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PBS showed the first in a series last night of 'The Medici'. I visited Florence a few years ago w/my mother and daughter on a tour of Italy, and I was fascinated by this historically intact, and beautiful city. The churches were absolutely awesome, the tourism was unfortunately, daunting...

Anyway, last night was mostly about Lorenzo de Medici. It seems that the Dominican monk, Savanarola had quite a religious following in Florence against what he considered the sinful, artistic excesses of the Renaissance-- leading to the well known 'Bonfire of the Vanities'. Although Boticcelli threw in many of his works, we are fortunate that he seems to have kept some of them back.

(Because of the flourishing of the arts, we have, in the Medici Palace a realistic portrait within a mural, of the Emperor Paleologos of Byzantium, on his visit for the Council of Florence! He is quite handsome)!

Personally, I don't think that the art, in and of itself, was sinful, but it seems may have just been the topping on the cake of immorality which was poisoning Florentine society.

Anyway, when Lorenzo de Medici, (who I found out was also the patron of Michelangelo, taking him into the palace to live under his roof with his seven children, when he was just a boy), was on his death bed, he was riddled with guilt for having patronized the arts and 'sophisticated' culture. He summoned Savaranola to his bedside. He sought forgiveness and absolution of his sins, but Savaranola instead 'damned him to hell'. I think that this was horrible, and that if Savaranola was really holy, he could never, ever, have said or done such a thing to ANYONE! Therefore, I think that he may have been prelest. (Under spiritual delusion)

Any thoughts? Alex Roman, are you out there?

Alice

Alice,

If PBS says he was bad, he must have been bad! From the New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia article:


Savonarola [newadvent.org]

This is, of course, in that period of time in Western Church history when religious monks and nuns called their Orders "religions". And to think that some say there is no progress!

Seems like once the city of Florence started following him, he got deep in politics! So "forerunner of the Reformation" is not that far off.

God bless.
Michael

I read Pierre Van Paassen's biography of Savonarola some years ago, and for some reason I don't recall the incident. When I'm at my library on Tuesday I'll recheck to see what it says.

I got this off of Wikipedia, so maybe it is not true:


In any case, I still think that Savaranola's unbridled zeal led him to the state of being prelest.

I'm not entirely sure he was in prelest. He was venerated deeply by Ss Philip Neri and Catherine de Ricci, among many others. I too, have been to the spot of his martyrdom and venerated his relics.

I suppose that if the deathbed curse is a rumour, my contention of prelest could very possibly, and is probably wrong. I therefore, stand corrected, depending on the validity of that rumour, and the fact that I do not know more about him.

Alice

I think Savonarola recognized the Renaissance for what it was, so if you were looking at the matter from the perspective of a Christian worldview, I think it's fairly hard to say he was in the wrong.

Most likely his character was much maligned and unfairly so after his death. Had they listened to him, history might be different.

The manner and circumstances of his death certainly are appalling.

The Medicis would not have been the controlling banking family in the 15th century if two of the head banking families did not collapse after English King Edward III refused to meet his financial obligations. The Hundred Years' war was not good to him.

From Van Paasen's 'A Crown Of Fire'.

On the morning of April 8, Lorenzo de' Medici was sinking so rapidly that the last rites of the Church were administered. All the doctors had been dismissed, only Pico della Mirandola and Angelo Poliziano remained in the sickroom. To these friends, Lorenzo said: "What I regret most is that death has not spared me to finish your libraries." Then he became very agitated and asked that Savonarola be sent for. "I want to speak to a truly religious priest," he whispered, "pray Girolamo to come."

Savonarola came at once to Careggi. What happened at the bedside is difficult to ascertain with precision. There are different versions of what took place. According to a Life of Savonarola by Fra Pacifico Burlamacchi, Savonarola asked Lorenzo if he would restore their liberties to the Florentines, whereupon the Magnificent is said to have turned his face to the wall and refused to answer, and Savonarola then went out without giving absolution.

But Burlamacchi was not present in the sickroom and his allegation that he heard the story from Savonarola himself is gravely suspect. Savonarola took his priestly vocation too seriously to have disclosed the secrets of a deathbed confession. Poliziano says that Lorenzo was extremely restless till Fra Girolamo arrived. To the monk he expressed deep regret over his sins.

"God's mercy is boundless," replied Savonarola. "Your Magnificence must not doubt for a moment...The divine love enfolds you in its arms even now and always...."The Friar exhorted Lorenzo to amend his life should he recover. "And this he promised most diligently to do," adds Poliziano. On the other hand, should death be near, Savonarola urged the Magnificent to meet it with resignation. And the reply was: "Nothing would please me better if it be God's will."

Then Pico and Poliziano were asked to leave. When Lorenzo had made his confession they re-entered the sickroom. Lorenzo noticing that Savonarola was about to depart, called him back: "Dear Father Girolamo give me your blessing before you go !" Once more the Friar knelt by the bedside and offered up the commendatory prayers for the dying. The Magnificent by now utterly calm and without pain for the first time in months, "joined earnestly in the responses." The Friar blessed the dying man and stooping down kissed him on the forehead and then walked out unable to hold back his tears.

Lorenzo de' Medici died on April 8, 1492. He was 43 years of age. When Pope Innocent VIII heard the news he remarked: "This is the end of the era of peace in Italy."

