Collection Franciscans

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IN WORK

This is an attempt to organize the material of a thread a little better than "normal". So this starting page of "Collection Franciscans" will be changed, if necessary, just serving as a content page.

Franciscans

Persons in the research of playing card prohibition during 15th century.

1. Bernardino of Siena (8 September 1380 – Aquila, Italy 20 May 1444)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernardino_of_Siena
preached against playing cards in the period around 1424 (very active 1417-1426, after this attacked for some time)
Observant Franciscan

2. John Capristan (June 24, 1386 – October 23, 1456)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Capistran
preached against playing cards in Germany (possibly also in Austria, Poland) 1451-1455
Observant Franciscan, friend of Bernardino

3. Giacomo (James) della Marche (1391 – November 28, 1476)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_of_the_Marches
Thierry Depaulis: "Early Italian Lists of Trumps" in The Playing Card, 36, 1 (July-Sept 2007), pp. 39-50.
Depaulis discusses a text of Giacomo and the "Sermones de Ludo cum aliis" on pp. 39-41, and presents the card texts of both on pp. 48-50 (no translation). Giacomo's text is partly identical to the "Sermones de Ludo cum aliis". Depaulis dates this earlier version (which does not include a reference to Trionfi cards) to "1460".
Observant Franciscan

4. Roberto Caracciolo da Lecce (c. 1425-1495)
biography: http://books.google.com/books?id=hruQ38 ... lo&f=false
http://trionfi.com/0/e/13b/
First Observant Franciscan, then 1452/54 Conventual Franciscan

5. Bernardino da Feltre (Feltre, 1439 – Pavia, 28 september 1494)
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernardino_da_Feltre
Anti-playing-card activities in 1487 and 1493 are confirmed, others are indicated, as above already described
Observant Franciscan

6. Anonymous Franciscan around 1500, wrote "Sermones de Ludo cum aliis"
http://trionfi.com/0/p/17/

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Further Franciscans (15th century) of interest:

7. Marco Fantuzzi da Bologna
http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/mar ... rafico%29/
... didn't want to become cardinal
Observant Franciscan

8. Pope Sixtus IV
became "Minister general" of the Franciscans in 1464
... and cardinal in 1467
... lost the "Minister general" in 1469
... and became pope in 1471

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Further Popes of interest:

9. Pope Eugen (Pope 1433-1447)
helped the Franciscans ... and likely was responsible for increased playing card prohibition in Italy in the 1440s.

11. Nicholas V. (an anti-pope in the years 1328-30)
a Franciscan pope as Nicholas IV (Franciscan friar) and Nicholas III (strong promoter of the Franciscans)

12. Nicholas V. (real pope 1447-1455)
made San Bernadino a saint in 1450 and chose a name, which remembered the deepest Franciscan crisis in the 1320s. He finished the last schism in the Catholic Church 1439-1449. In his time

13. Pope Paul II (Pope 1464-1471)
made (the later pope) Sixtus IV (Conventual Franciscan) a cardinal

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Dominicans (Florence)

14. Manfredi di Vercelli
an Observant of the Dominican order, who had before San Bernardino similar problems as San Bernardino later

15. St. Antonio, archbishop of Florence
promoted the Dominican Observants in Florence
worked against gaming and gambling

16. Gabriel Barletta ( ... - after 1481)
noted in
http://forum.tarothistory.com/viewtopic ... etta#p4011
http://forum.tarothistory.com/viewtopic ... 675#p10675

17. Savonarola, Dominican
learned "card-burning" from Marco Fantuzzi (see above) in 1493 and burnt cards in 1497
was interested to install an independent Dominican Observant congregation in San Marco in Florence



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Other preachers, noted, cause they somehow reflect the dominant person San Bernardino

18. Vincent Ferrer (1350 - 1419) ... a successful preacher before San Bernardino
His style of preaching (and his success) might have influenced San Bernardino. A relation to playin cards prohibition is not known.

