mmfilesi wrote:
Why should the Ferrarese paint Regiomontanus
?
I dont know yet. I need to know more about astronomy in Ferrara in 1470. In any case, it seem a jocke about the Moon in the Medici's deck?
I assume, that "jocke" = "joke".
In my idea of the Charles VI. deck it was made for Lorenzo de Medici in 1463, with Lorenzo getting 14 years old (1.1.1463). This is estimated on the general observation, that playing cards (and Trionfi) were - at a specific period maybe 1420 - 1470 and for the "society of the rich" - accepted for kids and very young "grown-ups" in the age from maybe something like 14-18 or 14-21. After this "teenager period" it was expected, that at least male persons should be interested in chess, jousts, hunting, some intellectuality ... as far it was expected, that they should develop some knight behavior and weren't dedicated for a career in the church.
1471 is marked by the point, that (1) printing industry showed increased development and (2) that Sixtus IV became pope. Pope Sixtus had a lot of young nephews, all grown up with relative humble conditions and education, so with another social education, in which the question of playing cards were handled different (how this precisely had been, we don't know, but they came from Savona, so somehow between France and Italy, and it seems likely, that there were less prohibitive tendencies "for normal people" as for instance in Florence, so middle and Southern Italy. These "low-birth" persons changed their personal income from "few" to very much in short time, and they very quickly dominated Italian society (which means, their behavior was imitated), and they behaved at least partly according their earlier education. So the prohibitive tendencies against playing cards were overcome for some time (with the result of very much gambling especially in Rome) with a draw-back in 1497/98 with the Savonarola movement, which even reached a prohibition in Ferrara (we cannot point to an earlier precedence, although playing cards seems to have been "out" maybe 1445-1449) for some time.
The increased printing industry should have had an effect on the development of the use of woodcut technique and this should have had some effects on playing card production.
Back to 1463 ... the situation was different then. Florence had have a "deep prohibitive tendency" between 1440-1449 thanks to the near relations to pope Eugen. In 1450 we then have "Pope Eugen 3 years dead", "peace in Italy" and a "Jubilee year with many foreign tourists", all factors working together to become a little more liberal in matters of playing behavior. So we an allowance in Florence, in which also "Trionfi" is noted (December 1450). Italy gets further festivities with the Emperor wedding, then with Borso triumphal festivities cause the duke title. But then "war again" (1452) and as a big impact the fall of Constantinople in 1453. The result are new preachings for a crusade and even playing cards burnings especially in Germany (where traditionally much less prohibitive tendencies can be observed), surely with some side effects also in Italy. In Florence the dominance of the Medici family is raised a little (should be considered in this period "less prohibitive"), and conservative forces (with more prohibitive tendencies) have the word for some time. This inner opposition is overcome and the Medici found themselves with some youth in the own household around 1460. This youth is very important, cause all 3 older Medici are sick and all know, that the possibly next protector of the family is still rather young, actually "too young". So they do a lot to place Lorenzo de Medici inside the Florentine society, likely more, as they would have done under different conditions.
The youth needed some playing card freedom ... so there was a new law in 1463. The Medici build a whole gang of talented youth around Lorenzo, his legendary brigade. They are allowed to show there abilities in the festivity of the Pope Pius visit 1459 ... with Lorenzo as leader and 10 years old. The Medici invested in education and good conditions.
And then Lorenzo got this deck, assumed in early 1463 ... there is no joke with the moon. All the cards were made with some calculated taste especially "for Lorenzo". In 1463-1464 death strucks in the family for 3 times. Uncle, cousin and grand-father Cosimo die. This would have been not the right time for "gambling", playing cards etc.
Then we've the letter of Pulci in 1466, Minchiate appears as word for the first time. "Trionfi" is noted 1463, and "Minchiate" in 1466, and this signals, that a development should have taken place in the meantime, and likely in Florence.
The major influence for Lorenzo in these years (compare your own youth) is his "peer-group", and somehow naturally "his teachers" and very natural his mother ... cause the older Medici are all sick and can hardly walk, that's not very inspiring for a 12-14 year old boy (and his younger brother, his cousin and all the other of the brigade).
Lucretia Tornabuoni spend some time at Cafaggiolo, one of the Medici villas ...
... outside of Florence in the Mugello. And in the Mugello lived Luigi Pulci.
...
