The Waldensian Dissent
Persecution and Survival, c.1170–c.1570

A short 1999 history of the Waldensians, a twelfth-century heretical movement in France, and of its persistence until the sixteenth century.

Gabriel Audisio (Author), Claire Davison (Translated by)

9780521550291, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 2 September 1999

252 pages, 4 maps
21.6 x 14 x 1.7 cm, 0.47 kg

'Audisio has written a thoroughly competent introduction to the movement.' The Heythrop Journal

The Poor of Lyons, whom their detractors called 'Waldensians' - after the name of their founder Waldo (or Vaudès) - first emerged around 1170 and formed in common with other groups of the period a sect which embraced evangelism, prophecy and poverty. By challenging their prohibition by the lay clergy, and by following the Scripture to the last letter, they suffered excommunication and were condemned as heretics. Forced underground and dispersed widely, they nevertheless managed to maintain contact across Europe, through an established network of itinerant preachers, in Provence and Dauphiné, Calabria and Piedmont, Austria and Bohemia, Pomerania, Brandenburg, Silesia and beyond. The Poor of Lyons constituted the only medieval heresy to have survived to the dawn of the so-called 'modern' period. Their tale of simple devotion mixed with a fierce tenacity serves to illuminate aspects of religious belief that have persisted to the present day. This book was first published in 1999.

List of maps
Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. 1170–1215: decisive and purposive origins
2. The thirteenth century: the need to adapt
3. The fourteenth century: the challenge of believing differently
4. The fifteenth century: the risks of longevity
5. The constraints of a life in hiding
6. The need to organise
7. A culture of their own: the written and the spoken word
8. The sixteenth century: the end as a way forward?
9. Epilogue: the Waldensian Church
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC], European history [HBJD]