Critical Apparatus for this Page
Commentary on the Text
Names and Places on this Page
Unavailable for this Edition
1131 [1131]

K. Hen. 8. Persecutiō against the Valley of Angrongne, Luserne, S. Martin, & Perouse.

sters should cease, & if they which should be sent, preached not the word of God sincerely, then their Ministers to preache agayne. If they would agree to thys, they were promised that the persecution should cease, and the prisoners should be restored agayne. To this question, after they had cōferred with the people, they aunswered that they could, by no meanes, suffer, that their Ministers should forbeare preachyng.

[Back to Top]

The two Lordes not contented with this aūswere, commaunded in the Dukes name, that all the Ministers, which were straungers should out of hand bee banished the coūtrey: saying that the Duke would not suffer them to dwell within his dominiō, for that they were his enemyes: demaundyng also whether they would foster & mainteine the Princes enemyes within his owne land, against his own decree and expresse commaundement? MarginaliaThe Angronians denye to put away their Ministers.To the which, aunswere was made by the chief Rulers, that they could by no meanes, banishe them, vnlesse they were afore conuicted of some heresie, or other crime: for their part, they had alwayes founde them to be men of pure and sound doctrine, and also of godly life and conuersation.

[Back to Top]

This done, immediatly proclamations were made, & the persecutiō begā on euery side to be more furious, thē it was afore. MarginaliaThe Monkes of Pigneroll cruell agaynst the Angronians.Amongst others, þe Monkes of Pigneroll, at that tyme, were most cruell:  

Commentary   *   Close

The monastic house of Abbadia Alpina, Pinerolo was, along with the Augustinian house at Oulx, traditionally one of the principal supporters of the Inquisition in the Alps. The San Gimignano near Angrogna has not been identified.

For they sent out a cōpany of hyred ruffians, whiche dayly spoyled & ransackt houses, & all that they could lay handes of, tooke men, women, and children, and led them captiues to the Abbey, where they were most spitefully afflicted & tormented. MarginaliaThe Minister of S. Germain betrayed and taken.At the same tyme, they sent also a band of the sayd ruffians, by night, to the Ministers house of S. Germain, in the valley of Perouse, beyng led thether by a traitour, whiche knew the house, and had vsed to haunt thether secretly: who knockyng at the doore, the Minister knowyng his voyce, came forth immediatly, and perceiuyng him selfe to be betrayed, fled: but hee was soone taken and sore wounded, and yet notwithstandyng, they pricked hym behynde with their halbardes, to make hym hasten his pase. At that tyme also, many they slue, many they hurt, and many also they brought to the Abbey, and there kept them in prison, and cruelly handled them. The good Minister endured sore imprisonment, & after that, a most terrible kynde of death, with a wonderfull constancie: MarginaliaBarbarous crueltie shewed agaynst the good minister of S. Germain.For they rosted him by a small fire: and when halfe hys body was burnt, he confessed and called vppon the Lord Iesus, with a loude voyce.

[Back to Top]

The Inquisitor Iacomel, with his Monkes, and the Collaterall Corbis, amongest other, shewed one practise of most barbarous crueltie, agaynst this poore mā. MarginaliaTwo wemen cōpelled to carye fagots to burne their Pastor.Who when hee should bee burnt, caused ij. poore wemen of S. Germain (whiche they kept in prison) to cary fagottes to the fire, and to speake these wordes to their pastour: take this, thou wicked hereticke, in recōpence of thy naughty doctrine, whiche thou hast taught vs. To whom the good Minister aunswered: Ah good wemen, I haue taught you well, but you haue learned ill. To bee brief, they so afflicted & tormented those poore people of S. Germain, & the places there about, þt after they were spoyled of their goodes, and driuen frō their houses, they were compelled to flye into the mountaine to saue their lyues. So great was the spoyle of this poore people, that many which before had ben men of much wealth, and with their riches had ministred great succour and comforte to others, were now brought to such miserye, that they were compelled to craue succour and relief of other.

[Back to Top]

Now, for as much as the sayd Monkes, with theyr troupes of ruffians (whiche were counted to be in nūber about 300) made such spoyle & hauocke in all þe countrey, that no man could there lyue in safetie: it was demaunded of the Ministers, MarginaliaWhether it be lawfull for the persecuted people of Christ, to stand to their own defence.whether it was lawfull to defende them selues, agaynst the insolencie and furious rage of the said Ruffians. The Ministers aūswered, that it was lawfull, warnyng thē in any case, to take heede of bloudshed. This questiō being once dissolued, they of the valley of Luserne and of Angrongne, sent certeine men, to thē of S. Germain, to ayde them agaynst the supporters of these Monkes.

[Back to Top]

In the moneth of Iune, the haruest being then in Piemont, diuers of þe Waldoys were gone into the countrey, to reape and make prouision for corne, for very litle groweth vpon their mountaines: the whiche were all taken prisoners at sundry tymes & places, not one knowing of an other: but yet God so wrought, that they all es-MarginaliaMirabilia Dei.caped out of prison, as it were, by a miracle: Wherat the aduersaries were maruelously astonished. At the same tyme, there were certeine other also, whiche had susteyned long imprisonment, lookyng for nothyng els, but death: and yet they, after a wōderfull sort, by Gods mercifull prouidence, were likewise deliuered.

