Monday, April 14, 2008

The portrait of Savonarola at left was painted by an artist who was alive at the same time as the Dominican friar who managed to turn Florence upside down for several years. You can appreciate the impact of his physical presence even from this limited view of him, which gives us a sense of the intensity of the prophet's gaze. Speaking of prophets, Machiavelli in the Prince observed that while armed prophets can often rule reasonably well, unarmed prophets invariably come to grief. Savonarola came into power in Florence at a time when the city was undergoing a painful self-examination in the aftermath of the 1494 invasion of French king Charles VIII. Piero de Medici, son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, was completely unprepared to do anything other than give Charles license to march right through the city, thus shocking the Florentines into recognizing that their military prowess was not what they had thought. The people rose up against Piero as a result, and placed Savonarola in charge, who was preaching a message that they needed at the time: repentance and renewal.

Savonarola believed the the destiny of Florence was to become the New Jerusalem, a beacon to all other nations, but first the people had to purify themselves by getting rid of the manifestations of their worldy excesses in a bonfire of the vanities. There is disagreement about precisely what this entailed: for years, many people believed that countless precious works of art were destroyed in the conflagration, while more recently some have argued that this is an exaggeration. The things Savonarola seemed to be particularly concerned about were rich clothing, cosmetics, and other displays of personal finery. More important, however, are the reforms that he instituted, including a morals police consisting of young boys who reported on the sinful behavior of their elders. Eventually the population grew tired of the austerity of his vision and allowed him to be executed by order of the pope.

From the textbook, I'd like you to pay special attention to the following names and terms:

Presenter Questions (for homework, answer 1 and 2):

  1. First, look at the poem, O Soul, by Sin Made Blind. How does Savonarola find meaning in the events of the time?
  2. Next, look at the draft constitution for Florence, and discuss the intersection between the sacred and the secular orders as he represents it in his plans for the city. Draw a comparison between this vision and the excerpt from Cicero's On Duties in Bartlett 13 that we read at the beginning of the semester. Savonarola borrowed heavily from the classical tradition, but at the same time he was a visionary who believed he was filled with the Holy Spirit.
  3. Finally, there have been a number of times in western history when visionary men have based political reform on a call for repentance and self-denial. In most of these cases, the people are carried away for a time by this message, only to discard their leaders and bring back their familiar luxuries and entertainments when they grow weary of such a life. An example that comes to mind is the 17th century Oliver Cromwell, whose Protectorate lasted only about a decade before the Stuart monarchy was restored. Do you think such prophets are always doomed to fail? We saw last time the utterly disgusting luxury and dissipation of Alexander VI's court. Are we doomed to repeat cycles alternating between overindulgence and puritanical standards?

Laurel Carrington carringt@stolaf.edu
Most recent update: January 24, 2008

 

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