Peter Waldo (1140–1205)
Born 1140 CE, died 1205 CE.
Peter Waldo (; also Valdo, Valdes, Waldes; French: Pierre Vaudès, de Vaux; Latin: Petrus Waldus, Valdus; c. 1140 – c. 1205) was a French merchant and later preacher who founded Waldensianism (then called the "Poor of Lyon"), a mendicant ascetic sect which separated from the Roman Catholic Church. The tradition that his first name was "Peter" can only be traced back to the fourteenth century. This has caused some historians, such as Jana Schulman, to see it as likely a later invention. He is considered a Proto-Protestant.
Text from the Wikipedia article Peter_Waldo, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.