The notes in this text refer to the printed edition from which this ebook was created. To find a specific word or phrase from the notes please use the search feature of your ebook reader.
Prologue: ‘The needle of the Italian compass’
1. ‘a fever [that] gradually …’ et seq.: see Angelo Poliziano, Letters (in the original Latin and facing English), trans. & ed. Shane Butler (London, 2006), Book IV, Letter 2, p.231, 5. I have not adhered to Shane Butler’s translation.
2. Lazaro da Ticino: appears in some sources as Lazzaro of Pavia, leading some people to confuse him with the renowned physiologist Lazzaro Spallanzani of Pavia, who lived in the eighteenth century.
3. ‘museum of mummies’: see Jacob Burckhardt, The Civilization of Renaissance Italy, trans. Middlemore (London, 1990), p.41
4. ‘begat eight boys …’: epigram by the contemporary poet Marullus, cited in Latin in F. Ludwig von Pastor, The History of the Popes, ed. & trans. F. I. Antrobus, 40 vols (London, 1950 edn), Vol. V, p.240n.
5. ‘Lorenzo was loved …’: Machiavelli, Istorie fiorentine, Book VIII, Sec. 36
6. ‘so gentle it …’: cited in Christopher Hibbert, The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici (London, 1985), p.172
7. ‘His great virtues …’ et seq.: Machiavelli, Istorie fiorentine, Book VIII, Sec. 36
8. ‘the needle of …’: this celebrated phrase is quoted in a wide number of sources. The actual Italian phrase is ago di balancia, which literally translates as ‘the needle of the balancing scales’, but the more poetic version referring to a compass has become the popularly accepted English translation, presumably because it is so apt. See, for instance, the entry on the Medici family in the celebrated 1911 edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Vol. XVIII p.33, by the renowned Italian Renaissance scholar Pasquale Villari.
9. ‘the little friar’: most sources mention Savonarola using this phrase; see, for instance, his latest biographer Lauro Martines, Scourge and Fire: Savonarola and Renaissance Italy (London, 2006), p.2
10. ‘using these very words …’ et seq.: Fra Silvestro, the close adherent of Savonarola, is believed to have heard them from Savonarola himself; see Lives of the Early Medici: As told in their correspondence, trans. & ed. Janet Ross (London, 1910), p.340
11. ‘and restore …’ et sea.: this meeting between Savonarola and the dying Lorenzo is discussed in varying detail by many authorities. See in particular William Roscoe, The Life of Lorenzo de’ Medici (London, 1865), pp. 354–5, and Pasquale Villari, La Storia di Girolamo Savonarola e de’ suoi tempi, 2 vols (Florence, 1887), Vol. I, pp.157–60, 182–6, who both refer to the original contemporary sources, as well as discussing their reliability.
12. ‘Lightning flies …’: cited in Latin and English in Roscoe, Lorenzo, pp.368–9. I have not used Roscoe’s translation.
1: A Prince in All but Name
1. In contemporary reports the year of Lorenzo’s birth is given as 1448; this is because the Florentine New Year did not begin until the Feast of the Annunciation on 25 March. In this matter I have adhered to modern usage throughout.
2. ‘give way …’: letter from Lucrezia to her husband, Piero de’ Medici, dated 17 May 1446. See Ross, Early Medici (correspondence), p.50
3. ‘theatrical performances …’: see History of the Popes, ed. Antrobus, Vol. III, p.56, citing as his source the contemporary Giovanni de Pedrino, Cronica di Forli
4. ‘Lorenzo is learning …’: letter from Lucrezia de’ Medici to her husband Piero, 28 February 1458. See Ross, Early Medici, p.60
5. ‘by imitating …’: letter from Marsilio Ficino to Lorenzo de’ Medici, undated. See Ross, Early Medici, p.76
6. ‘to see him …’: Machiavelli, Istorie Fiorentine, Book VIII, Sec. 36
7. ‘act as a man …’ et sea.: letters from Piero de’ Medici to Lorenzo in Milan, May 1465. See Ross, Early Medici, pp.93–5
8. Figures for the alum trade as a whole and the papal revenues of this period vary considerably. Mine are, in the main, extrapolated from Jean Delameau, L’Alun de Rome XVe–XIXe siècle (Paris, 1962), as well as Raymond de Roover, The Rise and Decline of the Medici Bank 1397–1494 (Harvard, 1963), who concentrates on the trading with Bruges and London. Two reliable facts indicate the overall size of the alum trade. In 1462, prior to the papal monopoly, the alum trade throughout Europe was in the order of 300,000 florins (Delameau p.19), while three years later the trade to Bruges and Venice combined amounted to 4,500 tons (Delameau, p.25).
9. ‘Put an end …’: letter from Piero de’ Medici to Lorenzo in Rome, March 1466. See Ross, Early Medici, pp.102–3
10. ‘I know nothing …’: see de Roover, Medici Bank, p.365, citing as the original source the Report of Angelo Tani in the collection Mediceo avanti il Principato (in the State Archives of Florence), Filza 82, No.163
11. ‘I know the fickle …’: this quotation appears in varying forms in many works; see, for instance, Hibbert, Medici, p.73. The original source is Cosimo’s friend, the contemporary Florentine humanist Vespasiano di Bisticci.
12. ‘Messer Dietisalvi …’ et seq.: Machiavelli, Istorie fiorentine, Book VII, Sec. 10
13. ‘When I see …’: Lorenzo de’ Medici, Sonnet V, opening ‘Lasso a me! …’ see The Autobiography of Lorenzo de’ Medici The Magnificent, trans. James Wyatt Cook (New York, 1995), pp.80–2. This has the Italian and English versions on facing pages: I have not adhered to Cook’s translation.
14. ‘Lucretia [sic] was the mistress …’: see Roscoe, Lorenzo, p.74
15. ‘Although neither …’: cited in Cecilia M. Ady, Lorenzo dei Medici and Renaissance Italy (London, 1960), p.29. A copy of the few remaining pages of Lorenzo’s Ricordi can be seen in the Florentine archives (Publica Liberia Magliabechiana). An Italian version, which differs slightly from this, can be found in Roscoe, Lorenzo, Appendix XI pp.464–7. Roscoe claims that he copied this from a version in Lorenzo’s hand, which is now lost. For an English version, see Ross; Early Medici, pp.150–6. The Ricordi breaks off on 1 March 1485 (in fact, 1484 in the manuscript, which adhered to the ancient Florentine year that ended on 25 March).
16. ‘good height’ et seq.: letter from Lucrezia de’ Medici to her husband Piero, dated ‘Rome 27 March 1467’. See Ross, Early Medici, p.108
17. ‘he who does not …’: Machiavelli, Istorie fiorentine, Book VII, Sec. 11
18. ‘On the second day …’: Lorenzo, Ricordi. See Roscoe, Lorenzo, Appendix XI, p.466
19. ‘I would like …’: collation of letters written 1–4 December 1469 by Lorenzo de’ Medici in Florence to Galeazzo Sforza, Duke of Milan – cited in Miles J. Unger, Magnifico: Life of Lorenzo de’ Medici (New York, 2008), pp.168–9
20. ‘was greatly mourned …’: Lorenzo, Ricordi. See Roscoe, Lorenzo, Appendix XI, p.466
21. ‘in as civil …’: cited in Tim Parks, Medici Money: Banking, Metaphysics and Art in Fifteenth-Century Florence (London, 2006), p.199
22. ‘LAU.R.MED’: cited in F.W. Kent, Lorenzo de’ Medici and the Art of Magnificence (Baltimore, 2004), p.146
23. ‘because none could …’: Angelo Poliziano, Stanze Cominciate per la Giostra di Giuliano de’ Medici (Turin, 1954)
24. ‘Lorenzo, heady with youth …’: Machiavelli, Istorie Fiorentine, Book VIII, Sec. 3
25. ‘With regard to this …’: ibid., Book VIII, Sec. 2
26. ‘Therefore, with the blessing …’: see Ross, Early Medici, p.229
27. ‘embittered and darkened …’ et seq.: Jacob Burckhardt, The Civilization of Renaissance Italy, trans. S. Middlemore (London, 1990), pp.40–1
28. ‘without the sanction of …’: document found amongst the Strozzi papers (Carte Strozziane Series I, No. 10, fols 190–1), cited in de Roover, Medici Bank, p.367
29. ‘It is likely …’: ibid.
30. ‘We’ve all got cucumbers …’: Lorenzo de’ Medici, Opere, ed. A. Simioni (Bari, 1914), Vol. II, Canti Carnascialeschi, p.247
2: ‘Blind wickedness’
1. ‘certain of the minor …’: see Roberto Ridolfi, Vita di Girolamo Savonarola, 2 vols. (Florence, 1974), Vol. I, p.14.
