Ficino, Marsilio ...............................
(1433–1499)
A philosopher, astrologer, and translator of
the works of Plato, Ficino was best known
for advancing the cause of classical educa-
tion and humanism in Florence. The son
of a physician, he showed great ability and
was taken under the guidance of Cosimo
de’ Medici. He studied the classics and was
appointed by Cosimo to tutor his grand-
son Lorenzo de’ Medici, to translate the
works of Plato into Latin, and to found a
new Florentine academy, modeled on the
famous academy of ancient Greece. His
translation of unknown Greek works into
Latin played a major role in spreading clas-
sical learning and philosophy throughout
Renaissance Italy. Ficino was a leading
thinker of the Neoplatonic school, and be-
lieved in reconciling the ideas of Plato and
the classical pagan world’s concept of the
soul with the teachings of Christianity. He
outlined his beliefs in his best-known
work, Plato’s Theology of the Immortal
Spirit. Seeing no contradiction in classical
science and Christian doctrine, he also ad-
vanced the cause of talismans and astrol-
ogy, which he describes inThree Books on
Life. For these ideas he was condemned by
the church, which accused him of magic
and nearly brought him to trial on a
charge of heresy.
SEEALSO: academies; Medici, Cosimo de’;
Neoplatonism
flagellants.........................................
The flagellants were a sect of devout Chris-
tians who whipped and otherwise abused
themselves as a public demonstration of
their faith. Their practice was common in
the medieval era, when pilgrimages to holy
shrines and sites were undertaken by all
Christians who were able. The flagellants
took the concept of pilgrimage to an ex-
treme, demonstrating not only their ability
to withstand wearying journeys but also
physical pain, inflicted in memory of the
pain suffered by Christ himself during his
trial and crucifixion in ancient Jerusalem.
The first flagellants were monks, who ap-
peared in market squares and city streets
to do public penance for their sins. Gradu-
ally the processions of flagellants grew in
size, reaching several thousands in Italy
and Germany. The movement reached a
peak around the time of the Black Death—
the bubonic plague that killed some one-
third of Europe’s population and which to
many represented the wrath of God for
the common people’s immoral and unholy
way of life. In some places, flagellants
sparked violent public demonstrations that
threatened disobedience toward civil and
religious authorities. For this reason, the
church condemned the flagellants and on
many occasions they were tried and ex-
ecuted for heresy. The Inquisition—a
Catholic tribunal that punished heresy—
conducted several mass trials of flagellants
in the fifteenth century, although it did ac-
cept flagellation as a form of penance un-
der guidance. The movement survived
among small and secret brotherhoods such
as the Penitential Brothers of Spain, who
brought their practices to the New World.Florence...........................................
Florence emerged in the medieval era as
an important banking center and the
home of a bustling textile industry. Flo-
rentine banks established branches in Lon-
don, Geneva, and other European cities,
and the city’s gold coin, the florin, circu-
lated widely throughout the continent. By
the fifteenth century, the city had a popu-
lation of more than fifty thousand and was
an independent city-state, governing itself
through councils of the wealthiest citizens.Ficino, Marsilio