FOXE'S BOOK OF MARTYRS
Edited by William Byron Forbush
CHAPTER VI
An Account of the Persecutions in
Italy, Under the Papacy
We shall now enter on an account of the persecutions in Italy, a
country which has been, and still is,
1. The center of popery.
2. The seat of the pontiff.
3. The source of the various errors which have spread themselves over
other countries, deluded the minds of thousands, and diffused the clouds
of superstition and bigotry over the human understanding.
In pursuing our narrative we shall include the most remarkable
persecutions which have happened, and the cruelties which have been
practised,
1. By the immediate power of the pope.
2. Through the power of the Inquisition.
3. By the bigotry of the Italian princes.
In the twelfth century, the first persecutions under the papacy began
in Italy, at the time that Adrian, an Englishman, was pope, being
occasioned by the following circumstances:
A learned man, and an excellent orator of Brescia, named Arnold, came
to Rome, and boldly preached against the corruptions and innovations
which had crept into the Church. His discourses were so clear,
consistent, and breathed forth such a pure spirit of piety, that the
senators and many of the people highly approved of, and admired his
doctrines.
This so greatly enraged Adrian that he commanded Arnold instantly to
leave the city, as a heretic. Arnold, however, did not comply, for the
senators and some of the principal people took his part, and resisted
the authority of the pope.
Adrian now laid the city of Rome under an interdict, which caused the
whole body of clergy to interpose; and, at length he persuaded the
senators and people to give up the point, and suffer Arnold to be
banished. This being agreed to, he received the sentence of exile, and
retired to Germany, where he continued to preach against the pope, and
to expose the gross errors of the Church of Rome.
Adrian, on this account, thirsted for his blood, and made several
attempts to get him into his hands; but Arnold, for a long time, avoided
every snare laid for him. At length, Frederic Barbarossa arriving at the
imperial dignity, requested that the pope would crown him with his own
hand. This Adrian complied with, and at the same time asked a favor of
the emperor, which was, to put Arnold into his hands. The emperor very
readily delivered up the unfortunate preacher, who soon fell a martyr to
Adrian's vengeance, being hanged, and his body burnt to ashes, at Apulia.
The same fate attended several of his old friends and companions.
Encenas, a Spaniard, was sent to Rome, to be brought up in the Roman
Catholic faith; but having conversed with some of the reformed, and
having read several treatises which they put into his hands, he became a
Protestant. This, at length, being known, one of his own relations
informed against him, when he was burnt by order of the pope, and a
conclave of cardinals. The brother of Encenas had been taken up much
about the same time, for having a New Testament in the Spanish language
in his possession; but before the time appointed for his execution, he
found means to escape out of prison, and retired to Germany.
Faninus, a learned layman, by reading controversial books, became of
the reformed religion. An information being exhibited against him to the
pope, he was apprehended, and cast into prison. His wife, children,
relations, and friends visited him in his confinement, and so far
wrought upon his mind, that he renounced his faith, and obtained his
release. But he was no sooner free from confinement than his mind felt
the heaviest of chains; the weight of a guilty conscience. His horrors
were so great that he found them insupportable, until he had returned
from his apostasy, and declared himself fully convinced of the errors of
the Church of Rome. To make amends for his falling off, he now openly
and strenuously did all he could to make converts to Protestantism, and
was pretty successful in his endeavors. These proceedings occasioned his
second imprisonment, but he had his life offered him if he would recant
again. This proposal he rejected with disdain, saying that he scorned
life upon such terms. Being asked why he would obstinately persist in
his opinions, and leave his wife and children in distress, he replied,
"I shall not leave them in distress; I have recommended them to the
care of an excellent trustee." "What trustee?" said the
person who had asked the question, with some surprise: to which Faninus
answered, "Jesus Christ is the trustee I mean, and I think I could
not commit them to the care of a better." On the day of execution
he appeared remarkably cheerful, which one observing, said, "It is
strange you should appear so merry upon such an occasion, when Jesus
Christ himself, just before his death, was in such agonies, that he
sweated blood and water." To which Faninus replied: "Christ
sustained all manner of pangs and conflicts, with hell and death, on our
accounts; and thus, by his sufferings, freed those who really believe in
him from the fear of them." He was then strangled, his body was
burnt to ashes, and then scattered about by the wind.
Dominicus, a learned soldier, having read several controversial
writings, became a zealous Protestant, and retiring to Placentia, he
preached the Gospel in its utmost purity, to a very considerable
congregation. One day, at the conclusion of his sermon, he said,
"If the congregation will attend to-morrow, I will give them a
description of Antichrist, and paint him out in his proper colors."
A vast concourse of people attended the next day, but just as
Dominicus was beginning his sermon, a civil magistrate went up to the
pulpit, and took him into custody. He readily submitted; but as he went
along with the magistrate, he made use of this expression: "I
wonder the devil hath let me alone so long." When he was brought to
examination, this question was put to him: "Will you renounce your
doctrines?" To which he replied: "My doctrines! I maintain no
doctrines of my own; what I preach are the doctrines of Christ, and for
those I will forfeit my blood, and even think myself happy to suffer for
the sake of my Redeemer." Every method was taken to make him recant
for his faith, and embrace the errors of the Church of Rome; but when
persuasions and menaces were found ineffectual, he was sentenced to
death, and hanged in the market place.
Galeacius, a Protestant gentleman, who resided near the castle of St.
Angelo, was apprehended on account of his faith. Great endeavors being
used by his friends he recanted, and subscribed to several of the
superstitious doctrines propogated by the Church of Rome. Becoming,
however, sensible of his error, he publicly renounced his recantation.
Being apprehended for this, he was condemned to be burnt, and agreeable
to the order was chained to a stake, where he was left several hours
before the fire was put to the fagots, in order that his wife,
relations, and friends, who surrounded him, might induce him to give up
his opinions. Galeacius, however, retained his constancy of mind, and
entreated the executioner to put fire to the wood that was to burn him.
This at length he did, and Galeacius was soon consumed in the flames,
which burnt with amazing rapidity and deprived him of sensation in a few
minutes.
Soon after this gentleman's death, a great number of Protestants were
put to death in various parts of Italy, on account of their faith,
giving a sure proof of their sincerity in their martyrdoms.
An Account of the Persecutions of Calabria
In the fourteenth century, many of the Waldenses of Pragela
and Dauphiny, emigrated to Calabria, and settling some waste lands, by
the permission of the nobles of that country, they soon, by the most
industrious cultivation, made several wild and barren spots appear with
all the beauties of verdure and fertility.
The Calabrian lords were highly pleased with their new subjects and
tenants, as they were honest, quiet, and industrious; but the priests of
the country exhibited several negative complaints against them; for not
being able to accuse them of anythying bad which they did do, they
founded accusations on what they did not do, and charged them,
With not being Roman Catholics.
With not making any of their boys priests.
With not making any of their girls nuns.
With not going to Mass.
With not giving wax tapers to their priests as offerings.
With not going on pilgrimages.
With not bowing to images.
The Calabrian lords, however, quieted the priests, by telling them
that these people were extremely harmless; that they gave no offence to
the Roman Catholics, and cheerfully paid the tithes to the priests,
whose revenues were considerably increased by their coming into the
country, and who, of consequence, ought to be the last persons to
complain of them.
Things went on tolerably well after this for a few years, during
which the Waldenses formed themselves into two corporate towns, annexing
several villages to the jurisdiction of them. At length they sent to
Geneva for two clergymen; one to preach in each town, as they determined
to make a public profession of their faith. Intelligence of this affair
being carried to the pope, Pius the Fourth, he determined to exterminate
them from Calabria.
To this end he sent Cardinal Alexandrino, a man of very violent
temper and a furious bigot, together with two monks, to Calabria, where
they were to act as inquisitors. These authorized persons came to St.
Xist, one of the towns built by the Waldenses, and having assembled the
people, told them that they should receive no injury, if they would
accept of preachers appointed by the pope; but if they would not, they
should be deprived both of their properties and lives; and that their
intentions might be known, Mass should be publicly said that afternoon,
at which they were ordered to attend.
The people of St. Xist, instead of attending Mass, fled into the
woods, with their families, and thus disappointed the cardinal and his
coadjutors. The cardinal then proceeded to La Garde, the other town
belonging to the Waldenses, where, not to be served as he had been at
St. Xist, he ordered the gates to be locked, and all avenues guarded.
The same proposals were then made to the inhabitants of La Garde, as had
previously been offered to those of St. Xist, but with this additional
piece of artifice: the cardinal assured them that the inhabitants of St.
Xist had immediately come into his proposals, and agreed that the pope
should appoint them preachers. This falsehood succeeded; for the people
of La Garde, thinking what the cardinal had told them to be the truth,
said they would exactly follow the example of their brethren at St. Xist.
The cardinal, having gained his point by deluding the people of one
town, sent for troops of soldiers, with a view to murder those of the
other. He, accordingly, despatched the soldiers into the woods, to hunt
down the inhabitants of St. Xist like wild beasts, and gave them strict
orders to spare neither age nor sex, but to kill all they came near. The
troops entered the woods, and many fell a prey to their ferocity, before
the Waldenses were properly apprised of their design. At length,
however, they determined to sell their lives as dear as possible, when
several conflicts happened, in which the half-armed Waldenses performed
prodigies of valor, and many were slain on both sides. The greatest part
of the troops being killed in the different rencontres, the rest were
compelled to retreat, which so enraged the cardinal that he wrote to the
viceroy of Naples for reinforcements.
The viceroy immediately ordered a proclamation to be made thorughout
all the Neapolitan territories, that all outlaws, deserters, and other
proscribed persons should be surely pardoned for their respective
offences, on condition of making a campaign against the inhabitants of
St. Xist, and continuing under arms until those people were
exterminated.
Many persons of desperate fortunes came in upon this proclamation,
and being formed into light companies, were sent to scour the woods, and
put to death all they could meet with of the reformed religion. The
viceroy himself likewise joined the cardinal, at the head of a body of
regular forces; and, in conjunction, they did all they could to harass
the poor people in the woods. Some they caught and hanged up upon trees,
cut down boughs and burnt them, or ripped them open and left their
bodies to be devoured by wild beasts, or birds of prey. Many they shot
at a distance, but the greatest number they hunted down by way of sport.
A few hid themselves in caves, but famine destroyed them in their
retreat; and thus all these poor people perished, by various means, to
glut the bigoted malice of their merciless persecutors.
The inhabitants of St. Xist were no sooner exterminated, than those
of La Garde engaged the attention of the cardinal and viceroy.
It was offered, that if they should embrace the Roman Catholic
persuasion, themselves and families should not be injured, but their
houses and properties should be restored, and none would be permitted to
molest them; but, on the contrary, if they refused this mercy, (as it
was termed) the utmost extremities would be used, and the most cruel
deaths the certain consequence of their noncompliance.
Notwithstanding the promises on one side, and menaces on the other,
these worthy people unanimously refused to renounce their religion, or
embrace the errors of popery. This exasperated the cardinal and viceroy
so much, that thirty of them were ordered to be put immediately to the
rack, as a terror to the rest.
