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Waldensianism and English Protestants: the Construction of Identity and Continuity

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Waldensianism and English Protestants: the Construction of Identity and Continuity WALDENSIANISM AND ENGLISH PROTESTANTS: THE CONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITY AND CONTINUITY By Mira Goldberg-Poch Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the MA degree in History with Specialization in Medieval and Renaissance Studies University of Ottawa © Mira Goldberg-Poch, Ottawa, Canada, 2012 ABSTRACT In 1655 and again in 1686-1689, the Waldensians of Piedmont were massacred by the Duke of Savoy after he issued edicts forbidding the practice of their religion. The Waldensians were later followers of the medieval religious movement of the Poor of Lyons, declared heretical in 1215. The Waldensians associated with the Reformation in 1532, and thus formed a link with diverse groups of Protestants across Europe. In the periods immediately surrounding both massacres, an outpouring of publications dedicated to their plight, their history, and their religious identity appeared, a large number of which emerged in London. On both occasions, the propaganda gave rise to international sympathy and encouraged international intervention, eventually provoking the Duke to rescind the edicts that had instigated the massacres. While most contemporary scholars consider the Waldensians to have been fully absorbed into Protestantism after 1532, it is clear from the writings of both the Waldensians and their sympathizers that they considered themselves a separate entity: the inheritors of a long tradition of dissent from the Catholic Church based on their own belief in the purity of the Gospel. The Waldensian identity was based on a history of exclusion and persecution, and also on a belief that they had transmitted the true embodiment of Christianity through the centuries. The documents that were published surrounding the massacres address the legitimacy of the Waldensian identity based on centuries of practice. English and continental Protestants identified with the Waldensians, who provided ancient ties and legitimacy to their ‘new’ religion, and the Waldensians adopted that identity proudly, all the while claiming ii continuity. Protestants also used the Waldensians in propagandist documents, most often to justify political or religious actions and ideologies. The continuity of Waldensianism through the Reformation became crucially important for the wider umbrella of Protestantism as a legitimizing factor for the movement. This thesis investigates the claims of continuity and finds that while the Waldensians underwent a dramatic change in religious doctrine to conform to the Reformation, their belief in the continuity of their religious identity can be validated by examining religion from a socio-cultural perspective that takes aspects other than theology into consideration. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I’d like to thank my superb supervisor, Professor Kouky Fianu, for guiding and advising me through this learning experience. She has been incredibly helpful in focusing my scattered thoughts and ideas, and I can’t thank her enough. To my extraordinary parents: I could not have done this without you. Literally. I don’t know anyone else who would selflessly put so much time and energy towards supporting their demanding offspring through this process. You have been more inspirational and encouraging than you know. Thank you, thank you, thank you. To my wonderful brother Zack: Your dedication to your scholarly endeavours constantly amazes me and puts my own efforts to shame. You gave me a level of motivation to aspire to (although realistically I never got there, having spent not one single night sleeping on my desk at school). Thanks for providing an excuse for a much-needed vacation. You’re the best and most encouraging little brother a girl could ask for. To my friends: you’ve made the last years wonderfully fun. You made me happy to come back to reality after spending my days immersed in the past. Special thanks to Alec, Kristi, Devon, Eric, Stats, and Andrée for their advice on more academic matters. To my amazing labmates Beth, Kristin, Hannah, Bruno, Lori, and Caroline: you’ve provided me with endless amusement and much support. Thanks for keeping me sane on a day-to-day basis. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................................... II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................................................. IV TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................................................V NOTES............................................................................................................................................................. VI INTRODUCTION: TELLING THE WALDENSIANS' STORY ..................................................................1 CHAPTER ONE: HISTORIOGRAPHY AND THE WALDENSIANS AFTER THE REFORMATION ......................................................................................................................................................................... 18 DEATH OR CONTINUITY?: EVOLUTION, RUPTURE, AND SCHISM .......................................................................... 18 NOMENCLATURE, TERMINOLOGY, AND THE WALDENSIAN IDENTITY IN THE CONTINUITY DEBATE............ 30 WALDENSIANS AND PROTESTANTS: LITERATURE, PROPAGANDA, AND FOREIGN RELATIONS ...................... 34 ANTHROPOLOGY, SOCIOLOGY, AND PRIVILEGING THE SOCIO-CULTURAL .......................................................... 40 CHAPTER TWO: AN ALTERNATE PERSPECTIVE ON CONTINUITY............................................. 46 BEGINNINGS: THE POOR OF LYONS AND THEIR BELIEFS........................................................................................ 50 CLANDESTINITY: RUPTURE OR CONTINUITY?.......................................................................................................... 58 INQUISITION RECORDS AS A PLATFORM FOR WALDENSIAN SPEECH .................................................................. 65 EVOLUTION IN A SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT.......................................................................................................... 68 RECONCILING WALDENSIANISM WITH THE REFORMATION.................................................................................. 71 POST-REFORMATION DISCOURSE: THE WALDENSIANS ENCOUNTER THE PROTESTANTS .............................. 80 CONCLUSION: GIVING PRIORITY TO SOCIO-CULTURAL OVER THEOLOGICAL CONTINUITY.............................. 83 CHAPTER THREE: (ENGLISH) PROTESTANT SYMPATHY AND THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTINUITY................................................................................................................................................ 86 THE SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT OF DOCUMENT PRODUCTION: THE CREATION OF A PAMPHLET CULTURE ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 86 SUBSTANTIATING THE LINK BETWEEN WALDENSIANS AND PROTESTANTS: CREATING LEGITIMACY FOR PROTESTANTISM THROUGH ANCIENNETÉ AND CONTINUITY ................................................................................ 94 CONCLUSION: THE IMPORTANCE OF WALDENSIANISM TO THE (ENGLISH) PROTESTANT IDENTITY .........119 CHAPTER FOUR: THE WALDENSIAN IDENTITY AS PROPAGANDA..........................................122 A MULTIFACETED IDENTITY: THE WALDENSIAN IDENTITY AND PUBLIC REPRESENTATION......................123 FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNAL AFFAIRS: USING THE WALDENSIAN IDENTITY AS PROPAGANDA .........134 CONCLUSION: THE WALDENSIAN IDENTITY AND EUROPEAN POWER STRUGGLES ........................................148 CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................................151 APPENDICES..............................................................................................................................................156 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................................171 PRIMARY SOURCES.....................................................................................................................................................171 MONOGRAPHS .............................................................................................................................................................175 ARTICLES ......................................................................................................................................................................181 v NOTES I have kept the quotations in this thesis as they were found in the manuscripts: italicized words, bold words, misspellings, variant word forms, and grammatical errors are all copied verbatim from the original version and are not due to oversight on my part. I have not, however, transcribed such features as the ‘∫’. All page numbers cited in primary documents sourced from Early English Books Online represent the image number from that database rather than the pages of the document itself, as those numbers are both inconsistent and often difficult to locate. vi INTRODUCTION: TELLING THE WALDENSIANS' STORY “The whole History of the Subsistence, Deliverance and Victories of these Protestants in the Vallies, is a continued
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