Fra Girolamo Savonarola; a biographical study based on contemporary documents

Preface

/*TpHE present work owes its inception to the circumstance that, in the month of February 1898, the writer received for review Dr Ludwig Pastor's brochure Zur Beurtheilung Savonarolas. Dr Pastor had, as every one interested in such matters is aware, treated at some length of the career of Savonarola in the third volume of his Geschichte der Pdpste im Zeitalter der Renaissance. His presentment of the facts as well as his judgment upon them, had, however, been somewhat sharply criticised by various writers, and more particularly by Dr Paolo Luotto in an elaborate apology for Savonarola entitled // vero Savonarola e il Savonarola di Lodovico Pastor. To this volume, together with some less important publications, the tract, Zur Beurtheilung Savonarolas, was a rejoinder.

To review the pamphlet, then, was to sit in judgment upon two experts ; and such a task it was manifestly unreasonable to undertake without having made some acquaintance with the subject at first hand. This again it was hardly possible to do without discovering how considerable a mass of contemporary documentary evidence — published indeed, but scattered through the volumes of the Archivio Storico Italiano, the Appendices to the works of Quetif, Perrens, and Villari, the collections of Gherardi and Cappelli, etc., and thus inaccessible to the ordinary English reader — was available for the use of any one who should care to bring it together, in a compendious viii PREFACE

form, within the compass of a single volume. Whatever the judgment to be ultimately passed upon Savonarola may be, it will hardly be questioned that he occupies a position in ecclesiastical history so conspicuous and important as to make it desirable that all, or substantially all, that can be known about him should be placed within the reach of those students of history who have neither the leisure, nor perhaps the opportunity, to ransack a library in quest of the whole truth.

The original purpose, then, with which the writer commenced his study of the Savonarola literature has been long since left behind. With Dr Pastor or Professor Luotto as the principals in a controversial contest we are not concerned. The purpose of this biography is, primarily, to set before the reader the facts of Savonarola's life, and a summary of the documentary evidence bearing thereon ; and secondly to express, with, we trust, becoming moderation and reserve, our own judgment on such points as have given rise to a divergence of views upon his actions, his words, his aims and intentions, and on the actions and motives of those who, in greater or less measure, took part in the conflict which issued in the final catastrophe of his condemnation and execution.

The volume is in large measure a reprint, after careful revision, of a series of articles which appeared in the Tablet from April to December 1898. But more than half the work has been entirely rewritten and considerably expanded. Some account has also been taken, in the earlier chapters, of the very able criticisms passed upon the Tablet articles by a writer in the Irish Rosary of July, August, and September 1898. It has however seemed desirable to abstain, as far as possible, from anything in the nature of personal controversy. We would wish to take as our motto the wise words of Dr Grauert, the very last — so far as we are aware — which have

PREFACE ix

The writer's best thanks are due to Dr Ludwig Pastor for the loan of Cappelli's most valuable collection of documents bearing on the career of Savonarola ; to the Rev. Joseph Browne, S.J., Rector of Stonyhurst College, for the loan of several other indispensable volumes ; to the Rev. Herbert Thurston, S.J., for verifying references and copying extracts ; to the authorities of the Reading-Room at the British Museum for unfailing and helpful courtesy during the months of August and September 1898; and last, but by no means least, to the Editor of the Tablet, for permission to republish the articles mentioned above.

It only remains to give a list of the principal works of which use has been made in the compilation of the present biography. A few words have been added here and there which may help to explain the character of some of the works enumerated. To avoid the cumbersome iteration of lengthy titles, many of these works have been referred to in the course of the book by the author's or editor's name alone.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LIST

Allegretti, Allegretto. " Diari delle cose Sanesi del suo tempo." In Muratori, " Rerum Italicarum Scriptores,'' xxiii. 767 sqq. Mediolani, 1733.

" Annali del Convento di S. Caterina di Pisa, Estratti degli." In "Archivio Storico Italiano," vol. vi. part ii., pp. 399 sqq. Firenze, 1848. This chronicle is valuable for the history of the Dominican Order in Tuscany, and in particular of the Congregation of S. Marco.

