The Renaissance

In 1498, when one of Savonarola’s follow-
ers agreed to a public ordeal by fire, a
storm prevented the ordeal from taking
place. This greatly angered the Florentines,
who were growing weary with Savonarola
and his puritanical regime. The entire city
suddenly turned against him, rioting at
San Marco, killing several of his followers,
and demanding his arrest. Savonarola was
taken into custody with two of his follow-
ers and charged with heresy, sedition, and
false prophecies. He was tortured on the
rack and reportedly confessed to his
crimes. The three men were convicted, sen-
tenced to death, hanged by chains from a
cross, and then burned to death in the Pi-
azza della Signoria. Savonarola’s remains
were crushed into the cinders and thrown
into the Arno River, to prevent any relics
of his body from being preserved and ven-
erated by those still loyal to him.

SEEALSO: Alexander VI; Charles VIII; Flo-
rence; Medici, Lorenzo de’; Medici, Piero
de’

Savoy ...............................................

A territory in what is now southeastern
France that held a strategic position astride
the Alpine passes that linked Italy and
northern Europe and became an influen-
tial state during the Renaissance. The Sa-
voy dynasty was founded in the eleventh
century by Humbert aux Blanches Mains
(White Hands), who extended his domain
into northern Italy. Savoy established a
parliament of nobles, clergy, and city rep-
resentatives in 1264 and a lawmaking as-
sembly in 1329. In 1416 Amadeus VIII,
the Count of Savoy, was granted the titles
of prince and Duke of the Holy Roman
Empire by the Emperor Sigismund. The
duchy was one of the first states in Europe
to convene a regular assembly of represen-
tatives and write a constitution, known as

the Statutes of Savoy, that set down the

privileges of its three “estates” of nobility,

clergy, and townspeople. In 1559 the capi-

tal was moved from Chambery to the

northern Italian city of Turin. Savoy re-

mained a prosperous and stable region, a

refuge for many seeking shelter from the

religious and political turmoil affecting

France and Italy during the Renaissance.

SEEALSO: France

Savoy, Louise of ..............................

(1476–1531)

Mother of King Francis I and influential

figure in the culture and government of

Renaissance France. The daughter of Philip

II, the Duke of Savoy, and Margaret of

Bourbon, Louise was married at the age of

twelve to Charles of Valois, the count of

Angouleme and cousin of King Louis XII.

She had two children, Marguerite de Na-

varre and Francis, the future king. Louise

effectively promoted the interests of her

son, bringing him to the royal court of

France and arranging his engagement to

Claude of France, the daughter of King

Louis XII. After the wedding took place in

1514, Louis formally recognized Francis as

his heir. In the next year, on the death of

Louis, Francis ascended the throne of

France and rewarded his mother with the

counties of Angouleme, Maine, and Beau-

fort.

Louise took an active part in diplo-

macy. After the defeat of the French army

at the Battle of Pavia in 1525, she helped

to negotiate the Treaty of Cambrai be-

tween France and the Holy Roman Empire

in 1529. This “Ladies’ Peace,” signed by

Louise and Margaret of Austria, ended a

long-standing feud between France and

Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, over

control of Italy.

Savoy