Those who were put to the rack were treated with such severity that
several died under the tortures; one Charlin, in particular, was so
cruelly used that his belly burst, his bowels came out, and he expired
in the greatest agonies. These barbarities, however, did not answer the
purposes for which they were intended; for those who remained alive
after the rack, and those who had not felt the rack, remained equally
constant in their faith, and boldly declared that no tortures of body,
or terrors of mind, should ever induce them to renounce their God, or
worship images.
Several were then, by the cardinal's order, stripped stark naked, and
whipped to death iron rods; and some were hacked to pieces with large
knives; others were thrown down from the top of a large tower, and many
were covered over with pitch, and burnt alive.
One of the monks who attended the cardinal, being naturally of a
savage and cruel disposition, requested of him that he might shed some
of the blood of these poor people with his own hands; when his request
being granted, the barbarous man took a large sharp knife, and cut the
throats of fourscore men, women, and children, with as little remorse as
a butcher would have killed so many sheep. Every one of these bodies
were then ordered to be quartered, the quarters placed upon stakes, and
then fixed in different parts of the country, within a circuit of thirty
miles.
The four principal men of La Garde were hanged, and the clergyman was
thrown from the top of his church steeple. He was terribly mangled, but
not quite killed by the fall; at which time the viceroy passing by,
said, "Is the dog yet living? Take him up, and give him to the
hogs," when, brutal as this sentence may appear, it was executed
accordingly.
Sixty women were racked so violently, that the cords pierced their
arms and legs close to the bone; when, being remanded to prison, their
wounds mortified, and they died in the most miserable manner. Many
others were put to death by various cruel means; and if any Roman
Catholic, more compassionate than the rest, interceded for any of the
reformed, he was immediately apprehended, and shared the same fate as a
favorer of heretics.
The viceroy being obliged to march back to Naples, on some affairs of
moment which required his presence, and the cardinal being recalled to
Rome, the marquis of Butane was ordered to put the finishing stroke to
what they had begun; which he at length effected, by acting with such
barbarous rigor, that there was not a single person of the reformed
religion left living in all Calabria.
Thus were a great number of inoffensive and harmless people deprived
of their possessions, robbed of their property, driven from their homes,
and at length murdered by various means, only because they would not
sacrifice their consciences to the superstitions of others, embrace
idolatrous doctrines which they abhorred, and accept of teachers whom
they could not believe.
Tyranny is of three kinds, viz., that which enslaves the person, that
which seizes the property, and that which prescribes and dictates to the
mind. The two first sorts may be termed civil tyranny, and have been
practiced by arbitrary sovereigns in all ages, who have delighted in
tormenting the persons, and stealing the properties of their unhappy
subjects. But the third sort, viz., prescribing and dictating to the
mind, may be called ecclesiastical tyranny: and this is the worst kind
of tyranny, as it includes the other two sorts; for the Romish clergy
not only do torture the body and seize the effects of those they
persecute, but take the lives, torment the minds, and, if possible,
would tyrannize over the souls of the unhappy victims.
Account of the Persecutions in the Valleys of
Piedmont
Many of the Waldenses, to avoid the persecutions to which
they were continually subjected in France, went and settled in the
valleys of Piedmont, where they increased exceedingly, and flourished
very much for a considerable time.
Though they were harmless in their behavior, inoffensive in their
conversation, and paid tithes to the Roman clergy, yet the latter could
not be contented, but wished to give them some distrubance: they,
accordingly, complained to the archbishop of Turin that the Waldenses of
the valleys of Piedmont were heretics, for these reasons:
1. That they did not believe in the doctrines of the Church of Rome.
2. That they made no offerings or prayers for the dead.
3. That they did not go to Mass.
4. That they did not confess, and receive absolution.
5. That they did not believe in purgatory, or pay money to get the souls
of their friends out of it.
Upon these charges the archbishop ordered a persecution to be
commenced, and many fell martyrs to the superstitious rage of the
priests and monks.
At Turin, one of the reformed had his bowels torn out, and put in a
basin before his face, where they remained in his view until he expired.
At Revel, Catelin Girard being at the stake, desired the executioner to
give him a stone; which he refused, thinking that he meant to throw it
at somebody; but Girard assuring him that he had no such design, the
executioner complied, when Girard, looking earnestly at the stone, said,
"When it is in the power of a man to eat and digest this solid
stone, the religion for which I am about to suffer shall have an end,
and not before." He then threw the stone on the ground, and
submitted cheerfully to the flames. A great many more of the reformed
were oppressed, or put to death, by various means, until the patience of
the Waldenses being tired out, they flew to arms in their own defence,
and formed themselves into regular bodies.
Exasperated at this, the bishop of Turin procured a number of troops,
and sent against them; but in most of the skirmishes and engagements the
Waldenses were successful, which partly arose from their being better
acquainted with the passes of the valleys of Piedmont than their
adversaries, and partly from the desperation with which they fought; for
they well knew, if they were taken, they should not be considered as
prisoners of war, but tortured to death as heretics.
At length, Philip VII, duke of Savoy, and supreme lord of Piedmont,
determined to interpose his authority, and stop these bloody wars, which
so greatly disturbed his dominions. He was not willing to disoblige the
pope, or affront the archbishop of Turin; nevertheless, he sent them
both messages, importing that he could not any longer tamely see his
dominions overrun with troops, who were directed by priests instead of
officers, and commanded by prelates instead of generals; nor would he
suffer his country to be depopulated, while he himself had not been even
consulted upon the occasion.
The priests, finding the resolution of the duke, did all they could
to prejudice his mind against the Waldenses; but the duke told them,
that though he was unacquainted with the religious tenets of these
people, yet he had always found them quiet, faithful, and obedient, and
therefore he determined they should be no longer persecuted.
The priests now had recourse to the most palpable and absurd
falsehoods: they assured the duke that he was mistaken in the Waldenses
for they were a wicked set of people, and highly addicted to
intemperance, uncleanness, blasphemy, adultery, incest, and many other
abominable crimes; and that they were even monsters in nature, for their
children were born with black throats, with four rows of teeth, and
bodies all over hairy.
The duke was not so devoid of common sense as to give credit to what
the priests said, though they affirmed in the most solemn manner the
truth of their assertions. He, however, sent twelve very learned and
sensible gentlemen into the Piedmontese valleys, to examine into the
real character of the inhabitants.
These gentlemen, after travelling through all their towns and
villages, and conversing with people of every rank among the Waldenses
returned to the duke, and gave him the most favorable account of these
people; affirming, before the faces of the priests who vilified them,
that they were harmless, inoffensive, loyal, friendly, industrious, and
pious: that they abhorred the crimes of which they were accused; and
that, should an individual, through his depravity, fall into any of
those crimes, he would, by their laws, be punished in the most exemplary
manner. "With respect to the children," the gentlemen said,
"the priests had told the most gross and ridiculous falsities, for
they were neither born with black throats, teeth in their mouths, nor
hair on their bodies, but were as fine children as could be seen. And to
convince your highness of what we have said, (continued one of the
gentlemen) we have brought twelve of the principal male inhabitants, who
are come to ask pardon in the name of the rest, for having taken up arms
without your leave, though even in their own defence, and to preserve
their lives from their merciless enemies. And we have likewise brought
several women, with children of various ages, that your highness may
have an opportunity of personally examining them as much as you
please."
The duke, after accepting the apology of the twelve delegates,
conversing with the women, and examining the children, graciously
dismissed them. He then commanded the priests, who had attempted to
mislead him, immediately to leave the court; and gave strict orders,
that the persecution should cease throughout his dominions.
The Waldenses had enjoyed peace many years, when Philip, the seventh
duke of Savoy, died, and his successor happened to be a very bigoted
papist. About the same time, some of the principal Waldenses proposed
that their clergy should preach in public, that every one might know the
purity of their doctrines: for hitherto they had preached only in
private, and to such congregations as they well knew to consist of none
but persons of the reformed religion.
On hearing these proceedings, the new duke was greatly exasperated,
and sent a considerable body of troops into the valleys, swearing that
if the people would not change their religion, he would have them flayed
alive. The commander of the troops soon found the impracticability of
conquering them with the number of men he had with him, he, therefore,
sent word to the duke that the idea of subjugating the Waldenses, with
so small a force, was ridiculous; that those people were better
acquainted with the country than any that were with him; that they had
secured all the passes, were well armed, and resolutely determined to
defend themselves; and, with respect to flaying them alive, he said,
that every skin belonging to those people would cost him the lives of a
dozen of his subjects.
Terrified at this information, the duke withdrew the troops,
determining to act not by force, but by stratagem. He therefore ordered
rewards for the taking of any of the Waldenses, who might be found
straying from their places of security; and these, when taken, were
either flayed alive, or burnt.
The Waldenses had hitherto only had the New Testament and a few books
of the Old, in the Waldensian tongue; but they determined now to have
the sacred writings complete in their own language. They, therefore,
employed a Swiss printer to furnish them with a complete edition of the
Old and New Testaments in the Waldensian tongue, which he did for the
consideration of fifteen hundred crowns of gold, paid him by those pious
people.
Pope Paul the third, a bigoted papist, ascending the pontifical
chair, immediately solicited the parliament of Turin to persecute the
Waldenses, as the most pernicious of all heretics.
The parliament readily agreed, when several were suddenly apprehended
and burnt by their order. Among these was Bartholomew Hector, a
bookseller and stationer of Turin, who was brought up a Roman Catholic,
but having read some treatises written by the reformed clergy, was fully
convinced of the errors of the Church of Rome; yet his mind was, for
some time, wavering, and he hardly knew what persuasion to embrace.
At length, however, he fully embraced the reformed religion, and was
apprehended, as we have already mentioned, and burnt by order of the
parliament of Turin.
A consultation was now held by the parliament of Turin, in which it
was agreed to send deputies to the valleys of Piedmont, with the
following propositions:
1. That if the Waldenses would come to the bosom of the Church of
Rome, and embrace the Roman Catholic religion, they should enjoy their
houses, properties, and lands, and live with their families, without the
least molestation.
2. That to prove their obedience, they should send twelve of their
principal persons, with all their ministers and schoolmasters, to Turin,
to be dealt with at discretion.
3. That the pope, the king of France, and the duke of Savoy, approved
of, and authorized the proceedings of the parliament of Turin, upon this
occasion.
4. That if the Waldenses of the valleys of Piedmont refused to comply
with these propositions, persecution should ensue, and certain death be
their portion.
To each of these propositions the Waldenses nobly replied in the
following manner, answering them respectively:
1. That no considerations whatever should make them renounce their
religion.
2. That they would never consent to commit their best and most
respectable friends, to the custody and discretion of their worst and
most inveterate enemies.
3. That they valued the approbation of the King of kings, who reigns
in heaven, more than any temporal authority.
4. That their souls were more precious than their bodies.
These pointed and spirited replies greatly exasperated the parliament
of Turin; they continued, with more avidity than ever, to kidnap such
Waldenses as did not act with proper precaution, who were sure to suffer
the most cruel deaths. Among these, it unfortunately happened, that they
got hold of Jeffery Varnagle, minister of Angrogne, whom they committed
to the flames as a heretic.
