Near Eastern History Article

[Eberhard]

I found these recently added articles on the web site of the Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society and thought it might be interesting:

The Occult Tradition of the Tarot in tangency with Ibn ‘Arabi's Life and Teachings by Jereer El-Moor.
Most researchers today would probably agree that playing cards were introduced to Christian Europe as an importation from the Arab world, however, the details of this are not well-established. In the first part of this long article, the author reviews the known facts of the history of playing cards (and the related history of the Tarot). He sets out to present "a credible case for regarding the Tarot as of Near Eastern provenance", and gives a personal view of its interpretation through the centuries. In the second part he goes on to interpret one of the trumps in the light of Ibn ‘Arabi's 'Anqa' mughrib. ...

 

[jmd]

Eberhard, you are providing such wonderful resources for our further education - thankyou.

I have only briefly but scanned the two papers, and will read them properly later.

My impression - and that is all it is at this stage - is that much is made of the iconography of one card, namely XVIIII the Sun, to advance the view that Tarot's iconography, in both minor and major Arcana, stems from Islamic sources.

I found in the skimming through the argument unconvincing, and some of the references 'leading'. For example, Robert O'Neill is made to sound as though he argues for more than he does.

I look forward to reading the papers at leisure, but cannot see, aside from interesting parallels which are to be found in esoteric Islamic settings, and possible textual influences for one of the cards - and this would of course be very important - any real argument for the provenance of the Major Arcana outside of European origins.

Again thanks for the important link.

 

[Eberhard]

Ibn`Arabi was European. He was born in 1165 in Murcia in Spain, and his family moved to Seville when he was eight. Later he settled in Damascus, Syria and elsewhere. He wrote nearly 300 books and died in 1240. This was at the time of the Caliphat of Cordoba, then one of the high tech centers and melting pots of the world, where Jews, Christians, and Muslims could work and study jointly together.

What I wanted to point to is that the Tarot as a mental concept was in the air at that time and also showed up in architectural icons like Abbaye Sainte-Marie d'Arles-sur-Tech.

The Virtues, of course, are much older. So, from my point of view, the "invention" of the 21+1 images is more about integration of already existing ideas and took probably a couple of hundred years of protoype development until there was a court order to let the Visconti deck get painted in ~1450.

 

[jmd]

Though the confluence of cultures in especially the Iberian peninsula includes Islamic, Jewish and Christian influences, the articles linked seem to argue for an origin non-European - but as I won't have access to a printer until Wednesday, I will have to wait for proper perusal of the articles.

The linked image is one of those wonderful and quite popular 12th-13th century Christ in Mandorla found upon, in mildly varied forms, numerous churches and Cathedrals throughout especially France. Possible the most famous of which are those Notre-Dames of Paris, Amiens, Reims and Chartres.

I personally think that these hieroglyphs (in the etymological proper sense of the term) are connected directly and causally to Tarot images - in this case to XXI the World.

Again, however, the articles, which I will have to read at length later, seem to be arguing for different origins of Tarot.

 

[Huck]

So, from my point of view, the "invention" of the 21+1 images is more about integration of already existing ideas and took probably a couple of hundred years of protoype development until there was a court order to let the Visconti deck get painted in ~1450.

Hi Eberhard,

did you consider

http://trionfi.com/0/f/

Perhaps check also "document 16 /Ferrara 70 cards in 1457" at:

http://trionfi.com/0/e/16/

 

[Huck]

I found these recently added articles on the web site of the Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society and thought it might be interesting:

The Occult Tradition of the Tarot in tangency with Ibn ‘Arabi's Life and Teachings by Jereer El-Moor.

Hi Eberhard,

life is a long fight against error ...

Compare note 5 on page 3 of your cited document with the article of Ross Gregory Caldwell to Gringonneur at:

http://trionfi.com/0/p/15/

(you've to check the menu).

If you're interested in the real oldest Tarot alias Trionfi cards known in the moment, check:

http://trionfi.com/0/b

If you're interested in the earliest use of the word Trionfi in context to playing cards, check:

http://trionfi.com/0/e/

again. There is no use of the word Trionfi (in context to playing cards) stated in known documents before 1442.
Also: There is no number 22 in documents prior to Boiardo-poem or Sola-Busca-Tarocchi, as far we know it.

*****
edited 2009, Links updated

 

[Ross G Caldwell]

Re: Re: Near Eastern History Article

Compare note 5 on page 3 of your cited document with the article of Ross Gregory Caldwell to Gringonneur at:

http://trionfi.com/01/e/r70

(you've to check the menu).

For some reason that link doesn't work...

 

[Huck]

Re: Re: Re: Near Eastern History Article

For some reason that link doesn't work...

Sorry, I had an error, I've corrected my post.

 

[Ross G Caldwell]

Still not working -

should it be

http://trionfi.com/01/e/r70/15.html

?

This link brings up the unframed page - to get to the framed version, go to Huck's last link and then click on the "Paris and France" line on the menu to the left.

The article is not as clearly arranged as I would like, but it is still current. El-Moor's contention that the cards were probably tarots is unwarranted by the evidence. All we can say is that they were luxurious decks - there is no indication whatsoever of the designs on the faces of the cards.

Speaking honestly, we just don't know.

Ross

 

[Huck]

The price of Gringonneur was 56 sol de Paris for 3 decks.

Perhaps the price indicates, that the decks had 56 cards each, selling 3 playing cards for 1 sol.

I made a second error, sorry, but the link is now ok:

http://trionfi.com/01/e

there you do find various articles, all to the documentary state of playing card research, of course centered at Tarot, or better said, Trionfi. It's not complete, but it will grow with the time. Under them is also the Gringonneur article of Ross.