Of course there were those who said it would be a mistake if the French returned. Others said it would be a mistake if Pisa fell into the hands of Milan or Venice. It was springtime with all its activity and feverish seasonal swells when Savonarola said he had had a vision. In it he said he saw a simple cross on a hill that spouted a fountain of blood which flowed into a river. Every Moor and pagan saw the red cross that had formed on their foreheads of blood. They threw off their clothes and began running to the river to drink of it which made them, Weinstein tells us, 'gentle and sweet, beautiful as angels'. There were red crosses on the foreheads of Christians, too, but many of them turned away and tried to hide their mark. Many ran away finding discarded clothing or hats to cover the mark of the cross. Even lances, swords, plagues and bombards, could not deter them. They ran to their fortresses and armed themselves instead of showing their mark of the cross. These were cut down. There were some, though, in Savonarola's vision who went to the river and drank, and some of these were Florentines. And these were saved and emerged as angels. [p. 191]
Churning the waters of discontent, the Council of Eight decided that there should be a two-month break from unlicensed sermonizing, because, they said, of the recurrence of plague in the city. By April 10, Savonarola seemed to accept this while pointing out there had not been any reports of the plague in his church, since it seemed to him that the sword of God had righteously spared them. By April 17, he had changed venue and preached again, this time at the San Domenico convent in nearby Prato. There were refugees that were there, displaced by the problems in Pisa and who came to listen. Savonarola again preached that there would be trials and tribulations followed by blessings, gaining more adherents. Legend has it he went on for over three hours. [p.193]
The following week he was fetched from Prato by a couple on the Council. There would be a vote the next day and they wanted his presence. Savonarola returned. On the day of the vote, two men were apprehended spreading lists of names of candidates to be favored in the vote which would slim and thereby influence the effective governing council. These two men were tortured in jail to give up their leaders. One of these was found to be the former Gonfalonier of Justice Filippo Corbizzi, the head of the Arrabbiati, the sworn enemies of the Friar. Some two-hundred citizens were found to be complicit, full of anti-Savonarolan and anti- Bigi (pro-Medici) conspirators. The ringleaders were rounded up, the sentences handed down and they were given life imprisonment. The rest were pardoned. A new vote was scheduled. And a new Standard Bearer of Justice was elected that would look favorably on the Friar and his activities for the next two months. [p. 194]
By May 8, he had returned, preaching in the Cathedral, defiantly.
"Well, we're still here; we haven't run away. By now they should be content with all the lies they've told. They say we've carried off a lot of money. Too bad for you, Florentines; you didn't know how to catch me!"He admitted that he felt he must counter his critics and detractors. He knew preaching was his best defense and would be to his benefit. He turned to the books of Ruth and Micah to continue to make his case.[p.196]
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quotes and pagination in Donald Weinstein: Savonarola: the rise and fall of a renaissance prophet , Yale University Press, New Haven, 2011
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