More than a Game

It is a common perception that tarot cards were invented for fortune-telling. The historical record, though, does not support this. Most references to tarot cards from the 15th century to the 18th treat it as a card game, and it is virtually certain that this was its principle use during those centuries. Nevertheless, there are a number of interesting references to tarot cards (and playing cards in general) showing that people sometimes regarded them in other ways than as game pieces. The timeline here was compiled by Mary K. Greer and Robert V. O'Neill.

Timeline of Non-Gaming References to Tarot Cards

1377

Sermon by the Swiss Johannes von Rheinfelden, Tractus de moribus et disciplina humanae conversationis. He states that playing cards (Never mentions Tarot) describe the state of the world and are valuable for education/morals. The manuscript was copied in 1472 so the date of 1377 is suspect. Kaplan I:24, Dummett 11f

1459

Congress of Mantua from June 1459 to January 1460. According to H. Brockhaus, the Tarocchi di Mantegna were devised and made during this council; they allegedly served as a pastime for three members of the council: the Cardinals Bessarion and Nicholas of Cusa, and Pope Pius II. ("Placed edge to edge, they form a symbolic ladder leading from Heaven to earth" Seznec, p. 139). Nicholas of Cusa wrote in 1463? of a similar game, a "geographical globe game," which he uses as an illustration for his philosophical thought: "This game is played, not in a childish way, but as the Holy Wisdom played it for God at the beginning of the World." Seznec, p. 140.

1482

Lorenzo Spirito publishes Delle Sorti or Libro di ventura, an Italian book of fortune-telling based on 20 questions grouped around a wheel of fortune, which refer to “20 kings”, and dice yielding 56 three-line answers. This seems to be based on an earlier manuscript.

c. 1490

Matteo Maria Boiardo (1441-1494) (in Orlando Innamorato?) left a description of a proposed new set of tarocchi, similar to the tarocchi of Bologna, in the Capitoli del giuoco dei tarocchi (Chapters on the game of tarocchi). The trumps include: idleness, labour, desire, reason, secrecy, grace, disdain. He also describes games with suits he called: Love, Hope, Jealousy, and Fear, and he composed a set of verses about them (Alessandro Bellenghi, Cartomancy, p. 24).

1510

Losbuch from Mainz, Eyn loszbuch ausz der Karten gemacht (1505-1510). An example of fortune-telling by dial and pointer--go to page and get fortune. Verses are adaptations of earlier Basle 1485 (according to Rosenfeld 1961). Dummett 95.

c.1525

Pietro Aretino (1492-1556) writes Le carte parlanti, Dialogo nel quale si parla del giuoco con moralità piacevole (The talking cards, dialogue in which gaming is discussed in a congenial fashion). The cards take part as people in a conversation with a certain "Paduan." There are frequent references to the symbolism of the tarot "The temptations of the hermit is the devil," for instance) and some very subtle irony on the function of the cards: ". . . They reveal the secrets of nature, the reason for things, and explain the causes why day is driven out by night and night by day." (Bellenghi) From Aretino’s Dialogues translated by Raymond Rosenthal (NY: Ballantine Books, 1971):

"NANNA: So it is clear that the real difficulty is keeping lovers, not acquiring them.

"PIPPA: There’s not a doubt of it.

"NANNA: Turn the card, and now you’ll find a man who isn’t jealous and yet loves you, despite all those who say that one can’t love without jealousy."

p. 209

And " . . . she, who had as much good sense as a crayfish out of the moon . . . "

p. 304.

1526

Divination with dice: Venice, Sigismondo Fanti, Trionpho della Fortuna. Uses dice or spinner--resolves questions by astrology. K I/28, D94

1527

Caos del Triperuno by Teofilo Folengo (under the pseudonym Merlini Cocai) of Mantua, in which he uses the Tarot (Trionphi) for characterization. Five triumph cards are dealt each person and an improvised sonnet explains one’s fate. "The method consists . . . in distributing five or six trumps to each of four people, and then composing a sonnet for each of them, into which the names of the trumps allotted to that person are woven; no divinatory or esoteric significance is assigned to the trump cards.” (p. 33). KII:8 Analyzes present situation and advises on future

1534

Troilo Pomeran da Cittadela, writes a series of sonnets using the Major Arcana or trumps to praise the renowned ladies of Venice. "Triomphe de Troilo Pomeran da Cittadela" K II/9 The verses are an example of Tarocchi appropiati and indicate some sensitivity to the symbolism

1540-1550

Playing Cards used for Divining in Venice. Francesco Marcolino da Forli, Le Sorti di Francesco Marcolino da Forti in Il Giardino di pensieri (Le Ingeniose Sorte), W 159. No Tarot cards--but definitely cartomancy--cards/pointer + book. Dummett p 94; Kaplan I/28; W. H. Willshire 1876. A descriptive catalogue of playing and other cards in the British Museum (Emmering, Amsterdam, 1975) refers to a complex fortune-telling system using playing cards. “Marcolino uses cards only as a randomizing device, ascribing no particular significance to the cards themselves (of which he uses only the suit of danari and the king, knight, knave, ten, nine, eight, seven, two and ace); they direct a questioner to the pages in the book that tell the future.”