2. ‘a cortège of…’: Villari, La Storia … Savonarola Vol. I, p.9–10, drawing on descriptions by contemporary chroniclers. Although the citation is from the original Italian version, I have here, and in some following instances, made use of the English translation undertaken with the author’s supervision by his daughter Linda Villari. See Pasquale Villari, trans. Linda Villari (London, 1888), 2 vols.
3. ‘Borso was a …’: Pius II, Memoirs of a Renaissance Pope, trans. F. Gragg (New York, 1959), p.114
4. ‘the giving of robes …’: Michele Savonarola, De Nuptiis Battibecco et Serrabocca, cited in Edmund Gardner, Dukes and Poets in Ferrara (London, 1904), p.81
5. ‘subterranean dungeons …’: Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.14
6. ‘That which God …’: cited in Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, pp.5–6
7. ‘he was in the habit …’: see Pacifico Burlamacchi, La Vita del Beato Geronimo Savonarola (Florence, 1937 edn), p.7. This comes from the anonymous sixteenth-century biography said to have been written by Fra Pacifico Burlamacchi (often called ‘Pseudo-Burlamacchi’, as many claim this was not his true identity). The author, whoever he was, knew Savonarola and his intimate circle, and probably either witnessed or heard much of his information at first hand. However, this short biography is not entirely reliable as it also includes several evident exaggerations and myths concerning its subject. Burlamacchi is one of the contemporary sources referred to in note to p.8.
8. ‘In the sadness …’: the original version of this poem is cited in Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.10
9. Fra Benedetto of Florence: see Vulnera diligentis in Alessandro Gherardi, Nuovi documenti e studi intorno a Girolamo Savonarola (Florence, 1887), pp.7–8
10. ‘not had desire for …’: Savonarola, Prediche sopra Aggeo, ed. L. Firpo (Rome, 1965), p.325
11. ‘lustfulness [and the] …’: Savonarola’s works abound in such sentiments: this particular instance is cited in Stanley Meltzoff, Botticelli, Signorelli and Savonarola (Florence, 1987), p.51
12. ‘the bloody …’: Savonarola cited in Pierre Van Passen, A Crown of Fire: The Life and Times of Girolamo Savonarola (New York, 1960), p.29
13. ‘the partisans …’: ibid., drawing on descriptions by contemporary chroniclers
14. ‘Caleffini reports …’: ibid.
15. ‘Now those who live …’: et seq.: Girolamo Savonarola, A Guide to Righteous Living and Other Works, trans. Konrad Eisenbichler (Toronto, 2003), pp.62, 3
16. ‘Get thee out of …’: Genesis, Ch.12, v.1 (King James version). Savonarola refers to this in a number of his sermons; see for instance Predica XIX sopra Aggeo, delivered on 19 December 1494. For the most part I have used the King James version of the Bible when translating Savonarola’s references. This is of course anachronistic, as the King James translation would not be published in England until more than a century later; however, this version would seem best suited to convey the language and tone of Savonarola’s words.
17. ‘truly this would have …’: et seq.: Savonarola’s letter to his father Niccolò, 25 April 1475. See Savonarola, Le Lettere, ed. Roberto Ridolfi (Florence, 1933), pp.1–3. There is an English version in Savonarola, A Guide to Righteous Living …, pp.35–7. Only the latter includes the address to his father.
18. ‘rejoice that God …’: Savonarola, Lettere, p.4
19. ‘a strong man …’: letter of 25 April 1475, ibid., p.1
20. ‘My son …’: see Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.12, citing as his original source Fra Benedetto, Vulnera Diligentis, ms. nella Biblioteca Nazionale di Firenze, Magl. XXXIV. 7 (che si completa col Riccardiano 2985), c. 13 t
21. ‘the silence which enveloped …’: ibid., p.15
22. ‘where I found liberty …’: ibid., p.16, citing several sources, including Burlamacchi and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola’s Vita
23. ‘The sceptre has …’: Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.9
24. ‘If the rapid …’: Burckhardt, Renaissance in Italy, p.48
25. ‘long silent streets …’: Charles Dickens, American Notes and Pictures from Italy (London, 1908), p.321
3: Lorenzo’s Florence
1. ‘He uses the …’: despatch of 29 July 1484 from Buonfrancesco Arlotti to Duke Ercole of Ferrara, cited in Gardner, Dukes … in Ferrara, p.207
2. ‘With great expense …’: despatch of 12 August 1484 from Arlotti, cited ibid., p.208
3. ‘That same night …’: ibid., p.208
4. ‘Thus at last …’: Machiavelli, Istorie Fiorentine, Book VIII, Sec. 28
5. ‘Jesus, highest good …’: et seq.: Girolamo Savonarola, Poesie, tratte dall’ autographo, ed C. Guasti (Florence, 1862), p.41
6. ‘mind and the radiance …’: Marsilio Ficino, Opera, ed. A. H. Petri (Basle, 1576), Vol. I, pp.834–5
7. ‘neither gravity …’: see Ronald Lightbown, Sandro Botticelli (London, 1978), Vol. I, p.72, citing A. Politian [Poliziano], Prose volgari ineditedi e poesie …, ed. I. Del Lungo (Florence, 1867), pp.253–5
8. ‘thirteen leather bags’: many sources mention these bags; see, for instance, Tim Parks, Medici Money (London, 2005), p.220, and Lauro Martines, April Blood (London, 2003), p.203
9. ‘Between May and September …’: de Roover, Medici Bank, p.366
10. ‘The city was in perfect …’: Francesco Guicciardini, Storie fiorentine dal 1378 al 1509, ed. Roberto Palmarocchi (Bari, 1931), p.72
11. ‘He was a man …’: cited in Roscoe, Lorenzo de’ Medici, p.265
12. ‘fisher of men’: cited in James Hankins, ‘Marsilio Ficino’, Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ed E. J. Craig, Vol. III, p.655
13. ‘not as a deserter’ et seq.: cited in James Hankins, ‘Pico della Mirandola’, Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ed. E. J. Craig, Vol. VII, p.387
14. ‘piously philosophising’: cited in Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.69
15. One of his fellow … et seq.: the following information on Savonarola’s teaching and preaching, by his fellow monks and contemporaries, is taken from three contemporary sources: Savonarola’s fellow monk, Placido Cinozzi, Epistola, p.10 et seq., the contemporary historian of San Marco, Roberto Ubaldini, Annalia (Cronaco dell Convento di San Marco), p.153 et seq., which was written in 1505; and Burlamacchi, Savonarola (1937 edn), p.16. Much of this information is more easily accessible in the English editions of the Villari and Ridolfi biographies. See Pasquale Villari, Savonarola, trans. Linda Villari (London, 1888), Vol. I, pp.71–3, and Roberto Ridolfi, Savonarola, trans. Cecil Grayson (London, 1959), pp.14–15, whose translations I have not followed precisely.
16. ‘I had neither …’ et seq.: Savonarola, Prediche sopra l’Esodo, ed. P. G. Ricci, Vol. I, p.50, and Prediche sopra Ruth e Michea, ed V. Romano, cited in Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.26
17. ‘many reasons …’: see the fifteenth-century document re the trial of Savonarola in the documents reprinted in Villari, La storia … di Savonarola, Vol. II, p.cxlix et seq.
18. ‘You should consider …’: see letter 5 December 1485 in Savonarola, Le Lettere, ed. Ridolfi, pp.5–11
19. ‘Most honourable …’ et seq.: ibid, pp.5–11
20. For the reasons Savonarola gave for the imminent scourge of the Church, as well as quotes from Savonarola’s Latin notes for his 1486 sermons, which were discovered by Ridolfi, see Roberto Ridolfi, Studi Savonaroliani (Florence, 1935), pp.44–52. More readily available English accounts can be found in Ridolfi, Savonarola (trans. Grayson), pp.24–5, and Desmond Seward, Savonarola and the Borgia Pope (Stroud, 2006), p.45
21. ‘When I …’ et seq.: Savonarola, A Guide to Righteous Living …, p.65
4: Securing the Medici Dynasty
1. ‘Be careful not …’ et seq.: Letter from Lorenzo de’ Medici to Piero de’ Medici, 26 November 1484. See Ross, Early Medici, pp.260–5
2. ‘Not much is …’: de Roover, Medici Bank, p.349
3. ‘He was wont …’ et seq.: see Savonarola’s sermon, cited in Giovanni Pico della Mirandola: His life by his nephew Giovanni Francesco Pico translated from the Latin by Sir Thomas More (London, 1890 edn), pp.26–7. Here I have modified More’s sixteenth-century English for greater clarity.
