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Jerome Savonarola (1452-1498)
Savonarola was born in the Italian city of Ferrara and, for a time, lived in a Dominican monastery. At the age of 38 he went to the city of Florence. He began to preach and lecture and drew large crowds. However he was not a doctrinal reformer but he attacked the evil lives and immoral behaviour of many of the people at that time. In particular he exposed the corruption within the clergy and the laity. But he preached a message of repentance from sin and Florence became a centre of a great revival.
He tried to make the city a model of a Christian community. The Pope at that time was Alexander Borgia and was one of the most wicked men who ever occupied the papacy. He tried to 'buy' Savonarola by offering to make him a cardinal. Savonarola refused this and the Pope used other tactics. He got the monks to speak out against Savonarola and then excommunicated him and arrested him. He was tortured and put to death by burning. Savonarola refused to renounce his beliefs unto death.
Martin Luther regarded Savonarola as a pioneer of the Reformation because of his work to reform public morals. The doctrinal reformation began about twenty years later.