They then solicited a considerable body of troops of the king of
France, in order to exterminate the reformed entirely from the valleys
of Piedmont; but just as the troops were going to march, the Protestant
princes of Germany interposed, and threatened to send troops to assist
the Waldenses, if they should be attacked. The king of France, not
caring to enter into a war, remanded the troops, and sent word to the
parliament of Turin that he could not spare any troops at present to act
in Piedmont. The members of the parliament were greatly vexed at this
disappointment, and the persecution gradually ceased, for as they could
only put to death such of the reformed as they caught by chance, and as
the Waldenses daily grew more cautious, their cruelty was obliged to
subside, for want of objects on whom to exercise it.
After the Waldenses had enjoyed a few years tranquillity, they were
again disturbed by the following means: the pope's nuncio coming to
Turin to the duke of Savoy upon business, told that prince he was
astonished he had not yet either rooted out the Waldenses from the
valleys of Piedmont entirely, or compelled them to enter into the bosom
of the Church of Rome. That he could not help looking upon such conduct
with a suspicious eye, and that he really thought him a favorer of those
heretics, and should report the affair accordingly to his holiness the
pope.
Stung by this reflection, and unwilling to be misrepresented to the
pope, the duke determined to act with the greatest severity, in order to
show his zeal, and to make amends for former neglect by future cruelty.
He, accordingly, issued express orders for all the Waldenses to attend
Mass regularly on pain of death. This they absolutely refused to do, on
which he entered the Piedmontese valleys, with a formidable body of
troops, and began a most furious persecution, in which great numbers
were hanged, drowned, ripped open, tied to trees, and pierced with
prongs, thrown from precipices, burnt, stabbed, racked to death,
crucified with their heads downwards, worried by dogs, etc.
Those who fled had their goods plundered, and their houses burnt to
the ground: they were particularly cruel when they caught a minister or
a schoolmaster, whom they put to such exquisite tortures, as are almost
incredible to conceive. If any whom they took seemed wavering in their
faith, they did not put them to death, but sent them to the galleys, to
be made converts by dint of hardships.
The most cruel persecutors, upon this occasion, that attended the
duke, were three in number, viz.
1. Thomas Incomel, an apostate, for he was brought up in the reformed
religion, but renounced his faith, embraced the errors of popery, and
turned monk. He was a great libertine, given to unnatural crimes, and
sordidly solicitous for plunder of the Waldenses.
2. Corbis, a man of a very ferocious and cruel nature, whose business
was to examine the prisoners.
3. The provost of justice, who was very anxious for the execution of
the Waldenses, as every execution put money in his pocket.
These three persons were unmerciful to the last degree; and wherever
they came, the blood of the innocent was sure to flow. Exclusive of the
cruelties exercised by the duke, by these three persons, and the army,
in their different marches, many local barbarities were committed. At
Pignerol, a town in the valleys, was a monastery, the monks of which,
finding they might injure the reformed with impunity, began to plunder
the houses and pull down the churches of the Waldenses. Not meeting with
any opposition, they seized upon the persons of those unhappy people,
murdering the men, confining the women, and putting the children to
Roman Catholic nurses.
The Roman Catholic inhabitants of the valley of St. Martin, likewise,
did all they could to torment the neighboring Waldenses: they destroyed
their churches, burnt their houses, seized their properties, stole their
cattle, converted their lands to their own use, committed their
ministers to the flames, and drove the Waldenses to the woods, where
they had nothing to subsist on but wild fruits, roots, the bark of
trees, etc.
Some Roman Catholic ruffians having seized a minister as he was going
to preach, determined to take him to a convenient place, and burn him.
His parishioners having intelligence of this affair, the men armed
themselves, pursued the ruffians, and seemed determined to rescue their
minister; which the ruffians no sooner perceived than they stabbed the
poor gentleman, and leaving him weltering in his blood, made a
precipitate retreat. The astonished parishioners did all they could to
recover him, but in vain: for the weapon had touched the vital parts,
and he expired as they were carrying him home.
The monks of Pignerol having a great inclination to get the minister
of a town in the valleys, called St. Germain, into their power, hired a
band of ruffians for the purpose of apprehending him. These fellows were
conducted by a treacherous person, who had formerly been a servant to
the clergyman, and who perfectly well knew a secret way to the house, by
which he could lead them without alarming the neighborhood. The guide
knocked at the door, and being asked who was there, answered in his own
name. The clergyman, not expecting any injury from a person on whom he
had heaped favors, immediately opened the door; but perceiving the
ruffians, he started back, and fled to a back door; but they rushed in,
followed, and seized him. Having murdered all his family, they made him
proceed towards Pignerol, goading him all the way with pikes, lances,
swords, etc. He was kept a considerable time in prison, and then
fastened to the stake to be burnt; when two women of the Waldenses, who
had renounced their religion to save their lives, were ordered to carry
fagots to the stake to burn him; and as they laid them down, to say,
"Take these, thou wicked heretic, in recompense for the pernicious
doctrines thou hast taught us." These words they both repeated to
him; to which he calmly replied, "I formerly taught you well, but
you have since learned ill." The fire was then put to the fagots,
and he was speedily consumed, calling upon the name of the Lord as long
as his voice permitted.
As the troops of ruffians, belonging to the monks, did great mischief
about the town of St. Germain, murdering and plundering many of the
inhabitants, the reformed of Lucerne and Angrogne, sent some bands of
armed men to the assistance of their brethren of St. Germain. These
bodies of armed men frequently attacked the ruffians, and often put them
to the rout, which so terrified the monks, that they left the monastery
of Pignerol for some time, until they could procure a body of regular
troops to guard them.
The duke not thinking himself so successful as he at first imagined
he should be, greatly augmented his forces; he ordered the bands of
ruffians, belonging to the monks, to join him, and commanded that a
general jail-delivery should take place, provided the persons released
would bear arms, and form themselves into light companies, to assist in
the extermination of the Waldenses.
The Waldenses, being informed of the proceedings, secured as much of
their properties as they could, and quitted the valleys, retired to the
rocks and caves among the Alps; for it is to be understood that the
valleys of Piedmont are situated at the foot of those prodigious
mountains called the Alps, or the Alpine hills.
The army now began to plunder and burn the towns and villages
wherever they came; but the troops could not force the passes to the
Alps, which were gallantly defended by the Waldenses, who always
repulsed their enemies: but if any fell into the hands of the troops,
they were sure to be treated with the most barbarous severity.
A soldier having caught one of the Waldenses, bit his right ear off,
saying, "I will carry this member of that wicked heretic with me
into my own country, and preserve it as a rarity." He then stabbed
the man and threw him into a ditch.
A party of the troops found a venerable man, upwards of a hundred
years of age, together with his granddaughter, a maiden, of about
eighteen, in a cave. They butchered the poor old man in the most inhuman
manner, and then attempted to ravish the girl, when she started away and
fled from them; but they pursuing her, she threw herself from a
precipice and perished.
The Waldenses, in order the more effectually to be able to repel
force by force, entered into a league with the Protestant powers of
Germany, and with the reformed of Dauphiny and Pragela. These were
respectively to furnish bodies of troops; and the Waldenses determined,
when thus reinforced, to quit the mountains of the Alps, (where they
must soon have perished, as the winter was coming on,) and to force the
duke's army to evacuate their native valleys.
The duke of Savoy was now tired of the war; it had cost him great
fatigue and anxiety of mind, a vast number of men, and very considerable
sums of money. It had been much more tedious and bloody than he
expected, as well as more expensive than he could at first have
imagined, for he thought the plunder would have dischanged the expenses
of the expedition; but in this he was mistaken, for the pope's nuncio,
the bishops, monks, and other ecclesiastics, who attended the army and
encouraged the war, sunk the greatest part of the wealth that was taken
under various pretences. For these reasons, and the death of his
duchess, of which he had just received intelligence, and fearing that
the Waldenses, by the treaties they had entered into, would become more
powerful than ever, he determined to return to Turin with his army, and
to make peace with the Waldenses.
This resolution he executed, though greatly against the will of the
ecclesiastics, who were the chief gainers, and the best pleased with
revenge. Before the articles of peace could be ratified, the duke
himself died, soon after his return to Turin; but on his deathbed he
strictly enjoined his son to perform what he intended, and to be as
favorable as possible to the Waldenses.
The duke's son, Charles Emmanuel, succeeded to the dominions of
Savoy, and gave a full ratification of peace to the Waldenses, according
to the last injunctions of his father, though the ecclesiastics did all
they could to persuade him to the contrary.
An Account of the Persecutions in Venice
While the state of Venice was free from inquisitors, a great
number of Protestants fixed their residence there, and many converts
were made by the purity of the doctrines they professed, and the
inoffensiveness of the conversation they used.
The pope being informed of the great increase of Protestantism, in
the year 1542 sent inquisitors to Venice to make an inquiry into the
matter, and apprehend such as they might deem obnoxious persons. Hence a
severe persecution began, and many worthy persons were martyred for
serving God with purity, and scorning the trappings of idolatry.
Various were the modes by which the Protestants were deprived of
life; but one particular method, which was first invented upon this
occasion, we shall describe; as soon as sentence was passed, the
prisoner had an iron chain which ran through a great stone fastened to
his body. He was then laid flat upon a plank, with his face upwards, and
rowed between two boats to a certain distance at sea, when the two boats
separated, and he was sunk to the bottom by the weight of the stone.
If any denied the jurisdiction of the inquisitors at Venice, they
were sent to Rome, where, being committed purposely to damp prisons, and
never called to a hearing, their flesh mortified, and they died
miserably in jail.
A citizen of Venice, Anthony Ricetti, being apprehended as a
Protestant, was sentenced to be drowned in the manner we have already
described. A few days previous to the time appointed for his execution,
his son went to see him, and begged him to recant, that his life might
be saved, and himself not left fatherless. To which the father replied,
"A good Christian is bound to relinquish not only goods and
children, but life itself, for the glory of his Redeemer: therefore I am
resolved to sacrifice every thing in this transitory world, for the sake
of salvation in a world that will last to eternity."
The lords of Venice likewise sent him word, that if he would embrace
the Roman Catholic religion, they would not only give him his life, but
redeem a considerable estate which he had mortgaged, and freely present
him with it. This, however, he absolutely refused to comply with,
sending word to the nobles that he valued his soul beyond all other
considerations; and being told that a fellow-prisoner, named Francis
Sega, had recanted, he answered, "If he has forsaken God, I pity
him; but I shall continue steadfast in my duty." Finding all
endeavors to persuade him to renounce his faith ineffectual, he was
executed according to his sentence, dying cheerfully, and recommending
his soul fervently to the Almighty.
What Ricetti had been told concerning the apostasy of Francis Sega,
was absolutely false, for he had never offered to recant, but
steadfastly persisted in his faith, and was executed, a few days after
Ricetti, in the very same manner.
Francis Spinola, a Protestant gentleman of very great learning, being
apprehended by order of the inquisitors, was carried before their
tribunal. A treatise on the Lord's Supper was then put into his hands
and he was asked if he knew the author of it. To which he replied,
"I confess myself to be the author of it, and at the same time
solemnly affirm, that there is not a line in it but what is authorized
by, and consonant to, the holy Scriptures." On this confession he
was committed close prisoner to a dungeon for several days.
Being brought to a second examination, he charged the pope's legate,
and the inquisitors, with being merciless barbarians, and then
represented the superstitions and idolatries practised by the Church of
Rome in so glaring a light, that not being able to refute his arguments,
they sent him back to his dungeon, to make him repent of what he had
said.
