Description
Book SynopsisThe medieval dissenters known as ‘Waldenses’, named after their first founder, Valdes of Lyons, have long attracted careful scholarly study, especially from specialists writing in Italian, French and German. Waldenses were found across continental Europe, from Aragon to the Baltic and East-Central Europe. They were long-lived, resilient, and diverse. They lived in a special relationship with the prevailing Catholic culture, making use of the Church’s services but challenging its claims. Many Waldenses are known mostly, or only, because of the punitive measures taken by inquisitors and the Church hierarchy against them. This volume brings for the first time a wide-ranging, multi-authored interpretation of the medieval Waldenses to an English-language readership, across Europe and over the four centuries until the Reformation. Contributors: Marina Benedetti, Peter Biller, Luciana Borghi Cedrini, Euan Cameron, Jacques Chiffoleau, Albert de Lange, Andrea Giraudo, Franck Mercier, Grado Giovanni Merlo, Georg Modestin, Martine Ostorero, Damian J. Smith, Claire Taylor, and Kathrin Utz Tremp.
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements List of Maps Abbreviations Used in the Notes Note on Contributors Introduction Marina Benedetti and Euan Cameron Part 1 From Lyons to Europe Section 1 Origins and Early Diffusion (12th–13th Centuries) 1 Valdo (or Valdesius) of Lyons and the Poor in Spirit Grado Giovanni Merlo 2 A Presence in Languedoc (12th–13th Centuries) Claire Taylor 3 The Early Waldenses and the Catholic Poor in the Crown of Aragon (12th–13th Centuries) Damian J. Smith 4 Religious Dissidence and Political Struggles in the Rhone Valley (13th Century) Jacques Chiffoleau Section 2 Germany (13th–14th Centuries) 5 Was Austria a Waldensian Heartland? Albert de Lange 6 Waldenses in Bohemia, 13th‒16th Centuries Albert de Lange 7 Waldenses by the Baltic Peter Biller 8 Western Germany Including Strasbourg Georg Modestin 9 Freiburg-in-Uechtland Kathrin Utz Tremp Section 3 Piedmont, Provence and Dauphiné (14th–16th Centuries) 10 Who Were the Waldenses in Fourteenth-Century Piedmont? Grado Giovanni Merlo 11 Provence (14th–15th Century) Jacques Chiffoleau 12 The Dauphiné (13th–14th Century) Euan Cameron 13 The Dauphiné (15th–16th Century) Marina Benedetti Part 2 Themes in Waldensian History 14 On the Road: The Alpine Itinerant Preachers Marina Benedetti 15 Women: A Silent Presence? Marina Benedetti 16 Inquisitors’ Interrogations of Waldenses Peter Biller 17 The ‘Waldensian Sect’: Heresy and Witchcraft Franck Mercier and Martine Ostorero 18 Helping the Poor and Healing the Sick Peter Biller 19 1488: A Forgotten Crusade Marina Benedetti 20 Ancient Waldensian Literature Luciana Borghi Cedrini and Andrea Giraudo 21 The Émigré Communities in Calabria and Apulia Euan Cameron 22 From the Reformation to the Past: Historical Perceptions of the Medieval Waldenses in Protestantism Euan Cameron Index
