calling for a general council of the Church, maintaining
that it could and should depose the pope. One of his dis-
ciples unwisely accepted a challenge to resort to ordeal by
fire in order to settle his disputes with his opponents; this
proved a fiasco, and the tide of popular opinion turned
against Savonarola. In spite of the fact that he was an or-
thodox Catholic in all matters but papal authority, he was
tried for heresy, tortured, and condemned by the ecclesi-
astical authorities to be hanged and burnt.
Among his works are Latin poems against worldly
and ecclesiastical corruption, De ruina mundi (1472) and
De ruina ecclesiae (1475), a tract Della semplicita della vita
Christiana (1496), and writings against astrology.
Further reading: Lorenzo Polizzotto, The Elect Na-
tion: The Savonarola Movement in Florence 1494–1545 (Ox-
ford, U.K.: Clarendon Press, 1995); Roberto Ridolfi, The
Life of Girolamo Savonarola, transl. Cecil Grayson (Lon-
don: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1959; repr. Westport,
Conn.: Greenwood, 1976); Pasquale Villari, The Life and
Times of Girolamo Savonarola (1888; New York: Haskell
House, 1969; repr. West Richard, 1988).
Savoy, house of The Franco-Italian noble family origi-
nally based on the western Alps, where France, Italy, and
Switzerland now converge. The founder of the family,
Humbert I, held the county of Savoy and other territories
east of the Rhône River and south of Lake Geneva in the
11th century. His successors expanded their inheritance
by marriage, conquest, and diplomacy until they eventu-
ally ruled Italy (1861–1945). Amadeus VII (count 1383–
91) acquired Nice (1388). Amadeus VIII (1383–1451),
who annexed Piedmont, was created duke of Savoy by
Emperor Sigismund (1416), but abdicated (1439) to be-
come the antipope Felix V (1439–49). The fortunes of the
house of Savoy then declined and France occupied most
of its territory (1536–59). After the restoration of Savoy to
its ruling house (1559) Emanuel Philibert (duke 1553–
80) reconstructed and enlarged his inheritance. He en-
couraged commercial and agricultural development and
successfully welded the feudal lords and cities of Savoy
into a centralized state by the time of the accession of his
son CARLO EMANUELE I.
Saxon Confession (1551) A statement of Lutheran doc-
trine, drawn up by Philipp MELANCHTHONat the request of
the Emperor Charles V, for submission to the Council of
TRENT. It was less conciliatory than the Confession of
AUGSBURG. The argument was developed from two articles
of the Creed, concerning the forgiveness of sins and the
Church; it held that the former excluded the doctrine of
merit, or justification by works (see JUSTIFICATION BY
FAITH), and that the latter referred to a spiritual commu-
nity of believers. The principle that the sacraments are
valid only in use was maintained.
Saxton, Christopher (c. 1542–1611) English
cartographer
Saxton, who was born in Yorkshire, is renowned as the
compiler of the first provincial atlas of any country. In
1572 the MP and court official Thomas Seckford commis-
sioned Saxton to map the counties of England and Wales,
an undertaking supported by the queen herself, who
granted a royal license in 1577. Enhanced by expert en-
graving, the maps were published in 1579 as An Atlas of
the Counties of England and Wales, a work that influenced
English CARTOGRAPHYfor many years. Saxton’s subsequent
works included an engraved map of England and Wales
(1583).Scala, Bartolommeo (1430–1497) Italian humanist
Born the son of a miller at Florence, Scala received a
sound education and studied law first in Florence and
then in Milan under the humanist Francesco FILELFO. He
was appointed to a post in the household of his patron
Pierfrancesco de’ Medici before becoming secretary to the
Parte Guelfa (1459). Supported by the Medici, he held the
chancellorship of Florence from 1465 during the lifetime
of Lorenzo de’ Medici, but later wrote a defense of the re-
public under SAVONAROLA. He was knighted (1484) by
Pope Innocent VIII. In addition to some unremarkable
philosophical works, he wrote (c. 1480–97) a history of
Florence from the foundation of the city to 1450.Scala family See DELLA SCALA FAMILYScaliger, Joseph Justus (1540–1609) French scholar and
editor of Italian descent
He was educated briefly at Bordeaux but mostly by his fa-
ther Julius Caesar SCALIGER. Though his training was
mainly in the classics he also developed an interest in sci-
ence. His father disapproved of Greek, and it was not until
the latter’s death that the younger Scaliger, aged 19, went
to Paris to learn it. He mastered the language with amaz-
ing speed and within two years had read all the available
Greek literature, translating much of it into Latin. He also
studied oriental languages. He was attached to an aristo-
cratic Poitevin family for 30 years (1563–93) and with one
of them traveled in Italy collecting inscriptions. He be-
came a Calvinist (1562 or 1566) and was involved on the
fringes of the religious wars. In 1593 he went to Leyden
where he held a nonteaching post until his death. Scaliger
is a giant among classical scholars; he had an outstanding
knowledge of archaic Latin, edited many texts, and made
fundamental contributions in several areas of study, no-
tably ancient chronology, on which he wrote the revolu-
tionary Opus novum de emendatione temporum (1583; see
ANTIQUARIANISM). His Thesaurus temporum (1606) made
the ancient sources available with a brilliantly intuitive
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