Noblet's labels. Noblet copied 16 trumps, plus the fool, so closely from Viéville you can hardly tell them apart. For the five consecutive trumps which he did not copy from Viéville, he copied at least three of them closely from the Cary sheet (I will speak of it so, but naturally what Noblet had was cards or complete sheets, not the one particular damaged sheet that we have). If I am right that the Cary sheet showed a Gemini on the Sun card, as it showed zodiac figures on the Moon and Star cards, then Noblet copied four images from Cary sheet. He copied every card, that is, from either Viéville or Cary sheet, except Devil. Noblet has labels and numbers on his cards, while neither Viéville nor Cary sheet has labels, and Cary sheet does not have numbers. Viéville's numbers are in Susio's order, while Noblet's numbers are in Catelin Geofroy's order, also used by the Anonymous Parisian. Noblet must have had access of some kind to Geofroy, or to the AP, or to someone who copied from them, or he wouldn't have been able to number his cards in Geofroy's order. Did Noblet have Geofroy's cards or the AP's cards in front of him? Noblet, the great copier, may have chosen to ignore Geofroy's and the AP's images for some unknown reason of his own; all we can say is that there is no sign that he was influenced by the images of either one, not for even one card. That's what we can say about Noblet's images and order. What can we say about Noblet's labels?
Where did Noblet get his labels, since he could not get them from Viéville nor the Cary sheet? We are a bit short of knowing what the Italian labels were. We don't have a labeled Italian deck. What we have are the poems. Here is a table with the name from Susio and Piscina (they are usually the same), then the AP's label (Geofroy didn't have labels), then Noblet's. The fourth column is "yes" to say that the French label could have come from the image, without knowledge of the Italian name for the card. It is "YES" or even stronger "YES!" when there is, besides, reason to think the Italian name was unknown to the French. ( * ) means the individual card will be discussed below, after the main conclusion to be drawn from this table.
Although I much appreciate the table, which I understand was first posted in this forum, with similar columns, I still have not understood the Viéville column in that table, since Viéville's cards have no labels; also, that table lacks a column for the anonymous Parisian. So here is a new table:
Main conclusion: Noblet copied the anonymous Parisian's labels exactly, except one. In every case except having "Le Maison Dieu" where the AP had "LaFouldre," Noblet copied the AP's label closely. We knew already that for 21 out of the 22 cards, Noblet copied his image very closely from either the one or the other of his two image sources, but for one card, Devil, he was original. Now we learn that for 21 out of 22 labels, Noblet copied his label very closely from his label source, but for one label, "La Maison Dieu," he was original.
I have a section below about Noblet's mysterious label "La Maison Dieu."
Labels after the AP and Noblet. Noblet copied his labels from the AP. Later French tarot of the southern tradition, the Tarot de Marseille, copied Noblet (via Madenié). To the north Hautot of Rouen and the four tarot makers of Flanders (Vandenborre, Gisaine, Galler, and Dupont) copied Viéville's images, although in Geofroy's order, but they could not copy Viéville's labels as he didn't have any. Perhaps they copied Noblet's labels since they couldn't copy Viéville, but since Noblet copied the AP, we can't say whether these northerners copied Noblet or copied directly from the AP, except for the one card where Noblet was original. For that card, they copied the AP, not Noblet. They have "La Foudre" on the card which, since the image is from Viéville, shows lightning hitting a tree. I wish I had Houtot's cards. The Flemish labels are like the AP's except that 1) Lovers is Lamour (like the Italian L'Amore) rather than the APs "Lamoureus" (Noblet's Lamovreux). Besides that there are some minor changes where they've added an apostrophe or a space after the article, or otherwise (such as Le'toille rather than Lestoille) are closer to modern French than Noblet is. Force becomes La Force. So although the AP is, probably, sometime in the earlyish 1600s (we really have no idea), he was still around as an influence for quite some time, copied by Noblet for his labels in 1659, and copied by Hautot (or directly by the Flanders four) for his label "La Fouldre, as late as the 1700s.
There is one more very interesting case of the AP's influence. I will discuss it further below; it is his WORLD card. The AP shows a man standing on a tripartite globe. It is a man, naked, not an angel (no wings). Viéville has a naked man also, but no tripartite globe. But Vandenborre and the other three of Flanders, who otherwise follow Viéville, have the tripartite globe like the AP. The figure does have wings in Flanders, and the gender is unclear (Noblet, while copying Viéville, changed the figure to female). I will say more of this card below: I wanted to mention it for this table of influences:
And this list of innovations
- C-order commonalities (including Milan handmade) : Strength fights lion, rather than breaks pillar ; Judgment/Angel is trumpet over graves, not a city.
- -- Things not in any C-order: Star as 3 kings
- Geofroy innovations copied- changed C order by switching trumps XI and IX on either side of X, Il Gobbo becomes Hermit, with lantern rather than hourglass.
- Geofroy innovations not copied ; Hanged man hangs by two legs, angle support on post; Death has shovel
- The AP's innovations : labels: The Lovers rather than Love, Hermit rather than Old Man, The Judgment rather than The Angel;
- AP-Cary sheet similarities : Emperor in profile.
- Cary sheet innovations - zodiac figures of Aquarius, Cancer, and (if I'm right) Gemini for the 3 celestials
- -- Hand-made Italy qualities passed to France, but not on Cary sheet : Death is standing rather than riding ;
- A Cary sheet noteworthy fact: Empress crown resembles virtue Temperance
- Innovations by Viéville or Cary sheet, whoever is first, but not in Geoffrey, the AP, nor hand-made Italy : Chariot is face on ; horse legs are mirror image; Fortuna's Wheel is at angle not face on; Hanged Man has fingers at the sides of head.
- Viéville similarities to Cary sheet, not in Geoffrey nor AP, but in hand-made Italy: Emperor sits in profile; Bagato is alone; Empress and Emperor have eagle shield; Chariot rider under canopy ;
- Viéville innovations (not in Geoffrey, nor AP, nor Cary sheet, nor Italy) : Pope has crook. Lovers has mother-in-law; Justice has wing-back throne. Animals on Wheel (shared with Budapest) ; "Sol Fama" scroll on Temperance (Fama Vola on Chariot occurs in Orfeo Minchiate);
- Viéville similarities to some Italy (not in Geoffrey nor AP nor Cary): Pope has attendants;
- Noblet innovations- Devil standing on a pedestal; label "La Maison Dieu"; Temperance has wings; world figure is female (as often in Italy); Aquarius is female; Moon has dogs
- Budapest similarities to France : Tower is a tower. El gobbo is hermit with lantern. Hanged man has rough-hewn scaffold
End of part 1 of 4, of a posting on the trump labels of France. I will post the other parts as replies.