Interesting. I've sure argued about the meaning of the lightning-bolt before, but I can't remember our specific arguments to this point. My main contention that the tower was merely a prop for the lightning to strike was a crucial insight for me in 2013; it broke the Devil-Lightning couple, the last "narrative nugget" that allowed me to look at the meaning of the trump sequence differently. Not as a stately progression of one subject trumping the other symbolically, an "expanded Petrarch," but as groupings of related subjects for memorizing at the table. In this conception, the Devil belongs in the Fortuna-Fatum group, the "bad things." But I continue to acknowledge different ways of looking at it.Phaeded wrote: 07 Jul 2023, 21:58
I was jumping ahead to the notion of those figures presented out of context, on cards, stripped of their overt divinity symbols as mere exempli/children of the planets or even just the attributes. Mainly I wanted you to underscore Jupiter's strong association with saetta/sagitta, per our old Tower/lightning arguments.
Changing to a topical subject, which is arguably (in theory) related to saetta iconography, here's a discovery I made from Decembrio.
Chapter 69 is "The signs that predicted the defeat of his armies."
Well that's pretty dramatic. When did THIS happen? Decembrio doesn't date it. Ianziti and Funk (German translation of 1913) leave it uncommented, and Bartolini (1983 Italian translation) merely waves his hand in the direction of Maclodio and comments on how Decembrio is copying Suetonius Life of Augustus chapter 96 in general. The indefatigable Fossati, in his comments to this passage (p. 426), turns out to be Bartolini's source for the Suetonius reference, as well as the Maclodio one.It is a truly marvelous and amazing thing to record that every one of his military reverses occured exactly as had been foretold, down to the very day. Take the time he had two armies in the field, one in Lombardy and one in Tuscany. It happened that not long before, the walls surrounding the Castle of Porta Giovia were struck by lightning and the battlements were torn asunder. The stables then caught fire and the entire place was filled with smoke, while the horses broke loose and ran amok, all of which was clearly a sign that some great military disaster was looming. And in fact shortly after this came the news that both of the Milanese armies had been completely destroyed. (Ianziti p. 143)
But my first thought on reading this passage was "that's Anghiari." But what was the second army, in Lombardy? I knew enough in general to suppose that the only time he was fighting simultaneously in Lombardy and Tuscany was then, 1438-1440. In Decembrio's chapter 23 this is the account of "The fourth Venetian war." Indeed he says
. That's two armies, one in Tuscany and one in Lombardy."Finally, with Piccinino defeated in battle at the village of Anghiari, and our forces much depleted in Lombardy, it was time once again to sue for peace" (Ianziti page 31)
Then I had the bright idea to check a contemporary source, Giusto Giusti. He clinches it, page 63, numbers 36 and 39:
These are the two battles Decembrio is referring to, and they happened very close together - Soncino on Tuesday 14 June, Anghiari on Wednesday 29 June.Saturday 18 June at noon came the news in Florence that the magnificent count Francesco Sforza had routed the troops of the duke of Milan at Soncino in Lombardy. He captured 2,000 horses, seized all their carriages, and took control of Soncino, Chiari, Monte Chiari, as well as the old and new Orci. It was a great and joyful news, and in Florence, a grand celebration took place with bonfires and the ringing of bells.
On Thursday, the 30th of June, in the morning at the third hour, the news arrived in Florence that our people, that is, the Florentines, had defeated yesterday, which was the feast day of San Piero, the army of the Duke of Milan, that is, Niccolò Piccino, at Anghiari at the foot of the city towards the Borgo. They took about 3,000 horses from him, captured 16 leaders of the squadrons and many other men-at-arms, as well as 1,456 prisoners from the Borgo, and many other prisoners from other places. It was a great victory, and they took their standards. There was a great celebration, and rightfully so, because it was the salvation of Tuscany. Niccolò Piccino escaped with about 1,500 horses to the Borgo, and on the same night, he fled and crossed the Alps, suffering great damage and shame.
Note what Decembrio says at the end of chapter 69:
Anghiari was indeed a Wednesday, but it is the signs that happened on Wednesdays, too.It was noted too that each of these signs preceded the foretold disaster by a period of six months, and that Wednesdays tended to bring particularly bad luck.
So, the lightning strike that destroyed the castle walls and caused a fire and mayhem must have happened six months before Anghiari, on a Wednesday. 30 December 1439 is exactly six months before, so that is the prime candidate, since Decembrio insists on "down to the very day."
That's as far as I've gotten. I haven't found any evidence that this event was recorded anywhere else, for instance noted by Florentines as a prophecy of the duke's defeat.
But it sure is a striking image for "The Tower."