Waldenses

American  

[wawl-den-seez, wol-] / wɔlˈdɛn siz, wɒl- /

plural noun

1. the members of a Christian sect that arose after 1170 in southern France under the leadership of Pierre Waldo, a merchant of Lyons, and joined the Reformation in the 16th century.

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Waldenses British  

/ wɒlˈdɛnsiːz, wɒlˈdɛnsɪən /

plural noun

1. Also called: Vaudois.  the members of a small sect founded as a reform movement within the Roman Catholic Church by Peter Waldo, a merchant of Lyons in the late 12th century, which in the 16th century joined the Reformation movement

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Other Word Forms

• Waldensian
  adjective
• Waldensian
  noun

Etymology

Origin of Waldenses

First recorded in 1400–50; plural of Middle English Waldensis, from Medieval Latin, after Pierre Waldo; see -ensis

Example Sentences

To Waldenses in the U. S. last week came good news from Italy.

From Time Magazine Archive

For nearly seven centuries the Waldenses, the "slaughtered saints" of Milton's sonnet, tenaciously weathered persecution in the valleys of the Cottian Alps.

From Time Magazine Archive

Evidently the spirit of the persecuted saints was unbroken, and it was soon after put to the test in the valley of the Po, where whole villages were found to consist of Waldenses.

From A History of The Inquisition of The Middle Ages; volume II by Lea, Henry Charles

This victory earned for the Waldenses a respite, and in 1490 Carlo I. invited them to a conference at Pignerol, where he granted them peace and confirmed their privileges.

From A History of The Inquisition of The Middle Ages; volume II by Lea, Henry Charles

One woman confessed to giving forty sols to a Catharan for medical services, while to Waldenses she gave only wine and bread.

From A History of The Inquisition of The Middle Ages; volume II by Lea, Henry Charles