4. ‘As a desyrous …’: ibid., p.9, with the same qualification as above
5. ‘pleasant enough …’: cited ibid., p.85
6. Slightly differing reports of this Arezzo incident appear in a number of biographies. See, for instance Eugenio Garin, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola: Vita e Dottrina (Florence, 1936), p.25, and Giovanni Semprini, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (Todi, 1921), p.55 et seq. Both these sources cite the article by D. Berti in the journal Rivista Contemporanea, Vols. XVI–XVII (Turin, 1859), pp.49–51, docs I–III (one of which is Antonimo Magliabechiano). In English, see Seward, Savonarola, p.27
5: Pico’s Challenge
1. A complete reprinted text of Pico’s theses can be found in Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Conclusiones sive Theses DCCCC (Geneva, 1973), pp.27–90
2. ‘maintain nothing …’: see Pastor, History of the Popes, Vol. V, p.342
3. ‘on public …’: Pico letter of 12 November 1486. See Chanoine Pierre-Marie Cordier, Jean Pic de la Mirandole (Paris, 1957), p.30
4. ‘heretical, rash, and …’: see Pastor, History of the Popes, Vol. V, p.343
5. ‘in twenty nights’: cited ibid.
6. ‘We have given …’: G. Pico della Mirandola, De hominis dignitate …, ed E. Garin (Florence, 1942), Vol. I, pp.104, 6
7. ‘Pain in my feet …’: cited in Hugh Ross Williamson, Lorenzo the Magnificent (London, 1974), p.262
8. ‘When the spirit escapes …’: Roscoe, Lorenzo, p.308, n.41, gives the Italian version, though I have not adhered to Roscoe’s translation
9. ‘This is the greatest …’: letter from Lorenzo de’ Medici to the Florentine ambassador in Rome, 14 March 1489. See Ross, Early Medici, p.303
10. ‘The Count della Mirandola …’: letter from Lorenzo de’ Medici to the Florentine ambassador in Rome, 19 June 1489. See Ross, Early Medici, p.310
11. ‘I much wish to …’: letter from Lorenzo to the Florentine ambassador in Rome, 14 March 1489. See Ross, Early Medici, p.303
12. ‘So that you …’: see Ridolfi, Savonarola, trans. Grayson, p.29. In this latest English translation (and the Italian original) the last-but-one word of the quotation reads ‘your’ (vostra): other sources relating this incident make it plain that Lorenzo must have been referring to ‘our’ seal – that is, the seal of the Medici. Pico’s seal would have carried no authority with the Church at this time; indeed, it would certainly have undermined the request made in the letter. The original source of this quotation is an early version of Burlamacchi, Vita del P.F. Girolamo Savonarola (Lucca, 1764) – for full details of this, see Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.91 n.1. Except where indicated otherwise, from now on I have cited the Lucca 1764 edition of Burlamacchi, which is available in the British Library.
13. – ‘that a scourge …’ et seq.: see notes to pp. 72, 73
14. to various cities …’: letter dated 25 January 1490, Girolamo Savonarola, Le Lettere, ed. R. Ridolfi (Florence, 1933), pp.11–14
15. ‘In this way …’: Savonarola, Lettere, p.12 et seq.
16. ‘when it is time …’: ibid., pp.11–14
17. ‘he spoke with a voice …’ et seq.: see Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.86, paraphrasing Burlamacchi, Savonarola, p.15
18. The four and twenty elders are described in Revelation, Ch. 4, v.4
19. ‘You must not be …’: Savonarola, Lettere, pp.11–14
20. ‘Go and do the task …’: see Burlamacchi, Savonarola, p.18
6: The Return of Savonarola
1. ‘for this delaye …’: cited in Giovanni Francesco Pico della Mirandola, Vita … (trans. More), p.27
2. ‘Division of all the Sciences’: see Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.108
3. ‘a man in whom God …’: cited in Giovanni Francesco Pico della Mirandola, Vita … (trans. More), p.26
4. ‘I am the hailstorm …’: Savonarola, Prediche sopra Ruth e Michea, ed. V. Romano (Rome, 1962), Vol. II, p.91. These and other collections of Savonarola’s sermons are part of the Collected Works (Edizione nazionale), but as they are separate volumes and were issued at different dates, often with different editors, I have referred to them by their individual titles.
5. ‘he did not speak …’: Francesco Guicciardini, Storie fiorentine, ed. R. Palmarocchi (Bari, 1931), p.108
6. ‘by all kinds of people’: see Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.57, citing Girolamo Savonarola, Compendio di rivelazioni, ed A. Crucitti (Florence, 1933)
7. ‘I was unable …’: ibid., p.58
8. ‘You fool …’: ibid.
9. ‘a terrifying …’: ibid.
10. ‘a time such as …’ et seq.: see Seward, Savonarola, p.53, and Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.133 et seq., both of whom cite their source as the autograph document by Savonarola known as Compendium Revelationum (for details of this, see Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.135 n.1)
11. ‘the preacher for …’: see Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.56, citing Savonarola, Compendio di rivelazioni, an Italian translation from the original Latin of some of the sheets contained in the above Compendium
12. ‘as a result …’: ibid, p.55
13. ‘which forces me …’: et seq.: Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, pp.136–7, citing Documento VIII, p.xxxiii, which includes the entire sermon and is at the end of Vol. I
14. ‘I believe that Christ …’: cited in Martines, Savonarola, p.27
15. ‘a certain respect …’: Guicciardini, Storie, p.108
16. ‘a man eminent …’: see Poliziano Letters [Latin and English], Book IV, Letter 2, p.237
17. ‘The ultimate aim …’: see Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.106, citing Girolamo Savonarola, Compendium totius philosopiae tam … moralis (Venice, 1542), Book 1, p.25
18. ‘I have met …’: Poliziano, cited in Ross Williamson, Lorenzo, pp.238–9
19. ‘musical voice …’: Poliziano, letter to Tristano Calco, cited in Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.80
20. ‘Father, there is …’ et seq.: in a letter by his brother, the poet Girolamo Benivieni, to Clement VII, cited in Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, pp.51–2
21. ‘I shall wax …: cited in Latin in several sources: see Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.65, citing as one of his sources Roberto Ubaldini, ‘the future chronicler of San Marco’
22. ‘It is not for you …’: Acts, Ch. 1, vv.7–8
23. For the details and circumstances of Fra Mariano’s sermon I have drawn on a variety of sources, including Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.79 et seq., Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, pp.64–5, and Seward, Savonarola, pp.55–6, as well as the two original sources from which they draw – namely, Burlamacchi, Savonarola, p.23 et seq., and Placido Cinozzi, Epistola de vita et moribus Ieronimo Savonarola, which can be found in P. Villari and E. Casanova, Scelta di prediche e scritti di fra Girolamo Savonarola etc. (Florence, 1887).
24. ‘You will not …’: see Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.50, who cites the original Latin document reproduced in Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, p. xxxiii, which pertains to ‘after Easter 1491’. I have chosen a broad interpretation of this dating, which seems appropriate.
7: Cat and Mouse
1. ‘Who made me …’ et seq.: Burlamacchi, Savonarola, p.24 et seq.
2. ‘A foreign monk …’: ibid.
3. ‘Is he asking …’: see Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.67, where he is paraphrasing Burlamacchi, Savonarola, p.24 et seq.
4. ‘This is …’: my loose translation of the idiomatic Italian. See Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.68, citing Burlamacchi op. cit., p.25, and Cinozzi op. cit., p.13
5. ‘all his enemies met …’: Machiavelli, Istorie Fiorentine, Book VIII, Sec. 36
6. ‘I know that you have …’ et seq: this meeting is reported in the main biographies: see, for instance, Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.59, and especially Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.139, where note 3 gives a list of the many contemporary sources, which include Burlamacchi, Cinozzi and Benivieni op. cit.
7. ‘So great was the persecution …’: see The Autobiography of Lorenzo de’ Medici: A commentary on my sonnets, ed. & trans. James Wyatt Cook (Binghampton, 1995), Sonnet X, p.104. This has the Italian and English versions on facing pages; I have not adhered to Cook’s translation.
8. ‘To prevent the …’: see Ross, Early Medici, p.302
9. According to some sources … : see Parks, Medici Money, p.240. There is no doubt that Giovanni’s education involved Lorenzo in considerable debts; however, there remains a suspicion that the particular sum mentioned here may in fact be Giovanni’s debt of 7,500 florins with the Medici bank, referred to in de Roover, Medici Bank, p.370, which was outstanding two years later in 1494.
10. ‘accusing Lorenzo of …’: see Ross Williamson, Lorenzo, p.261
11. These great men …’: see Roberto Ridolfi, Studi Savonaroliani (Florence, 1935), p.100; a note identifies this sermon as having been preached on the Saturday after the second Sunday in Lent.