On his third examination, they asked him if he would recant his
error. To which he answered that the doctrines he maintained were not
erroneous, being purely the same as those which Christ and his apostles
had taught, and which were handed down to us in the sacred writings. The
inquisitors then sentenced him to be drowned, which was executed in the
manner already described. He went to meet death with the utmost
serenity, seemed to wish for dissolution, and declaring that the
prolongation of his life did but tend to retard that real happiness
which could only be expected in the world to come.
An Account of Several Remarkable Individuals, Who
Were Martyred in Different Parts of Italy, on Account of Their Religion
John Mollius was born at Rome, of reputable parents. At
twelve years of age they placed him in the monastery of Gray Friars,
where he made such a rapid progress in arts, sciences, and languages
that at eighteen years of age he was permitted to take priest's orders.
He was then sent to Ferrara, where, after pursuing his studies six
years longer, he was made theological reader in the university of that
city. He now, unhappily, exerted his great talents to disguise the
Gospel truths, and to varnish over the error of the Church of Rome.
After some years residence in Ferrara, he removed to the university of
Behonia, where he became a professor. Having read some treatises written
by ministers of the reformed religion, he grew fully sensible of the
errors of popery, and soon became a zealous Protestant in his heart.
He now determined to expound, accordingly to the purity of the
Gospel, St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans, in a regular course of
sermons. The concourse of people that continually attended his preaching
was surprising, but when the priests found the tenor of his doctrines,
they despatched an account of the affair to Rome; when the pope sent a
monk, named Cornelius, to Bononia, to expound the same epistle,
according to the tenets of the Church of Rome. The people, however,
found such a disparity between the two preachers that the audience of
Mollius increased, and Cornelius was forced to preach to empty benches.
Cornelius wrote an account of his bad success to the pope, who
immediately sent an order to apprehend Mollius, who was seized upon
accordingly, and kept in close confinement. The bishop of Bononia sent
him word that he must recant, or be burnt; but he appealed to Rome, and
was removed thither.
At Rome he begged to have a public trial, but that the pope
absolutely denied him, and commanded him to give an account of his
opinions, in writing, which he did under the following heads:
Original sin. Free-will. The infallibility of the church of Rome. The
infallibility of the pope. Justification by faith. Purgatory.
Transubstantiation. Mass. Auricular confession. Prayers for the dead.
The host. Prayers for saints. Going on pilgrimages. Extreme unction.
Performing services in an unknown tongue, etc., etc.
All these he confirmed from Scripture authority. The pope, upon this
occasion, for political reasons, spared him for the present, but soon
after had him apprehended, and put to death, he being first hanged, and
his body burnt to ashes, A.D. 1553.
The year after, Francis Gamba, a Lombard, of the Protestant
persuasion, was apprehended, and condemned to death by the senate of
Milan. At the place of execution, a monk presented a cross to him, to
whom he said, "My mind is so full of the real merits and goodness
of Christ that I want not a piece of senseless stick to put me in mind
of Him." For this expression his tongue was bored through, and he
was afterward burnt.
A.D. 1555, Algerius, a student in the university of Padua, and a man
of great learning, having embraced the reformed religion, did all he
could to convert others. For these proceedings he was accused of heresy
to the pope, and being apprehended, was committed to the prison at
Venice.
The pope, being informed of Algerius's great learning, and surprising
natural abilities, thought it would be of infinite service to the Church
of Rome if he could induce him to forsake the Protestant cause. He,
therefore, sent for him to Rome, and tried, by the most profane
promises, to win him to his purpose. But finding his endeavors
ineffectual, he ordered him to be burnt, which sentence was executed
accordingly.
A.D. 1559, John Alloysius, being sent from Geneva to preach in
Calabria, was there apprehended as a Protestant, carried to Rome, and
burnt by order of the pope; and James Bovelius, for the same reason, was
burnt at Messina.
A.D. 1560, Pope Pius the Fourth, ordered all the Protestants to be
severely persecuted throughout the Italian states, when great numbers of
every age, sex, and condition, suffered martyrdom. Concerning the
cruelties practiced upon this occasion, a learned and humane Roman
Catholic thus spoke of them, in a letter to a noble lord:
"I cannot, my lord, forbear disclosing my sentiments, with
respect to the persecution now carrying on: I think it cruel and
unnecessary; I tremble at the manner of putting to death, as it
resembles more the slaughter of calves and sheep, than the execution of
human beings. I will relate to your lordship a dreadful scene, of which
I was myself an eye witness: seventy Protestants were cooped up in one
filthy dungeon together; the executioner went in among them, picked out
one from among the rest, blindfolded him, led him out to an open place
before the prison, and cut his throat with the greatest composure. He
then calmly walked into the prison again, bloody as he was, and with the
knife in his hand selected another, and despatched him in the same
manner; and this, my lord, he repeated until the whole number were put
to death. I leave it to your lordship's feelings to judge of my
sensations upon this occasion; my tears now wash the paper upon which I
give you the recital. Another thing I must mention--the patience with
which they met death: they seemed all resignation and piety, fervently
praying to God, and cheerfully encountering their fate. I cannot reflect
without shuddering, how the executioner held the bloody knife between
his teeth; what a dreadful figure he appeared, all covered with blood,
and with what unconcern he executed his barbarous office."
A young Englishman who happened to be at Rome, was one day passing by
a church, when the procession of the host was just coming out. A bishop
carried the host, which the young man perceiving, he snatched it from
him, threw it upon the ground, and trampled it under his feet, crying
out, "Ye wretched idolaters, who neglect the true God, to adore a
morsel of bread." This action so provoked the people that they
would have torn him to pieces on the spot; but the priests persuaded
them to let him abide by the sentence of the pope.
When the affair was represented to the pope, he was so greatly
exasperated that he ordered the prisoner to be burnt immediately; but a
cardinal dissuaded him from this hasty sentence, saying that it was
better to punish him by slow degrees, and to torture him, that they
might find out if he had been instigated by any particular person to
commit so atrocious an act.
This being approved, he was tortured with the most exemplary
severity, notwithstanding which they could only get these words from
him, "It was the will of God that I should do as I did."
The pope then passed this sentence upon him.
1. That he should be led by the executioner, naked to the middle,
through the streets of Rome.
2. That he should wear the image of the devil upon his head.
3. That his breeches should be painted with the representation of
flames.
4. That he should have his right hand cut off.
5. That after having been carried about thus in procession, he should be
burnt.
When he heard this sentence pronounced, he implored God to give him
strength and fortitude to go through it. As he passed through the
streets he was greatly derided by the people, to whom he said some
severe things respecting the Romish superstition. But a cardinal, who
attended the procession, overhearing him, ordered him to be gagged.
When he came to the church door, where he trampled on the host, the
hangman cut off his right hand, and fixed it on a pole. Then two
tormentors, with flaming torches, scorched and burnt his flesh all the
rest of the way. At the place of execution he kissed the chains that
were to bind him to the stake. A monk presenting the figure of a saint
to him, he struck it aside, and then being chained to the stake, fire
was put to the fagots, and he was soon burnt to ashes.
A little after the last-mentioned execution, a venerable old man, who
had long been a prisoner in the Inquisition, was condemned to be burnt,
and brought out for execution. When he was fastened to the stake, a
priest held a crucifix to him, on which he said, "If you do not
take that idol from my sight, you will constrain me to spit upon
it." The priest rebuked him for this with great severity; but he
bade him remember the First and Second Commandments, and refrain from
idolatry, as God himself had commanded. He was then gagged, that he
should not speak any more, and fire being put to the fagots, he suffered
martyrdom in the flames.]
An Account of the Persecutions in the Marquisate of
Saluces
The Marquisate of Saluces, on the south side of the valleys
of Piedmont, was in A.D. 1561, principally inhabited by Protestants,
when the marquis, who was proprietor of it, began a persecution against
them at the instigation of the pope. He began by banishing the
ministers, and if any of them refused to leave their flocks, they were
sure to be imprisoned, and severely tortured; however, he did not
proceed so far as to put any to death.
Soon after the marquisate fell into the possession of the duke of
Savoy, who sent circular letters to all the towns and villages, that he
expected the people should all conform to go to Mass. The inhabitants of
Saluces, upon receiving this letter, returned a general epistle, in
answer.
The duke, after reading the letter, did not interrupt the Protestants
for some time; but, at length, he sent them word that they must either
conform to the Mass, or leave his dominions in fifteen days. The
Protestants, upon this unexpected edict, sent a deputy to the duke to
obtain its revocation, or at least to have it moderated. But their
remonstrances were in vain, and they were given to understand that the
edict was absolute.
Some were weak anough to go to Mass, in order to avoid banishment,
and preserve their property; others removed, with all their effects, to
different countries; and many neglected the time so long that they were
obliged to abandon all they were worth, and leave the marquisate in
haste. Those, who unhappily stayed bheind, were seized, plundered, and
put to death. An Account of the Persecutions in the Valleys of Piedmont,
in the Seventeenth Century
Pope Clement the Eighth, sent missionaries into the valleys of
Piedmont, to induce the Protestants to renounce their religion; and
these missionaries having erected monasteries in several parts of the
valleys, became exceedingly troublesome to those of the reformed, where
the monasteries appeared, not only as fortresses to curb, but as
sanctuaries for all such to fly to, as had any ways injured them.
The Protestants petitioned the duke of Savoy against these
missionaries, whose insolence and ill-usage were become intolerable; but
instead of getting any redress, the interest of the missionaries so far
prevailed, that the duke published a decree, in which he declared, that
one witness should be sufficient in a court of law against a Protestant,
and that any witness, who convicted a Protestant of any crime whatever,
should be entitled to one hundred crowns.
It may be easily imagined, upon the publication of a decree of this
nature, that many Protestants fell martyrs to perjury and avarice; for
several villainous papists would swear any thing against the Protestants
for the sake of the reward, and then fly to their own priests for
absolution from their false oaths. If any Roman Catholic, of more
conscience than the rest, blamed these fellows for their atrocious
crimes, they themselves were in danger of being informed against and
punished as favorers of heretics.
The missionaries did all they could to get the books of the
Protestants into their hands, in order to burn them; when the
Protestants doing their utmost endeavors to conceal their books, the
missionaries wrote to the duke of Savoy, who, for the heinous crime of
not surrendering their Bibles, prayer books, and religious treatises,
sent a number of troops to be quartered on them. These military gentry
did great mischief in the houses of the Protestants, and destroyed such
quantities of provisions, that many families were thereby ruined.
To encourage, as much as possible, the apostasy of the Protestants,
the duke of Savoy published a proclamation wherein he said, "To
encourage the heretics to turn Catholics, it is our will and pleasure,
and we do hereby expressly command, that all such as shall embrace the
holy Roman Catholic faith, shall enjoy an exemption, from all and every
tax for the space of five years, commencing from the day of their
conversion." The duke of Savoy, likewise established a court,
called the council for extirpating the heretics. This court was to enter
into inquiries concerning the ancient privileges of the Protestant
churches, and the decrees which had been, from time to time, made in
favor of the Protestants. But the investigation of these things was
carried on with the most manifest partiality; old charters were wrested
to a wrong sense, and sophistry was used to pervert the meaning of
everything, which tended to favor the reformed.
