From the erewhile rich and fertile plains of Dauphine and Provence, now transformed by the Albigensian crusade into a blackened desert, we return to the Waldenses of Piedmont, who, as yet, had rather dreaded than actually experienced the resentment of Rome. We may not suppose it owing to any spirit of toleration that, for the two succeeding centuries, the Waldenses escaped the fate of their Albigensian brethren. Rather was the occasion wanting, than that Rome exhibited any diminution of zeal for their destruction. Happily for these simple confessors of Christ, it was frequently beyond the power of the Popes to see their cruel projects consummated.
The causes of this long lull in the tempest of persecution are not far to seek. The zeal displayed by Innocent III. for the extinction of heresy does not appear to have been equaled by his immediate successors, who, lacking his keen penetration and power, concerned themselves more with the internal affairs of the church, than with the growth of those new opinions which, though slowly, were surely undermining the whole Papal system. It was during this lengthened period that the famous "schism" occurred, when Europe beheld the singular spectacle of three Popes reigning at the same time, each claiming to be the vicar of Christ, and the true successor of St. Peter! The temporary banishment of the Popes to Avignon was another check on the ambitions projects of the Papacy.
This internal confusion and distraction, threatening at times the very existence of the Romish system, it may be presumed, were the chief causes of that long era of comparative repose enjoyed by the " church of the valleys." During those troublous times, the secular princes, on whom the Papacy depended ft tr the performance of its most cherished designs, were not always on the best of terms with the Popes, nor willing to expend blood and treasure on their behalf. The Albigensian crusade, for example, was led by the Pope's legate, because Waldensian Youth Hiding the Bible "The miserable inhabitants fled in haste to the mountains."
A Crusade Against the Vaudois the lord of that province refused to obey the edict of Innocent III. to exterminate his own faithful subjects. But a general crusade was an extreme resort, not always to be ventured upon; so " the Papal thunders," as an historian observes, " often rolled harmlessly over the valleys, and the mountain-home of these confessors was wonderfully shielded till very nearly the era of the Reformation."
There were, however, during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, some detached instances of persecution, and one notably of a more general character, which happened at the close of the year 1400. We may notice this, as it will form a link between the great Albigensian crusade, and the first general Papal invasion of the valleys, of which we shall give a more particular account. " The scene of this catastrophe was the Valley of Pragelas. It was the Christmas of 1400, and the inhabitants dreaded no attack, believing themselves sufficiently protected by the snows which then lay deep on their mountains. They were destined to experience the bitter fact that the rigors of the season had not quenched the fire of their persecutors' malice. An inquisitor named Borelli, at the head of an armed troop, broke suddenly into Pragelas, meditating the entire extinction of its population. The miserable inhabitants fled in haste to the mountains, carrying on their shoulders their old men, their sick, and their infants, knowing what fate awaited them should they leave them behind. In their flight a great many were overtaken and slain. Nightfall brought them deliverance from the pursuit, but no deliverance from horrors not less dreadful. Without shelter, without food, the frozen snow around them, the winter's sky overhead, their sufferings were inexpressibly great. When morning broke, what a heart-rending spectacle did day disclose Of the miserable group the hands and feet of many were frozen; while others were stretched on the snow, stiffened corpses. Fifty young children, some say eighty, were found dead with cold, some lying on the bare ice, others locked in the frozen arms of their mothers, who had perished on chat dreadful night along with their babes. In the Valley of Pragelas, to this day, sire recites to son the tale of that Christmas tragedy."
We now pass on to the year 1487, the date of the first general crusade against the Waldenses. At length that lamp, which had burned uninterruptedly since primitive times, was to be extinguished. The mailed hand of the enemy was now about to fall and shatter, for a time at least, the testimony in the mountains. Since the sudden and barbarous attack related above the process of extermination bad rather languished, and in consequence the Waldensian opinions were both taking deeper root, and at the same time spreading far and wide beyond the limits of the valleys. Alarmed at these rapid advances, Pope Innocent VIII., who then filled the Papal chair, determined by a combined and decisive effort, once and forever, to root out the heretics and the pest of heresy. Emulating the example and vigor of his great namesake, Innocent III., and remembering no doubt how effectually that famous pontiff had swept away the heretics, from the plains of Dauphine and Provence, he resolved upon the same course.
Once more a crusade was to be preached; once more was Europe to witness the sad and humiliating spectacle of a host of ruffians let loose upon their fellow creatures, to pillage and ravage, torture and slaughter at their will; and this, too, at the dictate of him who presumed to be Christ's vicar upon earth The same infamous tactics were resorted to, the same horrible inducements again held out that had characterized the former crusade Plenary pardon for all their sins, and unrestrained license upon the persons and possessions of the heretics, were the rewards promised to those who faithfully performed their part in this holy war. Once more thousands flocked to the banner of the Pope's legate, rejoiced to 52 avail themselves of heaven on such easy terms. What " dark times," indeed, were these, when men were induced to believe that their crimes could be expiated by the commission of more, and still darker ones!
