Henri Arnaud

Henri Arnaud (born 1641, Embrun, France—died Sept. 8, 1721, Schönenberg, Württemberg [now part of Muhlacker, Ger.]) was a Savoyard pastor who led the Waldensian, or Vaudois, exiles on the glorieuse rentrée, their historic journey from Switzerland back to their Piedmontese valleys (1689).

After studying theology in Switzerland, Arnaud returned to Piedmont and established himself as pastor at Torre Pellice (1685), where he led the resistance of the Waldensians against the persecution of Protestants that was inaugurated by Duke Victor Amadeus II of Savoy. Eventually, Arnaud returned to Switzerland, where, with help from William III of Orange, he rallied the Waldensian exiles. In 1689, encouraged by William’s accession to the English throne, Arnaud decided on a third attempt to return to Piedmont. The exiles met with resistance, but their successful and vigorous mountain warfare impressed Victor Amadeus, who, in June 1690, made peace with the Waldenses in return for their fighting on the Savoyard side against the French during the War of the Grand Alliance. After Savoy made peace with France (1696), however, the persecution of the Waldenses was renewed, and, in July 1698, about 3,000 of them were forced into exile. Arnaud then founded a Waldensian settlement at Schönenberg in Württemberg, where he introduced the cultivation of alfalfa and mulberries. Between 1704 and 1706, during the War of the Spanish Succession, the Waldenses were again tolerated by Savoy in return for support against France, and Arnaud returned to Piedmont. In 1707 Arnaud visited England to obtain funds for his coreligionists and then returned to Schönenberg.