Topic summary
Peter Waldo

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 mendicantascetic 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.