Re: Bolognese sequence
Posted: 03 Sep 2009, 22:43
Right, so I'm finally going to try to address this post!
Ross, I think it's wonderful that you've started this thread to discuss the Bolognese sequence, I don't think it gets enough attention. It's almost as if the Tarot de Marseille sequence is just a "given" anymore. The Bolognese has both an interesting sequence and interesting designs on the cards. There are also interesting rules that need to be taken into account. Together, for me, they make the strongest argument for the Bolognese Tarot (BT from now on) to have been the oldest.
Let's look at a few things about the BT that make it particularly interesting.
1. Four Equal Papi.
We've discussed before whether the oldest BT decks show 2 male emperors and 2 male popes, and it's my impression that at this point we aren't certain, but that both you and I lean towards believing that that is the case. I think it's interesting to note that in the Mitelli in 1650 the Popes are absolutely men, and the Emperors are uncertain. Why would he have created a deck with two male popes at that time unless there had been some tradition of it occurring earlier in Bologna?
What makes this interesting is that the four are all of equal rank, and any of them can trump the others, it is sort of a mini game within the game.
I like that this is not a "ranks of man" theme at all, as I have always struggled with this idea that the first 6 cards show such a thing, I don't believe that is the case because I think if it had been the case much better cards could have been chosen to show the stations. What is the point of an Empress if an Emperor is already there? Why not a Duke or a Doge or other ranks? The Popess too has always bothered me, I can place her as "Faith", or "The Church" if I want to, but I just don't see the sense of including her in a Ranks of Man scheme. So for me, to think that originally we had two Popes and two Emperors, and that depending on how the cards were played meant that the hierarchy would change each time is rather fun. The hard part here is to explain how two popes and two emperors becomes popess, empress, emperor and pope so very quickly as to be clearly feminized by the time of the Visconti cards?
2. The grouping of the Virtues
For me, this was an immediate indication to pay attention to this order. Every time I read a theory on the meaning of the sequence for the Tarot de Marseille I'm never convinced by the manoeuvrings to explain why the Virtues are split up as they are. The BT seems so much more natural that it alone almost suggest the oldest sequence, to me at least.
3. The grouping of the Fool and Magician
It's my understanding (and please correct me if I'm wrong) that there is a special relationship between the Fool and the Magician in the BT. That they share a similar, but different, function in the game? Seeing them as a pair, especially when you look at some of the art like the Children of the Plants where they are somewhat paired up as well, makes sense to me. So we have at the start of the sequence a Pair of the Fool and the Magician, followed by a Set of the Papi, followed (after a slight interruption) by a Set of the Virtues.
4. The Angel Triumphant
This is another aspect of the BT that I like. I tend to see the Devil at the low end of the last group and the Angel as his counterpart on the upper end of the last group.
Devil>Tower(Hell)> Star-Moon-Sun <World(New Jerusalem)<Angel
I also like it because it reminds me of Petrarch's Triumphs, and I can imagine the Angel representing the Triumph of Eternity as the ultimate trump.
5. No Titles and afterthought Numbers
When I first saw these cards, I had just spent several months exploring the Tarot de Marseille iconography and had become increasingly convinced that the titles and numbers were added to the Tarot de Marseille at a later stage than their original design. What struck me about the BT was the lack of titles and that numbers seemed to have been added as an afterthought, like on the Vieville. I also liked the detail that was displayed on many of the cards, the whole group seemed "old" to me, that even though they were several centuries after the creation of tarot, they seemed to have maintained a lot of the earlier design.
There are other things as well, I'm sure, but it is late and I wanted to at least get this conversation going. I'll address your interpretation of the cards in another post, but I wanted to also bring these topics up and would enjoy hearing everyone's thoughts on them.
Ross, I think it's wonderful that you've started this thread to discuss the Bolognese sequence, I don't think it gets enough attention. It's almost as if the Tarot de Marseille sequence is just a "given" anymore. The Bolognese has both an interesting sequence and interesting designs on the cards. There are also interesting rules that need to be taken into account. Together, for me, they make the strongest argument for the Bolognese Tarot (BT from now on) to have been the oldest.
