Savonarola: The Rise and Fall of a Renaissance Prophet - Hardcover

Weinstein, Donald

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300111932 ISBN 13: 9780300111934

Publisher: Yale University Press, 2011

Synopsis

A deeply considered new biography of the visionary Dominican by a leading Renaissance scholar Girolamo Savonarola, the fifteenth-century doom-saying friar, embraced the revolution of the Florentine republic and prophesied that it would become the center of a New Age of Christian renewal and world domination. This new biography, the culmination of many decades of study, presents an original interpretation of Savonarola's prophetic career and a highly nuanced assessment of his vision and motivations. Weinstein sorts out the multiple strands that connect Savonarola to his time and place, following him from his youthful rejection of a world he regarded as corrupt, to his engagement with that world to save it from itself, to his shattering confession-an admission that he had invented his prophesies and faked his visions. Was his confession sincere? A forgery circulated by his inquisitors? Or an attempt to escape bone-breaking torture? Weinstein offers a highly innovative analysis of the testimony to provide the first truly satisfying account of Savonarola and his fate as a failed prophet.

About this title

Review:

"[A] luminous and learned biography . . . subtle, cogent . . . immensely compelling."--Anthony Grafton, Lapham's Quarterly--Anthony Grafton "Lapham's Quarterly "

"Eminently readable, neither hagiographical nor overcritical, the biography, which will surely become the definitive account of this Renaissance prophet, leads us through the drama of Savonarola's life, allowing the man himself to emerge from generously-quoted sermons, letters and chronicles, as well as from the author's own deeply-researched and judicious narrative."--Alison Brown, author of The Return of Lucretius to Renaissance Florence--Alison Brown (06/28/2011)

"Since his early research some forty years ago in the history of Renaissance Florence, Donald Weinstein has concentrated on that city's religious life. His new biography of Girolamo Savonarola is a testimonial to his vast erudition, and to his penetrating insights into that complex world. Weinstein focuses on the Dominican friar's role as a prophet, and his vision of Florence as the new Jerusalem. This dramatic account of the rise and fall of a major historical figure is an important contribution to the history of Florence during one of its most traumatic phases."--Gene Brucker, Professor Emeritus, University of California Berkeley--Gene Brucker

"Weinstein presents a reasoned and fair view of his subject as friar, preacher, prophet and politician."--Grahame Lock, The Tablet--Grahame Lock"The Tablet" (03/17/2012)

"Weinstein's scrupulously researched finely balanced life is both a complex portrait of a fascinating figure and of a uniquely and creative time." -Michael Kerrigan, The Scotsman--Michael Kerrigan"The Scotsman" (04/28/2012)

"An excellent narrative study, very well written and judicious. . . . Highly recommended."--P./i>--P. Grendler "Choice "

"Commendable . . . eloquently written and universally approachable . . . appealing to both general and specialist readers alike."--Hasan Niyazi, Three Pipe Problem --Hasan Niyazi "Three Pipe Problem "

"David Weinstein's elegantly written Savonarola is a perfect culmination--and, at the same time, continuum--to this wave....With remarkable skill, he constructs a historical narrative gracefully punctuated by the more poignant passages from Savonarola's sermons and treatises, a vast territory, which he has charted like few others...[P]resents an impeccable account of Savonarola as a prophet and political leader, and merits a prominent place in the library of every dedicated scholar of Renaissance Italy."--Alessio Assonitis, Sixteenth Century Journal--Alessio Assonitis "Sixteenth Century Journal "

"A definitive account of Savonarola and his times."--William Grimes, New York Times--William Grimes "New York Times "

"The genius of Renaissance history lies in its capacity to remain forever contemporary. Donald Weinstein's smooth biography brilliantly reveals Savonarola as a man for our unstable and risk-riven times, dangerously mixing charismatic leadership, governance and fundamentalist religion."--Kate Lowe, Queen Mary University of London

--Kate Lowe

About the Author:

Donald Weinstein is professor emeritus, University of Arizona. He is the author of several books on Italian history and is a world authority on Savonarola and the Italian Renaissance. He lives in Sonoita, AZ.

About this edition

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0300111932
• ISBN 13: 9780300111934
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352