12. ‘the whole city …’: cited in Ross Williamson, Lorenzo, p.209
13. ‘30 loads of gifts …’: Luca Landucci, Diario Fiorentino dal 1450 al 1516, ed. I del Badia (Florence, 1883), p.63
14. ‘to have changed …’: ibid, p.209
15. ‘I recommend that …’ et seq.: letter from Lorenzo de’ Medici, March 1493, in Laurentii Medicis Magnifici Vita (Adnotationes et Monumento), 2 vols (Pisa, 1784), Vol. II, p.308 et seq. A more readily available complete English version can be found in Ross, Early Medici, pp.332–5.
16. ‘one is foolish …’: cited in de Roover, Medici Bank, p.370
17. ‘5th April …’: Landucci, Diario, p.63
18. ‘That night Savonarola …’: Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, pp.73–4
19. ‘on the night …’ and following footnote: see Girolamo Savonarola, Compendium Revelationum, in Giovanni Francesco Pico della Mirandola, Vita R.P.Fr. Hieronimi Savonarolae Ferrarensis Ord. Predicatorum, ed. J. Quétif (Paris, 1674), Vol. I, p.231, and Girolamo Savonarola, Compendio di rivelazioni, ed. F. Buzzi (Casale Monferrato, 1996), p.47. For Villari’s argument, see his La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, pp.154–6; for his vision date, see ibid., p.165.
20. ‘Pico arrived to see …’ et seq.: Poliziano, Letters, pp.236–8
21. ‘and restore what has …’ et seq.: see note to p.8
8: The End of an Era
1. ‘On the night …’: Poliziano, Letters, p.248
2. ‘people heard wolves …’: Guicciardini, Opere (Milan, 1998), p.190
3. ‘there were many …’: Machiavelli, Istorie fiorentine, Book VIII, Sec. 36
4. ‘Besides these incidents …’: Roscoe, Lorenzo, pp.359–60
5. ‘In the eyes of the world …’: Landucci, Diario, p.54
6. ‘the people of Florence …’: Machiavelli, Istorie fiorentine, Book VIII, Ch. 36
7. ‘It is now generally …’: de Roover, Medici Bank, pp.372–3
8. ‘a sermon is preached …’: Landucci, Diario, p.53
9. ‘Each morning in …’: written by Niccolò Guicciardini, 13 April 1492. See Ridolfi, Studi Savonaroliani, p.264
10. ‘a black cross …’ et seq.: this is a brief paraphrase, which is collated by Villari from Savonarola’s own Latin and Italian versions; see Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.167. The Latin version can be found in Savonarola, Compendium Revelationum, which is included in Gianfrancesco Pico della Mirandola, Vita R. P. F. Hieronimip.231 et seq. and an Italian version can be found in Savonarola, Compendio di rivelazioni, ed. Buzzi (Rome, 1996), pp.244–5
11. ‘All of Florence …’: letter written by Bernardo Vettori, 7 May 1492, see Ridolfi, Studi Savonaroliani, p.107
12. ‘he could still …’: Ascanio Condivi, Vita di Michelangelo (Milan, 1928), p.192
13. become an exceptional preacher et seq.: many contemporary sources, from Machiavelli and Poliziano to Condivi, comment upon Savonarola’s sermons and his manner of preaching. Concerning his change of accent, as well as the development of his preaching style, see for instance Martines, Savonarola, pp.95–6, as well as a host of references in the standard biographies by Villari and Ridolfi.
14. the dismissal of Soderini and Rucellai: this is mentioned in Meltzoff, Botticelli … Savonarola, p.256. For the most part, precise details can only be gleaned obliquely; see, for instance, Donald Weinstein, Savonarola and Florence (Princeton, 1970), p.121
9: Noah’s Ark
1. ‘is so ill-assembled …’: see Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol, I, p. 200. The offending Latin text was published more than forty years later in Girolamo Savonarola, Reverendi P. Fra Hieronymi Savonarole in primam D. Joannis epistolam … [Bernardini Stagni edition] (Venice, 1536)
2. ‘Savonarola spoke in …’: this apparent paraphrase from Savonarola’s sermons appears in Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.200
3. ‘The length of the ark …’: Genesis, Ch. 6, v.15
4. ‘each day he …’: Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.201
5. ‘Gladius Domini …’ et seq.: Savonarola, Compendium Revelationum, pp.229–31
6. ‘he shall take …’: cited in Seward, Savonarola, p.67
7. ‘I will go …’: Isaiah, Ch. 45, v.2
8. ‘O Lord, we …’: see Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.199. This is a paraphrase from Savonarola, ‘Prediche sul Salmo Quam bonus’ (Prato, 1846), sermon XXIII, 562–79. The latter is a reprint of the original summaries made in Latin by Savonarola himself after delivering these sermons. According to Villari, ibid. p.188n., ‘These sermons were later translated and published in an amended form by Girolamo Gianotti during the sixteenth century.’ Interestingly, the Ottoman threat and the possibility of God making use of the Turks as his scourge was not ‘amended’ by Gianotti in the light of the later French invasion, which appeared to so many to fulfil Savonarola’s prophecy.
9. ‘he gave up …’: Giorgio Vasari, Lives of the Artists, trans. George Bull (Harmondsworth, 1965), Vol. I, p.227
10. ‘in mind alone …’: cited in Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.146. There are many similar expressions of Savonarola’s intellectual admiration for Pico.
11. ‘a previously undiscovered …’: see Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.147
12. ‘From this we learn …’: ibid. For Ridolfi’s unimpeachable sources, see Vol. II, p.549 n.11, where he goes into considerable detail concerning Sinibaldi’s notes, which appear in the margins of a copy of Domenico Benivieni, Defensione [of Savonarola] (Florence, 1496), which is conserved in the Collezione Guicciardiniana 3.7.91, at the Biblioteca Nazionale di Firenze.
13. ‘According to … the future chronicler …’: see Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.147, 65
14. ‘advice and judgement’: cited in Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.148. For further information on Savonarola’s participation, see ibid., Vol. II, pp.349–50 n.13.
10: A Bid for Independence
1. ‘a life of sanctity …’: Savonarola, Le Lettere (ed. Ridolfi), p.33
2. ‘He intended …’: this is taken from Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, pp.101–2, who cites as his sources Alessandro Gherardi, Nuovi documenti e studi intorno a Girolamo Savonarola (Florence, 1887), p.61 et seq., and Burlamacchi, Savonarola (1937 edn), p.51 et seq.
3. ‘When we have completed …’: ibid.
4. ‘it is my intention …’: Savonarola, Le Lettere (ed. Ridolfi) p.30
5. ‘At all times …’: letter from Lorenzo de’ Medici, March 1493, in Laurentii Medicis Magnifici Vita (Adnotationes et Monumento), 2 vols (Pisa, 1784), Vol. II, p.308 et seq. A more readily available complete English version can be found in Ross, Early Medici, pp.332–5.
6. ‘[Cardinal] Rodrigo Borgia …’: see Pastor, History of the Popes, Vol. V, p.385b, citing as ‘the annalist’ the contemporary historian Piero Parenti, Storie fiorentine, a work that was later edited and published. Pastor consulted the original document, which can be found in the Codex Magliabecchi, XXV, 2, 519, f.133b in the National Library, Florence.
7. ‘Now we are in …’: this remark is cited in various forms in numerous sources. See, for instance, Seward, Savonarola, p.64; James Reston Jr, Dogs of God (New York, 2005), p.287; and the authoritative and respected late Michael Mallett, The Borgias (London, 1969), p.128 (where an unfortunate editorial error has resulted in a misleading compression).
8. For confirmation of the unlikely scene between Cardinal Caraffa and Alexander VI, see, for instance, Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.95, who cites several contemporary accounts (see Vol. II, p.526 n.24), including Cinozzi, Epistola …, p.12; Burlamacchi, Savonarola (1937 edn), p.56; and Ubaldini, whose history of San Marco cites Cardinal Caraffa himself.
9. ‘If you had arrived …’: cited in Burlamacchi, Savonarola (1937 edn), p.56
10. ‘Have charity …’: these traditional last words are cited in Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.177 n.1, where he gives several biographical and documentary sources
11. For general financial details of this period, see de Roover, Medici Bank; Parks, Medici Money; and Niall Ferguson, The Ascent of Money (London, 2008)
12. ‘vivae vocis …’: cited in Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.102, giving his sources as Gheraradi, Nuovi documenti …, p.61 et seq., and Burlamacchi, Savonarola (1937 edn), p.51 et seq.
13. ‘Hebrew, Greek …’: cited in Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.178 n.2, where he gives Burlamacchi, Vita del P. F. Girolamo Savonarola (Lucca, 1764), p.44 et seq., as his source
14. ‘A rumour quickly spread …’ et seq.: see Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.113, citing as his source the contemporary eyewitness Alessandro Bracci, in a letter dated 23 June 1493. For further details, see Vol. II, p.232 n.32. I have used Bracci’s sentences in a different order purely to preserve the time sequence.
