The Devil's picture-booksVan Rensselaer, John King, Mrs.
History
The Devil's picture-books
Van Rensselaer, John King, Mrs.
Playing cards -- History
These Atouts are each represented by a print which is supposed to
resemble some character, and the name is generally placed on the card.
Among them are an Emperor, a Cupid, a Chariot, a Hermit, a Gallows,
Death, The Day of Judgment, a Pope, Fortune, Temperance, Justice, the
Moon, the Sun, etc. The order in which they are placed is not always
the same, and is seemingly unimportant. The game may be played by two
or four persons. “The one who holds the ‘Fool’ regains his stake; ‘La
Force’ (or Strength) takes twice as much from the pool, while ‘La Mort’
(or Death) most appropriately sweeps the board.”
It is said that the distribution of the suit cards has a peculiar
signification. Each one is distinguished by an emblem which represents
the four classes into which communities were once divided. First comes
the Churchman, represented by the Chalice (or Copas); next in rank, the
Warrior, whose emblem is the Sword; third, the Merchant, symbolized
by a Coin; and fourth, the Workman with his Staff. It will be shown
hereafter that almost all writers on the subject allow the possibility
of the divisions of the suits being shown in the cards.
The earliest known specimens of these Tarot cards are now to be found
in the Cabinet des Estampes in Paris, and are supposed to have formed
part of the pack which was painted for King Charles the Seventh of
France in 1393, to cheer and amuse him during an illness which had been
caused by a _coup-de-soleil_ in 1392, and which made him a melancholy
but not a dangerous lunatic. M. Paul la Croix describes these Tarots
as having been most delicately painted and resembling in treatment the
illuminations of manuscripts. They are on a golden background on which
dots forming an ornamental pattern were impressed. A border of silver
surrounded and as it were framed each picture, through which a dotted
line twisted spirally like a ribbon. M. la Croix points out that this
dotted line, in his language technically termed a _tare_ (which also
means a “fault” or “defect”), was a sort of fluting produced by small
holes pricked into the substance of which the cards were made, and
fancies that to these Tares the Tarots owe their name. Other writers,
however, dispute this derivation of the word, and discover new ones for
themselves which are generally quite as fanciful and far-fetched.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account