... and in the begin were only 14 Trionfi cards ...
1441, 1st of January, payment
E adi deto (1 gennaio) lire due, soldi cinque marchesani, contanti a Magistro Iacopo de Sagramoro depintore per XIIII figure depinte in carta de bambaxo et mandate a Madama Bianca da Milano per fare festa la scira de la Circumcisione de l'anno presente... L.II.V. |
| "And on the said day (1 January) two lire, five soldi marchesane, reckoned to Maestro Jacopo de Sagramoro, painter, for 14 figures painted on cotton paper and sent to Lady Bianca of Milan, to make festive the celebration of the Circumcision of the present year ... L. II. V." |
| This entry might refer to 14 Trionfi cards, although the word "Trionfi" is not inside the text. By this it might be the oldest reference to a 5x14 Trionfi deck, perhaps even refering to the first construction of a Trionfi deck.
Bianca Maria Visconti is 15-years old, as a guest at the court of Ferrara and the question is undecided, if she will marry Francesco Sforza or perhaps Leonello d'Este. Probably she will have an amusing evening at this 1st of January 1441 with two daughters of Niccolo III., 14 and 15 years old), and perhaps some other guests. Probably it is intended to play cards, perhaps with a deck, that they invented themselves in creative discussion. The game has no name ... soon later - perhaps - it is called "Trionfi", much later, after much changes in motifs and the number of the cards "Tarot" ... |
 |