sarahbellum
Lots of interesting possibilities here.
I am beginning to think that there is no "hospital" connection at all.
Just in the interests of exploring possibilities, I have been trying to read up a bit more on the Babylonian Captivity:
8 Au septième jour du cinquième mois, la dix-neuvième année du roi Nébucadnetsar, roi de Babylone, Nébuzar-Adan, capitaine des gardes, serviteur du roi de Babylone, entra dans Jérusalem.
9 Il brûla la maison de l'Éternel, la maison royale et toutes les maisons de Jérusalem; il livra aux flammes toutes les grandes maisons.
11 Et Nébuzar-Adan, capitaine des gardes, transporta le reste du peuple, ceux qui étaient demeurés de reste dans la ville, ceux qui venaient se rendre au roi de Babylone, et le reste de la multitude.
http://phiphi.jolie.chez.tiscali.fr/dan2.html
This is from the Book of Daniel. It is about Nebuchadnezzar' s captain going into Jerusalem and burning the "house of the Eternal," the royal house and all the houses [which also means families] of Jerusalem . Then all the rest of the people were transported [to Babylon].
To my mind that fits very well with the card's meaning. One reason I sort of favor a biblical explanation is that given the general zeitgeist of the time when the cards were first created, when a lot of biblical stories were as well known to the populace at large as "Friends" is to us, it seems like a likely source for the imagery.
I also tend to think that the figure of Death on card XIII is simply the Dance of Death that was such a popular image in the late middle ages and Renaissance.
I believe the word "deuil" comes from the same root as "douleur," and our word "dolorous."
I am beginning to think that there is no "hospital" connection at all.
Just in the interests of exploring possibilities, I have been trying to read up a bit more on the Babylonian Captivity:
8 Au septième jour du cinquième mois, la dix-neuvième année du roi Nébucadnetsar, roi de Babylone, Nébuzar-Adan, capitaine des gardes, serviteur du roi de Babylone, entra dans Jérusalem.
9 Il brûla la maison de l'Éternel, la maison royale et toutes les maisons de Jérusalem; il livra aux flammes toutes les grandes maisons.
11 Et Nébuzar-Adan, capitaine des gardes, transporta le reste du peuple, ceux qui étaient demeurés de reste dans la ville, ceux qui venaient se rendre au roi de Babylone, et le reste de la multitude.
http://phiphi.jolie.chez.tiscali.fr/dan2.html
This is from the Book of Daniel. It is about Nebuchadnezzar' s captain going into Jerusalem and burning the "house of the Eternal," the royal house and all the houses [which also means families] of Jerusalem . Then all the rest of the people were transported [to Babylon].
To my mind that fits very well with the card's meaning. One reason I sort of favor a biblical explanation is that given the general zeitgeist of the time when the cards were first created, when a lot of biblical stories were as well known to the populace at large as "Friends" is to us, it seems like a likely source for the imagery.
I also tend to think that the figure of Death on card XIII is simply the Dance of Death that was such a popular image in the late middle ages and Renaissance.
I believe the word "deuil" comes from the same root as "douleur," and our word "dolorous."