Many Persons Called Waldenses Martyred at Steyer, in the Year 1315

Matthias Flaccius Illyricus (Catalogus Testium Veritatis, book 19, under the title Stier.) states that he heard from the lips of Michael Stifelius that in a certain monastery, in the city of Steyer, which lies between Austria and Bavaria, three large books were found, containing the confessions and examinations of very many persons who had departed in belief from the Roman church. [n478-1]

I presume, says Illyricus, that they were Waldenses, a great number of whom were formerly scattered not only in Austria and all Germany, but also throughout all the countries of Europe.

"And truly," says a certain author, "Illyricus is not mistaken in his conjecture." In the meantime he calls them martyrs, but does not state in what their martyrdom consisted, or by what death they confirmed the power of their faith. See the large Book of Christian Martyrs, folio 479, columns 3 and 4. [n478-2]