Thank you so much for sharing that, Lawrence.

Sincerely,
Alice

Interesting! I do think we have to remember to not judge historical figures by today's standards. They lived in an entirely different set of circumstances with limitations and liabilities we can guess, but often not know. We can often think a bit too kindly or adversely toward such figures than perhaps is deserved. Ship of Fools used to have a section called "10 reasons John Wesley would have hated you."

Since I copied this from Van Paassen's book as well, and
because it's so moving, I figured I'd post it too.

At last the ordeal was over. It was 3
o'clock. The formalities had lasted from eight in the
morning. Fra Silvestro Maruffi, who was the first to be
hanged, almost ran up the ladder. At the top, as the
executioner fastened the iron collar around his neck, he
called down to Savonarola: "Father Girolamo, see how a
knight of Jesus Christ dies with joy in his heart..." He
wanted to say something more, but the executioner pushed
him off the ladder and the body swung free. For a few
moments Silvestro's pitiful cries resounded through the
Piazza: Jesu, miserere ! Christe, miserere ! Then only did
the executioner apply the garrot.

Fra Domenico Buonvicini came next. As he
walked to the stake he intoned the psalm: "In thee O God,
I have trusted." A priest walking by his side cautioned
him: "Do not sing so loud, it is unbecoming !" Halfway up
the ladder, Domenico turned to the crowd and called out:
"I assure you that all of Fra Girolamo's prophecies will
go into fulfillment..." The executioner ordered him to
stop talking. When Domenico dropped from the ladder he
died instantly. The bodies of the two monks hung at the
two extremities of the crossbeam. The place of honor, in
the middle, was reserved for the greatest offender, the
heresiarch and arch criminal, as the verdict called Fra
Girolamo.

While Savonarola walked slowly to the
stake, some Compagnacci broke through the police lines and
slashed at his bare legs and feet with their knives and
daggers. He paid no attention and probably did not even
feel the injuries.

A poor old woman came close to him and
offered . "Take and eat, Blessed Father Girolamo !" He
smiled broadly at her and said: "Thank you very much , my
dear daughter, but I need no food now. I have so little a
way to go. In a moment I will be in the mansions on high
having sup with my Lord and Saviour."

Before ascending the ladder he asked the
executioner to be so kind and tie a rope around his shirt "for modesty's sake." The executioner harshly refused. Not even the humiliation of appearing naked before the people was to be spared him. At the foot of the ladder he was assailed by the cry: "If you are able to perform a miracles, now is the time to show us !" The executioner tied his hands behind his back and pushed him toward the Compagnacci to give them an opportunity to spit upon him and strike and scratch his face. When he climbed the ladder his face was covered with blood. On the top rung he stood still, turned around and faced the awe-stricken crowd. How often had he not seen the Florentines gather at his feet in the great Duomo ? His eyes travelled over that sea of humanity from left to right and back again from right to left. He tugged at the rope around his wrists as if he wanted to free his right hand in order to raise it in blessing as he had always done when facing a congregation. But the executioner struck him a blow from behind which caused him to fall. Savonarola was dead at once . To amuse the Compagnacci the executioner raised the dead man's shirt with a stick and committed other vile indignities on the body.

At precisely 3:30 in the afternoon the huge pile of fagots was set on fire and the smoke rose in a thick column hiding the three suspended bodies from view. When the flames leaped up they burned the rope around Savonarola's wrists. In the same instant a strong breeze blew into the Piazza. The flames were dispersed and the smoke wafted away. The bodies of the three monks which had been hidden by the curtain of smoke and flame, became visable once more.

Whether it was the temporary cessation of the heat or a last spasm of life which shook Savonarola's frame, the fact remains and is attested to by a number of eyewitnesses, that all at once the dead man's right hand with two fingers uplifted in blessing, rose to the height of his shoulders.

"Miraculo ! Miraculo ! roared the crowd scattering in all directions. Pandemonium swept the Piazza. A wail as of a thousand damned souls went up. Women screamed and sobbed. The Compagnacci filled the air with curses and execrations. Men, women, monks, and nuns fought their way out of the Piazza. In the stampede many children were trampled. The halberdiers were pushed aside and the horses of the lancers reared in panic. The members of the Signoria and the papal legates, Romolino in the lead, climbed down from their tribunal and scurried for safety into the palace.

Then the wind subsided and a crepitating pillar of black smoke and flames shot upward removing Savonarola forever from the eyes of men...

Thus went to God the boy from Ferrara whose mother predicted that his mission in life would be a terrible one.

Thus the people of Florence rewarded the champion of popular liberty who had overthrown the Medicean tyranny, who gave them a modern constitution, and who more than once saved their republic from dire peril.

To all my Amis,

You may be surprised to find out that there is a Byzantine Catholic connection to the Medici family. In 1613 Marie de Medici laid the corner stone of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church of St-Volodymyr the Great (St-Vladimir Le Grand) which is located on the corner of rue des Sts-Peres and Boulevard St-Germain in Paris' historic 6th Arrondisemen (or Ward in English) which is in the heart of the Latin Quarter.

I.F.

If you follow this link it will take you to the Ukraine-Europe web site. At the top there is a picture of the facade of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Paris. The corner stone was dedicated by Marie de Madici in 1631.


http://www.ukraine-europe.info/ua/index.asp

I.F.