Peter Waldo
A wealthy citizen of Lyon who gave away his property about 1173 and gathered followers who preached in voluntary poverty, the Poor of Lyon. The Waldensian Church takes its name from him.
The two twelfth-century writers cited here give him one name only: the Chronicle of Laon calls him Valdesius (Chronicle of Laon 1173 (MGH SS 26, p. 447)) and Walter Map calls him Valdes, a citizen of Lyon (Walter Map, De nugis curialium 1.31). The name Peter, by which he is usually known in English, does not occur in either passage. The Waldensian Church calls him Valdo (Waldensian Church, Our History Le origini).
The Chronicle of Laon tells how he gave up a fortune made by usury, provided for his wife and daughters, fed the poor and took to begging (Chronicle of Laon 1173), and how the pope embraced him at the Lateran council, approved his poverty and forbade him to preach except at the request of priests (Chronicle of Laon 1178 (MGH SS 26, p. 449)).
In the timeline
- about 1173, estimated dateWaldo and the Poor of Lyon
A rich citizen of Lyon gives away his wealth and begins to preach with his followers in voluntary poverty. The pope approves the poverty and restricts the preaching; when they preach on, they are condemned. The early accounts used here all come from critics of the movement.
Primary sources
Chronicle of Laon
- Chronicle of Laon 1173 (MGH SS 26, p. 447)dmgh.de
- Chronicle of Laon 1173sourcebooks.fordham.edu
- Chronicle of Laon 1178 (MGH SS 26, p. 449)dmgh.de