And now all Europe rang with the din of preparation; bands of men from every country, in obedience to the Papal bull, marched towards the center from which operations were to commence: " the only people," it is said, " left ignorant of the commotion it had excited, and the bustle of preparation it had called forth, were those poor men on whom the terrible tempest was about to fall."
The joint army numbered about 18,000 regular soldiers, beside the thousands of ruffians already mentioned. This host was divided into two divisions, the one directing an attack from the French, the other on the Italian, side of the Alps; and so advancing, the one from the south-east, and the other from the northwest, to meet in the Valley of Angrogna, the center of the territory, and there strike the final blow. We will follow first the progress of the French division of this host, that which advanced against the Alps of Dauphine.
This portion of the crusade," it is related, " was led by a daring and cruel man, skilled in such adventures, the Lord of La Pala. He ascended the mountains with his fanatics, and entered the Vale of Loyse, a deep gorge overhung by towering mountains. The inhabitants, seeing an armed force twenty times their number enter their valley, despaired of being able to resist them, and prepared for flight. They placed their old people and children in rustic carts, together with their domestic utensils, and such store of victuals as the urgency of the occasion permitted them to collect, and driving their herds before them, they began to climb the rugged slopes of Mount Pelvoux, which rises some six thousand feet over the level of the valley. They sang canticles as they climbed the steeps, which served at once to smooth their rugged path, and to dispel their terrors.
" About half-way up there is an immense cavern called Aigue-Froid, from the cold springs that rush out from its rocky walls. In front of the cavern is a platform of rock, where the spectator sees beneath him, only fearful precipices, which must be clambered over before one can reach the entrance of the grotto. Into this grotto, as into an impregnable castle, the Vaudois enter. Their women, infants, and old men they placed in the inner hall; their cattle and sheep they distributed along the internal cavities of the grotto. The able-bodied men posted themselves at the entrance. Having barricaded with huge stones both the doorway of the cave and the path that led to it, they deemed themselves secure. But a device of their pursuer rendered all these precautions vain. La Palu ascended the mountain on the other side, and approaching the cave from above, lot down his soldiers by ropes from the precipice that overhangs the grotto. The platform in front was then secured by his soldiers. The Vaudois might have cut their ropes and defeated their foes as they were being lowered one by one, but the boldness of this maneuver would seem to have paralyzed them. They retreated into the cavern to find in it their grave. La Palu saw the danger of permitting his men to follow them into the depths of their hiding place. lie adopted the easier and safer method of piling up at the entrance all the wood he could collect, and setting fire to it. A huge volume of black smoke began to roll into the cave, leaving to the unhappy inmates the miserable alternative of rushing out and falling by the sword that waited for them, or of remaining in the interior to be stifled by the murky vapor. Some rushed out, and were massacred; but the greater part remained till death slowly approached them by suffocation. When the cave was afterward examined,' says Muston, there were found in it 400 infants, suffocated in their cradles, or in the arms of their dead mothers.
Altogether there perished in this cavern more than 3,000 Vaudois, including the entire population of Val Loyse."'
Having distributed the property of these poor sufferers amongst the bands of ruffians and assassins that accompanied him, La Palu next advanced upon the neighboring valleys of Argentiêre and Fraissiniêre. But the inhabitants, learning the fate of their brethren, determined upon resistance, as therein only lay their chance of safety. Accordingly they barricaded the passes of the valleys, and showed such a front to the foe when he advanced, that he relinquished the attempt there, and left them in peace.
But this wonderful deliverance was not vouchsafed to the dwellers in the Valley of Pragelns, the scene of the terrible tragedy of Christmas 1400. " Again," says the historian, " terror, mourning, and death were carried into it. The peaceful inhabitants who were expecting no such invasion, were busy reaping their harvests, when this horde of assassins burst upon them. In the first panic they abandoned their dwellings and fled. Many were overtaken and slain; hamlets and whole villages were given to the flames; nor could the caves in which multitudes sought refuge afford any protection. The horrible barbarity of the Val Loyse was repeated in the Valley of Pragelus. Combustible materials were piled up, and fires kindled at the mouths of their hiding-places; and when extinguished all was silent within. Folded together in one motionless heap lay mother and babe, patriarch and stripling; while the fatal smoke, which had cast them into that deep sleep, was eddying along the roof, and slowly making its exit into the clear sunlit summer sky."
Thus, having only too successfully accomplished his part of the murderous design, La Palu paused awhile in his bloody work, and awaited the approach of the Piedmontise division advancing from the other side. But it was destined never to reach that secluded spot. The story of the failure of this expedition, headed by the Pope's legate Catanio, will form the subject of our next chapter.