1. Girolamo Savonarola’s Bonfire of the Vanities

2. Events Leading up to the bonfire of the vanities
Savonarola had been an advocate against the Church, announcing the Church’s corruption and wrong-doings. One of his main points was that the Church possessed to much gold and precious metals. He proposed that they melted all of it down and then use it to help the poor.

3. Why did the bonfire of the vanities occur?
The Bonfire of the Vanities was essentially a massive bonfire where people burned precious items such as jewelry and books. It happened as an act of protest and defiance against the Church as they were perceived to value material items too much.

4. Where did the bonfire of the vanities happen
The Bonfire of the Vanities occurred in Florence, Italy.

5. What was the end result of the bonfire of the vanities
The end result was a relatively successful act of defiance against the Church. Pope Alexander actually ended up excommunicating Savonarola after his work was deemed threatening to the Church. Savonarola was then executed in 1498.

6. Who was involved?
In 1482 Savonarola was sent to Florence to take up the post of lecturer in the convent of San Marco, where he gained a great reputation for his learning. As a preacher he was unsuccessful until a sudden revelation inspired him to begin his prophetic sermons. Savonarola made many powerful enemies. Among them was the Borgia pope, Alexander VI, who had good reasons to feel uncomfortable with the Dominican leader who eventually excommunicated the rigorous monk.

7. Why this topic was important
The Burning of the Vanities is important because it was one of the many factors that led to the reformation of the church and “the bonfire the vanities” concept is still used today for when many people get together and throw things into a large bonfire that they declare evil, bad, immoral.

8. Works Cited
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. "Girolamo Savonarola." Encyclopædia Britannica Online., Encyclopædia Britannica, 2016, Accessed 6 Nov
"Execution of Florentine Friar Savonarola." History Today, 2016, Accessed 8 Nov
"February the Largest Bonfire of the Vanities Occurs in Florence, Italy." Maps of World, Compare Infobase, 2016, Accessed 8 Nov
Holt World History. Human Legacy, My Hrw, Human Legacy, my.hrw.com/tabnav/controller.jsp?isbn= Accessed 8 Nov

9. Additional Links