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SECOND VISIT

TO THE

VAUDOIS OF PIEMONT.

with AS- INTRODUCTORY INQUIRY INTO THE ANTIQUITY AND PURITY

OP THE

WALDENSIAN CHURCH,

AND SOME ACCOUNT OF THE COMPACTS WITH THE ANCIENT PRINCES OK PIEMONT,

AND THE TREATIES BETWEEN THE ^ENGLISH GOVERNMENT AND THE

HOUSE OF SAVOT, IN VIRTUE OF WHICH THIS SOLE RELIC OF

THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH IN ITALY HAS CONTINUED

TO ASSERT ITS RELIGIOUS INDEPENDENCE.

by y

WILLIAM STEPHEN GILLY, M.A.

PREBENDARY OF DURHAM.

" Thou small, but favour'd spot of holy ground !

" Where'er we gaze, above, around, below,

" What rainbow tints, what magic charms are found !

" Rock, river, forest, mountain, all abound :

" And bluest skies that harmonize the whole.

" Beneath, the distant torrent's rushing sound

" Between those hanging rocks, that xhnck, yet please the lOOl."

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ADVERTISEMENT.

In his endeavours to promote the cause of the Vaudois, the Author has received assistance from persons, to whose names he would gratefully assign a distinguished place in this volume, were he permitted to disclose them. Such indeed is the interest which has been excited, and displayed in behalf of the little community, which forms the connecting link between the Primitive and Reformed Churches, and such are the signs of the times, in this case at least favourable to truth, that he is persuaded the day is not far distant, when the Waldensian Church will become

TOTIUS ITALIC LUMEN.

lie has, therefore, entered into details,

a 2

IV ADVERTISEMENT.

which might otherwise be thought too prolix, that every thing may be put on record, which is likely to illustrate events in ecclesiastical history, the importance of which cannot fail to be appreciated by the Protestant world.

The Italian mode of spelling the Vaudois villages has been used for the most part in the following pages, as La Torre, not La Tour; Maneglia, not Maneille ; that the reader may avoid the common mistake, and bear in mind, that the Vaudois are Italians, and not Swiss, that they are inhabitants of the Alpine Valleys of Piemont, and not of the Pays de Vaud in Switzerland.

College, Durham, Feb. 14, 1831.

Chapter I

( )bjects of my Journey. Route by Calais — Amiens — Paris — Jura Mountains — Geneva — Chambery — Mont Cenis — Turin — Pinerolo to La Torre. Reception in the Valleys. San Margarita. Observations on Vaudois character 157

VI CONTENTS.

PAGE

Chapter VII

Villar and its hamlets. Hamlet Readers. Gunpowder plot at Villar. Present harmony between Protestants and Roman Catholics. The old Soldier of Liossa. The Virgin of the Pillar. Bobi. Ruins of the Fort of Sibaud. The Vaudois Pastor's Charge. The hero Jahier. Octavia Solara 324

Chapter XV

Return to Piemont by Briancon and the Pass of Mont Genevre. Cesane. The Valley of Pragela. The Perfidy of Louis XIV. and Victor Amadee in the extermination of the Waldenses of Val Pragela. The Col Albergian. Fenestrelle. M. Coucourde. Bartholomew Coucourde, and anecdotes of the late Moderator Peyrani 471

Vlll CONTENTS.

Chapter XVI

Fenestrelle. Perosa. Pomaretto. The Grave and Epitaph of Peyrani. Second Visit to the Valley of San Martino. Pont de la Tour, and an attempt there at assassination. San Germano. Memorials of English buried there. Roccapiatta. Prarustino. Return to la Torre. Reflections upon the present and past condition of the Waldensian Church in France and Italy 490

CHAPTER XVII. Second attempt to explore the Cavern of Castelluzzo 508

CHAPTER -XVIII.

Departure from the Valleys. Appointment of the Suffragan Pastors of Massel and Rodoret. Influence of the Polignac Administration felt in the Valleys. Vaudois tribute to their English benefactors during the French domination. General observations as to the Religious Spirit which prevails among the Vaudois. Establishment of the Vaudois College 517

Chapter XIX

The Treaties by which Personal and Religious Rights ought to have been secured to the Vaudois 533

DIRECTIONS FOR PLACING THE PLATES, MAPS,&c.

