DoctorArcanus
Since recently a few threads suggest a new interest in the Sola Busca deck, I present here some ideas I have posted before, both on this forum and in tarotpedia. I must say that I am not familiar with all the literature about this deck, so possibly I don't know something that is clear to someone else or I could present here as something I found out some information that has been published and is well known to the more learned.
The Sola Busca deck has twelve court cards that bear names.
The four Knights:
APOLINO (Batons), NATANABO (Cups), SARAFINO (Discs), AMONE (Swords)
The four Queens:
PALAS (Batons), POLISENA (Cups), ELENA (Discs), OLINPIA (Swords)
The four Kings:
LEVIO PLAUTO R (Batons), LUCIO CECILIO R (Cups), FILIPO R (Discs), ALECXANDRO M (Swords)
The queens are easy to identify, since they are all famous characters of ancient Greek history / mythology. Moreover, all of them are described by Boccaccio in his book “De claris Mulieribus". Helen and Olympias were queens. Polyxena was a princess. Pallas a goddess.
Of the Kings, ALECXANDRO M is easily identified with Alexander the Great (M is for Magnus, i.e. Great).
FILIPO R is commonly identified with King Philip, the father of Alexander. “R” is for Rex i.e. King. The mother of Alexander, Olympias, is the queen of swords.
The other two kings are still a mystery to me. I think they represent historical kings, as the other two cards (they are marked with the "R"), but I have only vague ideas about who they might be.
The Knights are quite interesting.
I think that APOLINO represents god Apollo, NATANABO the Egyptian pharaoh Nectanebo II, SARAFINO the god Serapis and AMONE the god Hammon.
My interpretaion of the knights is based on the Alexander Romance, in particular the version written in the X Century by Leo of Naples "Historia de Preliis Alexandri Magni" (History of the battles of Alexander the Great).
That book is a mythical rewriting of the life of Alexander the great. It is a short text, devided in three books.
An English version of the Historia can be found here: http://name.umdl.umich.edu/PLAlex
In that text it is said the Anectanebus (NATANABO) flew from Egypt to Macedonia when Egypt was attacked by the Persians. When the Egyptian found out that their king had disappeared, they asked to their god Serapis (SARAFINO) to tell them where he had gone and if he would come back. In Macedonia, Anectanebus fell in love with Queen Olympias (OLINPIA). When King Philip (FILIPO) was away at war, Anectanebus disguised himself has the god Hammon (AMONE) and lay with the queen. In this way, Alexander (ALECXANDRO) was begotten. One of the many deeds of Alexander told in the romance is that he interrogated the oracle of Apollo (APOLINO).
So it seems that seven of the twelve court cards can be connected to the Alexander Romance.
Comments or other ideas on the identification of the characters are appreciated
Ciao
Marco
The Sola Busca deck has twelve court cards that bear names.
The four Knights:
APOLINO (Batons), NATANABO (Cups), SARAFINO (Discs), AMONE (Swords)
The four Queens:
PALAS (Batons), POLISENA (Cups), ELENA (Discs), OLINPIA (Swords)
The four Kings:
LEVIO PLAUTO R (Batons), LUCIO CECILIO R (Cups), FILIPO R (Discs), ALECXANDRO M (Swords)
The queens are easy to identify, since they are all famous characters of ancient Greek history / mythology. Moreover, all of them are described by Boccaccio in his book “De claris Mulieribus". Helen and Olympias were queens. Polyxena was a princess. Pallas a goddess.
Of the Kings, ALECXANDRO M is easily identified with Alexander the Great (M is for Magnus, i.e. Great).
FILIPO R is commonly identified with King Philip, the father of Alexander. “R” is for Rex i.e. King. The mother of Alexander, Olympias, is the queen of swords.
The other two kings are still a mystery to me. I think they represent historical kings, as the other two cards (they are marked with the "R"), but I have only vague ideas about who they might be.
The Knights are quite interesting.
I think that APOLINO represents god Apollo, NATANABO the Egyptian pharaoh Nectanebo II, SARAFINO the god Serapis and AMONE the god Hammon.
My interpretaion of the knights is based on the Alexander Romance, in particular the version written in the X Century by Leo of Naples "Historia de Preliis Alexandri Magni" (History of the battles of Alexander the Great).
That book is a mythical rewriting of the life of Alexander the great. It is a short text, devided in three books.
An English version of the Historia can be found here: http://name.umdl.umich.edu/PLAlex
In that text it is said the Anectanebus (NATANABO) flew from Egypt to Macedonia when Egypt was attacked by the Persians. When the Egyptian found out that their king had disappeared, they asked to their god Serapis (SARAFINO) to tell them where he had gone and if he would come back. In Macedonia, Anectanebus fell in love with Queen Olympias (OLINPIA). When King Philip (FILIPO) was away at war, Anectanebus disguised himself has the god Hammon (AMONE) and lay with the queen. In this way, Alexander (ALECXANDRO) was begotten. One of the many deeds of Alexander told in the romance is that he interrogated the oracle of Apollo (APOLINO).
So it seems that seven of the twelve court cards can be connected to the Alexander Romance.
Comments or other ideas on the identification of the characters are appreciated
Ciao
Marco
