The impact of the Inquisition and clandestinity on the Waldensian followers had a way of undermining their faith. The constant threat of losing one’s life and one’s family along with the confiscation of property by the civil authorities led to many followers renouncing their Waldensian beliefs. By the 14th and 15th centuries, a set of myths were developed by Waldensians as a way of validating their faith both to themselves and to others.
One myth concerned the identity of Valdesius or Waldo himself. The real Valdesius lived in the 12th century, and it was not until 1367 that first name attributed to him. That name, Peter, was given to Valdesius or Waldo to equate him with the Apostle Peter.
As time went by, some medieval writers even described Peter Waldo as an early disciple of Jesus. Some of the Reformers of the 16th century referred to these myths to support their beliefs that the Waldensians were the true remnant of the Christian faith.
More recent myths have suggested that the Apostle Paul preached the gospel in the Cottian Alps midway on a missionary journey to Spain.
None of these myths are true. But for a group of people who faced generation after generation of terror and annihilation, Waldensian followers found comfort in identifying themselves as the one true church.