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50 CHAPTER 2 | European Society in the Renaissance 1350–1550

Savonarola Preaching With vigorous
gestures, Savonarola preaches to a crowd
of Florentines, the women separated
from the men and surrounded by a cur-
tain, reflecting Savonarola’s views of the
moral changes needed in Florence. This
woodcut appeared in a printed version of
his sermons published in 1496, when he
was at the height of his power. (World History
Archive/Alamy Stock Photo)

Uncorrected proofs have been used in this sample.
Copyright © Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers.
Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers.

state appeared to gain a predominant position within relations, adultery, and drunkenness; and organized
the peninsula, other states combined against it to groups of young men to patrol the streets looking for
For review purposes only. Not for redistribution.
establish a balance of power. In the formation of these immoral dress and behavior. He held religious pro-
alliances, Renaissance Italians invented the machinery cessions and what became known as “bonfires of the
of modern diplomacy: permanent embassies with res- vanities,” huge fires on the main square of Florence in
ident ambassadors in capitals where political relations which fancy clothing, cosmetics, pagan books, musi-
and commercial ties needed continual monitoring. cal instruments, paintings, and poetry that celebrated
At the end of the fifteenth century Venice, Florence, human beauty were gathered together and burned.
Milan, and the papacy possessed great wealth and repre- For a time Savonarola was wildly popular, but even-
sented high cultural achievement. Wealthy and divided, tually people tired of his moral denunciations, and
however, they were also an inviting target for invasion. he was excommunicated by the pope, tortured, and
When Florence and Naples entered into an agreement burned at the very spot where he had overseen the bon-
to acquire Milanese territories, Milan called on France fires. The Medici returned as the rulers of Florence.
for support, and the French king Charles VIII (r. 1483– The French invasion inaugurated a new period in
1498) invaded Italy in 1494. Italian and European power politics. Italy became the
Prior to this invasion, the Dominican friar Girolamo focus of international ambitions and the battleground
Savonarola (1452–1498) had preached to large crowds of foreign armies, particularly those of the Holy Roman
in Florence a number of fiery sermons predicting that Empire and France in a series of conflicts called the
God would punish Italy for its moral vice and corrupt Habsburg-Valois wars (named for the German and
leadership. Florentines interpreted the French inva- French dynasties). The Italian cities suffered severely
sion as the fulfillment of this prophecy and expelled from continual warfare, especially in the frightful sack
the Medici dynasty. Savonarola became the political of Rome in 1527 by imperial forces under the emperor
and religious leader of a new Florentine republic and Charles V. Thus the failure of the city-states to consol-
promised Florentines even greater glory in the future idate, or at least to establish a common foreign policy,
if they would reform their ways. He reorganized the led to centuries of subjection by outside invaders. Italy
government; convinced it to pass laws against same-sex was not to achieve unification until 1870.

What new ideas were associated with the Renaissance?

he Renaissance was characterized by a self- classics, Renaissance thinkers developed new notions of
Tconscious conviction among educated Italians that human nature, new plans for education, and new con-
they were living in a new era. Somewhat ironically, this cepts of political rule. The advent of the printing press
idea rested on a deep interest in ancient Latin and Greek with movable type would greatly accelerate the spread
literature and philosophy. Through reflecting on the of these ideas throughout Europe.

04_howsap14e_48443_ch02_044_079.indd 50 12/10/23 1:40 PM