Revisiting the Cary-Yale Visconti

Rosanne

Mary Greer has brought up this subject in her blog.
http://marygreer.wordpress.com/2011/07/03/the-visconti-tarots/

I have talked about an idea in another forum some time ago. The idea was seemingly scotched.
I consider it is a possibility that the Cary Yale deck is the story of Theodolinda Queen of the Lombards in the 7th century.
The story has been illustrated in the Cathedral of Monza.
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cappella_di_Teodolinda
In this site is the translated commentary...
The numbering starts from the top left or from north to south. The scenes 1 to 23 describe the preparations and the wedding of Theodolinda and Autari , until the death of the king, from 24 to 30 depict the preliminary and the marriage between the queen and her second husband Agilulfo ; 31 to 41 tells the birth and development of the cathedral, the death of Agilulfo and that of Theodolinda, from 41 to 45 then it is said of the landing unfortunate Emperor Constant and his return to Byzantium . The pace of the narrative varies from very fast to very slow, pointing out some historical episodes of particular importance, according to the authors and clients. In particular, there are fewer than 28 scenes of wedding or marriage preparation, they did suggest a connection with the story of Bianca Maria Visconti and the transfer of power between the Visconti and Sforza : the analogy with the story of the Lombard queen, who chose the new king taking him as a husband, would legitimize the takeover of Francesco Sforza by marriage in 1441 .

The card we call the World card...
http://www.tarotpedia.com/wiki/Image:Cary-yale_XXI.jpg

I believe shows the meeting of Agilulfo with a deputation of Monks who are going to convert him from Arianism to Catholicism at Momello on the banks of the River. I believe this because, on his standard is a ourobus or a serpent eating his tail- the symbol of his Pagan persuasion- not the Visconti red man snake.
I can see the idea of Theodolinda carrying the symbol of the Dove around to find a spot for the Cathedral or Church to Saint John the Baptist, in the Chariot.
In the image of 'Hope' I see adoration of the True Cross, from which a nail was made into the Iron Crown of Lombardy. Emperors were crowned with this crown. This crown was a gift to Theodolinda. There are other images similar like Queen Sheba hoping/praying in a fresco at Arezzo- with the point been made of Judas Iscariot been the epitome of Despair and disloyalty, at the cross of the crucifixion.
There are many sites showing the many frescoes, but you have to hit the translate this page button.
I hope you enjoy the viewing and have something to add.
~Rosanne
 

Yygdrasilian

Societas Draconistrarum?

Theodelinda, Queen of the Lombards, by virtue of the reliquary gifts reputedly given her by Pope Gregory the Great, shares with the dragon emperor, Sigismund of Hungary, a folkloric lineage to the crucifixion of Jesus. The Iron Crown of Lombardy and the Bridle of Constantine, each made with a nail from the Cross (or so it was said), were kin to the Spear of St. Maurice, the fabled Lance that pierced side of Jesus. Set in this spearhead was a nail, likewise claimed to have pegged the savior to the instrument of his self-sacrifice. Presumably, all three nails came to light after the Roman Emperor Constantine sent his mother, (Imperatrix Augusta) Helena, on a relic finding mission in the holy land.

According to ‘legend’, she found them beneath a temple of Venus. One she had added to a helmet for her son (the diadem of Constantine), another was made into a bridle in emulation of prophet Zechariah: ”Upon the bridle of the horse shall be Holiness unto the Lord” - 14:20 [Septuagint/Latin Vulgate]

This bridle, or at least a claimant to it, resides at Milan Cathedral (where the bodies of Filippo Maria Visconti, Francesco Sforza, and Bianca Visconti-Sforza were originally interred), while the helmet’s nail supposedly became the Iron Crown held at Theodelinda’s church at Monza. The Holy Lance in Sigismund’s possession was, according to Christian hagiography, brought into Europe by the commander of the Theban Legion, Saint Maurice. In the Roman city of Agaunum all 6666 of them were, so the tale goes, martyred for refusing to make sacrifice unto their Emperor.

Centuries later, Sigismund of Hungary’s patron saint, Sigismund of Burgundy, built an abbey for St.Maurice and his legion. And from there the myth of the Holy Lance grew, entering the imperial reliquary to be grasped by the elect. In due course, would-be Holy Roman Emperors would need become King of the Italians, and thus coronation with the Iron Crown of Lombardy, before grasping this ‘Spear of Destiny’. Though it is debatable how much stock the medieval mind put into the legends surrounding such objects, it is notable that the divine right to rule conferred upon the emperors of Christendom required the ceremonial use of such relics, so intimately connected with the central figure of Christian belief, to claim their imperial throne. However fabricated they may have actually been, these ‘heraldic devices’ were emblems of power crafted specifically to legitimize their secular authority. And, in this sense, the Visconti di Modrone and Pierpont-Morgan decks may have shared in a common purpose - assuming, of course, that the former was ‘inspired’ by the Queen of the Lombards and the latter, by the Dragon Emperor. As the ouroboros was an emblem of Sigismund’s chivalric order, perhaps the Fama of the Visconti di Modrone “World” heralds the emperor-elect, grasping the Holy Lance beneath an Iron Crown. Given the Lance’s pivotal role within the Grail legends, there may be an intimate connection with the ‘Fisher King’ alluded to by the character across the river.

Vis http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vis#Etymology_2_3
Conti http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/contus#Latin

If, by creative interpretation of his own name, the Duke of Milan placed his own lance beside a fisherman, then the ouroboros might have signified some deeper ‘understanding’ between Sigismund and the Duke. It is interesting, is it not, that the wedding of Maria Bianca & Francesco Sforza, essentially electing the next Duke, took place at Cremona’s Chapel of San Sigismondo. And that the emblems ‘sealing’ the doorway to that site feature a horse bit (bridle of Constantine?) and ‘Borromean’ Rings (a symbol of fidelity with Sigismund). The “vis-conti” bearing the dragon emperor’s standard within the Modrone’s “World” is borne by a horseman, gripping reigns attached to a bit.

Does it signify “Holiness unto the Lord”?
 

Rosanne

If, by creative interpretation of his own name, the Duke of Milan placed his own lance beside a fisherman, then the ouroboros might have signified some deeper ‘understanding’ between Sigismund and the Duke. It is interesting, is it not, that the wedding of Maria Bianca & Francesco Sforza, essentially electing the next Duke, took place at Cremona’s Chapel of San Sigismondo. And that the emblems ‘sealing’ the doorway to that site feature a horse bit (bridle of Constantine?) and ‘Borromean’ Rings (a symbol of fidelity with Sigismund). The “vis-conti” bearing the dragon emperor’s standard within the Modrone’s “World” is borne by a horseman, gripping reigns attached to a bit.

Does it signify “Holiness unto the Lord”?
Hi Yygdrasilian- you have said it all much better than me!
I think given Bianca's illegitimacy, this was a story to give her lineage and an understanding of it. It is said she displayed the much admired cards - what a great political story! It must be true- there it is on little works of art. Then, for what ever reason the emphasis changed in the PMB. The shadow seems still there, nevertheless. All the cards seem to have this beginning, middle and end, like we taught to write a story. The cards we call the the World in Tarot all seem an alternative ending to a different story, using a similar format. Exactly what all the various decks of the 20th century have done.
There is this recognition of the universal story, within all the cards.
~Rosanne