The+Waldensians

__** The Waldensians **__toc Waldensianism was a Christian movement that arose in the late twelfth century. Waldensians, while choosing to retain their status as lay people, endeavoured to spread a message of poverty and of living as the early apostles were thought to have lived. The relationship between the Waldensians and the Catholic Church was one of gradual deterioration, as the Waldensians continued to disobey Church authority and began to move further and further from the Church’s theological perspectives. //Fig. 1: Statue of Peter Waldo at the Luther Memorial in Worms//

= The Origins of the Waldensians in the Twelfth Century =

The Waldensians had their beginnings, in 1173, with Peter Waldo. The Anonymous Chronicle of Laon give an account of Waldo. He was, apparently, a wealthy merchant from the city of Lyons who, upon hearing the parable that Jesus told of the rich young ruler, gave up all of his wealth. [1] In embracing a life of poverty, he set a standard of behaviour which was later emulated by all of his followers, the Waldensians. [2]

The Chronicle of Laon makes it clear that a life of poverty played an integral role in Waldensianism. However, the chronicle also reveals that another important aspect of Waldensianism was that of preaching. The chronicle states that by 1177, Waldo had begun to “gather associates in his way of life”, and that by 1179, the preaching of the Waldensians was so widespread that it was addressed, and forbidden, at the Third Lateran Council. [3]

= The Changing Views of the Church towards the Waldensians =

Walter Map, an English monk and a contemporary of Waldo, was allegedly present at the Third Lateran Council. He gives an account of the Waldensians, writing maliciously of their lack of sophistication in regard to matters concerning the understanding of biblical doctrine; they were ignorant, blind, simple and illiterate [4] Although Map's accusations may have been unfounded, his illustration is important, because it conveys the way in which the Church would have viewed the Waldensians at the time. [5] The Chronicle of Laon reports that, although for a short time the Waldensians obeyed the Church’s command; they could not abstain from preaching. [6] By continuing to preach, the Waldensians were disobeying the Church’s command. Yet they took heart from scripture, often quoting that one "ought to obey God rather than men”, which as Gabriel Audisio notes, “amounted to considering [their] vocation to be superior to canon law”. [7] Malcolm Lambert makes the point that “Canon law restricted preaching to the clergy”, and so while the religious authorities of the day would have viewed the Waldensians as transgressing the law of God, the Waldensians would have seen themselves as fulfilling God’s purpose. [8]

Waldo signed a "Profession of Faith" in 1180, a year after the Third Lateran Council, aligning his purpose with that of the Catholic Church. He evidently believed, at that time, in “one Church, Catholic, holy, apostolic, and immaculate, outside of which no one can be saved.” [9] The Waldensians, who considered themselves a part of the Catholic Church, believed themselves capable of interpreting and preaching the Christian life; the Church didn’t. For the Catholic Church, as it was for Walter Map, the Waldensians’ status as laypeople undermined their credibility as teachers of God’s word. By the year 1184, the Church had reproached the Waldensians and marked them as schismatic and in the year 1215, the Waldensians were condemned as heretics, at the Fourth Lateran Council. [10] As Audisio notes, “the anathema was pronounced against them and the rupture with Rome was complete.” [11]

= The Waldensians in Hindsight =

Peter Waldo and the Waldensians had refused to fit the mould of what was expected by the Catholic Church. They didn’t enter into already existing religious orders, nor did they found any new ones; Christ was their leader. [13] The fact that as laypeople they “should have taken up preaching threw into question the very foundations of the Church and society as they were defined then.” [14]

__ External Links __ For a translation of Walter Map's account of the Waldensians, and other contemporaries click here For a translation of "The Conversion of Peter Waldo" from the Anonymous Chronicle of Lyons, click here For a translation of Reinarius Saccho's "Of the Sects of Modern Heretics", which was written in 1254, click here. This source shows the growing divide between the Catholic Church and the Waldensians. Reinarius Saccho was a former Cathar who reconciled himself with the Church and worked as an Inquisitor. For an article on the Waldensians click here

__ A Note on the Images Used __ Figure 1: Peter Waldo at the foot of the Luther Statue at Worms: The Photographic Reproduction of the Statue of Martin Luther at Worms is considered to be in the public domain. Figure 2: The area of modern France as it would have appeared from 1154-1184. Lyons is circled in red: Courtesy of the University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin. Full Image found at [|University of Texas Libraries] Figure 3 & Figure 4: The extent of Waldensian preaching before 1277. c.=circa b.=before: M. D. Lambert, // Medieval Heresy: Popular Movements from the Gregorian Reform to the Reformation // (London, 2002), 78-79.

__ To View the Full-Size Images, Click on the Links Below __ __The Statue of Peter Waldo at the Luther Memorial in Worms__ __The Map of Modern France from 1154 - 1184__ __The extent of Waldensian preaching prior to 1277: Picture 1__ __The extent of Waldensian preaching prior to 1277: Picture 2__

[1] Anonymous of Laon, ‘The conversion of Valdes and its consequences (1173),’ in //The Birth of Popular Heresy//, ed. R. I. Moore (London, 1975), 111-112. [2] E. Cameron, //Waldenses: Rejections of Holy Church in Medieval Europe// (Oxford, 2000), 13. [3] Anonymous of Laon, ‘The Origins of the Waldensian Heresy (1177),’ in //Heresies of the High Middle Ages//, ed. Walter L. Wakefield and Austin P. Evans (New York, 1969), 202-203. [4] Walter Map, ‘Walter Map’s Account of the Waldenses in //De nugis curialum// (1179),’ in //Heresies of the High Middle Ages//, ed. Walter L. Wakefield and Austin P. Evans (New York, 1969), 203; Matt. 7:6. [5] Cameron (2000), 26-27. [6] Anonymous of Laon, ‘A Report in the Chronicle of Laon (1177),’ in //Heresies of the High Middle Ages//, ed. Walter L. Wakefield and Austin P. Evans (New York, 1969), 202-203. [7] Acts 5:29; G. Audisio, //The Waldensian Dissent: Persecution and Survival c.1170-c.1570// (Cambridge, 2007), 15. [8] M. D. Lambert, //Medieval Heresy: Popular Movements from the Gregorian Reform to the Reformation// (London, 2002), 71. [9] ‘A Profession of Faith by Waldes of Lyons (1180/1181),’ in //Heresies of the High Middle Ages//, ed. Walter L. Wakefield and Austin P. Evans (New York, 1969), 207. [10] Audisio (2007), 20-22. [11] Audisio (2007), 22. [12] Bernard Gui, ‘Description of Heresies (1323-1324),’ in //Heresies of the High Middle Ages//, ed. Walter L. Wakefield and Austin P. Evans (New York, 1969), 388. [13] G. Tourn, //The Waldensians: the first 800 years// (Turin, 1980), 8-9. [14] Audisio (2007), 23.