Peter Waldo was the leader of the Waldensians, a Christian spiritual movement of the Middle Ages.
Statue of Peter Waldo at the Luther Monument in Worms, Germany
Waldo depicted as a gargoyle on Lyon Cathedral: he is depicted with a hollow head, like a madman, preaching towards the sky, instead of prostrating himself before God.
The Waldensians, also known as Waldenses, Vallenses, Valdesi, or Vaudois, are adherents of a church tradition that began as an ascetic movement within Western Christianity before the Reformation. Originally known as the Poor of Lyon in the late twelfth century, the movement spread to the Cottian Alps in what is today France and Italy. The founding of the Waldensians is attributed to Peter Waldo, a wealthy merchant who gave away his property around 1173, preaching apostolic poverty as the way to perfection.
Statue of Peter Waldo at the Luther Monument in Worms
Illustrations depicting Waldensians as witches in Le champion des dames, by Martin Le France, 1451
Piedmontese children forced from their parents
Massacre of the Mérindol Waldensians in 1545