Were the Albigenses and Waldenses Forerunners of the Reformation?

Abstract

"When a religious movement comes into existence it tends to consider itself as an autochthonous phenomenon. Obviously, every reform movement has elements of newness and originality. Martin Luther was not, at first, concerned about spiritual ancestors: "We have come to this point without guide and without a Bohemian doctor." Likewise, in Geneva, Thkodore de B&ze stated that Calvin came "when God had appointed the time." 3 Calvin himself, when asked by Charles V how a Reformation came about, remarked that man cannot bring about a Reformation. When a church is spiritually dead it must be resurrected, and only God has the means to bring this about"