19.Thomas Conecte, a Northern Playing card preacher (known between 1428-1433)

20. Meister Ingold, Dominican in Straßburg, wrote in 1432 the "Guldin Spil", a work against games (between them also playing cards)

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Useful articles: web material

Bob O'Neill's contribution to the Franciscans
http://www.tarot.com/about-tarot/librar ... ranciscans
Bob O'Neill's overview:
http://www.tarot.com/about-tarot/library/boneill/

History of the Franciscan Orders
with a focus to explain the difference between Observants and Conceptuals and their conflict in 15th century
http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/fra/FRAht01.html

Wikipedia articles to Franciscans:

Conventual Franciscans
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04344a.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conventual_Franciscans

List of Minister Generals (which were always "conventual Franciscans")
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mi ... iars_Minor

Third Order
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Order

Fraticelli
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraticelli

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Interesting locations:

Assissi - start of the Franciscans
San Bernardino Pass (got a St. Bernadino chapel in 1450)
Last edited by Huck on 29 Jun 2022, 16:09, edited 10 times in total.
Huck
http://trionfi.com

Re: Collection Franciscans

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Bernardino da Feltre

5. Bernardino da Feltre (Feltre, 1439 – Pavia, 28 september 1494)
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernardino_da_Feltre
Activities against playing cards known from 1487 and 1493

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Recently ...
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=738
... Ross Caldwell reported
Fece arder poi un gran castello del diavolo nel quale vi furon gettai molti libri proibiti, se ben ve n’erano de miniati d’oro et d’argento, et anco molte carte da giuocare tra quali ve n’eran de lavorate dal dritto d’oro, et nel coperto d’argento di gran pretio, che fatto havea far il Duca Gian Galeazzo per l’amante sua. Costavan queste l. sessanta il paro.
(Alessandra Rizzi, Ludus/Ludere: Giocare in Italia alle fine del Medio Evo (Fondazione Benetton, 1995), p.127 n. 103/Ugo Rozzo, La letteratura italiana negli 'Indici' del Cinquecento (Forum, 2005) p12, quoting Bernardino Guslino, Vita del Beato Bernardino da Feltre)

Afterwards he set alight a huge castello del diavolo, onto which were thrown many forbidden books, even if they had miniatures in gold and silver, and also many playing cards, among which were some worked with gold leaf, and covered with expensive silver, which duke Gian Galeazzo had had made for his girlfriend (?). These cost 60 lire per pack.

This refers to a date in 1487, when Bernardino da Feltre preached in Parma. The price (60 lire for a deck) and the gold and silver surely mean it was triumph cards that Gian Galeazzo Sforza had made for his "amante" - his fiancée maybe?
I added to this:
Bernardino da Feltro especially was directed against Jews ...
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view. ... a%20Feltre
.. in many cities ...
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/searc ... earchOpt=0
... also in Parma
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view. ... 9&letter=P
1488 Gian Galeazzo Maria Sforza acconsente alla fondazione del Monte di Pietà.
http://www.itinerarimedievali.unipr.it/ ... parma1.htm
... and in Milan (near to 1487 in Parma)
1488 26 marzo: Inizia a Milano il processo contro 39 ebrei accusati di servirsi di libri "ingiuriosi" contro la Chiesa. Gli imputati risiedevano in varie località del ducato. Nove sono condannati a morte (30 maggio), ma la pena è poi commutata nel pagamento di 19 mila ducati. I 172 libri incriminati vengono bruciati il 10 aprile 1490 nel forno situato in contrada di San Raffaele.

1491 Soggiorno a Milano di Bernardino da Feltre.
http://www.storiadimilano.it/cron/dal1476al1500.htm

Bernardino became object of a letter exchange between Beatrice d'Este and Isabella d'Este (notorious card players in this time):
"A report has reached us here," wrote the young duchess, "that the venerable Father bernardino da feltre, who has been preaching in Verona this Lent, was heard to declare from the pulpit that he had received a message from heaven, warning him that he would die in Holy Week, after miraculously opening the eyes of a blind man. Now I am very anxious to know if this report is true, and since at Mantua you are sufficiently near Verona to learn the truth of these tales, I beg you to make inquiries and let me know the result."