15. ‘They contain …’: see the English edition, Roberto Ridolfi, The Life of Girolamo Savonarola, trans. C. Grayson (London, 1959), p.70
11: ‘Italy faced hard times …’
1. ‘Italy faced hard …’: Machiavelli, Decennale Primo, lines 1–3
2. There are many contemporary references to the general situation and historic developments in Italy, and especially in Florence, during the vital period 1493–4. See, for instance, the works of Guicciardini, Machiavelli, Landucci and Cerretani. I have made use of these, as well as the many more general descriptions written since: see, for instance, Paul Strathern, The Medici.
3. ‘boasted that the Pope …’: this remark was recorded by the contemporary Venetian historian Domenico Malipiero, Annali Veneti (Florence, 1843 edn), p.482
4. ‘For they sow …’: Hosea, Ch. 8, v.7
5. ‘20th January …’: Landucci, Diario, pp.66–7.
6. The incident of the snow carvings is mentioned by Vasari and Condivi, both of whom were contemporaries of Michelangelo and knew him personally. For an easily accessible English reference, see for instance Michael Holroyd, Michael Angelo Buonarotti (which contains in translation The Life of Michelangelo by Ascanio Condivi, London, 1911), pp.12–13 (Ch. 1, Sec. 11)
7. ‘a horde of …’ et seq.: Dante, Inferno, Canto XV
8. ‘perverse vices …’: Dante Aligheri, Hell, trans. Dorothy L. Sayers (Harmondsworth, 2001 edn), Canto XV, commentary p.97
9. ‘We heard that …’: Landucci, Diario, p.67
10. ‘the least deranged …’: cited in Jean Cluzel, Anne de France (Paris, 2002), p.31, giving as his source the early French historian Pierre de Brantôme, who was born some twenty years after the death of Anne of France.
11. ‘Lorenzo and Giovanni …’: Landucci, Diario, pp.67–8.
12. ‘a delegation of form …’: this is a paraphrase compiled from both sources. See eq. Landucci, Diario, p.68–9
13. ‘the fleet of the King …’ et seq.: Landucci, Diario, pp.69–70
14. ‘the prime mover of …’: Machiavelli, Decennale Primo, line 51
15. ‘Italy faced hard times …’: Machiavelli, Decennale Primo, lines 1–3, 4–6, 16
12: ‘I will destroy all flesh’
1. ‘I will destroy all flesh’: Genesis, Ch. 6, v.17 (Revised Standard version)
2. ‘For Behold …’: ibid.
3. ‘Lo, the sword …’: see Bartolomeo Cerretani, Storie Fiorentine, p.12, which appears in J. Schnitzer, Zur Geschichte Savonarolas (Munich, 1904), Vol. III
4. ‘Everyone walked …’: Cerretani, Storie Fiorentine (Schnitzer), p.12
5. ‘This small picture …’: see Vasari, Lives of the Artists (trans. Bull), Vol. I, p.231, for a readily available original Latin version. I have not adhered to Bull’s translation.
6. ‘Although he was …’: Guicciardini, Opere (Bari, 1931), Vol. VI, p.63
7. ‘a young man of …’: Mémories de Philippe de Commynes, ed. Mlle Dupont (Paris, 1843), Vol. II, p.336
8. ‘behind his hand …’: ibid. p.340
9. ‘A rumour was …’: Guicciardini, Opere, p.444
10. ‘with regard to …’: see Mémoires de Philippe de Commynes, ed. Dupont, Vol. II, pp.348, 352, and Philippe de Commynes, Mémoires, ed J. Calmette & C. Durville (Paris, 1925), Vol. III, pp.52, 56–7
11. ‘that Lorenzo de’ Medici …’ et seq.: Condivi, Vita di Michelangelo (Milan, 1928), pp.50, 54
12. ‘if the place had …’ Commynes, Mémoires, ed. Calmette, Vol. III, p.53
13. ‘those who …’: ibid. p.56
14. ‘He told [Piero] that …’ et seq.: ibid. pp.55–6
15. ‘All the girls …’: Mantuan envoy to Florence, cited in Hibbert, Medici, p.185
16. ‘Before there was …’ et seq.: Savonarola, Prediche sopra Aggeo, ed. Luigi Firpo (Rome, 1965), p.12
17. ‘During the course …’: see Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, pp.121–2, where he paraphrases Savonarola, Compendio di rivelazioni, c.6
18. ‘A Dominican friar …’: Mantuan envoy to Florence, cited in Hibbert, Medici, p.185
19. ‘that it is time …’: Cerretani, Storie fiorentine, p.11
20. ‘a man of holy …’: ibid.
21. ‘We’re finished!’: cited in Martines Savonarola, p.38
22. ‘forbidding anyone …’ et seq.: Landucci Diario, pp.75–6
23. ‘Another proclamation …’: Landucci, Diario, p.75
13: Humiliation
1. ‘seigneur de Balsac’: see Commynes, Mémoires (ed. Calmette) Vol. III, p.66
2. ‘began pillaging …’: ibid., p.67
3. ‘it was believed …’: ibid., p.67 n.1
4. ‘others were behaving …’: et seq.: ibid., p.67
5. ‘Black scorch marks …’: Niall Ferguson, The Ascent of Money (London, 2008), p.27
6. ‘the Medici bank brought …’ et seq.: de Roover, Medici Bank, p.370
7. ‘small in stature …’: et seq.: Guicciardini, Opere, Vol. I, p.68
8. ‘At last you have arrived, O King! …’ et seq.: see Commynes, Mémoires (ed. Calmette), Vol. III, p.145; also Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, Ch. 10, opening pages; Guicciardini, History of Florence; Savonarola, Compendium Revelationum et al. The words I have used are a compilation from these sources.
9. ‘the boat of true …’ et seq.: see Martines, Savonarola, pp.55–6, paraphrasing and then citing Savonarola, Prediche sopra Aggeo (ed Firpo), pp.80–2. The reference to ‘Camaldoli’ is on Martines, p.43, from Cerretani.
10. ‘Girolamo Tornabuoni …’: see Landucci, Diario, p.76
11. ‘There was great cause …’: Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, pp.242–3
12. ‘Viva Francia! …’ et seq.: all the main histories of the period describe the French entry into Florence. The best eyewitness reports, which mostly concur, are Cerretani, Landucci and Parenti, who are cited by historians ranging from Villari and Martines to Hibbert and myself (here and in The Medici). For the French point of view, see also John S. C. Bridge, A History of France from the Death of Louis XI, Vol. II, The Reign of Charles VIII, p.149 et seq.
13. ‘My brother …’: Lettres de Charles VIII, ed. P. Pélicier (Paris, 1930), Vol. IV, pp.111–12
14. ‘A gang of …’: see Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, pp.250–1, who has collated various contemporary sources, in particular Parenti and Cerretani
15. ‘only divine providence …’: Piero Parenti, Storie fiorentine, Vol. I, 1476–8, 1492–6 (Florence, 1994), p.142
16. ‘and all the while …’: Landucci, Diario, p.82
17. ‘We will have to sound …’ et seq.: the same applies to this famous incident as to the French entry into Florence. Contemporary sources such as Landucci, Cerretani, Guicciardini et al. allude to the treaty and the circumstances surrounding its signing, differing only in detail. Subsequent histories carry the same story, with much the same words, which have become fixed in legend.
18. ‘It is not me …’: This speech is paraphrased in Landucci, Diario, pp.87–8, and mentioned in several other contemporary accounts, though its original source is Savonarola, Prediche XXVI sopra Ruth e Michea.