The Pass of the Pra del Tor Frontispiece

Diagram in illustration of ancient Roman Road over the Cottian

Alps to face page 56

Fac-simile of Leger's Memorandum and Signature 80

Map of Country of Ancient and Modern Waldenses, (at the end of

Introductory Enquiry) 15G

Castelluzzo from San Margarita 182

The Entrance into La Torre 201

Bridge in hamlet of San Margarita 281

The Bridge of Villar 325

Prali in the Valley of San Martin 403

Cella Veglia 441

Perosa 490

The Balceglia 495

Cascade of Rodoret 496

A Vaudois Pass on the Germanasca 498

Cavern or Gallery of Castelluzzo 513

ERRATA.

Page 155, line 15 and 19, for Nadsmith read Nasmith.

- 166, — 24, for influence read ascendancy.

240. 9, for made read make.

249, 28, for is read are.

383, 10, note, for at the Synod, read or the Synod.

— — 456, 9, for perform read conform.

^— 473, 14, for description read order.

544, :H7, 560, notes, and p. 559, 1. 27, for del Pozzo read Dal Pozzo.

WALDENSIAN RESEARCHES.

INTRODUCTORY ENQUIRY INTO THE ANTIQUITY AND PURITY OF THE WALDENSIAN CHURCH.

In the summer of 1829, in company with part of my family, I re-visited those scenes in the valleys of Piemont, which had made so deep an impression upon my mind six years before.

Perhaps it would be thought more worthy of the sacred cause, which is so identified with the Vaudois, to write a history of the Waldensian Church in regular order, than to introduce it piece-meal, in the form of a personal narrative. This may be done at some future period, but now, having an immediate object before me, the taste and temper of the times must be consulted, and information must be conveyed through channels, by which it is likely to be received by those for whom it is intended. Volumes, of the character which this is meant to assume, find their way more rapidly into the hands of general readers than those of ecclesiastical history, and as T am

WALDENSIAN RESEARCHES.

anxious to make the Waldenses thoroughly known, not only to the theological student and the more erudite, but also to persons of ordinary pursuits, I have chosen to re-appear, like Scheharasade, in the Arabian Nights, with a continuation of my former entertainments. I will, however, take care that these entertainments, mixed up as they must be with adventures of the dead, and anecdotes of the living, shall be instructive, upon one of the most important of all topics to a Christian enquirer, — the transmission of the pure faith from the apostolic times to our own. They shall be useful also to him upon another point of view, they shall shew that the beautiful life, which history assures us was led by the early Christians, is not uncommon among many of his fellow-creatures, who are at this moment acting their parts upon the stage of human existence.

The primitive Church ! The one little lamp and its light, shining in the middle ages ! The struggles of the first Reformers, — Protestantism, in its uncompromising firmness and integrity ! — What a crowd of ideas rush into our minds when we think of these ! — How we try to imagine the scenes, the characters, the events of antiquity, when Christianity was at its purest and simplest degree, then to trace its course through the dark epochs of Romish usurpation, till it emerges into clear day again, at the sera of the Reformation ! — Many of the images, which we conjure up when reading of the past, are realized before the eyes of those, who have opportunities of seeing the Waldensian Church in her mountain hold, — so wonderfully are the past and the present combined in her form, wasted though it is. In her we find the line carried up to a period sufficiently remote to connect her with the apostolical1 succession. We trace the creed and the local habitation, if not the very name of this Alpine Church, from age to age upwards, until we reach a date which satisfies us, that having early embraced the primitive faith, she has retained it amid the surrounding darkness, as its only faithful depositary : and having done this, we discover the simple services, the primitive institutions, and the traits of Christian character, which correspond with those that may be collected from the pages of Justin Martyr and Tertullian.

Christian virtue in the abstract, perfectly though it may be described, leaves but a feeble impression on the mind, unless it be embodied in a narrative. The parables of the Gospel are for this reason among the most effective of all the lessons that are taught. It is Christian principle working in the individual, whose path of life we can distinctly follow through the vicissitudes of this world, which fixes attention, and multiplies examples. Wherever the individual picture is wanting, and no feelings

