Along the Trails of History
From Lyon to Europe
The beginning of the last millennium was characterised by a
search for spirituality, for a desire to find a deep, living
faith in God.
While the schism of the Orthodox Church and the conquest of
Jerusalem took place, many renewal religious movements with
ideals of perfection and purity were born in Europe:
- Cathars, who settled throughout the
Occitan region of
the Languedoc.
Their slaughter, ordered by Innocent III, caused an
"ethnic cleansing" and the destruction of people
and of a culture of a very high level.
- The movement, which followed the example of Francis of
Assisi, had more fortune on its side. It was absorbed
by the Catholic Church and led back to the "straight and
narrow".
- In contrast to Francis, another merchant,
VALDESIUS
of Lyon, did not accept only to make a profession of poverty,
but, as he heard "If you wish to be perfect, go
and sell your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have a treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
thought it was necessary to preach the Gospel to make it known
by everybody.
The Poor from Lyon or Waldensian settled
throughtout Europe. We find their traces in Bohemia, in Germany, in
southern and central Italy, and in the Comunes in Pianura Padana. With
sober habits, they strictly followed Jesus' teaching about
The Sermon on the Mount,
and also refused to swear oaths.
The testimony of their lives is expressed in the didactic poem La Nobla Leiçon,
written in the old Occitan language.
Excommunicated and condemned for heresy, they were hunted down and put
to death. Their faith was the same as the Cathars'. The Inquisition
became the main instrument for their control and repression, and the
tortures to obtain confessions and the burning at the
stake were frequent.
For decades Europe has lived in terror. Finally the Waldensians were uprooted from almost all countries using every possible means. Only
small groups remained in the valleys of Piedmont, in the Dauphiné
and in Calabria.
To Major historic sites