Rosanne
Well over a fourteen years ago, I received a lovely edition of the Satirical works of Lucian of Samosata. At the same time I was first introduced to a myriad of Tarot cards on the internet via 'Michele's Tarot Page'. I used to look at this page everyday, in wonderment of the many decks available. I thought I recognised the dialogues of Lucian in the characters of Tarot....
Much later I was introduced to Momus and although this 'God' was mentioned in Lucian, I did not know this.....
Over the years on here at AT, and other forums on Tarot, I asked
was Tarot Pagan, Christian,Comedy, Astrological, Italian culture, Sforza History, Visconti History, History of Teodolinda, Political.....Goodness the list is endless. I even travelled to Italy to follow in the steps of Francesco Sforza. Not that that was a waste lol.
Nothing totally satisfied me....I still kept thinking "Tarot pokes borax at the Church" it is not a Christian salvation sequence. I did not think it could be a depiction of Christ in the world card (tdm) Nor did I think Faith could be the Papesse. I tried nevertheless to cram Tarot into these folds, against my natural instincts.
So Huck re- introduced me to Momus, I reintroduced myself to Lucian of Samosata and his satires...... and the Renaissance man Leon Battista Alberti, my hero of Tarot.
Now this Momus was recognised as Satire as you can see here...
http://planet.okfn.org/category/engravings/
The Court of Momus, planted with the principal crops of Mars in Europe and decorated with political emblems of the current war and embellished with elegant historical and satirical poems.
In 1708.
and again later in PLaying cards......
Except from cards for sale..
Kaart van MOMUS (uncut sheet) Dutch series satirising the Bubble schemes of 1720, Full pack 52 Cards and extra title cards.
The Bubble scheme is described here.
Bubble scheme : http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/385600/Mississippi-Bubble
All political satire.....Is this Tarot? This rascal Momus?
Much later I was introduced to Momus and although this 'God' was mentioned in Lucian, I did not know this.....
(From book review on Wikipedia)Momus is the most ambitious literary creation of Leon Battista Alberti, the famous humanist-scientist-artist and "universal man" of the Italian Renaissance. In this dark comedy, written around 1450, Alberti charts the lively fortunes of his anti-hero Momus, the unscrupulous and vitriolic god of criticism. Alberti deploys his singular erudition and wit to satirize subjects from court life and politics to philosophy and intellectuals, from grand architectural designs to human and divine folly. The possible contemporary resonance of Alberti's satire—read variously as a humanist roman-à-clef and as a veiled mockery of the mid-Quattrocento papacy—is among its most intriguing aspects. While his more famous books on architecture, painting, and family life have long been regarded as indispensable to a study of Renaissance culture, Momus has recently attracted increasing attention from scholars as a work anticipating the realism of Machiavelli and the satiric wit of Erasmus.
Over the years on here at AT, and other forums on Tarot, I asked
was Tarot Pagan, Christian,Comedy, Astrological, Italian culture, Sforza History, Visconti History, History of Teodolinda, Political.....Goodness the list is endless. I even travelled to Italy to follow in the steps of Francesco Sforza. Not that that was a waste lol.
Nothing totally satisfied me....I still kept thinking "Tarot pokes borax at the Church" it is not a Christian salvation sequence. I did not think it could be a depiction of Christ in the world card (tdm) Nor did I think Faith could be the Papesse. I tried nevertheless to cram Tarot into these folds, against my natural instincts.
So Huck re- introduced me to Momus, I reintroduced myself to Lucian of Samosata and his satires...... and the Renaissance man Leon Battista Alberti, my hero of Tarot.
Now this Momus was recognised as Satire as you can see here...
http://planet.okfn.org/category/engravings/
The Court of Momus, planted with the principal crops of Mars in Europe and decorated with political emblems of the current war and embellished with elegant historical and satirical poems.
In 1708.
and again later in PLaying cards......
Except from cards for sale..
Kaart van MOMUS (uncut sheet) Dutch series satirising the Bubble schemes of 1720, Full pack 52 Cards and extra title cards.
The Bubble scheme is described here.
Bubble scheme : http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/385600/Mississippi-Bubble
All political satire.....Is this Tarot? This rascal Momus?