A fortnight later, Isabella, who had been absent from Mantua, was able to satisfy her sister's curiosity and at the same time answer a previous note in which Beatrice had given her a bad character of one of the Marchesana's _proteges_, an archer in Fracassa's service. She writes:--

"MOST ILLUSTRIOUS AND HONOURED SISTER,

"Only yesterday I received two letters which you wrote to me on the 16th and 17th of April: the one in answer to my recommendation of Malacarno, Signor Fracassa's archer, the other regarding a report which had reached you as to certain words which Fra bernardino da feltre is said to have spoken at Verona. In reply to your first letter, I assure your Highness that if I had ever dreamt Malacarno could be guilty of such detestable crimes, I would never have pleaded his cause, since naturally I hate such conduct. But as I had been told his faults were trifling, I consented to intercede with you on his behalf; and now I hear the bad character he bears, am well satisfied to hear the punishment which he has received, and praise your illustrious consort's prudence, while at the same time I thank you for the very kind expressions in your letter. As to Fra bernardino's supposed prophecy that he would die this Holy Week after miraculously opening the eyes of a blind man, I find that there is absolutely no truth in the report you mention. Neither at Verona, nor yet at Padua, where he has also been preaching, did he ever use such language, which indeed his humility would forbid, and as I have learnt from a monk who attended his sermons. All the same, in order to satisfy you and make sure of the truth, I have made further inquiries, the result of which I now lay before you, begging you to commend me warmly to your illustrious lord.

"Mantua, May 2nd, 1492."
http://www.freefictionbooks.org/books/b ... 7?start=80

Either they really did respect him, or - another possibility - the sisters had their own ways to hide their irony. "Opening the eyes of a blind man" ... Bernardino da Feltre's own eyes?

Image

"Bartolomeo Montagna: Virgin and Child Enthroned with St. Homoborus and a beggar, with St. Francis and the Blessed Bernardo da Feltre, and with Saint Catherine, c. 1515"

In July 1493 Bernardino also burnt cards in Florence. I saw the opinion, that Savonarola, who burnt card 1497, learned from him.

This page says: "Like many other missioners of his century, he had made a vast outdoor bonfire called “burning the Devil's stronghold”. The crowds were asked to throw into the fire all objects of vanity and sin such as playing cards, dice, pornographic books and pictures, jewelry, wigs, superstitious charms, cosmetics, and so forth."
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bernardin ... 6000138116

Image
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Huck
http://trionfi.com

Thomas Connecte

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Thomas Connecte

Thomas Connecte falls in the category "competition to the Observants". He appears short after San Bernardino (most active 1417-1426; then he was attacked) and likely imitated him. He presents "Northern Playing Card persecution by preachers" ... which knows not so much examples as Italy.

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Thomas Connecte is reported by Enguerrand de Monstrelet ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enguerrand_de_Monstrelet

The article is in chapter XXIII, p 98-99
http://books.google.com/books?id=xWUIAA ... 22&f=false

In the appendix ...
Image

Image


The referenced "Bayle" should be ..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Bayle

In "A History of the Inquisition" by Henry Charles Lea we find ...
http://books.google.com/books?id=YwPB1O ... te&f=false

Image

Image


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The activity of 1428 happened short after the establishment of a playing card production 1427 in Tournai (Belgium nowadays)

I didn't found a precise date for the execution (1433), which would be of interest to compare it with dates known from the Emperor crowning ceremony 1433.

A "Hennin" hat by Memling, which Connecte especially fought against.
Image

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hennin
Huck
http://trionfi.com

Manfredi da Vercelli

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Manfredi da Vercelli

Manfredi da Vercelli (already old in the 1410s, died in the 1430s) had been in the 1420s a competing preacher to San Bernardino. He had the apocalyptic idea, that the world would end in 1423, but he survived the end a longer time.
He belongs to the group "Dominicans in Florence" - he had been from 1419-1423 in Florence, which means in his "personal apocalyptic times".
Playing cards seems to have been of no importance to him, but I took him in this collection, cause he seems to have been of some importance for an understanding of the phenomenon "San Bernardino". San Bernardino was not alone, there were others, but San Bernardino and his Franciscans became very successful.

