Trajano Boccalini (1556 – 1613)

Huck

English biography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trajano_Boccalini
Italian biography
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traiano_Boccalini

Other material:
Mary Greer wrote about the theme
http://marygreer.wordpress.com/category/tarot-history-research/
Andrea Vitali wrote about the theme
http://www.letarot.it/page.aspx?id=238
It was discussed at Aeclectic:
http://tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=152539&highlight=Boccalini

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Boccalini in 1612 in Venice published his "De'raggvagli di Parnaso", a collection of c. 250 stories from a fantasy state, reigned by Apollo. The first of the stories has, as you will see, an amusing playing card story, in which the relevant game is called "Trionfetto". It's not totally clear, if this game relates to a deck with Tarot cards or Trionfi cards in the 15th century style.

The Italian text is here:
http://books.google.com/books?id=fqdCmS2pnncC&dq=traiano+Boccalini&source=gbs_navlinks_s
the edition is from 1624, so not the original of 1612.

The word Trionfetto appears at page 6 and 7
http://books.google.com/books?id=fq...i&q=trionfetto#v=snippet&q=trionfetto&f=false
The position is at the end of Ragguolo 1 (in announces Trionfetto) and the story is itself the Ragguolo 2. So the story has the value of an introduction to the rest and all others.

boccalini-it1.jpg


boccalini-it2.jpg


boccalini-it3.jpg


The English version is from 1669
http://books.google.com/books?id=kh...&resnum=2&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

As translator is given Henry, Earl of Monmouth, which should be this person:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Carey,_2nd_Earl_of_Monmouth
... who died 1661, so the translation is earlier.

boccalini-en.jpg


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In the last passage we find the following sentence:

English:
But when the Learned found out the deep Mysteries, the hidden Secrets, and the admirable Cunning of the excellent game of Trump, they extolled his Majesties Judgement, even to the eighth heaven, celebrating and magnifying every where, That neither Philosophy, nor Poetry, nor Astrology, nor any of the other other most esteemed Sciences, but only the miraculous Game of Trump, did teach (and more particularly, such as business in the Court) its most important Secret, that every the least Trump did take all the best Coat-Cards.

Ialian:
Ma coe prima: Letterati scoprirono i magisterii i segreti reconditi, egli arteficii ammirandi dell'excellentissimo giuoco del Trionfetto fina al ottavo Cielo commendarono l'altogiudicio die sua Maesta, celebranda, e mgnificando per tutto, che ne la Filosofia, ne la Poetica ne le Matematiche, ne l'Astrologia, e le altre piu pregiate scienze , ma che solo il mirabillissimo giuoco del Trionfetto, quelli particolarmente, che negotianano nelle corti, insegnanal'importantissimo segreto, che ogni cartaccia di Trionfo piglia tutte le piu belle figure.


Boccalini uses giuoco del Trionfetto (and we don't know, what sort of game this is, either played with Tarocchi trumps or without), the English writer translates "Game of Trump" (and I think, that this wasn't played with Italian Tarocchi trumps in England). For a single Trump card the Italian writer uses "Trionfo" (and we don't kbnow, what this is, either a trump in a game with usual cards of with Tarocchi cards) and the English writer translates again with "Trump".
Somehow the special Italian term Trionfetto is lost with the translation.

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At another place in the text (p. 370) I found the following playing card context:

bocca-cen-1.jpg


bocca-cen-2.jpg


Boccalino speaks of the game Primero, in which "3 sevens" are an excellent hand. Primero had been a favored topic by Francesco Berni (wrote 1521 and 1526 about it) and the mathematican and gambler Cardano (wrote 1526), both knew the Taroch game and gave notes about it, but Primero had been the game, that they actually described.

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Further this scene, which just notes a gambling house (p. 160):

bocca-bai-1.jpg


bocca-bai-2.jpg


bocca-bai-3.jpg


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Otherwise I found not much.

H0132-L16328139.jpg



Boccalino began this text in 1605. In this time the French king Henry IV. of Navarra had married an Italian Empress in 1600 ... 1610 he was assassinated. In Tarot research Dummett and Depaulis assume for this and the following time the peak of the early Tarot development, at least in France. It's calculated, that the interest in Tarocchi died in the 1650's ans 1660's. The first writer about Tarot rules in France (Michel de Marolles; in a situation of 1637), which he published later with his autobiography 1657, notes then, that the game was played earlier much more intensive, but had become out of fashion..

