THis accorde beyng thus made and passed, by the meanes of the Duchesse of Sauoy, the poore Waldois haue bene in quyet vntill this present: and God of his infinite goodnes hauyng deliuered them out of so many troubles and conflictes, hath set them at libertie, to serue him purely and with quyetnes of conscience.

MarginaliaAll things turne to the best, to them that loue the Lord.Wherfore there is none at this present (except he be altogether blind or senseles) but he seeth & well perceiueth that God would make it knowen by experience, to these poore Waldoys, and all other faythfull people, that all thinges turne to the best to them, whiche loue and feare him. For by all these afflictions whiche they suffered (as is before rehearsed) this good heauenly father hath brought them to repentaunce and amendement of lyfe. He hath effectuously taught them to haue recourse to his fatherly mercy, and to embrace Iesus Christ, for their onely Sauiour and redemer.

Furthermore he hath taught them to tame the desires and lustes of the fleshe, to withdrawe their hartes from the world, and lift them vp to heauen, and to be alwayes in a redynes to come to him, as vnto their most louyng and pitifull father. To bee short, he hath set them to the schole of his children, to the ende they should profite in patience and hope: to make them to mourne, wepe and cry vnto him. And aboue all, he hath made them so oft to proue his succours at tyme of nede, to see them before their eyes, to feele and touche them with their hādes (as a man would say) after such sort, that they haue had good occasion and all the faithfull with them, neuer to distrust so good a father, and so carefull for the health of his children: but to assure them selues neuer to bee confounded, what thyng soeuer happen.

And yet to see this more manifestly, & that euery man may take profite therof, it shalbe good to vnderstād what this poore people did, whiles they were in these cōbates and conflictes. MarginaliaThe behauiour of these good mē in their persecutions.So soone as they saw the armye of theyr enemies approch, they cried altogether for ayde and succour to the Lord, and before they began to defende them selues, they fell to prayer, and in fighting lifted vp their hartes and sighed to the Lord. As long as the enemyes were at rest, euery one of thys poore people, on their knees, called vpō God. When þ^e cōbate was ended, they gaue him thankes for the comfort & succour, whiche they had felt. In the meane tyme, the rest of the people with the Ministers, made their harty prayer vnto God with sighes and teares, and that, from the mornyng vntill the euenyng. When night was come, they assembled agayne together. They which had fought, rehearsed þ^e wōderfull ayde and succour whiche God had sent them, and so all together rendred thākes vnto him for his fatherly goodnes. Alwayes he chaūged their sorrow into ioye. In the mornyng trouble an afflictiō appeared before them, with great terrour on all sides: but by the euenyng, they were deliuered, and had large cause of reioysing and comfort.

MarginaliaWarre & famine, ij. enemyes agaynst these men.This poore people had two terrible enemyes: warre and famine, which kept them vnder, in such sorte, that a man would haue thought they had bene vtterly lost and destroyed. But God of his endles mercie, deliuered thē from such daungers, and restored them to their houses, where they remayned afterwardes in peace and quyetnes, and all they whiche had declared them selues to bee their open enemyes, were brought to confusion, as well those which sought to gette their goodes, as those which onely desired to shede their bloud. For proufe wherof, the onely example of two Gentlemen of the Valley of Luserne shall suffise. These not onely moued cruell warre agaynst their poore tenaūtes and others, but most shamefully spoyled them, and tooke vntolerable fynes of all those that disobeyed their Edictes, to kept a good conscience. MarginaliaExample of Gods fauour toward hys seruantes, and confusiō toward their persecutours.Besides this they went about to sease all their goodes as forfaite: waityng to haue the whole forfaiture therof them selues. And for this cause they did not onely incense the Duke with false reportes & with greuous cōplaintes & accusations, agaynst these poore Waldoys: but also pursued the same so long & with such charges, that they were fayne to sell their inheritaūce, in hope to bring their purpose to passe, and to enioye that goodly praye, whiche they thought could not escape their handes. But in the ende, for their rewarde, they gotte nothyng but shame and confusion.

And as for the Monkes and Priestes, whiche by such meanes thought to aduaunce them selues, and to bryng their trumpery to estimation, they haue lost the litle rule whiche they had ouer that people, and are confounded, and their religion brought in disdayne. Thus God beateth downe those, whiche exalte them selues aboue measure, and maketh his aduersaries to fall into the pyttes, whiche they them selues haue made.

