WALDENSES
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WALDENSES
Name and Origix. — The name was derived from
Waldes their founder and occurs also in the variations
of Valdesu, Vallenses. Numerous other designations
were apphed to them; to their profession of extreme
poverty they owed the name of "the Poor"; from
their place of origin, Lyons, they were called "Leon-
istae"; and frequently the two ideas were combined
in the title "Poor Men of Lyons". Their practice of
wearing sandals or wooden shoes (sabots) caused
them to be named "Sandaliati", "Insabbatati",
"Sabbatati", "Sabotiers". Anxious to surround
their own liistory and doctrine with the halo of antiq-
uity, some Waldenses claimed for their churches an
Apostohc origin. The first Waldensian congregations,
it was maintained, were estabhshed by St. Paul who,
on his journey to Spain, \dsited the valleys of Pied-
mont. The historj- of these foundations was identi-
fied with that of primitive Chi'istendom as long as the
Church remained lowly and poor. But in the begin-
ning of the fourth century Po]5e Sylvester was raised
by Constantine, whom he had cured of leprosy, to a
position of power and wealth, and the Papacy became
unfaithful to its mission. Some Christians, however,
remained true to the Faith and practice of the early
days, and in the twelfth century a certain Peter
appeared who, from the valleys of the Alps, was
called "Waldes". He was not the founder of a new
sect, but a missionarj' among these faithful observers
of the genuine Christian law, and he gained numerous
adherents. This account was, indeed, far from being
universally accredited among the Waldenses; many
of them, however, for a considerable period accepted
as founded on fact the assertion that they originated
in the time of Constantine. Others among them con-
sidered Claudius of Turin (d. 840), Berengarius of
Tours (d. lOSS), or other such men who had preceded
Waldes, the first representatives of the sect. The
claim of its Constantinian origin was for a long time
credulously accepted as vahd by Protestant historians.
In the nineteenth century, however, it became evident
to critics that the Waldensian documents had been
tampered with. As a result the pretentious claims of
the Waldenses to high antiqtiity were relegated to the
realm of fable.
The real founder of the sect was a wealthy mer- chant of Lyons who in the early dociunents is called Waldes (Waldo) . To this name is added from 136S the designation of Peter, assumed by him at his "conver- sion", or more hkely attributed to him by his fol- lowers. Few details concerning his personal history are known; there are extant, however, two important accounts of the complete change in his rehgious hfe; one written about 1220 by a Premonstratensian monk, usually designated as the "anonymous chroni- cler of Laon"; the other by the Dominican Friar and Inquisitor Stephen of Bourbon (d. about 1262), and dates back to about the middle of the tliirteenth century. The former writer assigns a prominent place to the influence exercised on Waldes by the history of St. Alexius, while the latter makes no mention of it but speaks of his acquaintance with the contents of the Bible through translations. The history of Waldes's conversion may perhaps be re- constructed in the foUowing manner. Desirous of acquiring a knowledge of bibhcal teaching, Waldes requested two priests to translate for him the four Go.spels. In a similar manner he subsequently obtained translations of other Biblical books and of some writings of the Fathers. Through the reading of these works he was attracted to the practice of Christian perfection; his fervour increasecl when one day he heard from an itinerant singer (iocultitor) the history of St. Alexius. He now consulted a ma-ster of theology on the best and surest way to salvation. In answer the words of Christ to the rich young man were cited to him: "If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor." (Matt.,
,xix, 21). Waldes immediately put into effect the
counsel of the Divine Master. He made over part
of his wealth to his wife, part to those from whom he
had acquired it, left some to the nuns of Fontevrault
in whose monastery he placed his two httle daughters,
and distributed the greatest part to the poor. On
the feast of the Assumption, 1176, he disposed of the
last of his earthly possessions and shortly after took
the vow of poverty. His example created a great stir
in Lyons and soon foimd imitators, particularly among
the lower and uneducated classes. A special confra-
ternity was established for the practice of apostolic
poverty. Its members almost immediately began
to preach in the streets and pubhc places and gained
more adherents. Their preaching, however, was
not unmiscd with error and was consequently pro-
hibited, according to Stephen of Bourbon, by the
Archbishop of Lyons, according to Walter Map,
present at the a,ssembly, by the Third General Lat-
eran Council (1179). The Waldenses, instead of
heeding the prohibition, continued to preach on the
plea that obedience is due rather to God than to man.
Pope Lucius III consequently included them among
the heretics against whom he issued a Bull of excom-
munication at Verona in 1184.
Doctri>.t;. — The organization of the Waldenses was a reaction against the great splendoiu' and outward display existing in the medieval Church; it was a practical protest against the worldly fives of some contemporary churchmen. Amid such ecclesiastical conditions the Waldenses made the profession of ex- treme poverty a prominent feature in their own fives, and emphasized by their practice the need of the much neglected task of preaching. As they were mainly recruited among circles not only devoid of theological training, but also lacking generally in education, it was inevitable that error should mar their teaching, and just as inevitable that, in conse- quence, ecclesiastical authorities should put a stop to their evangefistic work. Among the doctrinal errors which they propagated was the denial of purgatory, and of indulgences and prayers for the dead. They denounced all lying as a grievous sin, refused to take oaths and considered the shedding of human blood unlawful. They consequently con- demned war and the inffiction of the death penalty. Some points in this teaching so strikingly resemble the doctrines of the Cathari that the borrowing of the ^ Waldenses from them may be looked upon as a cer^ tainty. Both sects also had a similar organization, being divided into two classes, the Perfect (perfecli) and the Friends or BeHevers (amid or credentes). (See Cathari and Albigenses.)
Among the Waldenses the perfect, bound by the vow of poverty, wandered about from place to place preaching. Such an itinerant fife was ill-suited for the married state, and to the profession of poverty they added the vow of chastity. Married persons who desired to join them were permitted to dissolve their union ^\'ithout the consent of their consort. Orderly government was secured by the additional vow of obedience to superiors. The perfect were not allowed to perform manual labour, but were to depend for their subsistence on the members of the sect known as the friends. These continued to five in the world, married, owned property, and engaged in secular pursuits. Their generosity and alms were to provide for the material needs of the perfect. The friends remained in union with the Catholic Church and continued to receive its sacra- ments with the exception of penance, for which they sought out, whenever possible, one of their own minis- ters. The name Waldenses wa.s at first exclusively reserved to the perfect; but in the course of the thirteenth century the friends were also included in the designation. The perfect were divided into the three classes of bishops, priests, and deacons.