B 2 are awakened in behalf of some one, whose portrait is made to stand well out of its frame, the praises of virtue and the annals of the Church fall too often upon dull ears. Some considerations of this sort, which I happened to see well discussed in a periodical work of the day, (but which I have not at hand to cite,) persuaded me to adopt this mode of publication, when in my desire to stir up Protestant feeling, I was wavering between the project of a history of the Waldensian Church, and the narrative of a second visit to the Vaudois. I was reminded that all historical records, which exhibit no prominent character for the excitement of our personal sympathy, fail of commanding general interest. The mind must undergo the relief of being diverted from the class to the individual, from the scene to the actors. We are not content with the detail of things achieved, we seek acquaintance with the performers. It is human nature we must see, there must be a social glow imparted to the perusal. We want not only a series of names, but a delineation of character appended to each. It is the man we desire to survey ; the fellow-creature moved to effort by extraordinary circumstances, as it is possible we may be moved, and acting as we may be called upon to act, in public, in private, at his post in society, among strangers, by his own fire-side, and in the bosom of his family. Those, who would not give themselves the trouble to wade through a volume bearing the title of Ecclesiastical History, will eagerly read the personal relation of a traveller, who has explored the regions where Christian martyrs have bled, and where humble servants of Christ, breathing the martyrs' spirit, still live ; and may even be persuaded to accompany him, cheerfully enough, in his occasional endeavours to unravel the entangled threads of ancient chroniclers.

Having a second time visited the spot where, as Allix has forcibly expressed it, " the purple of Rome has been so deeply dyed in the blood of the saints," and where, as one of their enemies has said, " All means have been employed, from time to time, to root out the Waldenses, and yet, contrary to the opinion of all men, there they still remain conquerors, or at least invincible \" — I therefore resume my former tale, and purpose fully to satisfy the curiosity of the many enquirers, who still ask, Who are the Waldenses? Where do they dwell ? Are they natives of the Swiss Cantons, or are they French or Italian borderers ? Are they Calvinists or Lutherans ? Are they descendants of adventurers and innovators from the East, or are they aborigines ?

The Waldenses are neither Swiss nor French, they are Italians, and are so named (by a corrupt change of the v into w) from the mountain val-

1 Claude Seysscl.

leys which they inhabit, on the eastern side of the Cottian chain of Alps, between Mount Viso and Mount Genevre. Pinerolo is their nearest provincial town ; Turin is their nearest capital, and they are subjects of the King of Sardinia. The terms, Vaudois in French, Vallenses in Latin, Valdesi, or Vallesi in Italian, and Waldenses in English ecclesiastical history, signify nothing more or less than " Men of the valleys ;" and as the valleys of Piemont have had the honour of producing a race of people, who have remained true to the faith introduced by the first missionaries, who preached Christianity in those regions, the synonyms Vaudois, Valdesi, and Waldenses, have been adopted as the distinguishing names of a religious community, faithful to the primitive creed, and free from the corruptions of the Church of Rome.

Long before the Roman Church, (that new sect, as Claude, Bishop of Turin in 840, called it,) stretched forth its arms, to stifle in its Antaean embrace the independent flocks of the Great Shepherd, the ancestors of the Waldenses were worshipping God in the hill countries of Piemont, as their posterity now worship him. For many ages they continued almost unnoticed. There was nothing to draw them into notoriety. The early history of Piemont is avowed by all writers to be the most obscure of any state in Europe. Muratori has declared that all his researches were in vain, till he arrived at periods comparatively late. No wonder then that the most unobtrusive and remote of all the natives of Piemont, should escape general observation, till persecution brought them in sight. Composing scattered congregations, at a distance from the busier scenes of superstition and controversy, and peacefully abiding in their sober faith and customs, and departing not at all from that which had been handed down from father to son, the " Men of the valleys" little thought that their name and their belief would one day become a proverb and a bye-word among those, who should turn away from sound doctrine, and hate such as should retain it. When, at length, it came to their ears, that others had yielded a forced or willing assent to the strange domination of a foreign spiritual mistress, these mountaineers protested against such jurisdiction, and finding safety in their wild glens, preserved their fidelity unimpaired.

In process of time, after the extermination of the Albigenses, who were of the stock of the primitive Christians of Gaul, and when the Waldenses composed the only organized church ' in Europe, which refused to submit, even in form, to the papal yoke, their name was malignantly used by their enemies, as if it were synonymous with heresy of

1 Reinerus, in the thirteenth century, apologized for applying the term " Church" to them. He knew it would be offensive to the Romanists, but truth forced it from him.

every kind, and of the worst kind. Hence several Romish authors and editors, to blacken their reputation, have resorted to the artifice of employing the term Waldenses in the titles of ancient controversial works, which were written not against them, but against the enemies and opposers of Christianity itself1.

