Compared to you guys, my knowledge of the early Tarot is severely lacking, so please take my comments worth a grain of salt... =)
...but has anyone ever made a connection between the early Chariot cards and the Cardinal Virtue of Prudence?
Here's an image from the Wellcome Library. It comes from an illustrated copy of the
Book of Revelation from 1420, (see here for the full manuscript:
https://wellcomelibrary.org/item/b19684915).
The figure in the chariot is holding a scale. The label "Prudencia" appears above her head. Note that the groom/valet on horseback is carrying a whip. Also note the women clustered around "Prudencia" in the bottom left corner. Taken altogether, the multiple images on this page bear a passing resemblance to the Issy Chariot.
It's no secret that the Cardinal Virtues were typically depicted as women. That could potentially explain why a female charioteer appears on the Cary-Yale, Pierpont Morgan Bergamo, and Issy Chariots. Here they are side by side for comparison:
I also recall that in his
Summa Theologiae, Thomas Aquinas refers to Prudence as the
auriga virtutum (literally the "charioteer of the virtues"). He even ranks them in order of importance. Aquinas says, "Now to be a thing essentially ranks before effecting it, and the latter ranks before safeguarding it by removing obstacles thereto. Wherefore among the cardinal virtues, prudence ranks first, justice second, fortitude third, temperance fourth, and after these the other virtues." Apparently, it was common knowledge among the Ancient Greeks and Christian theologians that Prudence was the driver of the Cardinal Virtues.
To further demonstrate this concept, I present an Andrea Mantegna painting from 1502, titled
Minerva Expelling the Vices from the Garden of Virtue:
The other three Cardinal Virtues (Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance) appear in the clouds. At first glance, Prudence doesn't seem to feature in this painting.
Upon closer examination, we find that she has been walled up inside the stone structure on the far right of the painting with only a white fluttering banner to reflect her cry for help.
It's kind of difficult to read the banner, but it says "ET MIHI VIRTVTṼ MATRI SVCCVRRITE DIVI." For those of you not familiar with medieval scribal abbreviation, the squiggly line above the letter V indicates that the letter M has been omitted. Thus, it reads "Et mihi virtutum matri succurrite divi" which can be roughly translated to "And you, O gods, help me, the Mother of Virtues."
Without Prudence, everything goes to hell. The other virtues can only look on in horror as the scene of debauchery unfolds. Fortunately, Minerva/Athena (the goddess of wisdom) arrives to restore Prudence and set things right.
I wonder if this medieval line of thought could explain the "absence" of the fourth Cardinal Virtue from the traditional Tarot. Maybe it's not really missing. Maybe it's concealed in the Chariot card. I don't know... =)
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Another thing I find interesting is the ordering of the Virtues.
In
Summa Theologiae,
Thomas Aquinas ranked the virtues as follows:
1. Prudence
2. Justice
3. Fortitude
4. Temperance
If we look at the
Mantegna painting again, and take Minerva to represent the restoration of Prudence, then the order from left to right is again
1. Prudence
2. Justice
3. Fortitude
4. Temperance
Then, if we start looking at the Trump orders in various Tarot decks, we find some interesting things.
From Michael Dummett's
The Game of Tarot, we have:
TYPE A - Trump Orders
-----------------------------------
Minchiate
10. Chariot (Prudence?)
8. Justice
7. Fortitude
6. Temperance
Tarocco Siciliano
9. Chariot (Prudence?)
7. Justice
6. Fortitude
5. Temperance
Charles VI
9. Chariot (Prudence?)
8. Justice
7. Fortitude
6. Temperance
Other decks from this group such as the
Tarocco Bolognese and the
Rosenwald pack put the Chariot right alongside the other Cardinal Virtues, however they do
not follow Thomas Aquinas' order. But does the proximity of the Chariot to the other three Virtues mean anything? I wonder...
TYPE B - Trump Orders
-----------------------------------
None of the decks in this group order the virtues like Aquinas.
TYPE C - Trump Orders
-----------------------------------
In several of the examples, the ordering of the virtues is like Aquinas, only reversed, (i.e. the Chariot/Prudence has the lowest number and Temperance has the highest).
Catelin de Geoffroy deck
7. Chariot (Prudence?)
[Missing]*
[Missing]*
14. Temperance
*Note: Dummett notes that the Trump order of this deck is probably the same as the Tarot de Marseille
Tarot de Marseille/Tarot de Besançon/Belgian Tarot
7. Chariot (Prudence?)
8. Justice
11. Fortitude
14. Temperance
La Maison académique de jeux
7. Chariot (Prudence?)
8. Justice
11. Fortitude
14. Temperance
Also from this group, the
Susio poem and
Viévil pack do not follow Aquinas' ordering of the virtues.
Well, that's all I have for now. Maybe I'm on to something, or maybe this is all just a textbook example of apophenia. I'll leave it up to you guys to decide. =)