1540

Treatise by Pietro Aretino, La Terza et ultima parte de' Ragionamenti del divino Pietro Aretino, Kaplan I/28. Stuff on meaning of cards is in a supplement--Les Cartes Parlantes, 1589. Uses Tarot cards--gives allegorical meanings to cards (Emperor = laws)

1545

A treatise published in Venice states that swords represent death (those ruined by gaming), batons = punishment (for cheating), coins the food of play, and cups the victory toast or the way of settling disputes between players.

1550

Poem written in Ferrara by G. Bertoni, Poesie leggende costumanze del medio evo, Kaplan I/30; tarocchi appropriati on ladies of the court of Isabella D'Este

1570

Speech by Francesco Piscina, Discorso sopra la significatione de' tarocchi, PC 16:27-36 Biblioteca Fondazione Marazza, Borgomanero. Not a random set of cards--a symbolic system to promote moral living. Magus is an Innkeeper, Hermit a wise counselor, etc.

1570

Poem by Giambattista Susio of Mantua, Kaplan I/30; tarocchi appropriati on the ladies of the Mantua court

1572

Treatise by Girolamo Bargagli, Dialogo da Giuochi, Kaplan I/30. Tarocchi appropriati is mentioned

1585

Treatise in Venice by Thomaso Garzoni, La Piazza universale di tutte le Professione del Mondo, Kaplan I/30. Mentions tarocchi appropriati.

1622

Pierre del'Ancre [?] publica L'incredulité et mescréance du sortilege plainement convaincue..., en donde hace esta pueril referencia a la cartomancia: «es una forma de adivinación de ciertas personas que toman las imágenes y las ponen en presencia de determinados demonios o espíritus que ellos han convocado, a fin de que estas imágenes les instruyan sobre las cosas que ellos desean saber». Las carticellas educativas se habían metamo rfoseado en naipes de juego, y éstos devenían el más flamante y popular de los métodos adivinatorios. [?]

1665

A deck of 52 cards (with 2 cards of explanation) by John Lenthall is published in England as a fortune-telling deck. "In the upper left-hand corner of each card is the usual suit sign, and the cards in each of the four suits are number I to XIII. The cards bearing the odd numbers each have a circle with signs of the zodiac upon them, the even numbered cards each holding thirteen numbered answers. Plus there are Court Cards named Cupid, Semiramis, Wat Tyler, Holophernes, Mahomet, Proserpina, Nimrod, Hewson, Clytemnestra, and Pharaoh. On each king are five numbered questions, such as 'whether the person is beloved or not.' According to the directions, 'When any person is desirous to try their fortune, let them go to one of the four kings and choose what question they please,' and the elaborate process involving the other cards is described at length. The explanation ends, 'The stars foretell, they love you well.'" (Hargrave p. 172) (more complete text in Taylor, p. 457-460). Deck designed by Dormann Newman D 96 designed for fortune-telling (later Lenthall took over publication)

early 1700s

A sheet of 35 Bolognese cards (trumps and number cards) are labeled with simple divinatory meanings such as "journey," "betrayal," "married man," "love." A later deck of double-headed Bolognese cards from the 1820’s are labeled both top and bottom with divinatory meanings, showing a continuity of use.

1765

Casanova said his Russian peasant mistress read the cards every day.

