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Many thousands of pages have been written on the origin and first spread of tarot. Instead of summarising the main 'theories', let me start with a rather recent article, which lists the relevant places and dates involved. (1) Two figures of that article are an excellent starting point: one is a map of Italy with regions shadowed in two ways: dark grey, in which trionfo was known before 1452; light grey up to 1475. The second figure is a table in which places and dates, from 1442 to 1482, are put in order - at its bottom we find the year 1442 in correspondence with Ferrara, then on subsequent lines we find Cremona/Milan/Pavia, followed by Florence, Siena, Padua, Bologna, Ancona/Fabriano/Recanati, Mantua, Naples, and Rome. The initial presence in Rome is marked at 1474 and it is this date which is the most interesting here. It is well known that the best documented initial spread of tarot refers to Ferrara. The documents of the Este court have been preserved and studied for a long time. Recently, card historians could avail themselves of the extraordinary works by Adriano Franceschini (2) and find there further information. A similar work on local documents has been made by Arnold Esch for Rome, with special attention to customs data. He published several articles with new information and discussion, and recently a whole book on the topic.(3) The book includes extended versions of articles already published (in particular increasing the time interval investigated from 20 to 40 years) and the insertion of an unpublished list of items of interest for the fine arts as chapter V: Pittura, scultura, artigianato artistico nei registri doganali di Roma 1445-1485. The various items are listed there in chronological order as one-two lines of text without comments. As it occurred for Ferrara, these works about Rome have been found to be a useful source by card historians. As far as I know, the first who used them has been Thierry Depaulis, who stressed their relevance to the early history of tarot and made them known to card historians and collectors.(4) In October 2011, Ross Caldwell found in the publications of Esch further data concerning the import of cards and triumphs into Rome and discussed them with Lothar Teikemeier and other experts in the web(5). The discussion pointed to the fact that the known dates of the first introduction of triumphs in Rome had now to be set about ten years earlier than previously accepted. Moreover, the fact that a trade of dozens of 'common' packs existed at the time was a proof that a standard type of tarot existed earlier than accepted till now. Lothar Teikemeier informed me of this discussion and I was thus induced to check if further information was present in Esch's book. Indeed, I could find two lines in chapter V, on page 270, which correspond to another step backwards in time.
It is impossible to deduce from this information the exact price of the triumph packs imported: 36 bolognini (half a ducat) corresponded to the 5% import tax, but we don't know how the total value of 10 ducats could be distributed between immagine and triunfi; in any case, these triumphs could not be considered as precious items. The fact itself that they were imported as a stock of 8 packs (similar or even identical) is sufficient to indicate a manufacturing and a trade already well established. Moreover, the fact that a tax was paid for them is a proof that these items were addressed to 'common' people and not up to the papal court they got imports without paying any tax. On the basis of this new data, the map of Italy mentioned above keeps its validity (let me add, for the moment) just because the limit between dark and light grey had been set precisely at the year 1452. The first and direct consequence of the new information is a change in the position of Rome among the earliest documented places in which triumphs were played. The second, less direct, consequence is connected with the seemingly Florentine provenance of these items: they may thus prove that Florence had a major part in the early spread of tarot. I have spent a lot of time researching a rich store of documents here in Florence comparable to those studied for Ferrara and Rome. Hopefully, the names of the Florentine merchants involved in the Roman imports of cards and triumphs will help me to find something useful. Footnotes: (1) Ross Caldwell, The Playing-Card, Vol. 36 No. 1 (2007) 51-62. (2) Adriano Franceschini, Artisti a Ferrara in età umanistica e rinascimentale. Vol. 1. Roma-Ferrara 1993. see Google-Snippet-View (3) Arnold Esch, Economia, cultura materiale ed arte nella Roma del Rinascimento. Roma 2007 ; see Google-Snippet-View (4) Thierry Depaulis, The Playing-Card, Vol. 36 No. 3 (2008) 205-211. (5) Web-Discussion. Ross Caldwell and Lothar Teikemeier cooperated in the collection and presentation of all known Trionfi card notes of the 15th century in the web: see Webpage Map from Ross Caldwell in 2007 in The Playing Card, vol. 36/1. Table from Ross Caldwell (state 2009). The momentary research (November 2011) has further proceeded. New Trionfi Card Notes in 15th century
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| Item statutum, et ordinatum est, quod nullus teneat ludum, vel biscalatiam, vel permittat ludere in domo, vel sedimine suo, vel habitationis ipsius scienter, et quid contrafecent solvat soldos centum Imper. et comburatur bislatia: si vero ludatur in domo alicujus, vel sedimine, vel habitatione, cujus est domus, vel sedimen, habitatore penitus ignorante, ludentes ultra poenam suam infranotatam, quam luserunt, teneantur solvere dictos soldos centum imper. pro praedictis domino, vel habitatore domus, vel sediminis: Ludentes vero ad taxillos, vel ad biscalatiam, vel ad alium ludum, in quo poena pecuniaria amittatur, vel amitti possit a soldis quinque imper. supra, exceptis ludo scatorum, tabularum, triumphorum in pubblico, et non in tabernis condemnetur in soldis viginti Imper. mutuans vero pecunias ad ludum in sol. 40. Imper. et inspector ludi in sold. 10. Imper. et praedictae poenae duplicentur de nocte. |
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1470 Assissi (Trionfi prohibition)
presented in: Andrea Vitali: Trionfi permessi, Trionfi proibiti - Due documenti inediti (2011) also in Andrea Vitali: San Bernardino e le Carte da Gioco - Carte regolari e trionfi nelle cronache sulla vita del Santo (2011) announced in: Tarot History Forum, October 2011 related to project: Collection Franciscans Notes: Assisi had been under administrative rule of Perugia, but was given to the Chiesa in the time of Pope Pius II (1458-64). The relevant sentence in the Statutes of Assissi of c. 1470 is discussed:| Bando Pubblico contro il giuoco de azara de carte, nè triomphi ne giuoco de tavole dove se giuochino denari. |
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1475-1479 Rome
The old repesentation of the Arnold Esch texts (c. 2007), found by Thierry DepaulisRome 1474 - 1478 (3 notes)
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c. 1480 Gabriel Barletta (preaching)
presented in: Andrea Vitali: Trionfi permessi, Trionfi proibiti - Due documenti inediti (2011). It was earlier noted by Claude Gaignebet (2006), but we had no information about this. related to project: Collection Franciscans announced at: Tarot History Forum The passage reads ...| Si vult venire in domum meam in istis festis paravi plura. Si voluerit ludere ad triumphos sunt in domo; ad tesseras, habeo plura tabularia. Ad Occam, habeo taxillos grossos, & minutos: grossos ut si fortè male videret ... |
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1482 Girolamo Riario, gambling in church (1482), reported by Stefano Infessura (ca.1435-ca.1500)
presented in: Andrea Vitali: Trionfi permessi, Trionfi proibiti - Due documenti inediti (2011). announced at: Tarot History Forum The story, that Girolamio Riario gambled in a church, appeared in various history books, but the involvement of trionfi cards I didn't saw reported. The passage reads ...| Interea verò Comes Hieronymus, Virginius Ursinus et reliqui Domini, Ecclesiam Lateranensem incolentes, non cessabant quotidie ludere ad triumphos, ad cartas, & ad aleas, et hoc quidem in Sacrestia dictae venerabilis Ecclesiae, etiam super capsa plena Reliquiis, & rebus aptis ad divinum cultum ibi existentibus; adeo quod dicto tempore à nemine vel paucissimis dicta Ecclesia extitit visitata ... |
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