" Archivio Storico Italiano, ossia Raccolta di Opere e Documenti inediti o divenuti rarissimi risguardanti la Storia d'ltalia." 5 Series and Appendix. Firenze, 1842 sqq. Referred to in the course of this volume as "A.S.I." References are to the First Series unless another is specified.

Baluzius, Stephanus. "Miscellanea," etc. See below, under

Mansi.

Bayonne, Emmanuel-Ceslas (O.P.). "(Euvres Spirituelles choisies

de Jerome Savonarole, collationne'es et traduites sur le texte

original," 3 vols. Paris, 1879-80.

Benedetto da Firenze, Fra (O.P.), "Vulnera Diligentis." This unpublished tract, by a contemporary and fervent disciple of Savonarola, tells the story of his career in the form of a dialogue between " Agricola " {i.e. Benedetto himself) and " Volpe," or, in one part, between " Agricola " and " Propheta " (Savonarola). Considerable extracts from it are given in Villari, i. Append, pp. Ixxxiv. sqq., and ii. Append, pp. lxxxiii. sqq. The publication of the whole, together with the " Giornate " of Lorenzo Vivoli, is much to be desired.

xii BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LIST

Benedetto da Firenze, Fra (O.P.). " ' Cedrus Libani,' ossia vita di Fra Girolamo Savonarola, scritta in terzetti da Fra Benedetto da Firenze l'anno 1510; connote. Per cura del P. Vincenzo Marchese de' Predicatori." In "Archivio Storico Italiano," Append, vol. vii., pp. 41 sqq. Firenze, 1850.

Bernardino da Lucca, Fra (O.P.). " Definitio contra injustam excommunicationem latam erga fratrem Hieronymum Savonarolam ferrariensem." In Mansi's Appendix to " Miscellanea Stephani Baluzii," i. pp. 593 sqq. Lucae, 1761. ,, „ „ " Discorso sopra la dottrina et

opere del reverendo Padre fra Girolamo Savonarola . . . fatto in Roma sotto . . . papa Paulo IV. alia presenza dell' illustrissimi . . . Cardinali della Santa Inquisitione . . . 1558." In Qudtif, ii. 561 sqq.

Botonio Timoteo (O.P.). See below under Burlamacchi, P.

Burlamacchi Pacifico (O.P.). "Vita del P. F. Girolamo Savonarola, riveduta poco dopo ed aggiunta dal P. F. Timoteo Botonio" (O.P.). Lucca, 1761. The "Life" which, since the days of Mansi, who first published it, has borne the name of Burlamacchi, was certainly not written by him. In most of the MSS. in which it has been preserved it is not even attributed to him, or is ascribed to him only by a later hand. Fra Pacifico Burlamacchi, who entered the convent of S. Marco in 1499, the year after Savonarola's death, died in 15 19. But the biography ascribed to him in Mansi's MS. is based, as Villari has shown, on an anonymous and hitherto unpublished Vita Latina, which was written by an inmate of S. Marco between 1520 and 1530. By "Burlamacchi," then, we must be understood to mean the unknown author, who, by a convention now generally accepted, is usually cited under that name. Quetif, writing while " Burlamacchi " was still unpublished, quotes from him under the name of "P. Timotheus Perusinus." "Father Timothy of Perugia" was the "P. F. Timoteo Botonio " who is mentioned in some of the MSS. as having revised and enlarged the work of Burlamacchi. Whoever the author of the " Life" may have been, his work derives its value from being a reproduction, with comparatively unimportant modifications, of the Vita Latina. (See Villari, Pref. pp. viii sqq.)

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LIST xiii

Cappelli, Antonio. " Fra Girolamo Savonarola e notizie intorno il suo tempo." In "Atti e Memorie delle RR. deputazioni di Storia patria per la provincie Modenesi e Parmesi," vol. iv. Modena, 1869. Principally letters from Manfredo Manfredi, Ferrarese envoy at Florence, to Ercole d'Este, Duke of Ferrara.

Cerretani, Bartolommeo. "Storia Fiorentina." Considerable extracts from this unpublished work are given in Ranke, " Historisch-bibliographische Studien," pp. 335 sqq.