19. ‘beneath the pious …’: see Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.42
20. ‘if he had lived …’: cited in Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.149; see also Pico: His life … (trans. More), p.26
21. ‘the object of as much …’: see Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.257, citing Parenti, Storie Fiorentine
22. ‘The scientists used …’ et seq:. Daily Telegraph, 7 February 2008
14: A New Government
1. ‘Florence was stripped …’: Guicciardini, Opere, ed. F. Palamanocchi (Bari, 1931), Vol. VI, p.105
2. ‘When Charles VIII …’: Guicciardini, Opere (Milan, 1998), p.208
3. ‘an election …’: Landucci, Diario, p.89
4. ‘Anyone who had …’: Guicciardini, Opere, ed. F. Palmanocchi (Bari, 1931), Vol. VI, p.101
5. ‘although they had …’: ibid., p.25
6. ‘12th December (Friday) …’: Landucci, Diario, p.91
7. ‘They decided that …’: Guicciardini, Opere, (Milan, 1998), p.209
8. ‘there were always …’ et seq.: Landucci, Diario, pp.94, 90, 92
9. ‘Jesus Christus …’ et seq.: see Seward, Savonarola, pp.94, 96, citing Savonarola, Predica XIII sopra Aggeo
10. ‘the people no longer …’ et seq.: Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, pp.265–6
11. For details of the Great Council, see Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, pp.285–7
12. ‘one-fifth of the male population …’: Gene Brucker, Renaissance Florence (New York, 1968), p.268
13. ‘to encourage …’: Guicciardini, cited in Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.287
14. ‘it so broadened …’: see Lightbown, Botticelli, Vol. I, p.133
15. ‘went on discoursing …’ et seq.: Landucci, Diario, p.93
16. ‘The new Signoria …’: ibid., p.78
17. ‘government introduced …’: letter from Savonarola, written 1495–6, cited in Seward, Savonarola, p.95
18. ‘in Italy …’: see Savonarola, Predica XIII sopra Aggeo (12 December 1494)
19. ‘This wretched priest …’: Landucci, Diario, p.97
20. ‘because he had …’: et seq.: Commynes, Mémoires, ed. Calmette, Vol. III, pp.144–5
21. ‘a most peculiar …’: Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.197
22. ‘We have heard you …’: for the text of this letter, see Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, Documento XXIII
23. ‘firstly, because …’: for the full text of this letter, see Savonarola, Le Lettere (Ridolfi), pp.55–8, also Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, Documento XXIV
24. ‘last sermon’ et seq.: see Savonarola, Prediche XXVI sopra i Salmi, ed. Vincenzo Romano, 2 vols (Rome, 1969–74)
25. ‘The Lord has placed me …’: et seq.: for the Latin version, see Girolamo Savonarola, Compendium Revelationum, in Giovanni Francesco Pico della Mirandola, Vita R.P.Fr. Hieronimi (ed. Quétif). For a modern Italian version, see Girolamo Savonarola, Tratto sul governo della Città di Firenze (Casale Monferrato, 1996), which includes theCompendio di rivelazione (ed. Fausto Sbaffoni), pp.37–161. For English citations, see Herbert Lucas, Fra Girolamo Savonarola (London, 1906), pp.49–73; E. L. S. Horsborough, Girolamo Savonarola (London, 1911), pp.88–91; David Weinstein, Savonarola and Florence (Princeton, 1970), pp.116–8; and Seward, Savonarola, pp.140–5
15: The Voices of Florence
1. ‘at the Dogana …’ et seq.: Landucci, Diario, pp.112, 114
2. ‘though we may use …’ et seq.: Martines, Savonarola, p.149
3. ‘On 24 May …’: Landucci, Diario (1883 edn), p.106
4. ‘There are many enemies …’: see Savonarola’s letter of 31 July 1495, cited in full in Villari, La Storia … Savonarola (1887), Vol. I, Doc. XXIV, pp. cv–cvii
5. ‘both sides of human …’ Jakob Burckhardt, Die Kultur der Renaissance in Italien (1926 Leipzig edn), p.119
6. ‘When Michelangelo returned …’: Condivi, Vita di Michelangelo (1928), pp. 59–60
7. ‘all the slenderness …’: Giorgio Vasari, Le Vite dei piu eccelenti pittori, scultori e architetti, 4 vols, ed. Carlo L. Ragghianti (Milan, 1943–7), Vol. III, p.410
8. ‘the miracle of how …’: ibid., Vol. III, p.411
9. ‘Botticelli became such an …’: ibid., Vol. I, p.869
16: ‘A bolt from the blue’
1. ‘a bolt from …’: see Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.202
2. ‘the prior and Monastery …’: and further citations from this Brief, see Savonarola, Le Lettere (ed. Ridolfi), pp.231–3
3. ‘gratia recuperandae …’: see Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.204, citing his source as Codice Magliabechiano, XXXV, 190. This receipt was not dated.
4. ‘no less than …’: from a sermon preached on 18 February 1498. See Savonarola, Prediche sopra I’Esodo, 2 vols, ed. Pier Giorgio Ricci (Rome, 1955–6), Vol. I, p.47
5. ‘With regards to prophecy …’ et seq.: see Savonarola, Le Lettere, pp.61–73
6. ‘Thus the accusations …’: see Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.207
7. ‘I am well aware …’: cited in Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.404
8. ‘The time for mercy …’ et seq.: from sermons delivered on 11 and 18 October 1495, cited in Savonarola, Prediche spora i Salmi, Vol. II, p.191 et seq., p.218 et seq.
9. ‘Pray to God …’: ibid., Vol. II, p.241
10. ‘We command you …’: for the full text of this papal Brief, see Nuovi Documenti e Studi intorno a Girolamo Savonarola, ed. Alessandro Gherhardi (Florence, 1887), pp.390–1
11. ‘some of my sons …’: Landucci, Diario, p.125
12. ‘Some boys took …’ et seq.: ibid, pp.123–4
13. ‘was also said …’: cited in Martines, Savonarola, p.285.
14. ‘Even in the face …’: ibid.
15. ‘16 February …’: et seq. Landucci, Diario, pp.124–5
16. ‘Bliss was it …’: William Wordsworth, The Prelude (London, 1926), Book XI, lines 108–9, p.401
17. ‘steps for Savonarola’s boys …’: Landucci, Diario, pp.125–6
18. ‘In you, young men …’ et seq.: sermon delivered on 17 February 1496, see Savonarola, Prediche sopra Amos a Zaccaria, ed. P. Ghigglieri, 3 vols (Rome, 1971–2)
19. ‘the high priests of Rome …’: et seq.: ibid., sermon 24 February
20. ‘The light will vanish …’: ibid., sermon 23 March
21. ‘It is you who are …’ et seq.: ibid., sermon 10 April
22. ‘Throughout this time …’ et seq.: Landucci, Diario, pp.131–3
23. ‘Come to my next …’: cited in Seward, Savonarola, p.158
24. ‘If I coveted …’: sermon delivered on 20 August 1496. See Savonarola, Prediche sopra Ruth e Michea
25. ‘In many places …’: Landucci, Diario, p.138
26. ‘that twelve ships …’: ibid., p.139
17: The Bonfire of the Vanities
1. The price of corn …’ et seq.: Landucci, Diario, pp.143–4
2. ‘vanities’, ‘dead hair’, etc.: such terms recurred frequently in Savonarola’s Lenten sermons, which in 1497 were on Ezekiel (see note to p.262 below)
3. ‘which are painted …’: see Savonarola, Prediche sopra Amos, sermon XIII, delivered on 6 March 1496
4. ‘monstrous image’: see Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.505
5. ‘Thus saith the Lord …’: Ezekiel, Ch. 25, vv.16–17
6. ‘Friars have a proverb …’ et seq.: Savonarola, Prediche sopra Ezechiele, ed. Roberto Ridolfi, 2 vols (Rome, 1955), Vol. II, p.59
7. ‘My Lord secretary …’: see Gherardi, Nuovi documenti …, p.151 et seq.
8. ‘condemning him as …’: Parenti, cited in Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.277
9. ‘the death of his son …’: see Savonarola, Prediche sopra Ezechiele, Vol. I, p.286
10. ‘More than one …’ et seq.: Landucci, Diario, p. 145
11. ‘The city is more …’: cited in Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.278, who gives as his original source Antonio Capelli, Fra Girolamo Savonarola e notizie intorno al suo tempo, in Atti della Deputatzione di Storia Patri per le provincie Modensi e Parmensi, Vol. IV (1868), pp.301–406
12. ‘imposed his views …’: see Seward, Savonarola, citing Guicciardini, Storie Fiorentine, p.152
13. ‘We suspected a plot …’: et seq.: Landucci, Diario, p.145.
14. ‘The price of corn …’ et seq.: Landucci, Diario, p.146.
15. ‘27th April. We heard that …’: et seq.: ibid., p.147
16. ‘He here abandoned …’: et seq: see Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. II, pp.9–11, where Villari paraphrases the evidence given by Lamberto dell’Antella in Documenti I, which can be found at the back of Vol. II
17. ‘The outrage against …’: cited in Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, naming as his source Gherardi, Nuovi Documenti, pp.84–6
18: ‘On suspicion of heresy’
1. ‘a number of …’ et seq.: Landucci, Diario, pp.147–8
2. ‘broke it and …’: ibid., p.151
3. ‘on suspicion of heresy …’ et seq.: see Alexander VI’s papal Brief of Excommunication, Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. II, Documento V, pp.xxxix–xl
4. excommunication … bell, book and candle: literally the exclusion from the right to take Holy Communion. The Christian rite derives from the earlier Old Testament exclusion from the synagogue (see Ezra, Ch. 10, v.8). Examples in the New Testament appear, for instance, in Matthew, Ch. 18, v.17, and several times in the writings of St Paul (e.g. 1 Corinthians, Ch. 5, v.5 and 1 Timothy, Ch. 1, v.20). The ritual evolved through the centuries, but retained the same essentials.
