The Jean Noblet and Strength

[Patrick Booker]

I notice that the animal featured in the image for Strength is a bear rather than a lion. Whilst modern decks use all manner of beasties, older decks do tend to use the lion. There is a possible alchemical connection, and I know some decks use Hercules as well.
There is quite a lot of esoteric meaning connected to the bear - the Arthurian scholar Geoffrey Ashe has developed a theory of the mystical significance of the number seven deriving from the constellation of the Great Bear, from traditions he associates with Central Asia.
The material on the Flornays' website suggests that Noblet did not make changes on a whim, but if his version is the oldest remaining example of the Marseille tradition, which came first? Or am I reading too much into this? I would be interested to know if anyone knows of the use of the bear in older decks.

 

[Foucault]

Bear?

I realize that Flornay seems to think it's a bear, but I'm not so sure about that. The creature does seem to have a mane like a lion.

Graham.

 

[Foucault]

Both bears and lions would be familiar to the French at the time of the deck's creation. I know that Bear and Lion baiting were popular in England at the time, and no doubt it was going on in France too.

Graham.

 

[Moonbow]

You might like to have a read of this thread:

Noblet - Atouts: Strength (La Force)

 

[jmd]

Personally, I see the image presented as that of a lion, not a bear.

There is simply too much consistency with the representation of it as lion than to postulate the possibility of it being a bear. As bear, it also requires that its iconography have been understood and seen that way pretty much by casual looking, and, I would suggest, such manner of looking at it would have made of it lion - in line with other standard depictions of fortitude.

 

[Patrick Booker]

Thanks for comments.
I have looked at the previous thread on this topic, and on reflection tend to think that it does look more like a lion.
There is a Spanish deck that I no longer have that depicts a bear standing by a large stone. But I can't remember whether this was Strength or the Wheel of Fortune. It was a deck with some Basque connection if I remember rightly, but it certainly wasn't a really old design.

 

[EnriqueEnriquez]

I also tend to see the animal as a lion, since the distinctive mane is clearly depicted.

Best,

EE