Cinozzi, Fra Placido (O.P.). "Estratto d'una epistola fratris Placidi de Cinozis Ordinis Praedicatorum S. Marci de Florentia, de vita et moribus reverendi patris fratris Hieronimi Savonarole de Ferraria, fratri Jacobo Siculo, eiusdem Ordinis Vicarius generalis (sic), post mortem dicti Prophete.'' In Villari and Casanova, pp. 3 sqq. Firenze, 1898. This is probably the earliest biographical notice of Savonarola. From it a good deal of Burlamacchi's "Life" is taken verbatim. Cinozzi was a diligent hearer and disciple of Savonarola, and his "Letter" appears to have been written shortly after Fra Girolamo's death.

Commines, Philippe de. " The Memoirs of Philip de Commines, Lord of Argenton," etc. (English Translation.) Ed. A. R. Scoble, 2 vols. London, 1892.

Conti, Augusto. "Storia della controversia di Fra Girolamo Savonarola coi Frati Minori." In " Archivio Storico Italiano," Terza Serie, xiii. pp. 177 sqq. Firenze, 1871. An extract from the unpublished "Cronaca" of Dionisio Pulinari (O.F.M.), written about 1570 ; which in its turn embodies the account of the " Cimento del Fuoco " given by Fra Mariano da Firenze (O.F.M.), a contemporary, in his " Brevis Chronica Provinciae Thusciae."

Cosci, Antonio. " Girolamo Savonarola e i nuovi documenti intorno al medesimo." In "Archivio Storico Italiano," Quarta Serie, iv. 282 sqq., 429 sqq. Firenze, 1879. A valuable essay on the fresh light thrown on the story of Savonarola's life and death by the documents embodied in the earlier volumes of the "Archivio Storico Italiano."

Creighton, Mandell (now Bishop of London). "A History of the Papacy during the period of the Reformation," vol. iii. " The Italian Princes, 1464-1518." London, 1887.

xiv BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LIST

" Diario Ferrarese dall' anno 1409 sino al 1502, di autori incerti." In Muratori, "Rerum Italicarum Scriptores," xxiv. 173 sqq. Mediolani, 1738.

" Eliot, George." "Romola." New Edition. London, 1878.

Filipepi, Simone (alias Botticelli, S.). "Estratto della Cronaca di Simone Filipepi, novamente scoperto," etc. In Villari and Casanova, pp. 452 sqq. This tract is one of the earliest biographical notices of Savonarola, being referred to by Fra Benedetto da Firenze (see above, under Benedetto, etc.), and also by Lorenzo Vivoli (see below, under Vivoli, etc.), both contemporaries of Savonarola.

Gherardi, Alessandro. " Nuovi Documenti e Studi intorno a Girolamo Savonarola." Seconda Edizione. Firenze, 1887. This collection, with the Editor's able introductory sections and notes, is the most valuable of all that have yet appeared. It contains documents, derived from various sources, which throw light on every stage of Savonarola's career.

Grauert, Hermann. "Savonarola." In "Wissenschaftliche Beilage zur Germania." Jahrgang 1897-98, pp. 265 sqq., 273 sqq., 283 sqq., 297 sqq., 305 sqq.

Grisar, Hartmann (S.J.). "Zu den neuen Publikationen tiber Savonarola." In "Zeitschrift fur katholische Theologie,'' iv. 391 sqq. Innsbruck, 1880.

Guasti, Cesare. " II Savonarola e i Lucchesi. Nuovi Documenti." In "Giornale Storico degli Archivi Toscani," vi. 122 sqq. Firenze, 1862. A small collection of letters bearing on a single incident of Savonarola's life. (See below, pp. 177 sqq.).

Guicciardini, Francesco. " Del Reggimento di Firenze, Libri

due,'' In "Opere Inedite di Francesco Guicciardini," ii. 1 sqq.

Firenze, 1858. „ „ "Discorsi intorno alle Mutazioni e

Riforme del Governo Florentine" In "Opere Inedite," etc.,

ii. 235 sqq. „ „ "Storia Fiorentina." In "Opere

Inediti," etc., vol. iii. „ „ "Istoria d'ltalia," vol i. Milano,

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LIST xv

"Irish Rosary, The." Dublin, 1898. A series (June to Octbber) of anonymous articles on "Savonarola," chiefly concerned with the present writer's contributions on the same subject to The Tablet newspaper.

