Savonarola This page intentionally left blank Z X Savonarola T R F he ise and all R P of a enaissance rophet Z X Donald Weinstein New Haven & London Copyright ∫ 2011 by Donald Weinstein. All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers. Yale University Press books may be purchased in quantity for educational, business, or promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected] (U.S. o≈ce) or [email protected] (U.K. o≈ce). Set in Adobe Caslon type by Keystone Typesetting, Inc., Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania. Printed in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Weinstein, Donald, 1926– Savonarola : the rise and fall of a Renaissance prophet / Donald Weinstein. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-300-11193-4 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Savonarola, Girolamo, 1452–1498. 2. Dominicans— Italy—Florence—Biography. 3. Reformers—Italy—Florence—Biography. 4. Florence (Italy)— Biography. 5. Florence (Italy)—Politics and government—1421–1737. 6. Florence (Italy)—Church history. 7. Catholic Church—Italy—Florence—History. I. Title. DG737.97.W43 2011 282.092—dc23 [B] 2011032980 Catalogue records for this book are available from the Library of Congress and the British Library. This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To Giles Constable This page intentionally left blank Contents Acknowledgments ix A Note on Usages xi Prologue 1 Chapter 1. The Making of a Moralist 7 Chapter 2. The Making of a Preacher 16 Chapter 3. The Making of a Prophet 28 Chapter 4. Florence and the Medici 42 Chapter 5. The Magnificent Lorenzo 54 Chapter 6. Bologna to Florence 64 Chapter 7. Lo, the Sword of God! 75 Chapter 8. The New Cyrus 94 Chapter 9. Liberty! 105 Chapter 10. The Ark and the Flood 115 Chapter 11. Toward the New Jerusalem 132 Chapter 12. The Virgin and the Republic of Virtue 148 Chapter 13. The Pope Summons 164 Chapter 14. Obstacles to the Spirit 174 Chapter 15. Mobilizing the Children 183 Chapter 16. I Can’t Live without Preaching 196 Chapter 17. The Tail Acquires a Head 209 Chapter 18. Burning the Vanities 217 viii Contents Chapter 19. Excommunicated! 226 Chapter 20. Defiance 241 Chapter 21. Exodus 250 Chapter 22. Trial by Fire 267 Chapter 23. Despair and Hope 277 Chapter 24. Silence 293 Chapter 25. Echoes 298 Chapter 26. Afterwords 311 Notes 319 Selected Bibliography 363 Index 369 Illustrations follow page 104 Acknowledgments My greatest debt is to my wife, Beverly Parker. Her moral support, editorial acumen, technical skills, and intelligence have been with me all the way. I could not have written this book without her. Four friends have been extra- ordinarily helpful. Lorenzo Polizzotto placed his unmatched knowledge of Savonarola and his movement at my disposal and has been a precise, con- structive, and sympathetic reader and critic; Alan E. Bernstein has taught me much about medieval religion over the years, and I have benefited greatly from his suggestions, counsel, and friendship; Stefano Dall’Aglio has been un- failingly generous in responding to my countless calls for help with archival and bibliographical problems, caught a number of slips, and readily shared his expertise on sixteenth-century Savonarolism; Jim Banker, my old companion in the Florentine archives, has read the book with his sharp eye for detail and sense of style. Other friends and fellow scholars who have provided critical assistance are JoAnne Bernstein, Alison Brown, Gene Brucker, Cornelia Carlson, Mel Carlson, Giles Constable, Gail Eifrig, Christopher Fulton, Richard Gold- thwaite, Sarah Blake Hamm, Valerie Hotchkiss, Howard Kaminsky, Kate Lowe, Lauro Martines, Julia O’Faolain, Olga Zorzi Pugliese, David Price, Fr. Fausto Sba√oni, O.P., Piero Scapecchi, Herbert Schneidau, Ludovica Sebregondi, Fr. Armando F. Verde, O.P., Mark Zucker. Warm thanks to the editors at Yale University Press who have enthusi- astically and skillfully guided the book through the stages of publication, especially to Eliza Childs, copy-editor senza pari, with whom collaboration has been a pleasure. The manuscript she returned is far more presentable than the one she received. Even so, senior editor Margaret Otzel found still more