Lecture: 'The Waldensians' arrival in Megève in 1689'

Etienne Bourdon is a lecturer in modern history at Grenoble University. He specialises in the history of knowledge, of travel and of the relationships between societies and their territories, especially in the Alps. He'll tell us about the Waldensians' unique journey that went down in history as their 'Glorious Return'. The Waldensians belonged to a radical religious movement that emerged in the Middle Ages before joining the Protestant Reform. In 1689, some 1,000 Waldensian Protestants, who had taken refuge in Geneva, left the Swiss bank of Lake Geneva and, led by the pastor and military chief Henri Arnaux, returned to their Piedmont valleys. Their epic journey across the Northern Alps led them, among other places, to the parish of Megève. Jean-Baptiste Clément-Berthet, a reverend from Megève, gives a commentary of their eventful visit in his 'History of Megève' (1791). Nowadays, Henri Arnaud is a celebrated hero in many European regions, while a branch of the European culture itinerary entitled 'On the trail of the Huguenots and the Waldensians' now follows the route of their voyage. Plenty of reasons for us, in turn, to follow in the Waldensians' ancient footsteps.