maximus otter
Recovering policeman
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2001
- Messages
- 13,848
The Bell That was Flogged
On the night of 8th April 1498, a bell was desperately ringing out for help. Its home, San Marco monastry in Florence, was under attack from an armed mob.Bell-ringing was an essential part of the civic defence system: it was supposed to alert the authorities of crises occurring all over the city whether they be foreign attack, fire, or uprisings. Yet the bell of San Marco continued to toll as the authorities ignored its call. The monks were left to fend for themselves; luckily, they had stockpiled weapons in case of such an attack.
Surprised by the sudden forced entry, they initially took ahold of the torches and crucifixes and used these to hold back the attackers. As it became apparent that no one was going to answer their cry for help, they resorted to their weapons, resting their harquebuses on the pulpits and firing into the angry mob.
That prior, who had provoked such rage from the people of Florence, was Girolamo Savonarola.
Girolamo Savonarola was a Dominican friar whose fiery sermons and denunciation of earthly temptations earned him a mass following, making him for a short period the de facto ruler of Florence.
Just over a year later, on the morning of May 23rd 1498, Savonarola and two fellow monks would be strangled and burned to death.
The bell of San Marco was dragged down from its tower and put on a public "trial".
This bell, known as la Piagnora after Savonarola's snivelling followers, was accused of ringing out in defense of Savonarola during the chaotic crisis of the attack on San Marco monastery. This strange ritual of persecution saw the bell subjected to flogging by the official hangman as it was carted out of Florence in order to fulfill its exile. The bell was sentenced to 50 years of exile in the Franciscan Church of San Salvatore al Monte, which resided outside of the city walls of Florence.
Source:
https://thehistoryhabit.blogspot.com/2016/12/the-bell-that-was-flogged.html
maximus otter