Biography in "Historical inquiries" by Clogan, Medieval and Renaissance Society (1997)
http://books.google.com/books?id=3biBSy ... &q&f=false

Image

Image
Huck
http://trionfi.com

Vincent Ferrer

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Vincent Ferrer (1350 - 1419)

Vincent Ferrer ("the Angel of Judgment") had been earlier than San Bernardino, Connecte and Manfred di Vercelli

From Jewish Encyclopedia, article "Vincente Ferrer"
Spanish Dominican preacher; born at Valencia Jan. 23, 1350; died at Vannes, France, April 5, 1419. Basnage supposes that he was of Jewish descent ("Histoire des Juifs," xiv. 701). He entered the Dominican order in Valencia Feb. 5, 1374, and studied at the University of Lerida (1382-84). From 1385 he preached in the Cathedral of Valencia, and soon became famous for his pulpit eloquence. In 1395 he became confessor and private chaplain to the antipope Benedict XIII. at Avignon. In 1398, however, he became a wandering preacher, and traveled through Spain, France, Italy, and Germany. He had a regular retinue of about 300 Flagellants. At times the people followed him in crowds of thousands, forsaking temporarily their occupations to hear him preach or to be cured by him. The appearance of Ferrer in Spain was one of the principal factors leading to the expulsion of the Jews.

Ferrer saw in the Jews the greatest impediment to his holy mission, and in their conversion a daily proof of it. Therefore he zealously endeavored to bring them into the fold of the Church, imposing upon them, as Jews, many limitations and burdens, and promising them, in the event of conversion, freedom and the pleasures of life. With uplifted cross he forced his way into synagogues and dedicated them as churches, as in Valencia (1391), Santiago (1408), and Alcañiz (1413). His first significant conversion was that of the rabbi Solomon Levi of Burgos, known as "Paulus Burgensis" (1390 or 1391), who, with Ferrer, caused the promulgation of the Castilian edict (Jan. 12, 1412), containing twenty-four articles against the Jews, and creating the "Juderias," or ghettos. According to Rodriguez de Castro, in 1412 Ferrer converted in Alcañiz Joshua Lorki, known as "Geronimo de Santa Fé," who led the discussion against the Jews at the disputation of Tortosa (1413).

http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view. ... z1b3vh9EsL
His style of preaching (and his success) might have influenced San Bernardino. Indeed it is said (Catholic Encyclopedia):"While preaching at Alexandria he (Ferrer) singled out from among the hearers a youth who was destined to evangelize Italy, Bernadine of Siena."
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15437a.htm
But this report (as some others, for instance this from Opus Dei ...
http://www.opusdeialert.com/st-vincent-ferrer.htm
"It is an immense enterprise," as one historian has noted, "to write a life of which every incident was a miracle." ...
... testify, that there had been a lot of propaganda around this man, and the value of historical truth is (likely) rather low.
According to Vincent's own prophecy, Alphonsus Borgia who was elected to the Papacy and became Callixtus III, did indeed canonize him. The canonization was held on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, June 29, 1455, in the Dominican church of Rome, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. The body was found to be incorrupt on that day. During the Mass of canonization, two dead persons were covered with the cloak in which Saint Vincent had been buried. They were both restored to life. Also the Duke of Brittany's relative was cured of leprosy that day and a blind man was restored to sight.
The first part seems to be (partly) accurate history. San Bernardino was made saint in 1450 (then with Pope Nicholas V, who promoted the Franciscan as pope Eugen did), and then in 1455, when Nicholas died and Calixtus became "Spanish Pope", there was political opportunity to move Spanish merits in the foreground. Dominik and the Dominicans were Spanish, Francesco of Assissi and the Franciscan were Italian. So the balance of the forces demanded to have another great preacher remembered ... and Vincent's "correct" prophesy, that "Alphonsus Borgia ... was elected to the Papacy" was naturally good for the good saint Vincent Ferrer, but also for the young pope Calixtus. As Spain and Spanish interests became later (16th entury) rather dominant in Italy, it's not really a miracle, that so much miracles appear in the life descriptions of Vincent Ferrer.