5. ‘To All Christians …’ et seq.: Savonarola, Le Lettere, pp.141–5
6. ‘The palio of Santa Barbara …’: et seq.: see Landucci, Diario, pp.152–5, which cover the entries for June and July 1497
7. ‘10 August …’: ibid., p.156
8. ‘the Palace that night …’: cited in Martines, Savonarola, p.194, giving Cerretani as his source.
9. ‘Franceso Valori at last …’: see Guicciardini, Opere (Bari, 1931), Vol. VI, p.142, also cited from a different original edition by Martines, Savonarola, pp.195–6. I have collated these translations.
10. ‘in the hours leading …’: see Martines, Savonarola, p.195
11. ‘Everyone was astonished that …’: Landucci, Diario, pp.156–7
12. ‘Plague broke out …’: ibid., p.154
13. ‘Thus, my Giovambattista …’: Savonarola, Le Lettere (Ridolfi), p.178 et seq
14. ‘For the time being …’: see Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. II, p.xxxv, where this letter from Paolo Somenzi to the Duke of Milan is reprinted amongst the documents
15. ‘So great was the esteem …’: see Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. II, p.315, citing Parenti, Storie fiorentine, who in turn attributes these words to the contemporary priest and sculptor Ambogio della Robbia
16. ‘We will not rely …’: et seq.: Girolamo Savonarola, Trionfo della Croce (Siena, 1899). This includes the Latin and Italian versions on facing pages, in very short chapters that are frequently only a page or two long. My quotes are taken from the last lines of the Prologue, the beginning of Chapter 1, and Chapter 2.
17. ‘the mutable, restless …’ et seq.: cited in Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. II, p.99, giving as his source Savonarola, Trattato circa il regimente il governo della città di Firenze, Part 1
19: Open Defiance
1. ‘At this time …’ et seq.: Landucci, Diario, p.161
2. ‘when he received …’ et seq.: letter from Manfredo Manfredi to the Duke of Ferrara, dated 1 February [1498]; see Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, pp.319–20
3. ‘total and free …’: see Gherardi, Nuovi Documenti, p.175
4. ‘As soon as Savonarola …’: Savonarola, Prediche sopra l’Esodo, ed. P. G. Ricci, 2 vols, (Rome, 1955), Vol. I, p.3, preamble to first sermon (Predica 1)
5. ‘Lord, I who am but …’ et seq.: ibid., Vol. I, pp.3, 18
6. ‘Many people went …’ et seq.: Landucci, Diario, pp.161–2
7. ‘be maimed …’: cited in Martines, Savonarola, p.1, giving as his source Lorenzo Violi, Le giornate, ed. G. C. Carfagnini (Florence, 1986), pp.73–4. Later direct Martines quote also from p.1
8. ‘I am being attacked …’ despatch from Bonsi to Florence dated 17 February [1498]. See Gherardi, Nuovi Documenti …, p.178
9. ‘expressing himself …’ et seq.: despatch from Bonsi to Florence dated 25 February [1498]. See Gherardi, Nuovi Documenti … p.180
10. ‘A big stack …’: Landucci, Diario, pp.130–1
11. ‘A great council …’: Guicciardini, Opere (Bari, 1923), Vol. VI, p.146
12. ‘As for this Brief …’: cited in Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.332 giving his source as Clementi Lupi, Nuovi Documenti inorno a fra Girolamo Savonarola, Archivo Storico Italiano (Florence, 1842), Third Series, Vol. III (1866), Part 1, pp.3–77
13. ‘whose influence with …’: Guicciardini, Opere (Bari, 1929), Vol. I, pp.295–6
14. ‘At last a great …’ et seq.: Guicciardini, Opere (Bari, 1931), Vol. VI, p.146
15. ‘because of three furies …’: cited in Marsilio Ficino, The Antichrist Girolamo of Ferrara …, ed. & intro. by Volkhard Wels (Texas, 2006), Introduction p.11, citing as the original source Marsilio Ficino, ‘Letter to Aldus Manutius’, dated 1 July 1497
16. ‘Apology of Marsilio …’ et seq.: see Ficino, The Antichrist, p.26
17. ‘For such boasters …’: ibid., p.27; Corinthians, Ch. 2, vv.13–15
18. ‘the profound sense …’ et seq: Lightbown, Botticelli, Vol. I, p.130
19. ‘The time to avenge our disgrace …’: cited in Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. II, pp.132–3, where p.132 n.1 discusses the many sources for this letter, of which he considers the most authentic to be Riccardi, Codex 2,053
20. ‘Savonarola then proceeded …’ et seq.: Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. II, p.133
20: The Tables Are Turned
1. ‘I entreat each one …’: Savonarola, Prediche sopra l’Esodo, cited in Pastor, History of the Popes, Vol. VI, p.41
2. ‘Fra Domenico preached …’ et seq.: Landucci, Diario, p.167
3. ‘his quarrel was with …’: cited in Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. II, pp.138–9; p.139 n.1 gives an elaboration of the contemporary sources.
4. ‘If Savonarola enters …’: ibid., p.139, citing the contemporary diarists Burlamacchi and Cerretani as his sources
5. ‘The Church of God …’: ibid., p.140 n.2 for Latin text
6. ‘for this will surely result …’: et seq.: highly similar, but not always identical, accounts of the meeting of the Pratica on 30 March 1498, as well as the attributed quotes, appear in all the main biographies. See, for instance, Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. II, p.142 et seq.; p.144 n.1 discusses the contemporary sources and their reliability. I have also been guided by Ridolfi and Martines (who cites Consulte e pratiche della republica fiorentina, 1498–1505, ed. Denis Fachard, 2 vols (Geneva, 1993), Vol. I, pp.64–5).
7. ‘The day having …’: Francesco Guicciardini, Opere, Vol. VI, Storie fiorentine (Bari, 1931), p.149
8. ‘all the wood …’: Landucci, Diario, p.135
9. ‘Those who know themselves …’: see Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. II, pp.147–8, which cites the entire document. The autograph draft is in the codex of San Marco, sheet 168. This original manuscript is undated, but internal evidence confirms it as being written during the early days of the week preceding the date set for the ordeal.
10. ‘In the event that …’: cited in Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. II, p.150, where n.2 gives full details of the original source in the Florentine archives.
21: Ordeal by Fire
1. ‘I cannot be sure whether …’: cited in Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. II, pp.152–3. See Esortazione fatta al popolo in San Marco il di 7 Aprile 1498, which is included at the end of his Prediche sopra l’Esodo (Sermons on Exodus)
2. ‘And then came the Dominicans …’: Landucci, Diario, p.169
3. ‘of fiery red velvet’: cited in Martines, Savonarola, p.226, giving as his original source Parenti, Storie fiorentine (Schnitzer), p.257
4. ‘engaged in an extraordinary …’: ibid.
5. ‘The Franciscans were afraid …’: Guicciardini, Opere, Vol. I, p.150
6. ‘was most wicked’ et seq.: cited in Martines, Savonarola, p.228
7. ‘The patience of the multitude …’ et seq.: see Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. II, pp.157–8. This account makes use of the detailed descriptions in Lorenzo Violi, Le giornate, ed. G. C. Carfagnini (Florence, 1986) and Fra Benedetto [of Florence] Luschino, Vulnera diligentis, ed. S. dall’Aglio (Florence, 2002), as well as Burlamacchi,Savonarola, while others such as Landucci also confirm these events. Fra Benedetto and Violi confirm Salviati’s threatening words. These several descriptions vary in minor details, especially with regard to the order of some events, but Villari’s would seem to be the most considered and vivid summary.
22: The Siege of San Marco
1. ‘the benches were already …’: cited in Martines, Savonarola, p.232, giving Cerretani as his source
2. ‘began to strike the backs …’: Landucci, Diario, p.170
3. ‘Let’s get the Friar …’: many contemporary sources record variations of these cries: see, for instance, Landucci, Diario, p.170; Burlamacchi, Savonarola, p.156
4. ‘making it impossible …’ et seq.: Landucci, Diario, p.170
5. ‘Twelve breastplates …’: see Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. II, p.ccxxxiii
6. ‘rebuffed with every villainy …’: cited in Martines, Savonarola, p.234, giving as his source Parenti, Savonarola (Schnitzer), p.265
7. ‘Let me go forth …’ et seq.: cited in Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. II, pp.166–7, using as his sources the original documents printed at the end of Vol. II, in this case Documento XXVIII, especially those sections relating to Fra Silvestre on p.ccxx et seq. and Alessandro Pucci on p.cclxxiij [sic] et seq. These are largely confirmed by Burlamacchi and other contemporaries.
