week 34
(1) Discuss the rise and fall of Girolamo Savonarola.
Girolamo Savonarola was a Dominican friar who gained immense popularity in Florence during the 1490’s. He delivered apocalyptic sermons denouncing the corruption of the clergy and the secular moral decline under the Medici family. Savonarola started to decline because of his extreme measures, economic hardship, and fierce attacks on Pope Alexander VI. He was excommunicated, and in 1498 he was arrested, tortured, convicted of heresy and executed by hanging and burning.
(2) Discuss the Italian War of 1494-1498.
The war of 1494-1498 was started when Charles VIII of France invaded Italy in 1494 to assert a dynastic claim over the kingdom of Naples. Charles VIII marched through Italy with a formidable army and heavy artillery, taking Naples with minimal resistance in early 1495. Italy panicked because of French power. Major Italian states allied with Spain and the Holy Roman Empire to form the league of Venice. The League of Venice cut off Charles VIII’s army as he retreated north at the battle of Fornovo. While Charles escaped back to France, his remaining garrisons in Naples were quickly defeated.
(3) Discuss some of the significant aspects of the reign of Louis XI.
Louis XI ruled France from 1461 to 1483 and played a crucial part in laying the foundation of absolute monarchy. He helped centralize royal power, where he systematically tore down the power of rebellious feudal lords, centralizing power around the French crown. Another significant aspect of Louis XI’s reign was how he defeated Burgundy. Charles the Bold was the Duke of Burgundy, and after Charles died at the battle of Nancy in 1477, Louis annexed major parts of Burgundy into France.
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