As if these severities were not sufficient, the duke, soon after,
published another edict, in which he strictly commanded, that no
Protestant should act as a schoolmaster, or tutor, either in public or
private, or dare to teach any art, science, or language, directly or
indirectly, to persons of any persuasion whatever.
This edict was immediately followed by another, which decreed that no
Protestant should hold any place of profit, trust, or honor; and to wind
up the whole, the certain token of an approaching persecution came forth
in a final edict, by which it was positively ordered, that all
Protestants should diligently attend Mass.
The publication of an edict, containing such an injunction, may be
compared to unfurling the bloody flag; for murder and rapine were sure
to follow. One of the first objects that attracted the notice of the
papists was Mr. Sebastian Basan, a zealous Protestant, who was seized by
the missionaries, confined, tormented for fifteen months, and then
burnt.
Previous to the persecution, the missionaries employed kidnappers to
steal away the Protestants' children, that they might privately be
brought up Roman Catholics; but now they took away the children by open
force, and if they met with any resistance, they murdered the parents.
To give greater vigor to the persecution, the duke of Savoy called a
general assembly of the Roman Catholic nobility and gentry when a solemn
edict was published against the reformed, containing many heads, and
including several reasons for extirpating the Protestants, among which
were the following:
1. For the preservation of the papal authority.
2. That the church livings may be all under one mode of government.
3. To make a union among all parties.
4. In honor of all the saints, and of the ceremonies of the Church of
Rome.
This severe edict was followed by a most cruel order, published on
January 25, A.D. 1655, under the duke's sanction, by Andrew Gastaldo,
doctor of civil laws. This order set forth, "That every head of a
family, with the individuals of that family, of the reformed religion,
of what rank, degree, or condition soever, none excepted inhabiting and
possessing estates in Lucerne, St. Giovanni, Bibiana, Campiglione, St.
Secondo, Lucernetta, La Torre, Fenile, and Bricherassio, should, within
three days after the publication thereof, withdraw and depart, and be
withdrawn out of the said places, and translated into the places and
limits tolerated by his highness during his pleasure; particularly
Bobbio, Angrogne, Vilario, Rorata, and the county of Bonetti.
"And all this to be done on pain of death, and confiscation of
house and goods, unless within the limited time they turned Roman
Catholics."
A flight with such speed, in the midst of winter, may be conceived as
no agreeable task, especially in a country almost surrounded by
mountains. The sudden order affected all, and things, which would have
been scarcely noticed at another time, now appeared in the most
conspicuous light. Women with child, or women just lain-in, were not
objects of pity on this order for sudden removal, for all were included
in the command; and it unfortunately happened, that the winter was
remarkably severe and rigorous.
The papists, however, drove the people from their habitations at the
time appointed, without even suffering them to have sufficient clothes
to cover them; and many perished in the mountains through the severity
of the weather, or for want of food. Some, however, who remained behind
after the decree was published, met with the severest treatment, being
murdered by the popish inhabitants, or shot by the troops who were
quartered in the valleys. A particular description of these cruelties is
given in a letter, written by a Protestant, who was upon the spot, and
who happily escaped the carnage. "The army (says he) having got
footing, became very numerous, by the addition of a multitude of the
neighboring popish inhabitants, who finding we were the destined prey of
the plunderers, fell upon us with an impetuous fury. Exclusive of the
duke of Savoy's troops, and the popish inhabitants, there were several
regiments of French auxiliaries, some companies belonging to the Irish
brigades, and several bands formed of outlaws, smugglers, and prisoners,
who had been promised pardon and liberty in this world, and absolution
in the next, for assisting to exterminate the Protestants from Piedmont.
"This armed multitude being encouraged by the Roman Catholic
bishops and monks fell upon the Protestants in a most furious manner.
Nothing now was to be seen but the face of horror and despair, blood
stained the floors of the houses, dead bodies bestrewed the streets,
groans and cries were heard from all parts. Some armed themselves, and
skirmished with the troops; and many, with their families, fled to the
mountains. In one village they cruelly tormented one hundred and fifty
women and children after the men were fled, beheading the women, and
dashing out the brains of the children. In the towns of Vilario and
Bobbio, most of those who refused to go to Mass, who were upwards of
fifteen years of age, they crucified with their heads downwards; and the
greatest number of those who were under that age were strangled."
Sarah Ratignole des Vignes, a woman of sixty years of age, being
seized by some soldiers, they ordered her to say a prayer to some
saints, which she refusing, they thrust a sickle into her belly, ripped
her up, and then cut off her head.
Martha Constantine, a handsome young woman, was treated with great
indecency and cruelty by several of the troops, who first ravished, and
then killed her by cutting off her breasts. These they fried, and set
before some of their comrades, who ate them without knowing what they
were. When they had done eating, the others told them what they had made
a meal of, in consequence of which a quarrel ensued, swords were drawn,
and a battle took place. Several were killed in the fray, the greater
part of whom were those concerned in the horrid massacre of the woman,
and who had practiced such an inhuman deception on their companions.
Some of the soldiers seized a man of Thrassiniere, and ran the points
of their swords through his ears, and through his feet. They then tore
off the nails of his fingers and toes with red-hot pincers, tied him to
the tail of an ass, and dragged him about the streets; they finally
fastened a cord around his head, which they twisted with a stick in so
violent a manner as to wring it from his body.
Peter Symonds, a Protestant, of about eighty years of age, was tied
neck and heels, and then thrown down a precipice. In the fall the branch
of a tree caught hold of the ropes that fastened him, and suspended him
in the midway, so that he languished for several days, and at length
miserably perished of hunger.
Esay Garcino, refusing to renounce his religion, was cut into small
pieces; the soldiers, in ridicule, saying, they had minced him. A woman,
named Armand, had every limb separated from each other, and then the
respective parts were hung upon a hedge. Two old women were ripped open,
and then left in the fields upon the snow, where they perished; and a
very old woman, who was deformed, had her nose and hands cut off, and
was left, to bleed to death in that manner.
A great number of men, women, and children, were flung from the
rocks, and dashed to pieces. Magdalen Bertino, a Protestant woman of La
Torre, was stripped stark naked, her head tied between her legs, and
thrown down one of the precipices; and Mary Raymondet, of the same town,
had the flesh sliced from her bones until she expired.
Magdalen Pilot, of Vilario, was cut to pieces in the cave of Castolus;
Ann Charboniere had one end of a stake thrust up her body; and the other
being fixed in the ground, she was left in that manner to perish, and
Jacob Perrin the elder, of the church of Vilario, and David, his
brother, were flayed alive.
An inhabitant of La Torre, named Giovanni Andrea Michialm, was
apprehended, with four of his children, three of them were hacked to
pieces before him, the soldiers asking him, at the death of every child,
if he would renounce his religion; this he constantly refused. One of
the soldiers then took up the last and youngest by the legs, and putting
the same question to the father, he replied as before, when the inhuman
brute dashed out the child's brains. The father, however, at the same
moment started from them, and fled; the soldiers fired after him, but
missed him; and he, by the swiftness of his heels, escaped, and hid
himself in the Alps.
Further Persecutions in the Valleys of Piedmont, in
the Seventeenth Century
Giovanni Pelanchion, for refusing to turn papist, was tied by
one leg to the tail of a mule, and dragged through the streets of
Lucerne, amidst the acclamations of an inhuman mob, who kept stoning
him, and crying out, "He is possessed with the devil, so that,
neither stoning, nor dragging him through the streets, will kill him,
for the devil keeps him alive." They then took him to the river
side, chopped off his head, and left that and his body unburied, upon
the bank of the stream.
Magdalen, the daughter of Peter Fontaine, a beautiful child of ten
years of age, was ravished and murdered by the soldiers. Another girl of
about the same age, they roasted alive at Villa Nova; and a poor woman,
hearing that the soldiers were coming toward her house, snatched up the
cradle in which her infant son was asleep, and fled toward the woods.
The soldiers, however, saw and pursued her; when she lightened herself
by putting down the cradle and child, which the soldiers no sooner came
to, than they murdered the infant, and continuing the pursuit, found the
mother in a cave, where they first ravished, and then cut her to pieces.
Jacob Michelino, chief elder of the church of Bobbio, and several
other Protestants, were hung up by means of hooks fixed in their
bellies, and left to expire in the most excruciating tortures.
Giovanni Rostagnal, a venerable Protestant, upwards of fourscore
years of age, had his nose and ears cut off, and slices cut from the
fleshy parts of his body, until he bled to death.
Seven persons, viz. Daniel Seleagio and his wife, Giovanni Durant,
Lodwich Durant, Bartholomew Durant, Daniel Revel, and Paul Reynaud, had
their mouths stuffed with gunpowder, which being set fire to, their
heads were blown to pieces.
Jacob Birone, a schoolmaster of Rorata, for refusing to change his
religion, was stripped quite naked; and after having been very
indecently exposed, had the nails of his toes and fingers torn off with
red-hot pincers, and holes bored through his hands with the point of a
dagger. He then had a cord tied round his middle, and was led through
the streets with a soldier on each side of him. At every turning the
soldier on his right hand side cut a gash in his flesh, and the soldier
on his left hand side struck him with a bludgeon, both saying, at the
same instant, "Will you go to Mass? will you go to Mass?" He
still replied in the negative to these interrogatories, and being at
length taken to the bridge, they cut off his head on the balustrades,
and threw both that and his body into the river.
Paul Garnier, a very pious Protestant, had his eyes put out, was then
flayed alive, and being divided into four parts, his quarters were
placed on four of the principal houses of Lucerne. He bore all his
sufferings with the most exemplary patience, praised God as long as he
could speak, and plainly evinced, what confidence and resignation a good
conscience can inspire.
Daniel Cardon, of Rocappiata, being apprehended by some soldiers,
they cut his head off, and having fried his brains, ate them. Two poor
old blind women, of St. Giovanni, were burnt alive; and a widow of La
Torre, with her daughter, were driven into the river, and there stoned
to death.
Paul Giles, on attempting to run away from some soldiers, was shot in
the neck: they then slit his nose, sliced his chin, stabbed him, and
gave his carcass to the dogs.
Some of the Irish troops having taken eleven men of Garcigliana
prisoners, they made a furnace red hot, and forced them to push each
other in until they came to the last man, whom they pushed in
themselves.
Michael Gonet, a man of ninety, was burnt to death; Baptista Oudri,
another old man, was stabbed; and Bartholomew Frasche had holes made in
his heels, through which ropes were put; then he was dragged by them to
the jail, where his wounds mortified and killed him.
Magdalene de la Piere being pursued by some of the soldiers, and
taken, was thrown down a precipice, and dashed to pieces. Margaret
Revella, and Mary Pravillerin, two very old women, were burnt alive; and
Michael Bellino, with Ann Bochardno, were beheaded.
The son and the daughter of a counsellor of Giovanni were rolled down
a steep hill together, and suffered to perish in a deep pit at the
bottom. A tradesman's family, viz.: himself, his wife, and an infant in
her arms, were cast from a rock, and dashed to pieces; and Joseph
Chairet and Paul Carniero were flayed alive.