Through our discussions offline, I'm somewhat familiar with what you are proposing here, although I'm still not sure how convinced I am of your proposal.Ross G. R. Caldwell wrote:The "synoptic" view of the tarot recognizes Michael Dummett's discovery that all the various orders, around 20, can be reduced to three families, which largely observe a threefold division of structure. His deductive arrangement is confirmed empirically by the fact that each family is identified with different geographical regions. With these observations he was able to identify three specific cities for each of the three families, which he called A, B and C. A for Bologna and everywhere south; B for Ferrara and everywhere east; C for Milan and everywhere west (and the rest of the European continent). Tom Tadfor Little coined the more descriptive terms Southern, Eastern and Western respectively for the families.
My own term, "synoptic", comes from seeing the trumps as a narrative, and likening the three families to the three synoptic gospels - the same basic form (the three parts), using the same sources (22 subjects of the cards) is presented in different ways, with different details (designs and orders) but still observing the same three overall divisions of subject matter.
I characterize these three divisions in the most general terms as -1) present state of the world (hierarchical or disordered); 2) moral example (or generalized as morality of active life until death); 3) the world to come (eschatological/apocalyptic).
These three divisions are expressed with three Petrarchan triumphs - triumphs of Love, Death and Eternity.
Here is an interpretation of the Bolognese sequence.
(Bolognese cards have been double-headed since the late 18th century, so our contemporary images are less informative than earlier ones. The images here are the earliest printed images for the Bolognese cards I know of - the Beaux-Arts and Rothschild sheets (c. 1500), a 17th century pack in the Bibliotheque national in Paris, and for Fortitude, an 18th century pack (around 1750).
The so-called Charles VI pack is very similar to the earliest printed Bolognese images, and is clearly of the A or Southern family, but lately opinion is leaning towards the cards being painted in Florence. However, please look at them as well, as the earliest examples of the Southern cards, perhaps as early as the 1450s.)
http://www.rosscaldwell.com/images/taro ... ries01.jpg
Triumph of Love - the Current State of the World
Love (concupiscible appetite, desire) triumphs over the whole world below - Popes, Emperors, the players of the game (Bagattino), Kings, and everyone below (the whole pack). Note that the Popes and Emperors are not ordered in listing the sequence - their "order" is determined in each round of play, thus illustrating the game of power in the current state of the world.
http://www.rosscaldwell.com/images/taro ... ries02.jpg
Triumph of Death - a Moral Example (in de casibus form)
Death triumphs over everyone too, even those with the greatest virtue - the example of Caesar is shown. Although possessing all virtue and highly favored by Fortune, he imprudently ignored the oracles and signs and at an appointed Time he was Betrayed.
http://www.rosscaldwell.com/images/taro ... ries03.jpg
Triumph of Eternity - the World to Come
Eternity triumphs over death and hell (Apocalypse 20:14). An apocalyptic scenario is shown in the final cards (each specific to the three families - in the Bolognese it is the Last Emperor).
The game is called “triumph(s)” because of the specific triumphs in it: Love triumphs over the unstable world (unordered Papi); Caesar triumphed (Chariot), but Fortune, at an appointed Time (Ides of March) betrayed him (Traitor, triumph of Death); finally the last Emperor will really triumph (World), and usher in the millennial age, before the resurrection (the ultimate triumph, over death and hell).
The game is in three parts – the present, the past (a famous exemplum), and the future. (This resembles the symbolism of three dice that Isidore attributes to dice players - the three dice represent present, past and future (Etymologies 18, lxiv ("The figurative sense of dicing")).
Game is a moral game with a political message. The rulers of the world (Papi), along with all of us, are playing a silly game (Bagattino – trifle). This is the confused state of the present world, and everyone is in servitude to Love (concupiscence).
