Waldensians in the Flacius’ Catalogus testium veritatis

The Catalogus testium veritatis was edited by Matthias Flacius in 1556, during the preparatory works on the major Lutheran historical text of the XVIth century, the so-called Centuries of Magdeburg (1559-1574). In spite of the evident affinity of both conceptions, the Catalogus represents its own structure and model of exposition. Among almost 400 elements of the general historical view (the Witnesses of Truth, according to the terminology accepted by the author) a few were dedicated to some heresies. Although most of them are only briefly described, the Waldensian heresy obtained both a considerable space in the book’s structure and an importance in the whole conception. The reason is simple: the Waldensian doctrine matches the Lutheran one in a series of crucial points. Such coincidences are analyzed in the article along with several not less important divergences. Flacius concentrates on the exposition of the Waldensian doctrine and fails to distinguish between the original word of Peter Waldo and the contemporary state of things. He makes extensive quotations and obviously enjoys any proximity with his own opinion. He refers to all Waldensian theses that coincide with Lutheran ones and rejects the papal accusations concerning them. To defeat the 400-year old papal attacks, Flacius has recourse to all achievements of contemporary Lutheran theology and to some statements from the inter-confessional polemics of his own times. In his analysis of the Waldensian doctrine, Flacius encounters an interesting issue in methodology regarding his sources. As we know from his account, his personal contacts with Waldensians were not particularly fruitful, but the written sources collected revealed sometimes different and even contradictory information. Flacius manages to deal with it and offers it in quotations. So the reader has to form his or her own opinion. So, we may conclude that the mastery in managing contradictory information and loyalty to the declared concept make the Catalogus a wholly independent historical research with its own historiographical value, even without reference to the Centuries of Magdeburg.

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