Emperor Charles V and his Vast Realms 569 permitting a powerful foreign monarch to get a foothold in the South, there was no probability that the various little states into which the peninsula was divided would lay aside their animosities and combine against the invader. On the contrary, Charles VIII was urged by some of the Italians themselves to come. Had Lorenzo the Magnificent still been alive, he might have Savonarola organized a league to oppose the French king, but he had died vin ^^^^ in 1492, two years before Charles started. Lorenzo's sons failed to maintain the influence over the people of Florence which their father had enjoyed ; and the leadership of the city fell into the hands of the Dominican friar, Savonarola, whose fervid preaching attracted and held for a time the attention of the fickle Florentine populace. He believed himself to be a prophet, and proclaimed that God was about to scourge Italy for its iniquities. When Savonarola heard of the French invasion, it appeared Charles vin to him that this was indeed the looked-for scourge of God, '"^°^^"^^ which might afflict, but would also purify, the Church, As Charles approached Florence, the people rose in revolt against the Medici, sacked their palaces, and drove out the three sons of Lorenzo. Savonarola became the chief figure in the new republic which was established.^ Charles was admitted into Florence, but his ugly, insignificant figure disappointed the Florentines. They soon made it clear to him that they did not regard him in any sense as a conqueror, and would oppose a prolonged occupation by the French. So, after a week's stay, the French army left Florence and proceeded on its southward journey. Charles V came to the Spanish throne. Naples also was conquered by the king of Aragon, and was in his family when Charles VIII undertook his Italian expedition. Louis XI, although he claimed the right of the French to rule in Naples, had prudently refused to attempt to oust the Aragonese usurpers, as he had quite enough to do at home. 1 The fate of Savonarola was a tragic one. He lost the confidence of the Florentines and aroused the opposition of the Pope. Three years after Charles VI IPs visit he was accused of heresy and executed.
