Tzeenj said:
Trionfi.com points occasionally to the condition, that the fact "The cards were called Trionfi cards" and the general 15th/16th century Italian preference for triumphal festivities including a triumphal march just appear and develop around the same time - since ca. 1440.
Do we know what sparked this?
Triumphal events needed a peace or a victory or a marriage or "birth of a heir" or "general glamour" - and naturally some money.
There was a Trionfo of Filippo Maria Visconti in June 1425, likely responding to a Trionfo-similar spectacle in Naples in 1423, made by Alfonso V. of Aragon and the Queen of Naples (Alfonso became official heir of the Queen ... at the same time his oldest son Ferrante was born, his heir; so likely a "birth-of-a-heir"-event mainly.
Alfonso came from Spain and likely imported "a little more glamour" as was common in Italy. So the fame reached Filippo Maria Visconti, who had recovered the dukedom from the Milanese trouble after his father's death. Filippo Maria Visconti had special difficulties with women - but in April 1425 he got a daughter, though illegitime, Bianca Maria Visconti, later wife of Francesco Sforza (at least he became sure by this, that he could have children).
And around this time Filippo made a peace treaty with the emperor after a short war before. Generally Filippo was at his height, never he had a better and more successful moment than this year 1425.
He made a Trionfo in June 1425 and it is suspected by us, that the Michelino deck was produced at this time and for this moment. Then the custom "Trionfo accompanied by a Trionfi deck" occurred perhaps for the first time then.
http://trionfi.com/0/b/
Short after this the series of the Venetian-Milanese wars started. In the time till 1441 "great moments" were rare. Filippo married, but actually he was desinterested in the bride and the marriage was only a political move. The Emperor came, but Filippo feared a treacherous act and avoided to meet him.
Alfonso of Aragon became his prisoner in 1435 and Filippo enjoyed his presence. But also no moment for a Trionfo. Generally one has to suspect, that the wars had taken too much money.
1441 was the great moment, and the marriage was related to a great peace between Milan/Venice after a long war - but Filippo avoided to visit the wedding. But the marriage lasted a few weeks.
Contemporary to 1425/Milan we find in Ferrara a few notes about money spend for playing cards (1422 - 1424). It's relatively clear, that the interests of the young signora stand behind this activities, Parisina Malatesta. Here the connection "playing cards were for young women" or for kids (in noble circles) becomes apparent. Parisina was killed cause of adultery in 1425, in time rather parallel to Filippo's Trionfo. After her death there are no playing card notes in Ferrara, they reappear, when the many daughters of Parisina's husband Niccolo d'Este started to marry.
http://trionfi.com/0/d/
Triumphal occasions reappeared with the Council of Ferrara/Florence 1438/39, especially in Florence. This were (still) more or less religious festivities, but it seems, that these shows reached new dimensions against things, which happened before. Generally the council had a great value for the advances in literature, cause it combined with the import of texts, which had survived in Konstantinople. These texts did lead to activities of the professional writers and copyists. In Florence 1444 cause of this raised interests the first public library opened and 1447 a new pope was elected, who became famous for his increased engagement in literature and books, Nikolaus V.
This whole time is somehow influenced by Pope Eugen (1431 - 1447), first by his degraded state and later by his successes.
since 1431 - conflicts with the council of Basel, which result in the election of a counter pope
1434 Pope Eugen had to flee from Rome
after some time Pope Eugen had his major place in Florence, generally a very good condition for the Florentine merchants
The trouble in Rome is solved in long years and bloody wars (ca. 1440)
This pope Eugen had a stronghold in the Franciscans and the Franciscans Bernhard of Siena and Capistranus got fame as preachers against playing cards. Logically we find during the influence of Eugen in Florence a stronger prohibition against cards in Florence.
In Milan Filippo Maria Visconti is on the side of his father-in-law, the counter-pope Felix, who had his stronghold in German countries. Logically we find less prohibitive states against playing cards in the northern Milan.
From 1444 - 1447 we have the very successful period of Pope Eugen ... somehow logical we don't find playing cards notes even in Ferrara. In 1445 in Paris even the feasts of Fools (old custom, connected to playing cards) was prohibited.
Nontheless the Trionfo movement (without cards) took further steps:
1441: It's observable, that literature in Florence develops (poetical contest organised by Alberti). This seems to be corelated to a new interest in Petrarca, who in 1441 "100 years before" became poetus laureatus. In the year in 1441 another Italian became poetus laureatus, Enea Piccolomini, first on the side of the council, then as secretary of the Emperor the man, who manages Pope Eugen's victory. Likely this title and the poetical contest in Florence are corelated in some way.
In this year 1441 it's observable, that the interest in Petrarca's poem is raised. Somehow involved as a sponsor is Pietro de Medici (son of Cosimo), who somehow becomes the heir of his uncle Lorenzo (died in this time), who had engaged in literature and the Florence university.
In the following 20 years a lot of "Petrarca's Trionfi motifs" appear in the Florentine art.
