le pendu
In a recent post, Ross G Caldwell brought up something that has stuck in my mind since I saw it.
He said
Is the Papess a Man?
The Avignon Papacy
and the 15th century image on the right from the Sacro Subiaco...
...showing what the caption for the page describes as
And what of the Emperor and Empress? Has the Empress always been shown *clearly* as a woman? Are there examples of two Emperors early in the development of Tarot?
Does the German "Imperatori" fit in here somehow?
What does the Bologna Tarot contribute to this.. if anything?
I realize these are just ponderings... but I sincerely wonder if there is something to the suggestion? Can we find more evidence to support or disprove it?
He said
This has brought to my mind a few earlier discussions.My notion at present is that the Popess did evolve in the tarot deck. At first it would have been two non-descript Popes, distinguished from one another merely by one holding the book and cross, the other holding keys (or whatever); same for the Emperors. Other distinctions found favor over time, including Male-Female. Thus you get an Empress and a Popess, or, to be fair, a female-male imperial pair and a female-male papal pair.
Is the Papess a Man?
The Avignon Papacy
and the 15th century image on the right from the Sacro Subiaco...
...showing what the caption for the page describes as
I keep coming back to the possibility that the Popess and the Pope show two men, both popes... and wonder.. does that in some way connect to Avignon? Does it show an "Eastern Pope" and "Western Pope"?"The portrait on the right shows a pope of the VIIth century, but the XVth century painter did not care about historical accuracy and Agatho I, who died in 681, is crowned with a very nice triregno, the triple crown introduced by Bonifatius VIII (1294-1303)"
And what of the Emperor and Empress? Has the Empress always been shown *clearly* as a woman? Are there examples of two Emperors early in the development of Tarot?
Does the German "Imperatori" fit in here somehow?
What does the Bologna Tarot contribute to this.. if anything?
I realize these are just ponderings... but I sincerely wonder if there is something to the suggestion? Can we find more evidence to support or disprove it?