Ferrara Placement of Justice

Parzival

One of the oldest orders of the trumps, possibly the original order, places the Justice card penultimately, after the Angel, before the World. Does this not suggest Platonic influence, since to Plato Justice is the ultimate power for a harmonious community? Thus, the virtue of Justice creates or inspires the community of the World. Why would gaming Christians place Justice at position twenty, just before the World and after the Angel of the judgment? Your thoughts about this would be helpful.
 

Huck

Frank Hall said:
One of the oldest orders of the trumps, possibly the original order, places the Justice card penultimately, after the Angel, before the World. Does this not suggest Platonic influence, since to Plato Justice is the ultimate power for a harmonious community? Thus, the virtue of Justice creates or inspires the community of the World. Why would gaming Christians place Justice at position twenty, just before the World and after the Angel of the judgment? Your thoughts about this would be helpful.

Well ... the point is, that in the concrete Trionfi card case not the anonymous Platonic influence, but duke Borso of Ferrara in person had a specific favor for the virtue of Justice (although one might call this a result of Platonic influence, but actually this is a somehow private circumstance). As we know by documents, Borso might be called the major commissioner of the early Trionfi cards, at least we have the most surviving documents about him and Trionfi cards.

And Borso had been the ruling hand in Ferrara, 1450 - 1471.

Borso%20d%27Este.gif.jpg


The humanists weren't very enthusiastic about Borso, the intellectual brother Leonello, who reigned before Borso (1441 - 1450), had more friends between them. Borso wasn't very fit with Latin language and prefered vernacular literature. His sponsored artistic productions were the project of the Borso bible, famous as the highest development of bookpainting and manuscript production (5 years production time, involved many artists) short before the general invention of the printing press, and the Palazzo Schifanoia, celebrating an astrologic poem of Roman time.
Probably one can both productions not identify as results of Platonic influence. Borso was somewhat pompous, but peace loving (after a somewhat very unlucky militaric experience in his youth, which made him a prisoner).
And as a ruler he was interested to present the Justice aspect ... natural political propaganda.
 

Moonbow

Frank Hall said:
Does this not suggest Platonic influence, since to Plato Justice is the ultimate power for a harmonious community?

Hi Frank, I'm not familiar with Plato so would need someone else to explain why there is a similarity to Plato's ideas. But, I do know (according to Andy's Playing Cards), that the ordering was influenced by philosophical ideas:

In the first tarots, trumps were ranked according to the moral consideration and the philosophical reading given to each of the subjects featured: for instance, cards showing human authority such as the Emperor or the Pope, would outrank (thus take, in play) trivial activities as the Conjurer, but they would be taken by higher subjects, for instance the three virtues (Justice, Fortitude, Temperance). Death would then take any card related to man's mortal life, but it would be outranked by trascendental subjects such as the Stars, the Moon, the Sun, and so on.

http://l-pollett.tripod.com/cards26.htm
 

Debra

Frank Hall said:
... to Plato Justice is the ultimate power for a harmonious community? Thus, the virtue of Justice creates or inspires the community of the World.

Justice is the highest virtue for civil society, yes, but I don't see that the trumps revolve around the story of civil society and end with the Republic.