Landucci, Luca. "Diario Fiorentino dal 1450 al 1516." Ed. Jodoco del Badia. Firenze, 1883. A continuous and strictly contemporary record of events in Florence by an ardent admirer of Savonarola. Landucci was a physician, and the owner of a small estate near Florence.

Lottini, L. Giovanni (O.P.). "Fu veramente escomunicato Savonarola?" Milano, 1898.

Lungo, Isidoro del. " Fra Girolamo Savonarola." In "Archivio Storico Italiano," Nuova Serie, xviii. part ii. pp. 3 sqq. Firenze, 1863. A collection of letters, chiefly from Paolo Somenzi, Milanese envoy at Florence, and Francesco Tranchedino, Milanese envoy at Bologna, to Lodovico Sforza, Duke of Milan.

Luotto, Paolo. " II Vero Savonarola e il Savonarola di Lodovico Pastor." Firenze, 1897. Apart from the controversial merits of this work, whatever they may be, it is valuable as containing very numerous extracts from the sermons of Savonarola.

Lupi, Clemente. "Nuovi Documenti intorno a fra Girolamo Savonarola." In "Archivio Storico Italiano," Terza Serie, iii. 3 sqq. Firenze, 1866. A collection of the official reports of various debates in the "Collegio" and the "Consiglio de' Richiesti " concerning the affairs of Savonarola.

„ „ " Documenti Pisani intorno Fra Girolamo

Savonarola." In " Archivio Storico Italiano," Terza Serie, xiii. t8o sqq. Extracts from the correspondents of the Anziani of Pisa with their envoys at Venice, concerning the affairs of Savonarola. Of importance only as illustrating the kind of hostile gossip that was prevalent.

Mansi, Joannes Dominicus. " Monumentorum Historicorum Appendix." In " Stephani Baluzii Miscellanea," etc., vol. i. Lucae, 1761. Various documents relating to Savonarola are in this Appendix, pp. 527 sqq. See under Bernardino da Lucca, Burlamacchi, Savonarola (Lettere), etc.

xvi BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LIST

Marchese, Vincenzo (O.P.). "Lettere Inedite di Fra Girolamo Savonarola, e Documenti concernenti lo stesso.'' In " Archivio Storico Italiano,".Appendice,.viii. 73 sqq. Firenze, 1850. The " Documenti " chiefly consist of the correspondence of Becchi, Bracci, and Bonsi, Florentine envoys at Rome, with the Signory and the Ten of Florence. References to Marchese will be understood to be to this collection unless the following work is explicitly specified. „ „ „ " Sunto Storico del Convento di San

Marco di Firenze.'' In "Scritti Vari del P. Vincenzo Marchese," vol. i. Terza Edizione. Firenze, 1892.

Mariano, da Firenze, Fra (O.F.M.). " Brevis Chronica Provinciae Thusciae.'' A portion of this chronicle, embodied by Pulinari in " Alcuni ricordi," etc. (see below, under Pulinari) is given in Conti, "Storia della controversial' etc. (see above, under Conti).

Mirandola, Giovanni Francesco Pico della. "Vita R. P. Fr. Hieronymi Savonarolae Ferrariensis Ord. Praedic." In Quetif, vol. i.

Muratori, Lodovico. "Rerum Italicarum Scriptores,'' vols, xxiii. and xxiv. Mediolani, 1733-38. Referred to in the course of this volume as "R.I.S." .

Nardi, Jacopo. " Istorie di Firenze." Ed. Agenore, Gelli, 2 vols. Firenze, 1858. ,, „ " Breve Discorso . . . per informazione delle novita

seguite in Fiorenza, dall' anno 1494," etc. In Villari, i. Append, pp. Ixxv sqq.

Oliphant, Mrs. "The Makers of Florence." London, 1876.

O'Neil, J. L. (O.P.). " Jerome Savonarola. A Sketch." Boston, 1898.

