That unknown ludus profanus- is that your family crest with a chess board sheild? :wink:
~Rosanne
No, it's a detail of an old Tarocchi card out of a fragmented deck with 5 cards, from which 3 cards are rather identical to cards, which appear in the type Rosenthal / Victoria-Albert / Bartsch Visconti/Sforza Tarocchi, a trump death, a trump star and a number card (4 of swords). Further there is an ace of coins.
In the case, that it is NOT a forgery (that's a possibility)....
... we have the chess board here ...
http://www.ngw.nl/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Kingdom_of_Croatia
... and it is presented with a comment
The Kingdom of Croatia (nearly identical to present Croatia) was created by King Koloman of Hungary in 1105, after he defeated the Croats. Ever since the territory was officially part of Hungary, even though a large part was under Turkish rule for many centuries.
The arms first appear on a coin from King Ludwig II of Hungary from 1525. The origin of the arms is not clear. The arms are still used without helmet and crest by the Republic of Croatia.
... and I found, that this might be wrong, cause it seems, that in Innsbruck was found an older of 1495
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Croatian_Coat_of_Arms_1495.JPG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_Arms_of_Croatia
Further somebody made these observations:
http://www.croatia.org/crown/croatians/www.croatians.com/POPES-CROATIAN ARMS.htm
... which occasionally meet a "count of Segni"
And there is this background in Oldest Trionfi History:
Isotta d'Este (1425–1456), one of the three girls in Ferrara at 1.1.1441 (the other were the more famous Bianca Maria Visconti and Beatrice d'Este, who married later Tristano Sforza and lived a long life at the Sforza court till 1497), ...
... "Married first Oddantonio da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino and secondly Stjepan III Frankopan Modruški
(Stephen Frangipani), Prince of Krk, Senj and Modruš, a member of Frankopan noble family (Croatia)."
"Senj" = Segna
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senj
According this city description, the Frangipani family got Senj in 1271.
https://archive.org/stream/frangipanisring00thod#page/16/mode/2up/search/ferrara
Frangipani genealoy
http://genealogy.euweb.cz/balkan/frangep2.html
E3. [1m.] István II (Stepko), Ct of Veglia and Modrus, Ban of Croatia, +1.3.1481; m.1446 Isotta d'Este (*1425 +1456)
F1. Bernardino (Bernát), Ct of Veglia and Modrus, +3.11.1527; m.before 16.9.1476 Donna Luisa Marzano d'Aragona
G1. Mátyás, fl 1495-1521; m.Zsófia Thúz de Lak (fl 1510-17), dau.of János Thúz de Lak, Ban of Slavonia
G2. Kristóf, Ct of Veglia, Zengg and Modrus, Ban of Croatia, +Martinac 22.9.1527; 1m: 1513 Apollonia Lang von Wellenburg (*1475/76, +Milano 4.2.1520), dau.of Hans Lang von Wellenburg and Margareta Sulzer; 2m: Anna Drágffy de Béltek (fl 1522-27), dau.of Bertalan Drágffy de Béltek and Dorottya Héderváry de Hédervár
G3. Ferdinand, +ca 1527; m.before 1509 Marija Brankovic (+1540)
H1. Katalin, +20.6.1561; m.Ozalj 17.6.1543 Gf Miklós Zrínyi de Brebir (*1508, +k.a. Szigetvár 8.9.1566)
H2. István, +1575; m.Bss Katalin Egkh von Hungerbach
G4. Mária Magdolna, fl 1489, engaged to Mátyás Pongrácz de Dengeleg
G5. Isotta (Erzsébet), +13.9.1545; 1m: 22.1.1492 László Egerváry de Egervár et Velike (+before 1496); 2m: 5.9.1515 István Perényi de Nagyida (+1523/before 30.7.1525); 3m: 1528/33 Gf Gáspár Serédy de Seréd (+1.3.1550)
G6. Beatrix, *1480, +after 10.3.1510; 1m: 1496 János Corvinus Hunyadi, Pr of Hungary (*2.4.1473, +12.10.1504); 2m: Gyula 21.1./22.7.1509 Mkgf Georg von Brandenburg-Ansbach (*Ansbach 4.3.1484, +Ansbach 27.12.1543)
G7. János Ferenc, Archbishop of Kalocsa, +Pozsony 1543
(G8. Fruzsina; m.Ferenc Dessewffy de Csernek et Tarkeõ)
(G9. Katalin, +after 1536; m.after 1502 Adam Svetokovic)[/b]
Kristóf, Ct of Veglia, Zengg and Modrus, Ban of Croatia, +Martinac 22.9.1527; 1m: 1513 Apollonia Lang von Wellenburg (*1475/76, +Milano 4.2.1520), dau.of Hans Lang von Wellenburg and Margareta Sulzer[/b];
Kristóf (grandson of Isotta d'Este) and Apollonia (sister of cardinal Gurk) are the interesting persons. They married 1513.
