(Lucy) At the dawn of the 1500s, Europe was enjoying more wealth than ever before. Consumption was conspicuous, luxury was accessible… and sin was rife. Preachers like Savonarola foretold the end of the world, and people listened. In this episode of Footnoting History, learn about falling church towers, divine portents, papal curses, and how the European populace dealt with new identities and new opportunities at the opening of the early modern period.