Tarot History Forum

Hi Mikeh !

In your opinion, what could the top and bottom cards have been in the hypothesis of Bembo 14 trumps (1+12+1) created in the first commission for the Visconti Sforza Pierpont deck?

Note: I wrote Boiardo when I were thinking Bembo. It was a mistake. Now it is right in my answer.

(It seems you now use the name Colleoni for that deck, in reference to one of the places where part of that deck is preserved.)

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It seems that the commentary on Petrarch's triumphs was written by Lapini (Illicino) between 1469 and 1472. Is the suggestion that it was written in 1469 reliable? I see imprecise, even contradictory, texts in different sources. Later, that commentary was published in 1475 in Bologna or Siena. Wikipedia mentions both places, each in a different paragraph. I don't know if there's a mistake or the book was published in both places the same year. I think there's another question. It's unknown whether the author Lapini was still alive in 1475 when his commentary was published. Perhaps you're not sure, but I'm confused about those three details.

I've searched for Lapini's commentary in THF and on Google, but I can't find it. Have some of you read it?


*******

Regarding the 5x14 theory, it would be interesting to know which is the geographic regions and chronological period in which Huck thinks the 5x14=70 deck was produced. Mikeh's interpretation doesn't fit with my vision or my understanding of the 5x14 theory.

There's an important issue in the 5x14 theory. Mikeh mentioned it subtly now, but I don't know if this issue has been discussed elsewhere. I thought about this a while ago. Mikeh talked about an "abbreviated deck." I am going now to speak about it ...


Hello Huck !

It would be important to explain why different decks (with only 14 or 16 trionfi) don't have exactly the same cards. I think there was a set of cards, and that set kept growing, but some were freely chosen to bring the total number of trumps to 14. It's similar (but not identical) to thinking that some cards were replaced by others, which emerged as alternatives.

For example, there is an Empress in the Alessandro Sforza deck, but there is a Pope in the Charles VI deck. Another strange example is that the Modrone deck has a World, while the first commission of the Visconti Sforza deck doesn't have a World. This requires some explanation. Personally, I doubt that an early deck with all 22 allegorical cards existed. I think decks had 14 trumps in all regions until around 1465. But the issue I'm raising requires attention. Perhaps you've already discussed it in detail, but I haven't seen that thread.

Magic Moon wrote,

In your opinion, what could the top and bottom cards have been in the hypothesis of Boiardo's 14 trumps (1+12+1) created in the first commission for the Visconti Sforza Pierpont deck?

(It seems you now use the name Colleoni for that deck, in reference to one of the places where part of that deck is preserved.)

Sorry for introducing a new name. I had just been emailing a friend who used the term "Colleoni" for that deck. I am happy to go back to Visconti-Sforza/PMB. "Pierpont" is just the first word of the two places where the deck is now held, the Pierpont Morgan Library and Bergamo. Why it is the name of the institution, as opposed to the city, and the name of the city, as opposed to the institution (Accademia Carrara), is not clear, but it works.

I do not know what you mean by "Boiardo's 14 trumps". Boiardo has 22 tercets, mentioning the Fool and the World in a few. In my 1 + 12 + 1, as I said, the lowest card would be the Fool or the Bagatella, and the highest card the World or the Angel, more probably the World, as that is what it was later. By Boiardo's time, it would have been 21 + 1, with the World the highest and the Bagatella as the lowest trump, with the Fool playing its usual role as the Excuse. That Boiardo uses the title "sonetto excusado" for his final sonnet seems to me no coincidence. That does not mean that the first tercet in Boiardo corresponds to the World as opposed to the Fool, even if Tarocchi appropriati typically went from the highest to the lowest. Sometimes it was the reverse. The Fool is seen at both ends. I think it is important not to have definite hypotheses if none is needed or warranted.

Your idea of replacement cards is interesting. I can readily accept the idea that the Star, Moon, and Sun replaced Hope, Faith, and Charity, because there is no surviving deck that mixes the two. It is harder with the Empress and Pope, because the Visconti-Sforza/PMB has both. It seems significant to me that the "replaced" cards would all be virtues. That suggests to me that if that deck was used for a 14 trump game, it had different rules than the 21+1 game, if it existed in Milan then (and I see no reason why it wouldn't).

Magic Moon wrote,

It seems that the commentary on Petrarch's triumphs was written by Lapini (Illicino) between 1469 and 1472. Is the suggestion that it was written in 1469 reliable? I see imprecise, even contradictory, texts in different sources. Later, that commentary was published in 1475 in Bologna or Siena. Wikipedia mentions both places, each in a different paragraph. I don't know if there's a mistake or the book was published in both places the same year. I think there's another question. It's unknown whether the author Lapini was still alive in 1475 when his commentary was published. Perhaps you're not sure, but I'm confused about those three details.

The dedication is said to be to Borso d'Este. That suggests that Borso had given him some support. Also, if it was published in 1475, it would have taken him some time to write, hence during his time in Ferrara, which started in 1469. He may not have finished it by 1472 or even 1473. There is no particular reason why he should have started writing it in 1469 in particular. As far as I know, there is no information about Lapini after 1474. That's all that can be said at this point. I find nothing else.