An example is shown – Caesar the triumphator. He had all virtues – temperate, just, and courageous, but “he trusted in Fortune rather than Prudence” (Appian, Civil Wars 2,58) – so Fortune appears where we expect Prudence to complete the Cardinal Virtues (this is why they are grouped together - to make us anticipate the "missing" one). A specific Time, is uniquely famous in connection with his downfall (Ides of March (March 15) was prophesied to him (Plutarch Julius Caesar 63; Suetonius, Julius Caesar, 81), but he imprudently ignored it and was betrayed. Death ends the example (this is a moral example, not just a history lesson, so we should read it as a warning about trusting in fickle Fortune).
Then the next world is shown, and the world that is coming. Satan eats the damned (including Cassius, Brutus and Judas, the exemplary traitors). Satan will have power, but will be destroyed (Apocalypse 20:7-10; Gog and Magog). A new Emperor is coming, shown by the Morning Star, and signs in the heavens (eclipse (Moon)). Everything under the Sun is appointed a time by destiny (the Spinner symbolizes Fate); this Emperor will establish peace over the World. After that will come the end of time, at the Resurrection to judgment.
Ross
Let's look at a few things about the BT that make it particularly interesting.
1. Four Equal Papi.
We've discussed before whether the oldest BT decks show 2 male emperors and 2 male popes, and it's my impression that at this point we aren't certain, but that both you and I lean towards believing that that is the case. I think it's interesting to note that in the Mitelli in 1650 the Popes are absolutely men, and the Emperors are uncertain. Why would he have created a deck with two male popes at that time unless there had been some tradition of it occurring earlier in Bologna?
What makes this interesting is that the four are all of equal rank, and any of them can trump the others, it is sort of a mini game within the game.
I like that this is not a "ranks of man" theme at all, as I have always struggled with this idea that the first 6 cards show such a thing, I don't believe that is the case because I think if it had been the case much better cards could have been chosen to show the stations. What is the point of an Empress if an Emperor is already there? Why not a Duke or a Doge or other ranks? The Popess too has always bothered me, I can place her as "Faith", or "The Church" if I want to, but I just don't see the sense of including her in a Ranks of Man scheme. So for me, to think that originally we had two Popes and two Emperors, and that depending on how the cards were played meant that the hierarchy would change each time is rather fun. The hard part here is to explain how two popes and two emperors becomes popess, empress, emperor and pope so very quickly as to be clearly feminized by the time of the Visconti cards?
2. The grouping of the Virtues
For me, this was an immediate indication to pay attention to this order. Every time I read a theory on the meaning of the sequence for the Tarot de Marseille I'm never convinced by the manoeuvrings to explain why the Virtues are split up as they are. The BT seems so much more natural that it alone almost suggest the oldest sequence, to me at least.
3. The grouping of the Fool and Magician
It's my understanding (and please correct me if I'm wrong) that there is a special relationship between the Fool and the Magician in the BT. That they share a similar, but different, function in the game? Seeing them as a pair, especially when you look at some of the art like the Children of the Plants where they are somewhat paired up as well, makes sense to me. So we have at the start of the sequence a Pair of the Fool and the Magician, followed by a Set of the Papi, followed (after a slight interruption) by a Set of the Virtues.
4. The Angel Triumphant
This is another aspect of the BT that I like. I tend to see the Devil at the low end of the last group and the Angel as his counterpart on the upper end of the last group.
Devil>Tower(Hell)> Star-Moon-Sun <World(New Jerusalem)<Angel
I also like it because it reminds me of Petrarch's Triumphs, and I can imagine the Angel representing the Triumph of Eternity as the ultimate trump.
5. No Titles and afterthought Numbers
When I first saw these cards, I had just spent several months exploring the Tarot de Marseille iconography and had become increasingly convinced that the titles and numbers were added to the Tarot de Marseille at a later stage than their original design. What struck me about the BT was the lack of titles and that numbers seemed to have been added as an afterthought, like on the Vieville. I also liked the detail that was displayed on many of the cards, the whole group seemed "old" to me, that even though they were several centuries after the creation of tarot, they seemed to have maintained a lot of the earlier design.
There are other things as well, I'm sure, but it is late and I wanted to at least get this conversation going. I'll address your interpretation of the cards in another post, but I wanted to also bring these topics up and would enjoy hearing everyone's thoughts on them.