Cypriania Bustia, being asked if he would renounce his religion and
turn Roman Catholic, replied, "I would rather renounce life, or
turn dog"; to which a priest answered, "For that expression
you shall both renounce life, and be given to the dogs." They,
accordingly, dragged him to prison, where he continued a considerable
time without food, until he was famished; after which they threw his
corpse into the street before the prison, and it was devoured by dogs in
the most shocking manner.
Margaret Saretta was stoned to death, and then thrown into the river;
Antonio Bartina had his head cleft asunder; and Joseph Pont was cut
through the middle of his body.
Daniel Maria, and his whole family, being ill of a fever, several
papist ruffians broke into his house, telling him they were practical
physicians, and would give them all present ease, which they did by
knocking the whole family on the head.
Three infant children of a Protestant, named Peter Fine, were covered
with snow, and stifled; an elderly widow, named Judith, was beheaded,
and a beautiful young woman was stripped naked, and had a stake driven
through her body, of which she expired.
Lucy, the wife of Peter Besson, a woman far gone in her pregnancy,
who lived in one of the villages of the Piedmontese valleys, determined,
if possible, to escape from such dreadful scenes as everywhere
surrounded her: she, accordingly took two young children, one in each
hand, and set off towards the Alps. But on the third day of the journey
she was taken in labor among the mountains, and delivered of an infant,
who perished through the extreme inclemency of the weather, as did the
two other children; for all three were found dead by her, and herself
just expiring, by the person to whom she related the above particulars.
Francis Gros, the son of a clergyman, had his flesh slowly cut from
his body into small pieces, and put into a dish before him; two of his
children were minced before his sight; and his wife was fastened to a
post, that she might behold all these cruelties practiced on her husband
and offspring. The tormentors at length being tired of exercising their
cruelties, cut off the heads of both husband and wife, and then gave the
flesh of the whole family to the dogs.
The sieur Thomas Margher fled to a cave, when the soldiers shut up
the mouth, and he perished with famine. Judith Revelin, and seven
children, were barbarously murdered in their beds; and a widow of near
fourscore years of age, was hewn to pieces by soldiers.
Jacob Roseno was ordered to pray to the saints, which he absolutely
refused to do: some of the soldiers beat him violently with bludgeons to
make him comply, but he still refusing, several of them fired at him,
and lodged a great many balls in his body. As he was almost expiring,
they cried to him, "Will you call upon the saints? Will you pray to
the saints?" To which he answered "No! No! No!" when one
of the soldiers, with a broadsword, clove his head asunder, and put an
end to his sufferings in this world; for which undoubtedly, he is
gloriously rewarded in the next.
A soldier, attempting to ravish a young woman, named Susanna Gacquin,
she made a stout resistance, and in the struggle pushed him over a
precipice, when he was dashed to pieces by the fall. His comrades,
instead of admiring the virtue of the young woman, and applauding her
for so nobly defending her chastity, fell upon her with their swords,
and cut her to pieces.
Giovanni Pulhus, a poor peasant of La Torre, being apprehended as a
Protestant by the soldiers, was ordered, by the marquis of Pianesta, to
be executed in a place near the convent. When he came to the gallows,
several monks attended, and did all they could to persuade him to
renounce his religion. But he told them he never would embrace idolatry,
and that he was happy at being thought worthy to suffer for the name of
Christ. They then put him in mind of what his wife and children, who
depended upon his labor, would suffer after his decease; to which he
replied, "I would have my wife and children, as well as myself, to
consider their souls more than their bodies, and the next world before
this; and with respect to the distress I may leave them in, God is
merciful, and will provide for them while they are worthy of his
protection." Finding the inflexibility of this poor man, the monks
cried, "Turn him off! turn him off!" which the executioner did
almost immediately, and the body being afterward cut down, was flung
into the river.
Paul Clement, an elder of the church of Rossana, being apprehended by
the monks of a neighboring monastery, was carried to the market place of
that town, where some Protestants had just been executed by the
soldiers. He was shown the dead bodies, in order that the sight might
intimidate him. On beholding the shocking subjects, he said, calmly,
"You may kill the body, but you cannot prejudice the soul of a true
believer; but with respect to the dreadful spectacles which you have
here shown me, you may rest assured, that God's vengeance will overtake
the murderers of those poor people, and punish them for the innocent
blood they have spilt." The monks were so exasperated at this reply
that they ordered him to be hanged directly; and while he was hanging,
the soldiers amused themselves in standing at a distance, and shooting
at the body as at a mark.
Daniel Rambaut, of Vilario, the father of a numerous family, was
apprehended, and, with several others, committed to prison, in the jail
of Paysana. Here he was visited by several priests, who with continual
importunities did all they could to persuade him to renounce the
Protestant religion and turn papist; but this he peremptorily refused,
and the priests finding his resolution, pretended to pity his numerous
family, and told him that he might yet have his life, if he would
subscribe to the belief of the following articles:
1. The real presence of the host.
2. Transubstantiation.
3. Purgatory.
4. The pope's infallibility.
5. That masses said for the dead will release souls from purgatory.
6. That praying to saints will procure the remission of sins.
M. Rambaut told the priests that neither his religion, his
understanding, nor his conscience, would suffer him to subscribe to any
of the articles, for the following reasons:
1. That to believe the real presence in the host, is a shocking union
of both blasphemy and idolatry.
2. That to fancy the words of consecration perform what the papists
call transubstantiation, by converting the wafer and wine into the real
and identical body and blood of Christ, which was crucified, and which
afterward ascended into heaven, is too gross an absurdity for even a
child to believe, who was come to the least glimmering of reason; and
that nothing but the most blind superstition could make the Roman
Catholics put a confidence in anything so completely ridiculous.
3. That the doctrine of purgatory was more inconsistent and absurd
than a fairy tale.
4. That the pope's being infallible was an impossibility, and the
pope arrogantly laid claim to what could belong to God only, as a
perfect being.
5. That saying Masses for the dead was ridiculous, and only meant to
keep up a belief in the fable of purgatory, as the fate of all is
finally decided, on the departure of the soul from the body.
6. That praying to saints for the remission of sins is misplacing
adoration; as the saints themselves have occasion for an intercessor in
Christ. Therefore, as God only can pardon our errors, we ought to sue to
him alone for pardon.
The priests were so highly offended at M. Rambaut's answers to the
articles to which they would have had him subscribe, that they
determined to shake his resolution by the most cruel method imaginable:
they ordered one joint of his finger to be cut off every day until all
his fingers were gone: they then proceeded in the same manner with his
toes; afterward they alternately cut off, daily, a hand and a foot; but
finding that he bore his sufferings with the most admirable patience,
increased both in fortitude and resignation, and maintained his faith
with steadfast resolution and unshaken constancy they stabbed him to the
heart, and then gave his body to be devoured by the dogs.
Peter Gabriola, a Protestant gentleman of considerable eminence,
being seized by a troop of soldiers, and refusing to renounce his
religion, they hung a great number of little bags of gunpowder about his
body, and then setting fire to them, blew him up.
Anthony, the son of Samuel Catieris, a poor dumb lad who was
extremely inoffensive, was cut to pieces by a party of the troops; and
soon after the same ruffians entered the house of Peter Moniriat, and
cut off the legs of the whole family, leaving them to bleed to death, as
they were unable to assist themselves, or to help each other.
Daniel Benech being apprehended, had his nose slit, his ears cut off,
and was then divided into quarters, each quarter being hung upon a tree,
and Mary Monino had her jaw bones broke and was then left to anguish
till she was famished.
Mary Pelanchion, a handsome widow, belonging to the town of Vilario,
was seized by a party of the Irish brigades, who having beat her
cruelly, and ravished her, dragged her to a high bridge which crossed
the river, and stripped her naked in a most indecent manner, hung her by
the legs to the bridge, with her head downwards towards the water, and
then going into boats, they fired at her until she expired.
Mary Nigrino, and her daughter who was an idiot, were cut to pieces
in the woods, and their bodies left to be devoured by wild beasts:
Susanna Bales, a widow of Vilario, was immured until she perished
through hunger; and Susanna Calvio running away from some soldiers and
hiding herself in a barn, they set fire to the straw and burnt her.
Paul Armand was hacked to pieces; a child named Daniel Bertino was
burnt; Daniel Michialino had his tongue plucked out, and was left to
perish in that condition; and Andreo Bertino, a very old man, who was
lame, was mangled in a most shocking manner, and at length had his belly
ripped open, and his bowels carried about on the point of a halbert.
Constantia Bellione, a Protestant lady, being apprehended on account
of her faith, was asked by a priest if she would renounce the devil and
go to Mass; to which she replied, "I was brought up in a religion
by which I was always taught to renounce the devil; but should I comply
with your desire, and go to Mass, I should be sure to meet him there in
a variety of shapes." The priest was highly incensed at what she
said, and told her to recant, or she would suffer cruelly. The lady,
however, boldly answered that she valued not any sufferings he could
inflict, and in spite of all the torments he could invent, she would
keep her conscience pure and her faith inviolate. The priest then
ordered slices of her flesh to be cut off from several parts of her
body, which cruelty she bore with the most singular patience, only
saying to the priest, "What horrid and lasting torments will you
suffer in hell, for the trifling and temporary pains which I now
endure." Exasperated at this expression, and willing to stop her
tongue, the priest ordered a file of musqueteers to draw up and fire
upon her, by which she was soon despatched, and sealed her martyrdom
with her blood.
A young woman named Judith Mandon, for refusing to change her
religion and embrace popery, was fastened to a stake, and sticks thrown
at her from a distance, in the very same manner as that barbarous custom
which was formerly practiced on Shrove-Tuesday, of shying at rocks, as
it was termed. By this inhuman proceeding, the poor creature's limbs
were beat and mangled in a terrible manner, and her brains were at last
dashed out by one of the bludgeons.
David Paglia and Paul Genre, attempting to escape to the Alps, with
each his son, were pursued and overtaken by the soldiers in a large
plain. Here they hunted them for their diversion, goading them with
their swords, and making them run about until they dropped down with
fatigue. When they found that their spirits were quite exhausted, and
that they could not afford them any more barbarous sport by running, the
soldiers hacked them to pieces, and left their mangled bodies on the
spot.
A young man of Bobbio, named Michael Greve, was apprehended in the
town of La Torre, and being led to the bridge, was thrown over into the
river. As he could swim very well, he swam down the stream, thinking to
escape, but the soldiers and the mob followed on both sides of the
river, and kept stoning him, until receiving a blow on one of his
temples, he was stunned, and consequently sunk and was drowned.
David Armand was ordered to lay his head down on a block, when a
soldier, with a large hammer, beat out his brains. David Baridona being
apprehended at Vilario, was carried to La Torre, where, refusing to
renounce his religion, he was tormented by means of brimstone matches
being tied between his fingers and toes, and set fire to; and afterward,
by having his flesh plucked off with red- hot pincers, until he expired;
and Giovanni Barolina, with his wife, were thrown into a pool of
stagnant water, and compelled, by means of pitchforks and stones, to
duck down their heads until they were suffocated.
A number of soldiers went to the house of Joseph Garniero, and before
they entered, fired in at the window, to give notice of their approach.