[Back to Top]

In the moneth of Iuly, they of Angrongne, beyng in a morning, at haruest, vpon the hill side of S. Germain, perceiued a company of souldiours spoylyng them of S. Germain: and doubtyng lest they would go to Angrongne, made an outcry. Then the people of Angrongne assembled together vpon the mountaine, and some ranne to S. Germain, ouer the hill, & some by the valley. They which went by the valley, mette with the spoylers commyng from S. Germain, loden with spoyle, which they had gotten, & being but 50. set vpon the other, amountyng to the number of 120. men well appoynted, and gaue thē soone the ouerthrow. MarginaliaVictory of the Angronians ouer their enemyes.The passage ouer the bridge being stopped, the enemyes were fayne to take the ryuer of Cluzon, where diuers were sore hurt, many were drowned, and some escaped very hardly: & such a slaughter was made of them, that the riuer was dyed with the bloud of them, whiche were wounded and slayne, but none of the Angrongnians were once hurt. If the sayd riuer had bene as great as it was wont commonly to be, there had not one man escaped alyue. The noyse of the harquebushes was great, and within lesse then one houres space, there was iij. or iiij. hundreth of the Waldois, gathered together vpon the ryuer: and at the same tyme, they had purposed to fetch away their prisoners, whiche were in the Abbey, but they would not do it without the counsaile of their Ministers, & so differred the matter vntill the next day: But their Ministers counsailed them, not to enterprise any such thyng: but to refraine thē selues, & so they did. Albeit they doubted not, but if they had gone incontinent, after that discomfiture, vnto þe Abbey: they might haue found all open, & easly haue entred: For þe Monkes were so sore afrayde, that they fled sodenly to Pignerol, to saue their reliques and Images, which they caryed thether. The rest of the countrey about, were also wonderfully afrayde, & range the belles euery where. The greater part of them fled, doubtyng least the poore Waldoys, would haue reuenged the wronges and outrages done vnto them.

[Back to Top]

MarginaliaThe Commaunder of S. Anthony sent to Angrōgne.The next day folowyng,  

Commentary   *   Close

The disputation which Foxe recounts here marked the second phase of the campaign against the Vaudois protestants. It took place in late July or August 15560. Among the Vaudois protestants was the minister Scipione Lentolo - who may have provided much of the material for the account on which Foxe relied. Against them was the 27-year old Jesuit Antonio Possevino (in Foxe's account referred to as the 'Commaunder of Fossan'.

[Back to Top]
the Commander of Saint Anthony de Fossan came to Angrongne, accōpanyed with diuers Gentlemen, saying that hee was sent by the Duke: and hauyng assembled the chief Rulers and Ministers of Angrongne, and of the valley of Luserne, after hee had declared vnto them the cause of his commyng, hee read their supplication directed to the Duke, whiche conteyned their confession, demaundyng of them, if it were the same, whiche they had sent to the Duke. They aunswered, yea. Thē he began to dispute, being sent (as he sayd) to informe them of their errours, not doubtyng, but they would amende, accordyng to their promise. Then he entred into a disputation of the Masse, in a great heate, deriuing the same from the Hebrue worde Massa, whiche signified (as he supposed) consecration, and shewed that this worde Missa, might be found in the auncient writers. MarginaliaMißa falsely deriued out of the Hebrue.The Ministers aūswered that he ill applied the Hebrue worde: and further, that they disputed not of the woorde Missa, but of that whiche is signified by the same, the which he ought first to proue by the word of God. MarginaliaDisputation about the Masse.Briefly that he could not proue either by the worde of God, or þe auncient fathers, their priuate Masse, their sacrifice expiatorie or propiciatorie, their transubstanciation, their adoration, their application of the same for the quicke and the dead, and such other matters, whiche are principall partes of the sayd Masse. The Commander hauyng here nothyng to reply, fell into a maruelous coler, raylyng and ragyng as if he had ben starke madde, and told them that hee was not come to dispute, but to banishe their Ministers, and to place others in their rowmes, by the Dukes commaūdement, whiche he could not, vnlesse their Ministers were first driuen out of the coūtrey.

[Back to Top]

MarginaliaThe poore inhabitantes of the Valley of Luserne, taken prisoners.From thence he went to the Abbey of Pigneroll, where he and Iacomell caused a nūber of the poore inhabitantes of Campillon, and of Fenil, whiche be of the valley of Luserne, to be taken prisoners, spoylyng thē of their goods, driuyng away their cattell, and forcyng them to sweare and forsweare, and in the end raunsomed them, for great summes of money. About that tyme, a gentleman of Campillon agreed with those whiche were fled, for xxx. crownes to be payd vnto him out of hand, that he would

[Back to Top]
war-