Image

http://americaneedsfatima.blogspot.com/ ... erted.html
He raised 30 (or 28 ?) from the dead (and I'm not sure, if this happened already in his lifetime), so likely from this he got the attribution "angel of the last judgment".

I wonder, if the preacher Manfredi da Vercelli (also Dominican, from 1419-1423 in Florence, preaching an apocalypse in the year 1423) got his apocalyptic idea from the death of Vincent Ferrer in 1419. A natural correlation to the 3 preachers in the 1420 (Bernardino, Manfredi di Vercelli and the Northern Connecte )is the council of Constance, starting in 1415. The council impressed Europe with 100.000 visitors, which naturally stimulated similar religious events with 1000's of visitors.
Vincent Ferrer, who was strongly connected to Benedikt XIII, the long living French anti-pope, who resisted the new pope election in Constance, ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antipope_Benedict_XIII
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antipope_Benedict_XIV
... wisely avoided to appear at the council. 1419 - when Manfred di Vercelli arrived - was a year, when Florence waited, that the abdicated Pope John XXIII would come back from a German prison. He came, but died soon, and got a fine burial place from the Medici, who had earned a lot of money with him.
In 1423 Parisina had 8 Imperatori cards bought in Florence.

Ferrer took massive operations against the Jews in Spain. "he converted (at least) 25.000".
The article "History of the Jews in Spain" gives a clearer picture.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of ... s_in_Spain


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Ferrer
Huck
http://trionfi.com

Trionfi notes ... Andrea Vitali: article San Bernardino

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Andrea Vitali recently published "San Bernardino e le Carte da Gioco - Carte regolari e trionfi nelle cronache sulla vita del Santo".
http://www.letarot.it/page.aspx?id=227

Now there's also the translation: http://www.letarot.it/page.aspx?id=227&lng=ENG

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Inside the text (which has a complex theme, which I don't touch here) Andrea Vitali notes:
Let’s see in detail what is quoted in the Vita of the anonymous from L’Aquila. After an examination about the general condemn of the dresses, the hair styles and of what women showed to appear beautiful and charming, Bernardine went for gambling: “Indumenta peregrina et lineamenta pulchritudinem vultus conferentia adulterinaeque capillaturae ac pretiosi ornatus, larvales praeterea facies, aleae, taxilli, triumphales carticellae in forum deferebantur, omnia igni tradenda atque comburenda” (3). It deals with dice and cards of triumphs that were burnt in the squares after his sermons against gambling. Proceeding in the examination of the Vita by Anonymous, it is necessary to underline that in 1472 the game of triumphs was not condemned by the Church and the Governs of the cities yet. If the author would have talked about just because they were commonly known in the period in which he wrote his chronicle, as Dummet affirms, he should have considered that the contemporary readers would not have understood the reason of this insert, since the game of triumphs was still considered legal until 1472 (4). In our opinion it results more plausible that the anonymous from L’Aquila has deduced this information by ancient sources. In the meanwhile it is possible that Bernardine, the Saint included in the History of the Church as the most cutthroat against the game of cards, had really quoted them since in the time in which he threw his anathema triumphs did not reflect yet those dictates of the Mystical Staircase that then protected them from the action of the Church, whose power in Bologna was extremely oppressive (See about this the Addenda in the article The Order of Triumphs).