Parenti, Piero. " Storie Fiorentine." A valuable series of extracts from this unpublished chronicle is given in Gherardi, " Nuovi Documenti," pp. 112 sqq. Others are given in Ranke, " Historisch-biographische Studien," pp. 342 sqq., and/aww in the notes to the work.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LIST xvii

Pastor, Ludwig. " Geschichte der Papste im Zeitalter der Renaissance," vol. iii. Freiburg, 1895. ,) ,, "The History of the Popes from the close of

the Middle Ages." From the German, etc. Edited by Frederick Ignatius Antrobus, of the Oratory, vols. iv. v. vi. London, 1894-98. All references are to the English Translation, except where passages are quoted from the original. ,, „ "Zur Beurtheilung Savonarolas." Freiburg,

1898. A rejoinder to the criticisms of Luotto, Commer, and others.

Perrens, F. T. "Jerome Savonarola, d'apres les documents originaux," etc. Deuxieme Edition. Paris, 1856.

Pico della Mirandola. See under Mirandola,

Pitti, Jacopo. "Istoria Fiorentina." In "Archivio Storico Italiano," vol. i. Firenze, 1842.

Procter, J. (O.P.). " The Dominican Savonarola and the Reformation." London, 1895.

Pulinari, Dionisio. " Alcuni ricordi delle cose di fra Girolamo da Ferrara," etc. (written in 1578). Extracts from this unpublished tract are given in Conti, " Storia della Controversial' etc. (see above, under Conti), and in Gherardi, "Nuovi Documenti," etc., pp. 351 sqq. But it is not quite clear whether the "Cronaca" of Pulinari, referred to by Conti, is identical with the " Ricordi " of the same author quoted by Gherardi, or whether they are different works.

[Quetif, Jacques.] "Vita R. P. Fr. Hieronymi Savonarolae Ferrariensis Ord. Praedicatorum, Authore 111. D. Joan. Franc. Pico Mirandulae Concordiaeque Principe, Notis accurata. . . . Additionibus insuper, Actis, Diplomatibus, Epistolis, Scriptorumque monimentis aucta et illustrata." 2 vols. Parisiis, 1674. The editor's name does not appear on the title-page or elsewhere. The " Additiones," a very valuable collection, are in vol. ii. Both volumes are referred to as " Quetif."

Ranke, Leopold von. " Savonarola und die fiorentinische Republik gegen Ende des xv. Jahrhunderts." In "Historisch-biographische Studien, von L, von Ranke." Leipzig, 1878.

b xviii BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LIST

Savonarola, Girolamo. " Apologeticum Fratrum Congregationis S. Marci de Florentia." In Quetif (" Additiones ") ii. 77 sqq. „ „ "Compendium Revelationum inutilis

servi Jesu Christi Patris Hieronymi de Ferraria Ord. Praedic, Impressit Florentiae ser Franciscus Bonaccursius a. sal. mdcccclxxxxv. v. non. dec." Also in Qudtif, i. 216 sqq, (The tract, with a preface by Girolamo Benivieni, is paged continuously with Que'tifs edition of Pico della Mirandola's " Life," as a supplement thereto. But the supplement appears to be an afterthought, as there is no reference to the tract or the title page, and "Finis" occurs on p. 212.)

„ „ " Del Dispregio del Mondo." In Villari

i. Append, pp. viii. sqq. Also in Bayonne, iii. 5 sqq. „ „ " De Ruina Ecclesiae." A Poem, conv

posed in or about 1475, witri explanatory notes by the author

In Villari and Casanova, pp. 402 sqq. „ „ "De Ruina Mundi." A Poem, com

posed in 1472. In Villari and Casanova, pp. 400 sqq. „ „ " De Simplicitate Vitae Christianae.'

" Libro di Frate Hieronymo da Ferrara Delia Semplicita dells

Vita Christiana Tradocto in Volgare." Firenze, 1496. Also ir

Bayonne, i. 211 sqq.

Ord. Praed. de Veritate Prophetica. Dyalogus." S.l.s.a.

