WALDENSES (VALDENSts, VALDtst, VALtSI, VAtruots), are a Christian community who inhabit a mountain tract on the Italian side of the Cottian Alps, s.w. from Turin. The district is bounded on the n. by the Dora Ripaira, on the s. by the Po. It is inclosed on all sides by the spurs of the Alps, which divide it into three valleys—that of Perosa, drained by the Clusone; that of San Martino, drained by the Germanasca; and that of Lucerna, drained by the Pelice, all tributaries of the Po. These valleys lie between France and Italy, and immediately s. of the great western route into Italy by the passes of Mont Cenis and Genevre. The inhabitants are thus brought into communication with both countries; indeed, they 'speak 'a dialect more closely allied to those of Dauphine than to those of Piedmont; and they have used French as well as Italian as the language of their liturgy. The religious doctrines of the Waldenses are now similar to those of the Reformed churches. There is a minister in each parish, called a barbe, and the synod is presided over by an elected moderator. The Waldenses had at one time bishops, but that was when the sect was more widely spread than it now is. Much has been said of the origin of the Waldenses. Their own historians assert that the commu nity has remained from apostolic times independent of the church of Rome, and boast that they can show a regular apostolic succession of bishops from the earliest period of Christianity till that of the reformation. This statement has been very generally admitted by uncritical writers, but in the light of recent. investigations, would seem to be no longer tenable. Dieckhoff (DieWitldenser im Hittelalter, Gott. 1851) and Herzog (Die rotnctniseltenWaldemser, Halle, 1853), have submitted the early history of the Walden ses to a critical examination; and the result to which they have come, after an examina tion of the manuscript records, is, that the Waldenses had not the early origin claimed for them, and were not Protestants before the reformation, although they entertained some opinions which, so far, were in anticipation of those held by the reformers. They are also of the opinion that the Waldenses do not take their name from rat, vallis, a valley, as has been assumed, but from Peter Waldo of Lyon, a merchant of the 12th c., who was less the founder of a sect than the representative and leader of a wide-spread struggle against the corruptions of the clergy. The church would have tolerated Peter Waldo, as it had tolerated St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscans, and perhaps have allowed him to form a new order, had lie not trenched upon ground dangerous b erous to the hierarchy. But he had the four gospels translated, and maintained that laymen had a right to read them to the people. ile exposed in this way the preva lent ignorance and immorality of the clergy, and brought down their wrath upon him self. His opinions were condemned by a general council in 1179, and be retired to. the valleys of the Cottian Alps. A long series of persecutions followed, but Waldo's followers could not be forced to abandon their opinions. They continued to be known as the Leonisti, from the place of their origin—the poor people of Lyons, from their 'voluntary penury—Sabotati, from the wooden shoes they wore—and. Ilumilitoti, on account of their humility. It was natural that a body cruelly persecuted should stand aloof from the church, and even offer armed resistance; yet we have no evidence of the manner in which the Waldenses first became a separate community. They are now shown to have been identical with the followers of Waldo, but they must not be con founded with the Albigenses, who were persecuted at the same period. The protest of theiWaldenses against the church of Rome only related to practical questions, that of ths Albigenses related to matters of doctrine.