Footnote 4:
4 - Generally the game of triumphs was tolerated for all the XV century. In 1483 Statutes of Crema we find (63): “Nullus ludat ad bisclaciam taxillos vel ad cartas in nundinis et si qui contrafecerit quod poena duplicetur. Ibidem. (64): Ed intelligatur bislacia ominis ludus taxillorum et cartarum: et exceptis ludis triumphorum et schachorum" and always from the Statutes of 1534 (89) of the same city we know that the game of triumphs and the one of tarots * and chess as well were still legal: "Quilibet possit ludere ad tabula set schacos et triumphos et tarochum de die et de nocte". So instead in 1391 Statutes of Bergamo: § 171 "Si quis in domo, curia, horto, brolo vel aliqua alia tenuerit ludum alea, Biselantiae, vel reginetae, sozi, santii, oche vel alterius cuiusvis generis ludi alearum vel Cartarum ad tertam et quartam, fluxi, Ronfae vel Criche, vel generis Cartarum, exeptis Triumphis, scachis et tabulerio, cadat in poenam libr. 50. - § 172: Nullus audeat vel presumat ludere ad azzarum, nec ad aliquem ludorum predictum sub poena libr. 12 ... et intelligatur ludere si reperti fuerint habere ante veliuxta se discum, taxillos, vel cartas vel aliud praeparamentum ad ludendum. Salve quod non comprehendantur in presenti capitulo ludentes ad Triumphos, ad tabuleriam et schachos ad libr. 5". Thanks to the researches on the Statutes of different Italian cities made by historians such as Pietro Sella, Ludovico Zdekauer and Gherardo Ortalli, we know that the legal games were so called: bàzega, gilenum, primera, tarochum, triumphos. The forbidden ones were called: abbales, banco fallito, bassetta, cricca, erbette, fluxum, lanzichinech, reginetta, ronfa, taglio, tertia et quarta, trenta e quaranta, the “bislacia cartarum”, and the “carte del suit”» (page 425). We find isolated cases of condemnation of the game of Triumphs in Assisi with a public announcement dated to 1470 and in Padua with a sermon that the preacher Roberto Caracciolo from Lecce gave in 1455. For an almost complete information about the documents of the XV century concerning the game of Triumphs, visit the link http://trionfi.com/0/e/36/ of the site http://www.trionfi.com.
* The game of Triumphs and that of Tarots, were two different games. Actually in the sixteenth century Ludus Tarochorum meant the game composed by 22 triumphs and 56 regular cards (ie the numeral cards and the cards of court) while in the one of Triumphs were used just the regular cards. In this game, with the word triumph, was called the trump suite. A variant that probably had been imported by Spain. About this argument read our discussion in the essay Triumphs, Trionfini and Trionfetti, soon to be published (Now in Italian version).
Point 1: Crema 1483 is a "new allowance in the city statutes" of the Trionfi game found by Andrea Vital recently. The statutes of Crema are dated not precisely 1483, but the state of Crema in the year 1483 is insecure. It is the time of the Ferrarese war (1482-1484) with Milan (alliance with Ferrara) and Venice (attacker of Ferrara) at different sides. Crema, a city rather near to Milan (46 km) and somehow between Milan and Cremona (distance Crema and Cremona: 43 km; Cremona belonged then to Milanese territory) had a risky frontier position and was attacked in this year and partly in the hands of Milan.
So it's - without further research - difficult to decide, if the statutes were made under Milanese control or Venetian control.
If Crema had been under Venetian control the permission of the Trionfi game would stand together with other known allowances in the years 1488-1491 in cities on Venetian territory (Brescia, Salo, Bergamo).
But if the statutes of Crema were changed under Milanese control, it would stand for an extension of Milanese rules (where it likely had been very common, that Trionfi was an allowed game).

Without considering the Crema document the allowances of Brescia, Salo and Bergamo give the (insecure) impression, that the Trionfi game was prohibited generally in all Venetian cities, perhaps not directly with a prohibition of the games, but with a general prohibition for the import of foreign playing cards.
Venice had been in a state of war from 1463-1479 (war with the Ottomans). Later followed the Ferrarese war (1482-84). Generally it's stated, that Venice came late with an own "Trionfi culture". From all this it might be (with insecurities) concluded, that Venetian card makers didn't produce Trionfi cards (till a specific later time) and that possibly playing card imports were forbidden.
(I wrote about Crema in December 2010; viewtopic.php?f=11&t=345&start=80 )

Point 2: The Trionfi game prohibition in Assissi 1470 (which is - as far I got it - only a "probable date", not totally sure, at least for the moment) was also found recently by Andrea Vitali (I heard of it this month).
This document - my own judgment - might have a tremendous effect on our research.

