“Savonarola. The weapon of the word”, by Jean-Louis Fournel and Jean-Claude-Zancarini, Composite Pasts, 456 p., 24 euros, digital 16 euros.
In Florence at the end of the 15th century.my Jerome Savonarola (1452-1498) established a theocratic regime, before being condemned by the Church and publicly executed. In the collective imagination, he embodies the “madman of God,” the fanatic willing to subject everyone, by force, to his religious beliefs. However, as Jean-Louis Fournel and Jean-Claude Zancarini demonstrate in the biography they dedicate to him, the dark legend of the preacher struggles to explain the phenomenal success of the words of this Dominican brother. The two specialists of Renaissance Italy examine the very text of the monk’s sermons to understand his evolution towards a word that was both prophetic and political.
“You will have no excuse, Florence, if you do not convert; And believe me Florencia, it is not I but God who says these things. » Thus spoke Savonarola in the 1490s, in front of thousands of faithful faithful to his public preaching cycles. This excellent scholar, with a degree in theology and versed in the philosophy of Aristotle, became a monk out of disgust at the corruption of the world, in an Italian society then dominated by the wealth of princes and bankers. Appreciated, the quality of his preaching earned him the responsibility of entrusting him with the direction of the church of Saint Mark in Florence.
Savonarola passionately condemns the disintegration of customs, loans at interest and games of chance. In his sermons he announces great catastrophic events that will precipitate a profound renewal of faith. Savonarola’s moralizing and reforming speech did not initially worry the authorities: it was part of the role assigned to the mendicant orders since the 13th century.my century.
Closer to the letter of the Bible
But, starting in 1494, a series of wars started by the kings of France devastated Italy. In Florence, the Medici family is overthrown and must leave the city, which they had ruled for decades. The outbreak of the crisis seems to confirm Savonarola’s preaching, which awakens a fervor multiplied by ten. More and more crowds gather to hear his preaching in the emblematic places of the Tuscan city: the Duomo and its impressive dome or the Palazzo della Signoria, seat of political power. Under his orders, groups of“reformed children” They physically attack women considered immodest, Jewish moneylenders and tavern gamblers.
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