Savonarolae Ferrariensis O.P., etc. Epistolae Spirituales e Asceticae." Ed. Quetif. Paris, 1764. (2) " Lettere Inedite d Fra G. S." Ed. Marchese. (See above, under Marchese. (3) "Lettere di Fra G. S." In Villari and Casanova, pp 419 sqq. (4) Many of these letters are also in Bayonne, vol iii. (5) Others, of a more public character, in Queti ("Additiones") vol. ii. (6) Others in Mansi's Appendix t< Baluzius, i. 584 sqq. (see 'above, under Mansi ) ; Gherardi, pp 278 sqq., etc.

„ „ Opere. (1) " CEuvres Spirituelle

choises de Jerome Savonarole," etc. See above, unde Bayonne. (2) "Scelta di Trattati e altri Scritti di Fra G. S. In Villari and Casanova, pp. 335 sqq.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LIST xix

Savonarola, Girolamo. " Prediche." The following are the principal series of the published sermons of Savonarola. The various sets are for the most part printed separately, and it has seemed unnecessary to give details as to the editions. We give, however, the dates of the delivery of the sermons, so far as these can be ascertained.

On the First Epistle of S. John. Advent, 1491 (or 1492). On the Psalm : " Quam bonus." Advent, 1492 (or 1491). "Super Arcam Noe." Lent, 1494.

On Aggaeus. Autumn and Advent, 1494.

On certain Psalms. Before and after Lent, 1495. On Job. Lent, 1495.

On Amos and Zacharias. Lent, 1496.

On Ruth and Micheas. Summer, 1496.

On Ezechiel. Advent, 1496, and Lent, 1497.

On the Psalm : "Domine Deus meus." Ascension Day, 1497. On Exodus. Lent, 1498.

Numerous extracts from the Sermons of Savonarola are also given in Villari and Casanova, pp. 31 sqq. ; in Villari, i. Append, pp. xii. sqq., xxviii. sqq., and in the course of the work passim, and in Luotto.

„- ,, " Triumphus Crucis : De Veritate Fidei,"

S.l.s.a. Also : " The Triumph of the Cross." Translated with Notes, etc., by O'DellTravers Hill. London, 1868.

Schnitzer, Joseph. "Savonarola im Lichte der neuesten Literatur." In " Historisch-politische Blatter fur das katholische Deutschland," cxxi. 465 sqq. ; 548 sqq. ; 634 sqq. ; 717 sqq. Miinchen, 1898.

Tocco, Felice. " II Savonarola e la Profezia." In " Vita Italiana nel Rinascimento '' (a collection of lectures by various authors). Milano, 1893.

Villari, Pasquale. " La Storia di Girolamo Savonarola e de' suoi Tempi." Nuova Edizione. Seconda Impressione, 2 vols. Firenze, 1898. The Appendices to these two volumes contain a great -mass of illustrative documents, of which the most important are the depositions at the trial of Savonarola and his companions, and the extracts from Fra Benedetto and Vivoli. (See under Benedetto and Vivoli.)

xx BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LIST

Villari, P. and Casanova, E. " Scelta di Prediche e Scritti di Fra Girolamo Savonarola, con nuovi document! intorno alia sua vita.'' Firenze, 1898.

"Vita Latina." See above, under Burlamacchi, P.

Vivoli, Lorenzi. "Giornate." Lorenzi Vivoli was that faithful disciple of Savonarola, to whose diligent reporting we are indebted for the preservation of most of the sermons preached by him from 1494 to 1498. The "Giornate" are a series of dialogues between "Soffia" and "Didimo," in which " Soffia " (i.e. Vivoli himself) gives his reminiscences of Savonarola. They are entirely similar in character to the dialogues in the "Vulnera Diligentis" of Fra Benedetto. (See above, under Benedetto.) Important extracts from this unpublished tract are given in Villari, i. Append, pp. lviii^. (" il Proemio," etc.), and ii. Append, pp. lxxi sqq ("il fine della terza ed il principio della quarta Giornata"), and pp. cviii sqq. ("la sesta Giornata").

NOTE.

A word may here be said on the use of quotation marks throughout this work. They must of course be taken to indicate that, where they are used, nothing has been added to the words of the writer or speaker who is quoted. By reason, however, of the prolixity which was habitual with Savonarola and with some of his contemporaries, a certain amount of compression has been occasionally used, without any explicit indication (beyond the present) that this has been done.