... I've read a good part about the origin of the Morgante (well, a really important work of Italian history of literature), but nobody of the studied authors noted the simple, but really relevant "fact", that very simply the distance between Cafaggiolo and Pulci's mill was rather short (a few kilometer's). And it simply explains a lot. Cafaggiolo had been renovated till around 1458 and it seems to have Lucretia's place of escape, cause all three other older Medici's likely were too sick or too occupied with other business to surpass the rather long distance very often. So Lucrezia had "her place" there - and very practical, the poet Pulci lived around the corner. Lucretia had own literary interests, she wrote herself, and she engaged for the Giovanni festivities, which needed annually some literature for small religious plays - street theater in other words. So she was for Florence this usual literature popess, which existed also at many places, for instance in the salons of 19th century.
... .-) ... you're a writer yourself, so you should know this type.
In this case the literature popess needed somebody, who had an eye on the plays of some 8-12 years old boys without disturbing to much, just too avoid they didn't break a leg or got other trouble during their explorations of the landscape. It was unavoidable, that Pulci "taught" occasionally something, how to bind a shoe, how to climb a tree, how to make a fire, how to handle a horse, how to shoot a bow and occasionally a little bit of literature with the result, that later a lot of the members of the brigade inclusive Lorenzo became "writing humans", well accepted authors.
Pulci was a "man of the nature", and he had trouble with these "complicated citizens". But he had already developed in own writing (so he got this job) and Lucretia "gave him the commission" to write the Morgante.
We didn't find anybody of the Morgante analysts, that noted very much about the brigade and Pulci's real function. Also nobody notes, that "Morgante" is rather obviously funny "youth literature". From the Morgante it is known, that it had its final edition 28 chapters, in a version around 1470 23 chapters and (started in 1461) in ca. mid 1463 15-16, so that actually the most of it was done, when Lorenzo had been 12-14.
So instead "gave him a commission" we have to place there a "caring mother Lucrezia", a "half-teacher and man-for-a-lot-of-things" Pulci and "a wild company of limited dwarfs" with own interests as the creative center, which caused the "Morgante" ... somehow, with Pulci as the man for the "final design", all made for the moment, with no direct aim to publish, all laid to a rest, when the situation didn't fit anymore (naturally nobody knew in these moments, that this was a piece of world literature).
To the same wild circle we probably have to assign the true background of the Charles VI. Tarot ... and likely we have to search the invention of Minchiate here, naturally not only out of own force, but just reworking input of the outside on the level of 12-16 years old with some controlling hand of Pulci as the experienced (so much for the period 1463 - 1466, the time, when the term "Minchiate" was born, a deck form, which probably had more than 14 or 16 trumps).
It was unavoidable, that Lorenzo grew older and got other responsibilities and interests.
In 1465 he got the "commission" of an official journey to some other cities and courts to make himself known as an official new representative of the Medici house (15 years old) - a general custom to send the heir a little bit around to make some experiences and learn about the "right people". At the given opportunity there existed the bride journey of Ippolita Sforza with great entourage from Milan via Florence to Naples, where she should marry. A big show ... and Lorenzo was planned to guide the bride (+ entourage) from Milan to Florence, where there should be visited the Giovanni festivities for a few days (so around 24th of June). Lorenzo took his journey - of course - in May. He stayed too long in Ferrara ... Piero in Florence was exited about him.
Once in Milan, it's said that he made a good impression. But a lot of things "went wrong" ... Louis XI in France got into a deep political crisis, which led quickly to war, Galeazzo Maria prepared to leave with an army. The festivities in Florence suffered from some fears about a near plague and by the insecure general political situation. Worst of it: Ferrante killed Jacopo Piccinino in Naples, husband of one Sforza's daughters (half-sister of Ippolita). Francesco Sforza stopped the cavalcade and the complete journey ... much later the contract was renewed and the wedding could take place.
Well, the hypothesis goes, that in this time Lorenzo made something, which caused the existence of the 6 cards, which were added to the 5x14-Bembo-deck and so formed the Pierpont-Morgan-Bergamo deck, as it has come to us.
The expanded hypothesis assumes, that Lorenzo's prolonged stay in Ferrara had possibly something to do with it.
Well, the general idea is, that the "youth of the nations" met at these wedding preparations in Milan. Likely anybody contributed something. Naturally they preferred items, which were "in" and somehow belonged "to their age".
Any big developments start small, often somehow accidental, not intended as "big change", mostly rather trivial. Mostly nobody knows, that this becomes later "very important".
Ercole d'Este deck and Palazzo Schifanoia
Why do you think they should be?