Kristóf (= Christoph) was a hero in the war 1508-1512, which started as a war against Venice and ended with the expulsion of the French out of Italy.
Cardinal Gurk (= Matthias Lang) had been the major manager of the troops of the emperor during the war. Negotiations during the war often took place in Mantova, so Isabella d'Este was involved.
After the victory in September 1512 (French troops had left Italy) cardinal Gurk and Isabella d'Este arranged a theater play in Mantova and in Verona.
Andrea Vitali noted the appearance of the words ludus triumphorum and of Taroch.
http://www.letarot.it/page.aspx?id=263&lng=ENG
The text Italy and Mantua goes on explaining that even in games the use of barbaric names has prevailed: «Quid illud, quod in ludis quoque barbaris verbis utuntur?". Petrarch had designated with the name of game of Triumphs the painted cards, without doubt an excellent choice, since that term referred to warlike victory: "Franciscus enim ille meus Petrarcha picturatarum cartarum ludo Triumphorum nomen induxerat (9), optime quidem, quod in eo veluti bellica victoria spectatur". But now with the barbarian rite, without relationship to the Latin, they call it taroch: "Barbaro ritu, taroch nunc dicunt nulla latina ratione". But then why is that game is not called no less improperly bachiach? "Sed cur non minus improprie bachiach?» (10).
It's not clear, if these words were already in the play in 1512. But it's plausible.
A little time later in 1512 Gurk and Isabella d'Este had a strong part in the arrangement, that the Sforza rule should be reestablished in Milan. Massimiliano Sforza returned to Italy as "new duke of Milan".
Isabella d'Este had a guiding role in the arrangement of the festivities.
On two of the remaining cards of the Rosenthal / Victoria-Albert / Bartsch Visconti/Sforza Tarocchi deck family appears the motto "Nec spe, nec metu" (neither Hope or Fear). This motto was taken by Isabella d'Este in 1505 (in both cases at the Ace of Cups).
An earlier use of the motto couldn't be found. It seems plausible to assume, that this deck type under this conditions should have produced after 1505.
Between 1505 and 1512 there had been not much reason to prolong Sforza heraldry in any manner. The Sforza had been a fallen dynasty. In 1512 suddenly after a not expected great victory, the Sforza theme had found a reason to return back. And Isabella d'Este and cardinal Gurk had been in the center of this activity.
I think, that this deck form is of 1512 and accompanied the festivities of Massimiliano's return.
Naturally some persons with less central position, but also with some merits, should have found some attention, too. For instance Christoph Frangipani. He got the hand of cardinal Gurk's sister Apollonia, who had been a widow since 1510.
She had been a lady of the Emperor court till 1503, before she went into her first marriage. Naturally she should have been then close to Bianca Maria Sforza, an Empress with a special favor for playing-cards.
Well, it seems, that Frangipani also got a deck ... and possibly some others, too.
In the deck type appears twice the otherwise not present card of a Visconti-viper ...
... and once the figure of an astonishing cardinal at the Ace of coins.
Either the card with the detail of the Croatian heraldic ...
... just replaced the Visconti-viper, or, likely the more probable solution, the deck just contained both shields, that of the Visconti viper and the shield of the person, who got this deck as a present.
For the Ace of Coin inside the 5 new "old cards" we have not a cardinal presented, but this person ....
... from which I don't know what "S(L or T ?) ... NA" might mean. "SL...OWE ... NA" (for Slovenia) might fit, but I don't know, if this is a correct writing and I don't know, if it is possible to connect Christoph Frangipani to Slowenia. "ST ... epha ... NA" might fit, but I also don't if this is a correct writing for Stephan and I don't understand this association to the grandfather.
The cardinal picture at the Ace of coins has also letters, though rather difficult to recognize. I guess, that this surviving deck was made for a cardinal. I've no idea, who this cardinal might have been.
Perhaps Gurk, who became cardinal in 1511, but this was published not before November 1512. Massimiliano Sforza arrived in December 1512, so that's all rather close.
Cardinal Schiner was also involved in Massimiliano's return, but likely there are more possibilities.
Although the cards are partly "very similar" between the different deck versions, there are mostly small differences. So the 4 of swords has rather similar swords, but the background decoration is different. The star picture of the new five cards has a cliff in the foreground, but other cards of the deck type have it not. (see Kaplan I).
***********
Apollonia (name of the Gurk sister) married Christoph ...
... and they sponsored this picture, which shows at one side Christopherus and at the other side the saint Apollonia (so Christopherus + Apollonia), and there's suspicion, that the saints look like the sponsors.
That's Christoph Frangipani:
Indeed there's some similarity.
Well, and there's a story of a famous ring in New York Times from 1901 ...
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F10A16FF3B5414728DDDAA0994DC405B818CF1D3
... and there are other stories about Frangipani, the prisoner of the Venetians.