A musket ball entered one of Mrs. Garniero's breasts, as she was
suckling an infant with the other. On finding their intentions, she
begged hard that they would spare the life of the infant, which they
promised to do, and sent it immediately to a Roman Catholic nurse. They
then took the husband and hanged him at his own door, and having shot
the wife through the head, they left her body weltering in its blood,
and her husband hanging on the gallows.
Isaiah Mondon, an elderly man, and a pious Protestant, fled from the
merciless persecutors to a cleft in a rock, where he suffered the most
dreadful hardships; for, in the midst of the winter he was forced to lie
on the bare stone, without any covering; his food was the roots he could
scratch up near his miserable habitation; and the only way by which he
could procure drink, was to put snow in his mouth until it melted. Here,
however, some of the inhuman soldiers found him, and after having beaten
him unmercifully, they drove him towards Lucerne, goading him with the
points of their swords. Being exceedingly weakened by his manner of
living, and his spirits exhausted by the blows he had received, he fell
down in the road. They again beat him to make him proceed: when on his
knees, he implored them to put him out of his misery, by despatching
him. This they at last agreed to do; and one of them stepping up to him
shot him through the head with a pistol, saying, "There, heretic,
take thy request."
Mary Revol, a worthy Protestant, received a shot in her back, as she
was walking along the street. She dropped down with the wound, but
recovering sufficient strength, she raised herself upon her knees, and
lifting her hands towards heaven, prayed in a most fervent manner to the
Almighty, when a number of soldiers, who were near at hand, fired a
whole volley of shot at her, many of which took effect, and put an end
to her miseries in an instant.
Several men, women, and children secreted themselves in a large cave,
where they continued for some weeks in safety. It was the custom for two
of the men to go when it was necessary, and by stealth, procure
provisions. These were, however, one day watched, by which the cave was
discovered, and soon after, a troop of Roman Catholics appeared before
it. The papists that assembled upon this occasion were neighbors and
intimate acquaintances of the Protestants in the cave; and some were
even related to each other. The Protestants, therefore, came out, and
implored them, by the ties of hospitality, by the ties of blood, and as
old acquaintances and neighbors, not to murder them. But superstition
overcomes every sensation of nature and humanity; so that the papists,
blinded by bigotry, told them they could not show any mercy to heretics,
and, therefore, bade them prepare to die. Hearing this, and knowing the
fatal obstinacy of the Roman Catholics, the Protestants all fell
prostate, lifted their hands and hearts to heaven, prayed with great
sincerity and fervency, and then bowing down, put their faces close to
the ground, and patiently waited their fate, which was soon decided, for
the papists fell upon them with unremitting fury, and having cut them to
pieces, left the mangled bodies and limbs in the cave.
Giovanni Salvagiot, passing by a Roman Catholic church, and not
taking off his hat, was followed by some of the congregation, who fell
upon and murdered him; and Jacob Barrel and his wife, having been taken
prisoners by the earl of St. Secondo, one of the duke of Savoy's
officers, he delivered them up to the soldiery, who cut off the woman's
breasts, and the man's nose, and then shot them both through the head.
Anthony Guigo, a Protestant, of a wavering disposition, went to
Periero, with an intent to renounce his religion and embrace popery.
This design he communicated to some priests, who highly commended it,
and a day was fixed upon for his public recantation. In the meantime,
Anthony grew fully sensible of his perfidy, and his conscience tormented
him so much night and day that he determined not to recant, but to make
his escape. This he effected, but being soon missed and pursued, he was
taken. The troops on the way did all they could to bring him back to his
design of recantation; but finding their endeavors ineffectual, they
beat him violently on the road. When coming near a precipice, he took an
opportunity of leaping down it and was dashed to pieces.
A Protestant gentleman, of considerable fortune, at Bobbio, being
nightly provoked by the insolence of a priest, retorted with great
severity; and among other things, said, that the pope was Antichrist,
Mass idolatry, purgatory a farce, and absolution a cheat. To be
revenged, the priest hired five desperate ruffians, who, the same
evening, broke into the gentleman's house, and seized upon him in a
violent manner. The gentleman was terribly frightened, fell on his
knees, and implored mercy; but the desperate ruffians despatched him
without the least hesitation.
A Narrative of the Piedmontese War
The massacres and murders already mentioned to have been
committed in the valleys of Piedmont, nearly depopulated most of the
towns and villages. One place only had not been assaulted, and that was
owing to the difficulty of approaching it; this was the little
commonalty of Roras, which was situated upon a rock.
As the work of blood grew slack in other places, the earl of
Christople, one of the duke of Savoy's officers, determined, if
possible, to make himself master of it; and, with that view, detached
three hundred men to surprise it secretly.
The inhabitants of Roras, however, had intelligence of the approach
of these troops, when captain Joshua Gianavel, a brave Protestant
officer, put himself at the head of a small body of the citizens, and
waited in ambush to attack the enemy in a small defile.
When the troops appeared, and had entered the defile, which was the
only place by which the town could be approached, the Protestants kept
up a smart and well-directed fire against them, and still kept
themselves concealed behind bushes from the sight of the enemy. A great
number of the soldiers were killed, and the remainder receiving a
continued fire, and not seeing any to whom they might return it, thought
proper to retreat.
The members of this little community then sent a memorial to the
marquis of Pianessa, one of the duke's general officers, setting forth,
'That they were sorry, upon any occasion, to be under the necessity of
taking up arms; but that the secret approach of a body of troops,
without any reason assigned, or any previous notice sent of the purpose
of their coming, had greatly alarmed them; that as it was their custom
never to suffer any of the military to enter their little community,
they had repelled force by force, and should do so again; but in all
other respects, they professed themselves dutiful, obedient, and loyal
subjects to their sovereign, the duke of Savoy.'
The marquis of Pianessa, that he might have the better opportunity of
deluding and surprising the Protestants of Roras, sent them word in
answer, 'That he was perfectly satisfied with their behavior, for they
had done right, and even rendered a service to their country, as the men
who had attempted to pass the defile were not his troops, or sent by
him, but a band of desperate robbers, who had, for some time, infested
those parts, and been a terror to the neighboring country.' To give a
greater color to his treachery, he then published an ambiguous
proclamation seemingly favorable to the inhabitants.
Yet, the very day after this plausible proclamation, and specious
conduct, the marquis sent five hundred men to possess themselves of
Roras, while the people as he thought, were lulled into perfect security
by his specious behavior.
Captain Gianavel, however, was not to be deceived so easily: he,
therefore, laid an ambuscade for this body of troops, as he had for the
former, and compelled them to retire with very considerable loss.
Though foiled in these two attempts, the marquis of Pianessa
determined on a third, which should be still more formidable; but first
he imprudently published another proclamation, disowning any knowledge
of the second attempt.
Soon after, seven hundred chosen men were sent upon the expedition,
who, in spite of the fire from the Protestants, forced the defile,
entered Roras, and began to murder every person they met with, without
distinction of age or sex. The Protestant captain Gianavel, at the head
of a small body, though he had lost the defile, determined to dispute
their passage through a fortified pass that led to the richest and best
part of the town. Here he was successful, by keeping up a continual
fire, and by means of his men being all complete marksmen. The Roman
Catholic commander was greatly staggered at this opposition, as he
imagined that he had surmounted all difficulties. He, however, did his
endeavors to force the pass, but being able to bring up only twelve men
in front at a time, and the Protestants being secured by a breastwork,
he found he should be baffled by the handful of men who opposed him.
Enraged at the loss of so many of his troops, and fearful of disgrace
if he persisted in attempting what appeared so impracticable, he thought
it the wisest thing to retreat. Unwilling, however, to withdraw his men
by the defile at which he had entered, on account of the difficulty and
danger of the enterprise, he determined to retreat towards Vilario, by
another pass called Piampra, which though hard of access, was easy of
descent. But in this he met with disappointment, for Captain Gianavel
having posted his little band here, greatly annoyed the troops as they
passed, and even pursued their rear until they entered the open country.
The marquis of Pianessa, finding that all his attempts were
frustrated, and that every artifice he used was only an alarm signal to
the inhabitants of Roras, determined to act openly, and therefore
proclaimed that ample rewards should be given to any one who would bear
arms against the obstinate heretics of Roras, as he called them; and
that any officer who would exterminate them should be rewarded in a
princely manner.
This engaged Captain Mario, a bigoted Roman Catholic, and a desperate
ruffian, to undertake the enterprise. He, therefore, obtained leave to
raise a regiment in the following six towns: Lucerne, Borges, Famolas,
Bobbio, Begnal, and Cavos.
Having completed his regiment, which consisted of one thousand men,
he laid his plan not to go by the defiles or the passes, but to attempt
gaining the summit of a rock, whence he imagined he could pour his
troops into the town without much difficulty or opposition.
The Protestants suffered the Roman Catholic troops to gain almost the
summit of the rock, without giving them any opposition, or ever
appearing in their sight: but when they had almost reached the top they
made a most furious attack upon them; one party keeping up a
well-directed and constant fire, and another party rolling down huge
stones.
This stopped the career of the papist troops: many were killed by the
musketry, and more by the stones, which beat them down the precipices.
Several fell sacrifices to their hurry, for by attempting a precipitate
retreat they fell down, and were dashed to pieces; and Captain Mario
himself narrowly escaped with his life, for he fell from a craggy place
into a river which washed the foot of the rock. He was taken up
senseless, but afterwards recovered, though he was ill of the bruises
for a long time; and, at length he fell into a decline at Lucerne, where
he died.
Another body of troops was ordered from the camp at Vilario, to make
an attempt upon Roras; but these were likewise defeated, by means of the
Protestants' ambush fighting, and compelled to retreat again to the camp
at Vilario.
After each of these signal victories, Captain Gianavel made a
suitable discourse to his men, causing them to kneel down, and return
thanks to the Almighty for his providential protection; and usually
concluded with the Eleventh Psalm, where the subject is placing
confidence in God.
The marquis of Pianessa was greatly enraged at being so much baffled
by the few inhabitants of Roras: he, therefore, determined to attempt
their expulsion in such a manner as could hardly fail of success.
With this view he ordered all the Roman Catholic militia of Piedmont
to be raised and disciplined. When these orders were completed, he
joined to the militia eight thousand regular troops, and dividing the
whole into three distinct bodies, he designed that three formidable
attacks should be made at the same time, unless the people of Roras, to
whom he sent an account of his great preparations, would comply with the
following conditions:
1. To ask pardon for taking up arms. 2. To pay the expenses of all
the expeditions sent against them. 3. To acknowledge the infallibility
of the pope. 4. To go to Mass. 5. To pray to the saints. 6. To wear
beards. 7. To deliver up their ministers. 8. To deliver up their
schoolmasters. 9. To go to confession. 10. To pay loans for the delivery
of souls from purgatory. 11. To give up Captain Gianavel at discretion.
12. To give up the elders of their church at discretion.
The inhabitants of Roras, on being acquainted with these conditions,
were filled with an honest indignation, and, in answer, sent word to the
marquis that sooner than comply with them they would suffer three
things, which, of all others, were the most obnoxious to mankind, viz.
1. Their estates to be seized.
2. Their houses to be burned.
3. Themselves to be murdered.
Exasperated at this message, the marquis sent them this laconic
epistle: To the Obstinate Heretics Inhabiting Roras
You shall have your request, for the troops sent against you have
strict injunctions to plunder, burn, and kill.
--PIANESSA.
