«The Compendium of Revelations» by Girolamo Savonarola The Prophecy as a Tool of Transformation

Abstract

The analysis of «The Compendium of Revelations» in the article is limited to questions concerning Savonarola's reflection on his own mission, as well as on the essence of prophecies and «methods» of transmitting divine will, as a means of not only convincing, but also to a certain extent forcing others to reforms. The text of «The Compendium» testifies to the fact that the monk himself was firmly convinced and sought to assure others that his prophecy was the result of divine inspiration, a «gratuitous gift». Savonarola sought to convey to his flock the idea that «revelations» are not only and not so much a prediction of future events, as an announcement of the will of the Almighty, leading the people to correction and the final goal – eternal salvation. The Dominican practiced two «methods» of prophecy: «profezia assoluta», which would be fulfilled in any case and «profezia condizionata», «conditioned by a threat or promise», where the call from God was strengthened by the technique of imprecatio (blessing/curse). It appears that the «absolute prophecy» about the fate of Florence and the renewal of the Christian world was supposed to give the monk's contemporaries confidence in a favorable outcome of the reform of the general «body» of the city (the Church), and the «conditional» one was supposed to give impetus to collective and individual actions.