Tarot History Forum

Here is another one, for 1566.

Lambert Daneau, Deux traittez de S.C. Cyprian; jadis evesque de Carthage. L'un, contre les Jeux & Joueurs de cartes & de dez..., (1566), pp. 19-20.

"L'inuention du ieu des cartes & des dez est Payenne, & venue des idolatres.
On dit que ce fut Mercurius dieu des Payens, qui le premier trouua le ieu & inuention des cartes & des dez, esquelles il se fit peindre; tellement que les premieres cartes estoyent figurees comme sont celles du Tarot, & comme aux autres ieux de cartes on voit des cartes qui ont la figure & le nom de certains Rois, Roines & Valets. Tout ce qui est pure imitation de l'idolatrie. Car au lieu des noms d'idoles, qui estoyent (sur les) cartes Payennes, on a seulement mis le nom de ie ne say quels Rois, voire Chrestiens, comme de Charlemaigne."

The invention of the game/pack of cards is pagan, and comes from idolaters.
It is said that it was Mercury, god of the pagans, who first discovered gambling (lit. "the game"), and the creation of cards of dice, which he had painted, in such a way that the first cards were illustrated like those of Tarot, and like on other packs of cards one sees cards which have the image and name of certain Kings, Queens and Valets. All of this is sheer imitation of idolatry. For in the place of the names of idols, which were on the pagan cards, they simply put the name of whatever Kings, even Christians, like Charlemagne.

Thanks, I've imported it with a link to your post.

A lot of "new" old French Tarot notes appear in the thread "Faict A Paris par" ...
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=1183#p19414

Steve,
perhaps it makes sense to update this collection .... the last entry is a few years ago.