>> he was a dominican friar who came to florence in 1492 from ferrara which made a may foreigner. he gained a reputation as a fire and brimstone preacher calling on florentines to reform their ways and saying the judgment is at hand, fire and pestilence and flood will come. he got a good response because florentines felt a little guilty about their sybaritic life style, their corruption. he was very much an advocate for the poor and depressed. he gained a following among the poor. , the disenfranchised workers, the urban proletariat. he was very much a democrat. he was responsible for restoring the democratic institutions of florence after the medici expulsion. he was dangerously convinced, i think, that god spoke for him he kept talking about his of martyrdom. he might have been emotionally unstable. through the four years that he ruled florence, he put them through the wringer. many people thought the second coming was about the common people had to reform their ways. he built a huge bonfire of the bat -- he built a huge bonfires of the vanities in the central part of florence.

guest: he was a dominican friar who came to florence in 1492 from ferrara. so he was a foreigner, which always made him a bit suspicious to florentines. but he quickly gained the reputation of a fire and brim stone creature, calling on florentines to reform their ways, saying the judgment is at hand, you know, fire and pest lens and floods will -- pest lance and floods will come. he got a good response, because i think florentines felt guilty about their lifestyle, the corruption. i think this is the most admirable aspect of him. he was very much an advocate for the poor and repressed. he gained a following among the poor. the disenfranchised workers, the urban proletariat. so he was very much a democrat. he was responsible for restoring the democratic institutions of florence after the de' medici expulsion. but he was also dangerously convinced, i think, that, as you say, god spoke through him. he kept talking about his own martyrdom. he might have been emotionally unstable. so he really put -- through the four years that he, in effect, ruled florence, he r