2 a. It is a Trionfi game prohibition, and we don't know of earlier Trionfi card prohibition. And as a prohibition it is exception of the general rule, that "the game of Trionfi wasn't prohibited in contrast to many other games".

2 b. The prohibition occurs in Assissi, a location, which is rather isolated near a not inhabited mountain region.
http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&rl ... CE4Q8gEwAg

It is well connected by religious history to Francesco of Assissi, who started here the order of the Franciscans. By this Assissi became a place of pilgrimage ad veneration ... However ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisi
The city, which had remained within the confines of the Roman walls, began to expand outside these walls in the 13th century. In this period the city was under papal jurisdiction. The Rocca Maggiore, the imperial fortress on top of the hill above the city, which had been plundered by the people in 1189, was rebuilt in 1367 on orders of the papal legate, cardinal Gil de Albornoz.
In the beginning Assisi fell under the rule of Perugia and later under several despots, such as the soldier of fortune Biordo Michelotti, Gian Galeazzo Visconti and his successor Francesco I Sforza, dukes of Milan, Jacopo Piccinino and Federico II da Montefeltro, lord of Urbino. The city went into a deep decline through the plague of the Black Death in 1348.
The city came again under papal jurisdiction under the rule of Pope Pius II (1458–1464).
... this information lets one assume, that during a specific time before Pope Pius II the region was left without much public control and for this reason had been a pleasant object for bandits and robbery activities. This seems to have changed around c. 1460, when Pius II took possession of Rome ( and had some military trouble to do so).
In 1462 the first "monte di pietà" ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_of_piety
... was founded in Perugia (much greater than Assissi, in 25 km distance to Assissi), a new banking system for poor people, established by the Franciscan order. This new system was quickly imitated by 40 other houses till 1470.
In 1466/67 a bloody process took place against Fraticelli, which were not accepted and prohibited (by the church) "other Franciscan sects", whose members also felt attracted to the region of Assissi (the case is described here ... http://books.google.com/books?id=2QZuXB ... &q&f=false )

In 1471 we have the great Franciscan success, that an earlier Franciscan minister general, Francesco della Rovere, became Pope Sixtus IV. He had been the first Franciscan pope since "Nicholas V", the not counted anti-Pope 1328-30, who was connected to the time, when the different Fraticelli sects took their beginning. From this earlier time till the great successes of San Bernardino and then San Bernardino becoming a saint very quick (1450) after his death (1444), the Franciscans had a difficult stand.

For the time short before and a little later than 1471 I found, that Assissi got buildings and art commissions. It seems clear, that Assissi found some development likely with the intention to improve its condition as a place of pilgrimage, in other words "for tourism".

Point 3: There are Franciscans in Assissi, and Franciscans have been most often involved in playing card prohibitions ... at least in the documents, that we know of. If Andrea's dating "1470" is correct, than we have there

Point 3a: a preparing climax in the success story of the Franciscans: Sixtus IV becomes pope

Point 3b: a stressed relationship between Venice-Ferrara (with Ferrara claiming a "sort of neutrality') against Milan-Florence-Naples
The stressed relationship is especially expressed in the complicated relation Galeazzo Maria Sforza and the Venetian general Colleoni. Galeazzo Maria attempts to murder Colleoni.

Point 3c: Francesco della Rovere (later Sixtus IV) becomes Minister general [that's an important position for the order, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mi ... iars_Minor ] of the Franciscans in 1464, then he is raised to a cardinal in 1467 and in 1469 Zanetto of Udine takes the position of Minister general. Minister generals, so I've read, were always Conventuals in the Franciscan order, not Observants.

