Ben McBee
03-07-2016

The signs of the Renaissance were growing stronger and stronger at the turn of the 16th century in Italy. Logic and reasoning began to offer an alternative school of thought with regard to the Christian faith and how the scriptures were interpreted. Corruption was rampant in Christendom and the looming threat of invasion by the French king Charles VIII loomed over Italy. The Medici family, rulers of the city of Florence, lost their power as a result of a popular revolt. It is in this turbulent environment that the Dominican preacher Savonarola found himself in the year 1495. His apocalyptic sermons and accusations of corruption in the political and spiritual realms of Florence earned him several enemies in positions of authority, mainly the remnants of the Medici family and Pope Alexander VI. Still, there were many accepting and open ears waiting for his words about coming doom and the need for repentance and rejuvenation of the church.

Truly, he elevated himself to the position of savior for Florence when he worked out a deal with Charles VIII, who was moving south with his French army. Savonarola’s persuasive and ultimately protective message, Madigan says, was based on the idea that, “the king was God’s divinely sent agent of reform” (Madigan, 408).

At the beginning of his sermon on the renovation of the church, Savonarola presents himself as a emissary of God, essentially setting a prophetic tone from the get go. He symbolizes the message he possesses as a light, given to him by God, not for his own good, but for the citizens of Florence. Savonarola said, “But I tell you, Florence, that this light was given me for you and not for me, because this light does not justify man before God…But you, Florence, heard with your ears not m e but God,” (Savonarola, 4-5). As a vision of a sort of direct bridge between the citizens of Florence and God, not only is he is establishing himself as the leader that the people should look to for guidance, he is also directly insulting the pope by addressing the pontiff’s incompetence.

Savonarola’s main point at the time of his sermon was the imminent approach of the apocalypse, which he often symbolized as a giant sword pointing down toward Florence, and the absolute necessity of timely repentance. He presents ten reasons for the sickness of the church, and also utilizes several parables to further visually portray its condition for his audience. He says,

The fig-tree is the tree of the Church, which, though in the beginning it bore an abundance of fruit and no leaves, nevertheless is at the point today where it bears no fruit at all…which means that the prelates of the Church because of their bad example are responsible for other man for falling into very many sins (Savonarola, 8).

He is placing much of the blame for the condition of the Christian world on the clergy, saying its focus on the excess and material world have mislead and set a sinful precedent. So, he calls on the Florentines to repent. Savonarola says, “I do not reproach you with that vehemence as I did in the past…God, has come to punish. And so I say to you and plead with you in a humble and low voice: my little children, do penance!” (Savonarola, 12).

Taking a step back, if I were in attendance for Savonarola’s sermon, I feel his message would definitely be persuasive and effective at using fear as a motivation. When he presents the evidence of his own predictions that were then fulfilled, in that medieval environment, it would be difficult to not associate some sort of divine authority and connection with Savonarola. One particular passage that I could easily envision was when he says, “O Italy, O princes of Italy, O prelates of the Church, the wrath of God is over you, and you will not have any cure unless you mend your ways!” (Savonarola, 14). The repetition is especially successful at heightening the sense of fervor. It is apparent that the zeal was similarly felt because the Florentines abandoned many of their material possessions, those items that could lead to sin, by burning them in the “Bonfire of the Vanities”.