Chapter I

Paduan origin of the Savonarola family, I — Michele Savonarola settles at Ferrara, I — Niccol6 Savonarola and his family, 2 — Ferrara under Borso d'Este, 3 — Works of Michele Savonarola, 3 — Character of Girolamo, his disappointment in love, 4 — His studies; despondent views; the tract, "De Ruina Mundi," 4f. — His religious vocation and flight from Ferrara to Bologna, 6 — The tract, "Del Dispregio del Mundo," 6f.— The tract, "De Ruina Ecclesise," 8— Medieval interpretation of the Apocalypse, " Babylon " and "the harlot," 9 — Religious virtues of Fra Girolamo, 9f.

Chapter II

FIRST YEARS IN THE MINISTRY : ROME AND ITALY UNDER SIXTUS IV. AND INNOCENT VIII

First sermons at Ferrara 1481 ; their comparative ill-success, 11 — War between Venice and Ferrara, dispersal of Dominican students, 1 if. — Fra Girolamo appointed "Reader" of Holy Scripture, 12 — He preaches at S. Lorenzo in 1482 ; his rival, Fra Mariano, 12 — Disappointment at failure of these sermons, 13 — He preaches in Tuscany and Lombardy, 14 — The Chapter at Reggio ; Savonarola meets G. Pico della Mirandola (the elder), 14 — The three "conclusions" first announced at San Gimignano, 14 f. — Summary - of Savonarola's views by G. F. Pico della M. (the younger), 15 f. — Dr Barry on the Papacy under Sixtus IV. and his successors, 16 f. — Character and Policy of Sixtus IV., 17 ff. — Election of Innocent VIII. ; the "Oratio pro Ecclesia," 21 — Condition of Rome and Italy under Innocent VIII., 22 f. — Despots and bastard princes, general demoralisation, 23 f. — A brighter side to the picture, 24 — But on the whole the evil predominates, 25.

Chapter III The Preacher : His Teaching And His Methods

Savonarola returns to Florence, 1489 ; his lectures on the Apocalypse, 26 — Begins to preach at S. Marco, August 1490, 26 — Difficulty of giving a fair idea of his ordinary preaching, 27 f. — Constant and abundant use of Holy Scripture, 28— i CONTENTS

And of the "Summa" of S. Thomas Aquinas, 28— Artificiality and strained allegory, 29 f. — His ascetical system compared with that of the " Spiritual Exercises," 31 f. — The tract, "De Simplicitate Vitae Christianas," 31 — Tendency to exaggeration ; undue depreciation of ceremonies, 32 f. — Invectives against vice ; commendation of works of mercy, 34 — His piety ; devotion to the H. Eucharist, and to the B. V. M., 35 — Results of his preaching ; were they ephemeral ? 36 f. — The charge of exaggerated asceticism itself exaggerated, 38 ff. — Organisation of religious reform ; processions ; the bonfire of vanities, etc., 40-41 — His devices characterised by a certain extravagance ; danger of reaction, 42 f. — Reformation of the children of Florence, 43 ff. — Repression of gambling ; he invites the Signory to exercise severity ; the children's police, 46 f.

Chapter IV On The Watch-tower Of Italy: The "compendium Eevelationum"

Savonarola's thoughts mainly concerned with the prophetical writings of the O. T., 49 — He conceives himself to hold a special prophetic mission, 49 f. — The question as between a genuine mission, delusion, or imposture cannot be evaded, 51 — The Church has not decided the question, but the "Dyalogus de Veritate Prophetica" has been placed on the Index, 51 — Summary of the "Compendium Revelationum, " with notes from the "Dyalogus," 52-63 — Manner of revelation, 52 — God's designs upon Italy, and His choice of Fra Girolamo for His messenger, 53 f. — Conformity of his predictions with Holy Scripture, 54 — -The vision granted to Fra Girolamo on 1st April 1495, 54 ff.— Dialogue with the Tempter, 55 ff. — The vision of the B. V. M. and of the Lilies, 61 ff. — The question as to possible'delusion re-stated, 64 — Savonarola's own tests: (1) Subjective certainty ; open to delusion, 65 ff. — (2) Fulfilment of predictions ; perhaps accounted for by natural sagacity, clear vision of supernatural truth, and conjecture, 68 ff. — (3) Good results of the predictions ; not always a sure test, and in this case qualified by the admixture of undesirable results, 70 ff. — (4) Acceptance of the predictions by "all good men"; the assertion open to question, 72 — Moreover, the preacher's habitual flattery of Florence casts suspicion on the genuineness of his claim, 72 f.

