Prescot. The Waldensian Story: A Study
in Faith, Intolerance and Survival. (Lewes, Sussex: The Book Guild Ltd,
1998) ISBN 1 85776 280 0. When in stock, available in the U.S. through
the American Waldensian Society, P.O. Box 744, Whitehall, PA 18052.
Tourn, Giorgio. You Are My Witnesses (Torino:
Claudiana, 1989). Available in the U.S. through Friendship Press, PO
Box 37844, Cincinnati OH 45222; (513) 948-8733.
Specialized Studies
Aubéry,
Jacques. Histoire de l'exécution de Chabrières
et de Merindol et d'autres lieux de Provence. (Merindol: Association
d'études vaudoises et historiques du Lubéron, 1982).
Audisio, Gabriel. Le barbe et l'inquisiteur. (La
Calade, Aix-en-Provence: EDISUD, s.d.)
__________. Les vaudois du Lubéron, Une minorité,
en Provence (1460-1560). (Merindol: Association d'études
vaudoises et historiques du Lubéron, 1984).
Beda, Bona Paze & Piercarlo Paze. Riforma e
Cattolicesimo in val Pragelato: 1555-1685. (Pinerolo: Editrice Alzani,
1975).
Gonnet, Jean & Amedeo Molnar. Les vaudois au
Moyen Age. (Torino: Claudiana, 1974).
Mundy, John H. Europe in the High Middle Ages
1150-1309. (London: Longmans, 1973).
Poly, Jean-Pierre and Eric Bournazel. The Feudal
Transformation 900-1200. (New York & London: Holmes & Meier,
1991).
Pouzet, Ph. "Les origines Lyonnaises de la secte
des Vaudois" Revue d'histoire de l'église de France (1936).
Santini, L. De Pierre Valdo à
l'église
Vaudoise. (Geneva: Labor et Fides, 1974).
Tivollier, J. & P. Isnel. Le Queyras
(Haûtes-Alpes),
2 vols. (Gap: Louis Jean, 1938).
Thouzellier, Christine. Catharisme et Valdisme en
Languedoc à la fin du XIII au début du XIII
siècle.
(Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1969).
Wakefield, Walter L. & Austin P. Evans.
Heresies of the High Middle Ages. (New York & London: Columbia
University Press, 1969).
__________. Heresy, Crusade and Inquisition in
Southern France 1100-1250. (London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd,
1974).
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