The three armies were then put in motion, and the attacks ordered to
be made thus: the first by the rocks of Vilario; the second by the pass
of Bagnol; and the third by the defile of Lucerne.
The troops forced their way by the superiority of numbers, and having
gained the rocks, pass, and defile, began to make the most horrid
depradations, and exercise the greatest cruelties. Men they hanged,
burned, racked to death, or cut to pieces; women they ripped open,
crucified, drowned, or threw from the precipices; and children they
tossed upon spears, minced, cut their throats, or dashed out their
brains. One hundred and twenty-six suffered in this manner on the first
day of their gaining the town.
Agreeable to the marquis of Pianessa's orders, they likewise
plundered the estates, and burned the houses of the people. Several
Protestants, however, made their escape, under the conduct of Captain
Gianavel, whose wife and children were unfortunately made prisoners and
sent under a strong guard to Turin.
The marquis of Pianessa wrote a letter to Captain Gianavel, and
released a Protestant prisoner that he might carry it him. The contents
were, that if the captain would embrace the Roman Catholic religion, he
should be indemnified for all his losses since the commencement of the
war; his wife and children should be immediately released, and himself
honorably promoted in the duke of Savoy's army; but if he refused to
accede to the proposals made him, his wife and children should be put to
death; and so large a reward should be given to take him, dead or alive,
that even some of his own confidential friends should be tempted to
betray him, from the greatness of the sum.
To this epistle, the brave Gianavel sent the following answer.
My Lord Marquis,
There is no torment so great or death so cruel, but what I would
prefer to the abjuration of my religion: so that promises lose their
effects, and menaces only strengthen me in my faith.
With respect to my wife and children, my lord, nothing can be more
afflicting to me than the thought of their confinement, or more dreadful
to my imagination, than their suffering a violent and cruel death. I
keenly feel all the tender sensations of husband and parent; my heart is
replete with every sentiment of humanity; I would suffer any torment to
rescue them from danger; I would die to preserve them.
But having said thus much, my lord, I assure you that the purchase of
their lives must not be the price of my salvation. You have them in your
power it is true; but my consolation is that your power is only a
temporary authority over their bodies: you may destroy the mortal part,
but their immortal souls are out of your reach, and will live hereafter
to bear testimony against you for your cruelties. I therefore recommend
them and myself to God, and pray for a reformation in your heart.
-- JOSHUA GIANAVEL.
This brave Protestant officer, after writing the above letter,
retired to the Alps, with his followers; and being joined by a great
number of other fugitive Protestants, he harassed the enemy by continual
skirmishes.
Meeting one day with a body of papist troops near Bibiana, he, though
inferior in numbers, attacked them with great fury, and put them to the
rout without the loss of a man, though himself was shot through the leg
in the engagement, by a soldier who had hid himself behind a tree; but
Gianavel perceiving whence the shot came, pointed his gun to the place,
and despatched the person who had wounded him.
Captain Gianavel hearing that a Captain Jahier had collected together
a considerable body of Protestants, wrote him a letter, proposing a
junction of their forces. Captain Jahier immediately agreed to the
proposal, and marched directly to meet Gianavel.
The junction being formed, it was proposed to attack a town,
(inhabited by Roman Catholics) called Garcigliana. The assault was given
with great spirit, but a reinforcement of horse and foot having lately
entered the town, which the Protestants knew nothing of, they were
repulsed; yet made a masterly retreat, and only lost one man in the
action.
The next attempt of the Protestant forces was upon St. Secondo, which
they attacked with great vigor, but met with a strong resistance from
the Roman Catholic troops, who had fortified the streets and planted
themselves in the houses, from whence they poured musket balls in
prodigious numbers. The Protestants, however, advanced, under cover of a
great number of planks, which some held over their heads, to secure them
from the shots of the enemy from the houses, while others kept up a
well-directed fire; so that the houses and entrenchments were soon
forced, and the town taken.
In the town they found a prodigious quantity of plunder, which had
been taken from Protestants at various times, and different places, and
which were stored up in the warehouses, churches, dwelling houses, etc.
This they removed to a place of safety, to be distributed, with as much
justice as possible, among the sufferers.
This successful attack was made with such skill and spirit that it
cost very little to the conquering party, the Protestants having only
seventeen killed, and twenty-six wounded; while the papists suffered a
loss of no less than four hundred and fifty killed, and five hundred and
eleven wounded.
Five Protestant officers, viz., Gianavel, Jahier, Laurentio, Genolet
and Benet, laid a plan to surprise Biqueras. To this end they marched in
five respective bodies, and by agreement were to make the attack at the
same time. The captains, Jahier and Laurentio, passed through two
defiles in the woods, and came to the place in safety, under covert; but
the other three bodies made their approaches through an open country,
and, consequently, were more exposed to an attack.
The Roman Catholics taking the alarm, a great number of troops were
sent to relieve Biqueras from Cavors, Bibiana, Feline, Campiglione, and
some other neighboring places. When these were united, they determined
to attack the three Protestant parties, that were marching through the
open country.
The Protestant officers perceiving the intent of the enemy, and not
being at a great distance from each other, joined forces with the utmost
expedition, and formed themselves in order of battle.
In the meantime, the captains, Jahier and Laurentio, had assaulted
the town of Biqueras, and burnt all the out houses, to make their
approaches with the greater ease; but not being supported as they
expected by the other three Protestant captains, they sent a messenger,
on a swift horse, towards the open country, to inquire the reason.
The messenger soon returned and informed them that it was not in the
power of the three Protestant captains to support their proceedings, as
they were themselves attacked by a very superior force in the plain, and
could scarce sustain the unequal conflict.
The captains, Jahier and Laurentio, on receiving this intelligence,
determined to discontinue the assault on Biqueras, and to proceed, with
all possible expedition, to the relief of their friends on the plain.
This design proved to be of the most essential service, for just as they
arrived at the spot where the two armies were engaged, the papist troops
began to prevail, and were on the point of flanking the left wing,
commanded by Captain Gianavel. The arrival of these troops turned the
scale in favor of the Protestants: and the papist forces, though they
fought with the most obstinate intrepidity, were totally defeated. A
great number were killed and wounded, on both sides, and the baggage,
military stores, etc., taken by the Protestants were very considerable.
Captain Gianavel, having information that three hundred of the enemy
were to convoy a great quantity of stores, provisions, etc., from La
Torre to the castle of Mirabac, determined to attack them on the way.
He, accordingly, began the assault at Malbec, though with a very
inadequate force. The contest was long and bloody, but the Protestants
at length were obliged to yield to the superiority of numbers, and
compelled to make a retreat, which they did with great regularity, and
but little loss.
Captain Gianavel advanced to an advantageous post, situated near the
town of Vilario, and then sent the following information and commands to
the inhabitants.
1. That he should attack the town in twenty-four hours.
2. That with respect to the Roman Catholics who had borne arms,
whether they belonged to the army or not, he should act by the law of
retaliation, and put them to death, for the numerous depredations and
many cruel murders they had committed.
3. That all women and children, whatever their religion might be,
should be safe.
4. That he commanded all male Protestants to leave the town and join
him.
5. That all apostates, who had, through weakness, abjured their
religion, should be deemed enemies, unless they renounced their
abjuration.
6. That all who returned to their duty to God, and themselves, should
be received as friends.
The Protestants, in general immediately left the town, and joined
Captain Gianavel with great satisfaction, and the few, who through
weakness or fear, had abjured their faith, recanted their abjuration and
were received into the bosom of the Church. As the marquis of Pianessa
had removed the army, and encamped in quite a different part of the
country, the Roman Catholics of Vilario thought it would be folly to
attempt to defend the place with the small force they had. They,
therefore, fled with the utmost precipitation, leaving the town and most
of their property to the discretion of the Protestants.
The Protestant commanders having called a council of war, resolved to
make an attempt upon the town of La Torre.
The papists being apprised of the design, detached some troops to
defend a defile, through which the Protestants must make their approach;
but these were defeated, compelled to abandon the pass, and forced to
retreat to La Torre.
The Protestants proceeded on their march, and the troops of La Torre,
on their approach, made a furious sally, but were repulsed with great
loss, and compelled to seek shelter in the town. The governor now only
thought of defending the place, which the Protestants began to attack in
form; but after many brave attempts, and furious assaults, the
commanders determined to abandon the enterprise for several reasons,
particularly, because they found the place itself too strong, their own
number too weak, and their cannon not adequate to the task of battering
down the walls.
This resolution taken, the Protestant commanders began a masterly
retreat, and conducted it with such regularity that the enemy did not
choose to pursue them, or molest their rear, which they might have done,
as they passed the defiles.
The next day they mustered, reviewed the army, and found the whole to
amount to four hundred and ninety-five men. They then held a council of
war, and planned an easier enterprise: this was to make an attack on the
commonalty of Crusol, a place inhabited by a number of the most bigoted
Roman Catholics, and who had exercised, during the persecutions, the
most unheard-of cruelties on the Protestants.
The people of Crusol, hearing of the design against them, fled to a
neighboring fortress, situated on a rock, where the Protestants could
not come to them, for a very few men could render it inaccessible to a
numerous army. Thus they secured their persons, but were in too much
hurry to secure their property, the principal part of which, indeed, had
been plundered from the Protestants, and now luckily fell again to the
possession of the right owners. It consisted of many rich and valuable
articles, and what, at that time, was of much more consequence, viz., a
great quantity of military stores.
The day after the Protestants were gone with their booty, eight
hundred troops arrived to the assistance of the people of Crusol, having
been despatched from Lucerne, Biqueras, Cavors, etc. But finding
themselves too late, and that pursuit would be vain, not to return empty
handed, they began to plunder the neighboring villages, though what they
took was from their friends. After collecting a tolerable booty, they
began to divide it, but disagreeing about the different shares, they
fell from words to blows, did a great deal of mischief, and then
plundered each other.
On the very same day in which the Protestants were so successful at
Crusol, some papists marched with a design to plunder and burn the
little Protestant village of Rocappiatta, but by the way they met with
the Protestant forces belonging to the captains, Jahier and Laurentio,
who were posted on the hill of Angrogne. A trivial engagement ensued,
for the Roman Catholics, on the very first attack, retreated in great
confusion, and were pursued with much slaughter. After the pursuit was
over, some straggling papist troops meeting with a poor peasant, who was
a Protestant, tied a cord round his head, and strained it until his
skull was quite crushed.
Captain Gianavel and Captain Jahier concerted a design together to
make an attack upon Lucerne; but Captain Jahier, not bringing up his
forces at the time appointed, Captain Gianavel determined to attempt the
enterprise himself.
He, therefore, by a forced march, proceeded towards that place during
the whole, and was close to it by break of day. His first care was to
cut the pipes that conveyed water into the town, and then to break down
the bridge, by which alone provisions from the country could enter.
He then assaulted the place, and speedily possessed himself of two of
the outposts; but finding he could not make himself master of the place,
he prudently retreated with very little loss, blaming, however, Captain
Jahier, for the failure of the enterprise.
The papists being informed that Captain Gianavel was at Angrogne with
only his own company, determined if possible to surprise him. With this
view, a great number of troops were detached from La Torre and other
places: one party of these got on top of a mountain, beneath which he
was posted; and the other party intended to posses