However, Boccalini lived in Rome and Venice and card playing behavior there might have been quite different to that in France.


wiki said:
The son of an architect, he himself adopted that profession, and it appears that he commenced late in life to apply to literary pursuits. Pursuing his studies at Rome, he had the honor of teaching Bentivoglio, and acquired the friendship of the cardinals Gaetano and Borghesi, as well as of other distinguished personages. By their influence he obtained posts, and was appointed (by Gregory XIII) governor of Benevento in the states of the church. Here, however, he seems to have acted imprudently, and he was soon recalled to Rome, where he shortly afterwards composed his most important work, the Ragguagli di Parnaso (News-sheet from Parnassus), in which Apollo is represented as receiving the complaints of all who present themselves, and distributing justice according to the merits of each particular case. The book is light and fantastic satire on the actions and writings of his eminent contemporaries, and some of its happier hits are among the hackneyed felicities of literature.

To escape, it is said, from the hostility of those whom his shafts had wounded, he returned to Venice, and there, according to the register in the parochial church of Santa Maria Formosa, died of colic accompanied with fever on November 16, 1613. It was asserted by contemporary writers that he was beaten to death with sandbags by a band of Spanish bravadoes, but the story seems without foundation. At the same time, it is evident from the Pietra del Paragone, which appeared in 1615 after his death, that whatever the Spaniards felt towards him, he cherished against them the bitterest hostility. The only government which was exempt from his attacks is that of Venice, a city for which he seems to have had a special affection.

In 1614, just one year later, a chapter of his work (Nr. 77) was taken in the earliest printed version of the famous Fama Fraternatis, which is said to have given initial reason for the foundation of the Rosicrucian Order. Some assume, that this was a "pirated" version. A version of 1615, which I could find in the web, didn't include the Boccalini text.

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The begin of the Rosenkreutzer was in the writing of Johann Valentin Andreae. Who is kept rather short in English wikipedia ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Valentinus_Andreae
... with doubts about the authorship of Andrae
And it notes a first version of the text in Strassbourg 1616

However, German wikipedia is longer in his article about Andreae

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Valentinus_Andreae
... and it notes as the first edition
Fama Fraternitatis oder Entdeckung der Brüderschafft des löblichen Ordens deß RosenCreutzes 1414 in Kassel.

And this is a version of 1415, you can look on at ...

http://ia700308.us.archive.org//loa...raternitati00andr/famafraternitati00andr.djvu

... and the impressum shows

haselmeyer.jpg


... only one name (beside the printer Andream Hünefeldt, which is nearer to the bottom) and that's H(?). Haselmeyern (which means in context Haselmeyer).

Haselmeyer is not unknown, here his biography ... he was send to the galleys in 1612, which usually should have meant death, but Haselmeyer was released 1617 and survived. But he was not H. Haselmeyer, but Adam Haselmeyer.

http://books.google.com/books?id=PC...m=2&sqi=2&ved=0CBwQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

So Haselmeyer (also Haslmair, Haslmayr) lived dangerous and couldn't have done anything in 1615 (although it's said, that he was able to write letters) ...

Here is a better (English) study ...

http://books.google.com/books?id=-0...m=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

... and according this the first print has been in 1614., which makes sense, cause the text has it with the 120 years, and according this Christian Rosenkreutz died in 1484 in the proud age of 106 years and 1484 + 120 years makes 1604.

Cassel and Danzig are not Lyon, likely not reachable locations from French perspective. So it's likely Johann Valentin Andreae, who was the author, and it's understandable, that Andreae didn't give his name, cause friend Haselmeyer was already at the galleys and likely Andreae had no interest to follow him.

Andrae himself shall have said to have written something (likely a sort of basic text, which later was modified) 1602/03 (Andreae 16-17 years old), this analyzing author ...

http://www.frommann-holzboog.de/sit...ster.pdf?PHPSESSID=15p5g1fibe4c0kes7m82c37hu3

... comes to the conclusion, that this in reality might have happened 1605-07. In 1612 the above noted reflected the text in an 8 pages manuscript, which was printed March 1612.

Andreae in his later age considered the Rosencreuzer text just a "sin of his youth" and became rather sincere, leaving some youthful irony behind. He personally suffered considerably in the 30-years-war in Würtemberg, where he lived and worked. Würtemberg was considerably devastated, it's said, that only 20% of the poulation survived at the location.

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The Boccalini text in the not observable Fama edition of 1614 in the Boccalini text starts with this in the Boccalini English translation (1669) ...

boccalini-77.jpg


More of the text at ...
http://books.google.com/books?id=kh...&resnum=2&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false
Page 119

Here's a summary of Arthur Waite, who knew the context rather well (as far I see it in the moment):
http://books.google.com/books?id=tLCA05PSfpsC&pg=PA23
 

Titadrupah

-For he who kept a piece of stinking flesh in his house, ought not complain if it were troubled with flies.-

Wonderful line!