Mikeh

Thank you so much for the explanations. The name of the VSPMB deck can be understood in all sorts of ways, depending on the tastes of each writer. I write it "Pierpont" so it's not confused with other Visconti Sforza decks. I'm not writing the full name because it seems longer than necessary. The initials are interesting too.

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I was wrong when I mentioned 14 Boiardo trumps. I meant 14 Bembo trumps. Your answer is perfect anyway.

Thanks.

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 (𝐀𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐬)⁣⁣
⁣⁣
1. 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞, whoever seeks good fortune with you ⁣⁣
must be attentive, spirited, and ready, ⁣⁣
for in the end the prize is given to the one who endures. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
2. 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞, there is no doubt that jealousy ⁣⁣
always accompanies you in some measure. ⁣⁣
A little is good, but too much is harmful. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
3. 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞, the limit and end of your gains ⁣⁣
is an endless sighing until death. ⁣⁣
Whoever laughs one day laments for a year. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
4. 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞, this desire presses so strongly ⁣⁣
to obtain what it imprints upon the heart ⁣⁣
that no doors seem open to the deed. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
5. 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 teaches us not to fear ⁣⁣
in any undertaking, for the bold man ⁣⁣
is always victor in your court. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
6. 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞, if at times it wounds a heart, ⁣⁣
heals it with that very dart. ⁣⁣
Oh, how favored he is in your realm. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
7. 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 made that wise king wander ⁣⁣
seven years like an animal, for by its law ⁣⁣
the prince is made equal to his servant. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
8. 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 made Apollo tend Admetus’ flocks, ⁣
and though cruel at first, ⁣⁣
in the end he was not, but thus Love corrects its own. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
9. 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 finds new arts, and beneath the honey ⁣⁣
it always hides the bait. Yet it pleases its servants ⁣⁣
when it finds among them someone faithful. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
10. 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 tests the desire of each servant, ⁣⁣
and if it finds it vain, in many forms ⁣⁣
it torments him so that each day he laments more. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
11. 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 made that great Cyclops giant ⁣⁣
so enamored of Galatea ⁣⁣
that perhaps no lover ever burned more. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
12. 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 made Paris so bold ⁣⁣
that he dared to seize fair Helen, ⁣⁣
for every heart Love makes generous. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
13. 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞, son of Venus, made her ⁣⁣
burn for Adonis and so inflamed for him, ⁣⁣
for Love still pours down his star from heaven. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
14. 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 made Jove once descend ⁣⁣
in various forms, in bull, in swan, in gold, ⁣⁣
and even took Ganymede in the form of an eagle. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘱𝘩𝘢ë 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘭. ⁣⁣

On Fear, Jealousy, Hope, Love⁣
By Count Matteo Maria Boiardo⁣
⁣
Chapter of Fear

1. 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑 keeps a soul so full of doubt⁣
That it has little cause to live in joy;⁣
It never rejoices, and is always afraid.⁣
⁣
2. 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑, if there is any danger, forbids⁣
The taking of pleasure, and makes a man so base⁣
That reason never quiets his spirit.⁣
⁣
3. 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑 makes the lamb tremble in the fold⁣
If it hears the wolf outside; and so it remains shut⁣
That scarcely can the subtle wind enter.⁣
⁣
4. 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑 holds, as is the custom, four steeds of a chariot⁣
Beneath one rod, bound fast beneath a single yoke,⁣
And many in servitude, whom it does not release.⁣
⁣
5. 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑 at times so holds us⁣
That we cannot show our deeds, which greatly harms us;⁣
For restraint and hesitation are companions to fear.⁣
⁣
6. 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑 always makes a man not defend himself,⁣
But show himself submissive in conflict,⁣
And without using arms, yield himself defeated.⁣
⁣
7. 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑: if you come among armed men in a joust,⁣
Their valor will lie dead beneath you;⁣
Where you are, the face always shows it.⁣
⁣
8. 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑 confounds the senses and makes the face pale;⁣
And trembling is felt in the heart because of it,⁣
And the eye shows it with its distorted gaze.⁣
⁣
9. 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑 not only doubts what is present,⁣
But fears even what is far away;⁣
The danger seems to it imminent.⁣
⁣
10. 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑 indeed is vain imagining;⁣
And where fear reigns, all agree⁣
That the body there grows weak and sickly.⁣
⁣
11. 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑 made Phineus among men a tower⁣
Of stone, with Medusa’s face;⁣
For Fortune does not aid the timid.⁣
⁣
12. 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑 made King Ptolemy suddenly turn⁣
Against Pompey, only out of fear⁣
That Caesar might take his kingdom from him.⁣
⁣
13. 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑 did not leave Andromache secure for her son;⁣
Upon seeing Ulysses, she made him enter⁣
The tomb of his father Hector.⁣
⁣
14. 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑 made Dionysius, instead of the barber,⁣
Had his daughters shave him with embers⁣
To avoid the blade, yet in the end he did not escape death,⁣
⁣
𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥.⁣