On Bernardino of Siena and the Jews, see the recently published book by
Franco Mormando, "The Preacher's Demons: Bernardino of Siena and the
Social Underworld of Early Renaissance Italy" (U. Chicago Press, 1999), in
which he challenges common opinion on Bernardino's anti-Semitism.
Bro. Steven J. McMichael, OFM Conv.
On Fri, 21 May 1999, John Mundy wrote:
> On Thu, 20 May 1999, CA Muessig wrote:
>
> > Bernardino of Siena, Franciscan (1444): Among preachers a mega-star.
> > Bernardino made several preaching tours throughout the whole of Italy,
> > with the exception of the Kingdom of Naples. He travelled always on foot
> > and would sometimes preach non-stop for three or four hours. In large
> > cities he had to speak from an open-air pulpit because no church could
> > hold the multitudes who came to hear him. He preached penance and
> > cultivated the devotion of the holy name. At the end of every sermon he
> > would hold up a tablet inscribed with the letters I.H.S. surrounded by
> > rays of light, and urge people to implore God's mercy and to live in
> > peace.
>
> Was he not also a strongly anti-Jewish preacher, hostile to usury and a
> proponent of the mons pietatis - state sponsored loan societies for the
> socially modest? John Mundy
>
>
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