The Waldenses at first seem to have spread in the upper valleys of Dauphine and Piedmont, to which Waldo retired. They were subjected to persecutions in 1332, 1400, and 1478, and driven into many parts of Europe, where their industry and integrity were universally remarked. So widely had the sect been scattered, that it was said a traveler from Antwerp to Rome could sleep every night at the house of one of the brethren. In Bohemia many of them had settled, and they, without forsaking their own community, joined the liussites, Taborites, and Bohemian brethren—a connection which led to a change in the principles of the Waldenses. They adopted the doctrines of the reform ers, and this led to more serious persecutions than any they had previously undergone. Francis I. of France, in possession of Piedmont in 1541, ordered them to be extirpated. They were massacred at various places in Dauphine and iu the valleys they still occupy, more especially at Merindol and Cabriere. Several persons who refused to abandon their faith were burned alive, yet the sect continued to exist. In 1560 the duke of Savoy, who had recovered possession of Piedmont, urged by pope Paul IV., forbade the
Waldenses to exercise their faith, under the penalty of being sent to the galleys for life. The Waldenses sent him a petition and apology for their creed, which appeared to him so plausible, that he suggested that a conference should take place between the Walden sian and Romanist divines. He was, of course, told that the proposition was monstrous, and bullied by the pope and the courts of Spain and France so effectually, that he dispatched 7,000 men into the valleys, who were joined by two French regiments. The Waldenses offered a gallant resistance, but were overwhelmed by superior force. Many prisoners were burned alive, and women and children were ruthlessly slaughtered. The duke was disgusted with these atrocities, and although denounced as no better than a heretic at Rome, granted the Waldenses an amnesty on condition that their service should only he performed at certain places in the valleys of Lucerna and San Martino. The Waldenses in the other districts, and especially the marquisate of Saluzzo, were then persecuted by the Jesuits. Charles I. of England sent two embassies to the duke of Savoy to intercede in their behalf, hut without avail. Victor Amadus I., not long after, ordered the Waldenses of Saluzzo, under the penalty of confiscation of property and death, to become Catholics; and the edict was so rigorously carried out that, in a few years, none of the sect remained in the district. Charles Emmanuel II., in 1655, directed a fresh persecution against the Waldenses. Some time before, the people of Lucerna, inflamed, it is said, by the discourses of Jean Leger, a popular preacher, set fire to a convent of Capuchins, and committed other excesses. An inquiry was made, and it was found that the Waldenses had purchased property and built churches and schools in dis tricts where no concessions bad been granted them. They were ordered within 20.days to sell their property, or profess Catholicism. They resisted, under leaders named Jayer and Janavel, but they could not oppose the forces sent against them. No quarter was shown to women and children, and atrocities were committed—more especially by the French and Irish mercenaries in the service of the duke—which, recorded by Jean Leger, were heard of with indignation in all Protestant countries. Subscriptions were made in England for those who had survived the massacre. The Swiss cantons, and the states of Holland, sent envoys to the duke. Cromwell addressed Latin letters to him, written by Milton, and also sent sir Samuel Morland, who collected numerous manuscripts connected with the history of the Waldenses, and brought them to England with him. A convention was concluded, by which the Waldenses were allowed again to exercise their worship. In 1685 Louis XIV. revoked the edict of Nantes, and ordered the duke of Savoy to compel the Waldenses to adopt Catholicism. They were accord. ingly commanded to emigrate or abjure their tenets within 15 days. They resisted, and were attacked by the troops of the duke on one side, and those of Louis XIV. on the other. They were overpowered, and the survivors could make no conditions. A large number were imprisoned at Turin, where many died; others were allowed to emigrate. Their whole property was confiscated, and handed over to Roman Catholic colonists. When the prince of Orange became king of England, the Waldenses who had settled in Switzerland resolved to return to their valleys under the guidance of Henry Arnaud, one of their pastors. In 1689 they gathered from all quarters to the rendezvous in the great forest of the Pays de Vaud. On the night of Aug. 16, they embarked on the lake of Geneva, landed on the opposite shore, and after encountering the most determined opposition, reached the valley of San Martino, after a perilous march of 31 days. During the winter a French army of 22,000 men entered their territories, and in the following zummer attacked their fortifications, but were repulsed with great slaughter. Fortu nately, the French and Piedmontese at this juncture quarreled, and the tatter, to secure the services of the mountaineers, granted them an amnesty. They are said to have fought not less than 18 battles against the French, and to have lost only 30 men. This was the last persecution against the Vaudois; but it was not till 1848 that they were put on a level with their Catholic fellow-subjects. They had then 18 pastors and 15 congre gallons; in 1879 there were 56 regular Waldensian congregations (with 14,600 communi cants), beside 24 "missionary stations" in various parts of Italy. as at Turin and 110111G The Libera Clifeea, a Protestant Italian church. is not connected with the church of the Valleys. The Waldenses have a college at Florence, and publish several denomina tional and missionary journals. See the works of Botta, Bender, Morland, Gelly Iluston.