This is a complicated difference:
In the playing card prohibitions we see the Observants working against playing cards, not the Conventuals. The difference goes already back to 13th century, then the Conventuals were those Franciscans, who organized themselves in the cities in convents (they often had higher education), and the others (then often called Sprituals) were fond of living on the country in eremitages and wilderness. In the development it was the Spiritual movement, who caused the Franciscan trouble in the time of John XXII.
In 15th century the strongest Franciscan movement were the activities of San Bernardino, somehow addressable as "street preaching". The whole caused also trouble inside the Franciscan order, the complicated development went through all the 15th century and was finally finished in a decree of Pope Leo in 1517, when Observants and Conventuals were officially splitted.
This very complex development, which I give only in very rough detail, is described here:

http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/fra/FRAht01.html
http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/fra/FRAht02.html
http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/fra/FRAht03.html
http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/fra/FRAht04.html
http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/fra/FRAht05.html
http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/fra/FRAht06.html ... with the most interesting information (15th century)

Inside these stressed relationships of Milan/Venice during Galeazzo Maria's time it's interesting to observe ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo%C3%A3o_Mendes_de_Silva
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amedeo_da_Silva
... that Bianca Maria Visconti, "somehow the great lady of the Trionfi cards", sponsored a Milanese Franciscan Amadeo da Silva from Spain, which resulted in a new branch of the Franciscan order, which was called by pope Leo in 1517 between totally 6 branches (Conventuals, Observants, Amadeiti [name after the founder], Colettans, Clareni, Fratres de Capucio) to negotiate the future of the order.
Bianca Maria sponsored in 1464 ... the final acceptance came 1475 from Sixtus IV (who was interested in good Milanese relations).
Earlier another new branch of Franciscans were founded around 1470, which had been in not clear manner in the Venetian-Milanese war (which actually was more or less a "cold war"). I read about it and its founder, who died soon, and so caused this new branch quickly to disappear. Unluckily I forgot to note the link, but my impression was, that this order worked for Venice. Franciscans Observants had occasionally trouble with the Milanese regime under Filipo Maria Visconti, under Francesco Sforza and under Galeazzo Maria Sforza. But my impression was, that this branch worked more or less Pro-Venice.

I hope I find some more info to this group. But for the moment I even don't remember the name.

Cardinal Francesco Rovere lost his post as Franciscan minister general in 1469, likely cause he had new responsibilities as a cardinal (since 1467). The new man was Zanetto of Udine (Udine is on Venetian territory), likely a man of the Pro-Venice part. An understandable choice, as Venice was involved in the Ottoman war since 1463 and the Franciscan had proven already earlier a strong interest in "crusades" (St. Capistran). The current Pope Paul II was also a man from Venice, during his election a clear orientation was signed by nearly all voting cardinals, that a crusade had to be organized by the new pope. Paul II had the intention to give a cardinal's title to the Franciscan friar Marco Fantuzzi da Bologna, who had much preaching experience in Eastern countries (so prepared as a cardinal "for the crusades"), but Marco fled this promotion. In this situation cardinal Bessarion (another promoter of the crusade cause of personal - Greek - interests) suggested Rovere (another Franciscan) as new cardinal ... which was done, with the final result, that Rovere later became Sixtus IV.
For Paul II it was (politically) necessary to do something for the Franciscans after the successes of Bernardino and Capistran. And it was necessary to move somehow in direction of the crusade - so he had to act "with Venice".

So I wonder, if this Trionfi prohibition of Assissi 1470 has something to do with the condition, that we have so late Trionfi allowances on Venetian territory between 1488-91, which indicate, that there were some prohibitions before.

**********************

Added later: I've to correct
Peter of Candia, later anti-pope Alexander V. in 1409-10 had entered the Franciscan order and so he was also a Franciscan pope.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antipope_Alexander_V
He had some friendship with Uberto Decembrio (Pier Candid Decembrio's father and worked for Giangaleazzo Visconti some time.
See http://trionfi.com/decembrio-vita-filip ... a-visconti
Huck
http://trionfi.com