Chapter V

Savonarola preaches in the Duomo at Florence, Lent 1491, with growing success, 74 — Lorenzo sends five citizens to remonstrate ; Savonarola is firm and predicts the death of Lorenzo, Innocent VIII., and Ferrante I. of Naples, 75 — Sermon in the Palazzo, Easter 1491 ; warnings against

" Tyrants," 76^Lorenzo sets up Fra Mariano as a rival to Savonarola, 77

Savonarola's reply to Mariano on "the times and the moments," 78

Character of Mariano, 79— Savonarola elected Prior of S, Marco ; declines

to visit Lorenzo, 79 f. — Lorenzo seeks to conciliate Savonarola, 80 f. Death

of Lorenzo de' Medici ; the rival accounts, 81 ff.

CONTENTS xxiii

Chapter VI

SAVONAROLA AND PIERO DE' MEDICI — SAVONAROLA AT BOLOGNA — THE SEPARATION OF S. MARCO FROM THE LOMBARD CONGREGATION

Character of Piero de' Medici ; no trace of an open opposition to him on the part of Savonarola, 85 — The vision of the two Crosses, 86 — The vision of the Sword of the Lord, 87 — Fra Girolamo preaches the Lent at Bologna, 1493 ; the story of Madonna Bentivoglio, 88 f. — Project for the separation of S. Marco from the Lombard Congregation, 89 f. — Unfounded conjecture of Villari regarding the mission to Bologna, 90 — An incident in the career of Fra Mariano, 90 f. — The Memorial of the Brethren of S. Marco in favour of separation, 91 ff. — Savonarola's letter to "una Badessa di Ferrara" on the same subject, 93 ff. — Political interests engaged in the project of separation, 96 — Negotiations in Rome, supported by the Signory, 96 f. — Papal Brief authorising the separation extorted by Cardinal Caraffa, 97 f. — Piero de' Medici is (apparently) appointed arbitrator, 98 ff. — Savonarola's letter to Piero, 100.

Chapter VII

THE CONGREGATION OF S. MARCO — EXTENSION OF THE REFORM

Torriano, General of the Dominicans, supports S. Marco against the Lombards, 101 — The work of reform at S. Marco strenuously taken in hand ; great increase in the number of the community, 102 f. — Extension of the reform to Fiesole, Pisa, Prato, and Bibbiena (S. M. del Sasso), 104 — Efforts of the Signory to extend the reform to these convents ; Savonarola receives the powers of a Provincial, 105 f. — Correspondence relative to Fiesole and Pisa, 106 f. — The establishment of a colony from S. Marco at Pisa, 107 f. — No real "freedom" in the transaction, which owed its completion to political influences ; collapse of the scheme, 109 — The convent at S. Maria del Sasso, 109 — The older "Tuscan Congregation," no — Correspondence relative to Prato, establishment there of Friars from S. Marco, 1 1 1 f.

Chapter VIII

Prudence suggests the abstention of religious from Politics, but the rule may admit of exceptions, 113 — Two phases of Savonarola's political activity, 113

The French invasion under Charles VIII. claimed by Savonarola as a

fulfilment of prophecy; the new Cyrus, 113 ff. — When was the prediction first made? Probably not till negotiations were already on foot, in 1493, 1 15 ff. — Strange mistake of Savonarola relative to his own course of preaching,

j 17 ff. Villari's exaggeration of the suddenness of the news of the invasion,

ng Yet a real panic was caused by the sack of Rapallo, etc., 120 —

Responsibility incurred by Savonarola in favouring the invasion, 121 ff.— Probable aims and motives of Charles VIII., 122 — Embassy of Piero to Charles VIII.; surrender of the fortresses, 123 — Popular indignation;