8. ‘got out of San Marco secretly …’ et seq.: Landucci, Diario, pp.170–1
9. ‘It was an extraordinary sight …’ et seq.: see Villari, La Storia …Savonarola, Vol. II, p.166. Here, and in the following description, Villari has conflated a number of contemporary reports, relying heavily upon that of Fra Benedetto, who was one of the armed monks.
10. ‘Every word that I have …’: Fra Benedetto Luschino, Cedrus Libani, ed. P. V. Marchese, Archivo Storico Italiano, App. VII (Florence, 1849), pp.82–6
11. ‘Should not the shepherd …’: cited in Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. II, p.175, giving his contemporary sources as Burlamacchi, Violi and Fra Benedetto (who was present at the time)
12. ‘We agree to hand over …’: cited in Seward, Savonarola, p.245, giving as his source Burlamacchi, Savonarola (Lucca, 1764), p.144
13. ‘Behold the true …’ et seq.: ibid.
23: Trial and Torture
1. ‘People laid down …’ et seq.: Landucci, Diario, pp.171–2
2. ‘At the ninth hour …’: Landucci, Diario, p.172
3. ‘It gave us the greatest pleasure …’: Gherardi, Nuovi documenti, p.231
4. ‘Regarding my aim …’ et seq.: cited in Martines, Savonarola, p.250. One of the corrupted versions of Ser Ceccone’s transcript was printed as I processi di Girolamo Savonarola (Florence, 1498). This was republished in Florence in 2001 under the editorship of Ida G. Rao et al.
5. ‘I strongly …’: cited in Seward, Savonarola, p.250
6. ‘No, I did not …’: cited in Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. II, pp.195–6, giving as his source Document XXVI of the end of the same volume, which contains what purported to be an entire printed version of Savonarola’s interrogations, now and later.
7. ‘for the sake …’: see Seward, Savonarola, p.251, paraphrasing the original text
8. ‘I intended to …’ et seq.: see above, and other sources such as Martines, etc.
9. ‘formalise and set …’: cited in Savonarola, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p-374
10. ‘If you publish …’ et seq.: cited in Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. 1, p.374, giving as his source Burlamacchi, Savonarola (1937 edn), p.171. See n.47 in Vol.2, p.645 for Ridolfi’s comments.
11. ‘The protocol of …’ et seq.: Landucci, Diario, p.173
12. ‘without torture or …’: I processi … (ed. Rao), p.25
13. ‘The frate was …’: Landucci, Diario, p.174
14. ‘in some places there …’: cited in Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.378, giving as his orginal source his own edition of the trials: I processi del Savonarola, ed. R. Ridolfi, in La Bibliofilia Vol. XLVI (1944), p.30
15. ‘consecrated the bread …’ et seq.: I processi … (ed. Rao), p.25
16. ‘My intention, as I have said …’: ibid., p.27
17. ‘It was not my intention …’: ibid., pp.28–9
18. ‘In the certainty …’ et seq.: cited in Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. II, p.207. The complete deposition of Fra Domenico’s trial can be found at the end of Vol. II as Document XXVII.
19. ‘I have always thought …’: cited in Seward, Savonarola, p.252
20. ‘the true document …’: Villari in La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. II, p.cxcix. Villari gives the sources of these documents in note 1 for each of them.
21. ‘When they read …’: ibid., pp.205–6
22. ‘on twenty or twenty-five …’: ibid., p.210, giving as his source the deposition of Fra Silvestro’s trial which is printed at the back of this volume as Document XXVIII
23. ‘Not only ourselves …’: ibid., p.213. The Latin original of this letter can be found in F.-T. Perrens, Jérome Savonarole d’après les documents originaux et avec des pièces justificatives en grande partie inédites (Paris, 1856), Document XVII
24. ‘All the citizens arrested …’ et seq.: Landucci, Diario, p.174
25. ‘both on account of the way …’: cited in Villari, Savonarola (trans. L. Villari), Vol. II, p.399–400, giving as his original source Florentine Archives, Register, Sheet 86 t. This also appears in Lupi, Nuovi Documenti.
24: Judgement
1. ‘Unfortunate am I …’: cited in Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, pp.385–6
2. ‘Miserere mei …’: Psalm 51, v.1
3. ‘Verily I say …’: Mark, Ch. 14, v.30
4. ‘But these questions …’: cited in Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, pp.385–6
5. ‘extraordinary fortune’ et seq.: Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. II, p. 650 n.8
6. ‘An exposicyon after …’: see British Library, catalogue no. c.52, f.16.(2.)
7. ‘Death to the friar!’ et seq.: these words appear in varying forms in the main biographies, such as Villari and Ridolfi, citing as their original source Burlamacchi, Savonarola, p.154
8. ‘observed how [Savonarola] would …’: see Seward, Savonarola, p.251
9. ‘Remolino ordered that …’ et seq.: see Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. II, p. clxxxvij et seq. Amongst the documents printed at the back of Vol. II is the complete transcript of Savonarola’s third trial, which runs from p.clxxxiv to p.cxcviij. Slightly differing versions of this transcript appear in I processi … (ed. Ridolfi) pp.3–41, and the modern version in I processi … (ed. Rao), of which I have also made use
10. ‘such things as Ser Ceccone …’: Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.391
11. ‘for history rarely produces …’ et seq.: see Burlamacchi, Savonarola, pp.151–2. Indicatively there is no remaining original document of this meeting in the Florentine archives.
12. ‘Sandro, do you want …’: see Doc. 13 (b) in Lightbown, Botticelli, Vol. I, pp.169–70: original source Estratto della Cronaca di Simone Filipepei, which is in the Archivo Segreto Vaticano, Politicorum, XLVII, fol. 338 et seq.
13. ‘when his trial …’ et seq.: I processi … (ed. Rao), p.43
14. ‘If this friar …’ et seq.: cited in Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. II, p.234, giving as his original source Burlamacchi, Savonarola, p.154
15. ‘He confesses to inciting citizens …’ et seq.: this report was signed by both Torriani and Remolino, but is generally accepted as being written, at least for the most part, by Remolino. Versions of this entire report to Alexander VI, which differ in medieval Latin spelling and details of text, can be found in A. G. Rudelbach, Savonarola und seine Zeit (Hamburg, 1835), pp.494–7, and Fra Karl Meier, Girolamo Savonarola aus grossen Theils handschriftlichen Quellen (Berlin, 1836), pp.389–91. My citations are selected from the beginning of the latter.
16. ‘as heretics and schismatics …’: cited in Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.293, giving as his original source the document appended to the end of the third trial: see Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. II, p.cxcviij
17. ‘22 May. It was decided …’: Landucci, Diario, p.176
25: Hanged and Burned
1. ‘Collect up from my cell …’: Burlamacchi, Savonarola, p.155
2. ‘I hear that you have …’ et seq.: ibid., pp.156–7
3. ‘The account of his last …’: Roberto Ridolfi, ‘Savonarola’ entry, Encyclopaedia Britannica (2002 edn), Vol. X, p.485
4. ‘It was already well …’ et seq.: Villari, La Storia … Savonarola, Vol. II, pp.238–9. The source of the story and the quote are Burlamacchi, Savonarola, pp.157 and 193.
5. ‘do not seem credible …’: ibid., p.239 n.1
6. ‘A multitude of people …’: Guicciardini, Opere (Bari, 1929), Vol. I, p.298
7. ‘the ceremonies lasted …’: cited in Martines, Savonarola, p.274, giving as his contemporary source Piero Vaglienti, Storia dei sui tempi 1492–1514 ed. G. Berti et al. (Pisa, 1982), p.48
8. ‘I separate you from …’ et seq.: cited in Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. 1, p.400. The initial incident is recorded in slightly differing forms by several contemporary sources, such as Iacopo Nardi, Istorie di Firenze, 2 vols, ed. A. Gelli (Florence, 1848), Vol. I, p.136, and Simone Filipepi, Estratto della Cronaca, in P. Villari and E. Casanova,Scelta di prediche e scritti di fra Girolamo Savonarola (Florence, 1898), p.504 et seq.
9. ‘They were robed in all …’: et seq.: Landucci, Diario, p.177
10. ‘Savonarola, now is …’: cited in Ridolfi, Vita … Savonarola, Vol. I, p.402
11. ‘there not being …’ et seq.: Landucci, Diario, pp.177–8
12. ‘which he suffered …’: Guicciardini, Opere (Bari, 1929), Vol. I, p.298
13. ‘Now at last …’: Burlamacchi, Savonarola, pp.161–2
14. A miracle …’: Burlamacchi, Savonarola, p.162
Aftermath
1. ‘everyone had began …’: Landucci, Diario, p.181
2. ‘As an old man …’: Vasari, Le Vite, Vol. I, pp.869, 871