Let vs pray vnto him therefore, that it would please hym lykewise to stretche out his puissaunt arme at this daye, to maintayne his poore Church, now afflicted, & to confounde all the diuises of Sathan & his members, to the aduauncement of hys glorye and kyngdome.

MarginaliaOdoul Gemet most cruelly Martyred, read fol. 1097. col. 1. lin. 81.* Note in thys storye before, fol. 1097. col. 1. lin. 81. that he, which had the Escarbots put to hys bellie to kill hym, was called Odoul Gemet.

MarginaliaThe conclusiō of the storye of Merindol, and Angrongne.And thus thou hast (Christian reader) for thy erudition and comforte, the storye and doinges, discoursed concerning these two countreyes, both of Prouince, and also of Piemont, the one being subiecte vnder the dominion of Fraunce:MarginaliaMerindoll and Cabriers in Prouince, vnder the French king. the other belonging to the Duke of Sauoy.MarginaliaAngrongne and others in Piemont, vnder the Duke of Sauoy. In the which two foresayd regions and countreys, how long the Gospell of Christ hath continued (euen from the tyme of the first Waldenses) þ^e historye it self declareth. MarginaliaThe crueltie of the aduersaryes.Furthermore, what iniuries & wronges haue bene wrought agaynst them, for the Gospells sake, what rigour and crueltie hath bene shewed, of the aduersarye parte: againe, MarginaliaThe paciēce of the Martyrs.for their parte, what pacience in their suffering, what constancie in their doctrine, what truth in their wordes, and simplicitie in their deedes, what obedience toward their Magistrates, and fayth toward God they haue vsed: and finallye, how miraculouslye and mightely God hath fought for hys people, and confounded the enemyes, the sayd historye may geue thee full knowledge and experience.

Wherin thys thou hast moreouer for thy more learnyng, to note and to consider with thy selfe, besides many other memorable thinges, in this story conteyned, how vnwillyng this people were at first, and what remorse of conscience they had, for their obedience toward their Magistrates, to lyft vp any hand or finger, for their owne defence. And therefore many of them beyng slayne, and cruelly murthered as willyngly offeryng their throates, without any resistaunce, to the cruell handes of their enemyes, the rest were compelled to flye into the mountaynes, beyng spoyled of house, vitaile, and weapon, onely to saue their poore lyues with flying, which otherwise they would not with resistyng, in rockes and caues, thinkyng there rather to perishe by famine, then to vse that defense for them selues, whiche nature giueth to euery brute beast, to helpe it self, as it may, agaynst violēce and iniurie. Yet these poore Waldoys refusing all resistaunce, and layng downe their owne weapon (for obedience sake) yea not liftyng vp their owne handes, to defende their owne heades, onely vsed the poore shifte of flying from their enemyes, till at length the rage of those bloudy persecutours, satisfied with no bloud, nor contented with any reason, ceased not still most furiously, to infest them, yea to take also the moūtaines from them, MarginaliaThen they which are in Iewry, let thē flye into the Moūtaines, Luke. 21.whiche had taken from them theyr houses before, neither yet permittyng them to lyue with the wilde beastes in the deserte, whiche could not lyue in their townes at home: till at length, by extreme necessitie, the prouidence of God so workyng with thē, MarginaliaThe Waldoys compelled to defend them selues.they were compelled to turne their faces, and to take those weapons, which the ground gaue to their hādes. And w^t those stones, so meruelously þ^e God of hoastes wrought for his people, that they bette, vanquished, & ouerthrew their aduersaries, they confounded their pride, they abated their malice, & at last, stayd þ^e intolerable rage of their persecutiō. MarginaliaNote how the Lorde blessed the Waldoys, standing to their own defence.So mercifully, & victoriouslye the Lord God omnipotent fought with his people, or rather for his people, they but turnyng almost their faces vnto their enemyes, no otherwise then he fought in times before, with Iosue agaynst the heathē, with the Israelites agaynst the Philistians, with the Macabees, agaynst Antiochus and the Syrians.

Thys historye carying with it a true narration of thinges done in the sayd countrey of Piemont, and written (as it semeeth) by certayne of the