648 Savoy, county and duchy of
“Weepers” for Savonarola and the “Enraged,” supporters
of the Medici. Soon afterward Savonarola opposed Flo-
rence’s participation in a league established among cities
against Charles VIII’s expedition. In the meantime his
enemies gained the support of the pope, Alexander VI,
who in September and October 1495 accused Savonarola
of heresy, false prophecy, and disobedience. On October
16 the pope forbade him even to preach. On February 7,
1496, invited by a somewhat sympathetic Florentine
regime, he began to preach again. On August 15, he pub-
licly refused the pope’s odd offer of a cardinalate, saying
he desired only reform and martyrdom.
LOSS OF SUPPORT IN FLORENCE AND DEATHAfter anti-Savonarola changes in the membership of the
councils governing Florence left the friar deprived of his
protective support, Alexander VI approved the excommu-
nication of Savonarola on May 12, 1497. Over the next
few months he wrote new tracts on prophecy as still
having a proper and useful status within the life of the
church, while proclaiming the legitimacy of his own
actions and continuing to attack the pope. In February
1498 he started to preach again, and on April 8, the
regime in control of Florence decided to arrest him. He
was tortured in prison with two of his Dominican follow-
ers. Between May 19 and May 22 civil and ecclesiastical
trials were held that condemned all three to death as
heretics and schismatics. Savonarola and his two com-
panions were hanged and burned on May 23, 1498, on
the piazza in front of the town hall of Florence.
Further reading: Lorenzo Polizzotto, The Elect
Nation: The Savonarolan Movement in Florence, 1494–1545
(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994); Roberto Ridolfi, The
Life of Girolamo Savonarola,trans. Cecil Grayson (Lon-
don: Routledge and Paul, 1959); Ronald M. Steinberg,
Fra Girolamo Savonarola, Florentine Art, and Renaissance
Historiography (Athens: Ohio University Press, 1977);
Pasquale Villari, Life and Times of Girolamo Savonarola,
trans. by Linda Villari, 2d ed. (London: T. F. Unwin,
1889); Donald Weinstein, Savonarola and Florence:
Prophecy and Patriotism in the Renaissance (Princeton,
N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1970).
Savoy, county and duchy of(Piedmont-Savoy,
Savoia, Savoie) Now an Alpine French province on the
Italian border, Savoy from the 11th century onward was
tied to the history of the house of Savoy. They were a
family who borrowed their name from the province.
Throughout the early Middle Ages, Savoy had no
autonomous political existence. In 443 it was occupied
by the BURGUNDIANS, and in 532 it became part of the
Merovingian and later Carolingian Kingdom and Empire.
From 888 Savoy was integrated into the short-lived
kingdom of BURGUNDY. It rejoined the HOLY ROMAN
EMPIRE in 1032, when the first documented count
appeared, Humbert I “Whitehands” (r. ca. 1003–1046/7).
Because one of his sons was the bishop of Aosta, then the
archbishop of LYON, and another was the bishop of Sion,
Humbert benefited from the territorial rights and
incomes that accrued. Later another of his sons, Odo I
(ca. 1051–57), acquired by a marriage several possessions
in Piedmont, extending their property into present-day
ITA LY. The dynasty flourished in its remarkably strategic
position on major passes over the Alps.WARS AND CONSOLIDATION
From the 11th century, the counts of Savoy worked to
overcome this difficult mountainous terrain and to unite
these dispersed possessions. The Savoyards fought long
and frequent wars until the mid-14th century with their
neighbors, the rulers of Geneva and the Viennois. The
Savoyard state took a decisive turn in the 13th century
when Count Thomas I (r. 1189–1233) took over Valais
and the pays de Vaud, part of the Piedmontese, and
finally in 1223 acquired the town of Chambéry, their
new capital. The family married into the royal family in
ENGLANDthrough Eleanor of Provence (1223–91), the
wife of HENRYIII. Count Peter II (r. 1263–68) intro-
duced the efficient methods of English administration
into his judicial and legal systems. He ordered the build-
ing of numerous CASTLESto maintain his states. At the
same time, the princes of Savoy acquired an important
position in the church, accumulating numerous incomes
and prestigious bishoprics. Amadeus V (r. 1285–1322)
became count in 1285 and, by his marriage, united
Bresse to Savoy. Although his sons were provided with
their own parts of the state at his death, these soon
returned to the control of the main line of the family.
The power of the county of Savoy was reinforced still
further in the 14th century as they acquired more land
and gained access to the sea at Nice. Counts such as
Amadeus VI, the “Green Count” (r. 1343–83), acquired
international importance as military leaders and arbitra-
tors of disputes. Amadeus VIII (r. 1416–40) was even
elected pope (Felix V [r. 1439–49]), in an effort to end
the Great Schism.DECLINE AND DIVISION
Their successors were not as successful at maintaining
control. Internal conflict weakened the duchy. The king
of France, LOUISXI, profiting from this internal discord,
acquired great influence in Savoy. The confederate Swiss
cantons also seized the opportunity to expand their terri-
tories. The decline of Savoy continued until its division
in 1536 between France and SWITZERLAND.
See alsoBASEL, COUNCIL OF;EUGENIUSIV, POPE.
Further reading:Eugene L. Cox, The Green Count of
Savoy, Amadeus VI and Transalpine Savoy in the Fourteenth
Century (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press,
1967); Eugene L. Cox, The Eagles of Savoy: The House
of Savoy in Thirteenth-Century Europe(Princeton, N.J.: