32 Facts About Girolamo Savonarola

Girolamo Savonarola, OP or Jerome Savonarola was an ascetic Italian Dominican friar from Ferrara and preacher active in Renaissance Florence.

Girolamo Savonarola was known for his prophecies of civic glory, the destruction of secular art and culture, and his calls for Christian renewal.

Girolamo Savonarola denounced clerical corruption, despotic rule, and the exploitation of the poor.

Girolamo Savonarola disobeyed and further defied the pope by preaching under a ban, highlighting his campaign for reform with processions, bonfires of the vanities, and pious theatricals.

Some Protestants, including Martin Luther himself, consider Girolamo Savonarola to be a vital precursor to the Reformation.

Girolamo Savonarola's father, Niccolo, was born in Ferrara to a family originally from Padua; his mother, Elena, claimed a lineage from the Bonacossi family of Mantua.

Girolamo Savonarola began to write poetry of an apocalyptic bent, notably "On the Ruin of the World" and "On the Ruin of the Church", in which he singled out the papal court at Rome for special obloquy.

Girolamo Savonarola studied Scripture, logic, Aristotelian philosophy and Thomistic theology in the Dominican studium, practised preaching to his fellow friars, and engaged in disputations.

Girolamo Savonarola then matriculated in the theological faculty to prepare for an advanced degree.

The assignment might have been a normal, temporary break from the academic routine, but in Girolamo Savonarola's case, it was a turning point.

In 1482, instead of returning to Bologna to resume his studies, Girolamo Savonarola was assigned as lector, or teacher, in the Convent of San Marco in Florence.

In San Marco, fra Girolamo taught logic to the novices, wrote instructional manuals on ethics, logic, philosophy and government, composed devotional works, and prepared his sermons for local congregations.

Girolamo Savonarola broached these apocalyptic themes in San Gimignano, where he went as Lenten preacher in 1485 and again in 1486, but a year later, when he left San Marco for a new assignment, he had said nothing of his "San Giorgio revelations" in Florence.

Girolamo Savonarola preached on the First Epistle of John and on the Book of Revelation, drawing such large crowds that he eventually moved to the cathedral.

In 1492 Girolamo Savonarola warned of "the Sword of the Lord over the earth quickly and soon" and envisioned terrible tribulations to Rome.

Girolamo Savonarola pressed Charles to spare Florence and enjoined him to take up his divinely appointed role as the reformer of the Church.

Girolamo Savonarola now declared that by answering his call to penitence, the Florentines had begun to build a new Ark of Noah which had saved them from the waters of the divine flood.

At Girolamo Savonarola's urging, the Frateschi government, after months of debate, passed a "Law of Appeal" to limit the longtime practice of using exile and capital punishment as factional weapons.

Girolamo Savonarola saw sacred art as a tool to promote this worldview, and he was therefore only opposed to secular art, which he saw as worthless and potentially damaging.

An exchange of letters between the pope and the friar ended in an impasse which Girolamo Savonarola tried to break by sending the pope "a little book" recounting his prophetic career and describing some of his more dramatic visions.

Girolamo Savonarola summoned the friar to appear before him in Rome, and when Savonarola refused, pleading ill health and confessing that he was afraid of being attacked on the journey, Alexander banned him from further preaching.

For some months Girolamo Savonarola obeyed, but when he saw his influence slipping he defied the pope and resumed his sermons, which became more violent in tone.

Girolamo Savonarola dramatised his moral campaign with special Masses for the youth, processions, bonfires of the vanities and religious theatre in San Marco.

The writings of Girolamo Savonarola spread widely to Germany and Switzerland, and due to Girolamo Savonarola's life and death, many people started to see the papacy as corrupted and sought a new reform of the church.

Girolamo Savonarola perhaps even influenced John Calvin, but this is a matter of historical debate.

Girolamo Savonarola while revering the office of the papacy, nevertheless criticized the pope Alexander VI and his papal court.

Girolamo Savonarola even prophecied that Rome will come under judgement from God.

Girolamo Savonarola hinted at performing miracles to prove his divine mission, but when a rival Franciscan preacher proposed to test that mission by walking through fire, he lost control of public discourse.

Under torture Girolamo Savonarola confessed to having invented his prophecies and visions, then recanted, then confessed again.

The return of the Medici in 1512 ended the Girolamo Savonarola-inspired republic and intensified pressure against the movement, although both were briefly revived in 1527 when the Medici were forced out.

In France many of his works were translated and published and Girolamo Savonarola came to be regarded as a precursor of evangelical, or Huguenot, reform though Girolamo Savonarola himself had remained a believer in the dogmas of the Catholic church and even in his last major work had defended the institution of the papacy.

In Wittenberg, the hometown of Martin Luther, a statue of Girolamo Savonarola was erected to honour him.