1442: Alfonso of Aragon decides the conflict about Naples to his favour, Rene of Anjou leaves the country. In 1443 this victory is celebrated and as figures in the triumphal march appear allegorical persons, which we later find on Tarot cards.
Much later ... after the Trionfi movement really had become a more used custom around 1449/1450 ... Alfonso of Aragon started to build a triumphal arch to memorate this earlier event. The building (1452 - 1464) was finished long after his death (1458)
event in Oktober 1441: Milan and Venice made a great peace (although of not much endurance) after a rather hot war and this was somehow merged and celebrated with the marriage of Francesco Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti.
So what do we know of the evolution of this to the Visconti-Sforza deck, if any such thing happened?
It's assumed, that the Cary-Yale fragment was made for this occasion, the marriage between Bianca Maria Visconti and Francesco Sforza.
A document exists from 1.1.1441 (before the marriage), in which Bianca Maria gets 14 pictures (figure) in a very special moment in Ferrara - likely these objects were playing cards or cards or paintings, which should prepare a marriage deck.
Cards had (at the courts) "erotical meaning" and were a natural tool in the necessary "courting ritual" and so they served, that men and young girls had with the cards a legal and accepted way to have some closer moments and to know each other.
Interesting- that I hadn't seen mention of before.
Naturally this is is not definitely stated by a document, but one can read this from details in playing card research. For instance there are astonishing many pictures with female players generally in the contemporary art. There is a garden-of-love-picture, in which six pairs eat, drink, dance, play with cards, make music together and in the final sixth scene we see the young man at the feets of the young woman. Well ... that was the courting ritual and cards were a part of it.
One should see, that normally the women had a room to eat for themselves .. at least we know this from the Sforza castle in Galeazzo Maria's time, in which interestingly "the room, where the women eat", was decorated with a fresco with card players (not the "room, where the men eat"). Galeazzo also played occasionally cards, but his major expensive interests were tennis, hunting, jousts, chess and his musicians. "Card playing" was a cheap luxury in comparition.
Cards were for the women. It seems, that this behaviour changed in the 70's of 15th century, then we find also stronger participance of male players. Generally it's observable, that Italian women liberation made some advances in 15th century. French women liberation had a stronger development before (for instance Christine de Pizan)
... and so the cards developed in their first steps (in which - often expressed opinion at Trionfi.com, although there are also other opinions - the cards hadn't a definite state as 21 trumps, 1 Fool and the specific motifs "as we know them" - this "fixed state" of the game developed later).
What would be a good resource for info on the development to the 21 standard?
http://trionfi.com
especially
http://trionfi.com/0/f
It's a "theory in progress", so there is not really a finshed article. The general name is "5x14-theory", cause the fragment of the Pierpont-Morgan-Bergamo-Tarocchi is interpreted in the theory as an original 5x14-deck plus 6 "later added" cards made by a second painter.
Arguments are:
There is no real evidence, that the later structure existed at the beginning. Instead we have other numbers mentioned in context of the early Trionfi cards: 16 and 14
* Michelino deck ca. 1425: 16 trumps, motifs are Greek gods
* Cary-Yale (likely 1441): 11 trumps are surviving, these 11 trumps are arrangeable in a pattern with 16 trumps; this pattern assumes an involvement of Petrarca's Trionfi poem and a second influence of chess iconography
* document "14 figure" at 1.1.1441 in Bianca Maria context
* document Marcello letter, who regards the unusual Michelino deck as a Trionfi deck (November 1449)
* Pierpont-Morgan-Bergamo deck - it's obvious, that this deck was made by painters, parting the deck in a group with 70 (or 68, 2 are lost) cards and "6 additional cards, probable production date ca. 1452
* document Ferrara, Galeazzo visit, 1457 ... the document describes the production of 2 Trionfi decks with 70 cards ... which would fit a 5x14-deck
Or maybe that would make a better question unto itself...?
* Charles VI cards - 16 trumps and one court cards ... by recent research this deck is given to Florence, and it is suspected by Trionfi.com members, that the 16 trumps present a complete trump set of a deck made ca. 1463 in the circle of the young Lorenzo de Medici ... similarities between these 16 trumps and the reconstruction of the Cary-Yale are recognizable, likely also this deck followed chess-iconography
* It's assumed by members of Trionfi.com, that the deck type with 21 trumps plus Fool developed ca. 1468 or little before and that the full standardization evolved in the 70's of 15th century. Generally it's assumed, that the first phase of Trionfi card production naturally demanded creativity and not standardization and that the cards were objects for "high cycles only"
Standardization was the natural result of mass-production and woodcut use.
The preference for "Petrarca's Trionfi" at the same time somehow has a logical coincidence and is naturally related ... but it seems not possible to state a hierarchical causal structure between the 3 Trionfi objects in the historical time, they just appear together and have some public attention at the same time.
No sort of classical revival sparking interest in the Roman Triumph, adapted to allegorical imagery by Petrarch (possibly from the Fedeli D'Amore?) leading to the Trionfi cards taking up the motifs?
I don't understand this question precisely.