The Waldenses of Piemont are not to be regarded as the successors of certain reformers, who first started up in France and Italy at a time, when the corruptions of the Roman Church and priesthood became intolerable, but as a race of simple mountaineers, who from generation to generation have continued steadily in the faith preached to their forefathers, when the territory, of which their valleys form a part, was first Christianized. Ample proof will be given of this, as I proceed, and without attempting to fix the exact period of their conversion, I trust to be able to

1 The Jesuit Gretser, for example, has taken this liberty with the works of Ebrard de Bethune, Bernard of Fons Calidus, Ermengard, and Reinerus, who wrote against Heretics in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The most flagitious instance of Gretser's malignity appears in his Edition of the work of Ermengard. The real title was " Opusculum contra haereticos, qui dicunt et credunt mundum istum, et omnia visibilia non esse a Deo facta, sed Diabolo." (See Bibl. Patr. Parisiis. torn. 4. p. 1235.) Or, " Treatise against those who say and believe that this world and all things visible, were not made by God, but by the Devil." — " Contra Waldenses," is the heading which Gretser has adopted. — More of this hereafter.

establish the fact, that this Alpine tribe embraced the Gospel, as it was first announced in all its purity, and continued true to it, in the midst of almost general apostacy. Nothing is more to be regretted than the mistakes which have been made upon this point, even by Protestant authors \ Instead of connecting the Primitive and Reformed, or Protestant, Churches by means of the Waldenses, who really remained unchanged, attempts have been made to date their appearance from the arrival of religious innovators in Europe, and to give an Oriental origin to the first formidable adversaries of Rome. This is countenancing the pretensions of the Latin Church to Catholicity, and to Unchangeableness from the beginning of the Gospel kingdom. It cannot, therefore, be too often repeated, that the Refonnation did not spring out of strange doctrines, or out of tenets introduced into Europe from the East, in the eleventh

1 Sir James Mackintosh is one of the very few historians who have done justice to this subject, and to the claims of the Waldenses. " With the dawn of History" says he, " we discover some simple Christians in the valleys of the Alps, where they still exist under the ancient name of Vaudois, who, by the light of the New Testament saw the extraordinary contrast between the purity of primitive times, and the vices of the gorgeous and imperial hierarchy which surrounded them. They were not so much distinguished from others by opinions, as by the pursuit of a more innocent and severe life." History of England, by the Right Hon. Sir J. Mackintosh, in Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopaedia. Vol. i. p. 321.

or twelfth century, but from good seeds of apostolical Christianity miraculously preserved in wilds and glens, when cities and capitals, and the high places of the earth, were infected with the heresies of the Pontificate.

To make myself better understood, I must advert to that which two eminent living historians, Dr. M'Crie, and Mr. Sharon Turner, have lately advanced upon this subject.

The former, in his " History of the Progress and Suppression of the Reformation in Italy, in the sixteenth century," — and in its sequel, " The History of the Progress and Suppression of the Reformation in Spain, in the sixteenth century," appears to ascribe the religious movements, of which he treats, to an impulse given by strangers, instead of tracing the cause upwards to seed ! originally sown in the native soil of Italy and Spain, but trodden down in most parts, until circumstances enabled it to spring up and produce fruit. Dr. M'Crie's two works are monuments of research ; but might he not have looked to an

1 " As for the Waldenses, give me leave to call them the very seed of the Primitive and pure Christian Church, being those who have been so upheld by the wonderful providence of God, that neither those numberless storms and tempests, whereby the whole Christian world hath been shaken, nor those horrible persecutions which have been so directly raised against them, have been able to prevail upon them to yield a voluntary submission to the Roman tyranny and idolatry." Beza, Icones virorum doctrina et virtute illustrium.

earlier period, and have pointed to the fair banner of independence, which, small though it was, waved upon the mountain heights of Barrian \ Vandelin, and Sestrieres, in defiance of papal usurpation, at the very time, when the pontiffs of Rome were triumphing over the movements of aversion and discontent, which had heretofore, been displayed at Milan and Turin, and in the other cities of the plain 1

" Soon after the bishops of Rome had secured the obedience of the Italian clergy, (writes Dr. M'Crie,) and silenced the opposition which arose from Turin, their attention was called to a new class of opponents. Those Christians known in history by the several names of Vaudois, Waldenses, and Albigenses, who condemned the corruptions by which the Church was now every where infected, penetrated through the Alps into Italy, and had already in the year 1180, established themselves in Lombardy and Puglia, where they received frequent visits from their brethren in other countries 2."