Virtuous Christian or Religious Fanatic: Girolamo Savonarola in Florence, 1494-1498 [Paperback]

Antonio J. Munoz (Author), n/a (Editor, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 4, 2006

Girolamo Savonarola became a Dominican friar in 1475, and entered the convent of San Domenico in Bologna. In 1482 he was dispatched to Florence, the 'city of his destiny'. Savonarola was lambasted for being ungainly, weak and a poor orator. He made no impression on Florence in the 1480's, and his departure in 1487 went unnoticed. He returned to Bologna where he became 'master of studies'. Savanorola returned to Florence in 1490 at the behest of Count Pico della Mirandola. At this time the Roman Catholic Church's clergy was increasingly corrupting morality and leading a corrupt life themselves. The Papacy was filled with abuses and personal immorality; and friars, in most every district, were sometimes traveling peddlers of indulgences. Savonarola's grief over these apparent sins caused him to withdraw more from his secular studies. Instead he concentrated closely on the Bible and Church Fathers, which became his constant companion and guide. In Florence his Church of St. Mark was always crowded to excess. His impassioned discourses brought about a social reform which has never been duplicated in history. Savonarola was not a theologian. He did not proclaim doctrines. Instead, he preached that Christian life involved being good rather than carrying out displays of excessive pomp and ceremonies. He did not seek to make war on the Church of Rome. Rather he wanted to correct its transgressions. In 1497 he and his followers carried out the Bonfire of the Vanities. They sent boys from door to door collecting items associated with moral laxity: mirrors, cosmetics, lewd pictures, pagan books, sculptures, gaming tables, chess pieces, lutes and other musical instruments, fine dresses, women's hats, and the works of immoral poets, and burnt them all in a large pile in the Piazza della Signoria of Florence. Fine Florentine Renaissance artwork was lost in Savonarola's notorious bonfire of the vanities, including paintings by Sandro Botticelli thrown on the pyres by the artist h

Editorial Reviews

Review

Using primary and secondary sources, which include personal correspondence and sermons written by Savonarola, author Antonio Munoz has been able to weave a careful tapestry of the history and events leading to the death of this Fifteenth Century monk who almost single-handedly stopped the Italian Renaissance from taking place in Florence. Was he a virtuous Christian or a religious fanatic? Using newly uncovered sources, Munoz answers this all-time question. --Dr. Maria del Carmen Caballero, American University

About the Author

Antonio Munoz has written over a dozen books on European history. This latest work is his first biography.

Product Details

• Paperback: 60 pages
• Publisher: Europa Books, Inc.; 1st edition (December 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 189122770X
• ISBN-13: 978-1891227707
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,389,683 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)