1781

Le Monde primitif by Court de Gebelin

1377	Sermon by the Swiss Johannes von Rheinfelden, Tractus de moribus et disciplina humanae conversationis. He states that playing cards (Never mentions Tarot) describe the state of the world and are valuable for education/morals. The manuscript was copied in 1472 so the date of 1377 is suspect. Kaplan I:24, Dummett 11f
1459	Congress of Mantua from June 1459 to January 1460. According to H. Brockhaus, the Tarocchi di Mantegna were devised and made during this council; they allegedly served as a pastime for three members of the council: the Cardinals Bessarion and Nicholas of Cusa, and Pope Pius II. ("Placed edge to edge, they form a symbolic ladder leading from Heaven to earth" Seznec, p. 139). Nicholas of Cusa wrote in 1463? of a similar game, a "geographical globe game," which he uses as an illustration for his philosophical thought: "This game is played, not in a childish way, but as the Holy Wisdom played it for God at the beginning of the World." Seznec, p. 140.
1482	Lorenzo Spirito publishes Delle Sorti or Libro di ventura, an Italian book of fortune-telling based on 20 questions grouped around a wheel of fortune, which refer to “20 kings”, and dice yielding 56 three-line answers. This seems to be based on an earlier manuscript.
c. 1490	Matteo Maria Boiardo (1441-1494) (in Orlando Innamorato?) left a description of a proposed new set of tarocchi, similar to the tarocchi of Bologna, in the Capitoli del giuoco dei tarocchi (Chapters on the game of tarocchi). The trumps include: idleness, labour, desire, reason, secrecy, grace, disdain. He also describes games with suits he called: Love, Hope, Jealousy, and Fear, and he composed a set of verses about them (Alessandro Bellenghi, Cartomancy, p. 24).
1510	Losbuch from Mainz, Eyn loszbuch ausz der Karten gemacht (1505-1510). An example of fortune-telling by dial and pointer--go to page and get fortune. Verses are adaptations of earlier Basle 1485 (according to Rosenfeld 1961). Dummett 95.
c.1525	Pietro Aretino (1492-1556) writes Le carte parlanti, Dialogo nel quale si parla del giuoco con moralità piacevole (The talking cards, dialogue in which gaming is discussed in a congenial fashion). The cards take part as people in a conversation with a certain "Paduan." There are frequent references to the symbolism of the tarot "The temptations of the hermit is the devil," for instance) and some very subtle irony on the function of the cards: ". . . They reveal the secrets of nature, the reason for things, and explain the causes why day is driven out by night and night by day." (Bellenghi) From Aretino’s Dialogues translated by Raymond Rosenthal (NY: Ballantine Books, 1971): "NANNA: So it is clear that the real difficulty is keeping lovers, not acquiring them. "PIPPA: There’s not a doubt of it. "NANNA: Turn the card, and now you’ll find a man who isn’t jealous and yet loves you, despite all those who say that one can’t love without jealousy." p. 209 And " . . . she, who had as much good sense as a crayfish out of the moon . . . " p. 304.
1526	Divination with dice: Venice, Sigismondo Fanti, Trionpho della Fortuna. Uses dice or spinner--resolves questions by astrology. K I/28, D94
1527	Caos del Triperuno by Teofilo Folengo (under the pseudonym Merlini Cocai) of Mantua, in which he uses the Tarot (Trionphi) for characterization. Five triumph cards are dealt each person and an improvised sonnet explains one’s fate. "The method consists . . . in distributing five or six trumps to each of four people, and then composing a sonnet for each of them, into which the names of the trumps allotted to that person are woven; no divinatory or esoteric significance is assigned to the trump cards.” (p. 33). KII:8 Analyzes present situation and advises on future
1534	Troilo Pomeran da Cittadela, writes a series of sonnets using the Major Arcana or trumps to praise the renowned ladies of Venice. "Triomphe de Troilo Pomeran da Cittadela" K II/9 The verses are an example of Tarocchi appropiati and indicate some sensitivity to the symbolism
1540-1550	Playing Cards used for Divining in Venice. Francesco Marcolino da Forli, Le Sorti di Francesco Marcolino da Forti in Il Giardino di pensieri (Le Ingeniose Sorte), W 159. No Tarot cards--but definitely cartomancy--cards/pointer + book. Dummett p 94; Kaplan I/28; W. H. Willshire 1876. A descriptive catalogue of playing and other cards in the British Museum (Emmering, Amsterdam, 1975) refers to a complex fortune-telling system using playing cards. “Marcolino uses cards only as a randomizing device, ascribing no particular significance to the cards themselves (of which he uses only the suit of danari and the king, knight, knave, ten, nine, eight, seven, two and ace); they direct a questioner to the pages in the book that tell the future.”
1540	Treatise by Pietro Aretino, La Terza et ultima parte de' Ragionamenti del divino Pietro Aretino, Kaplan I/28. Stuff on meaning of cards is in a supplement--Les Cartes Parlantes, 1589. Uses Tarot cards--gives allegorical meanings to cards (Emperor = laws)
1545	A treatise published in Venice states that swords represent death (those ruined by gaming), batons = punishment (for cheating), coins the food of play, and cups the victory toast or the way of settling disputes between players.
1550	Poem written in Ferrara by G. Bertoni, Poesie leggende costumanze del medio evo, Kaplan I/30; tarocchi appropriati on ladies of the court of Isabella D'Este
1570	Speech by Francesco Piscina, Discorso sopra la significatione de' tarocchi, PC 16:27-36 Biblioteca Fondazione Marazza, Borgomanero. Not a random set of cards--a symbolic system to promote moral living. Magus is an Innkeeper, Hermit a wise counselor, etc.
1570	Poem by Giambattista Susio of Mantua, Kaplan I/30; tarocchi appropriati on the ladies of the Mantua court
1572	Treatise by Girolamo Bargagli, Dialogo da Giuochi, Kaplan I/30. Tarocchi appropriati is mentioned
1585	Treatise in Venice by Thomaso Garzoni, La Piazza universale di tutte le Professione del Mondo, Kaplan I/30. Mentions tarocchi appropriati.
1622	Pierre del'Ancre [?] publica L'incredulité et mescréance du sortilege plainement convaincue..., en donde hace esta pueril referencia a la cartomancia: «es una forma de adivinación de ciertas personas que toman las imágenes y las ponen en presencia de determinados demonios o espíritus que ellos han convocado, a fin de que estas imágenes les instruyan sobre las cosas que ellos desean saber». Las carticellas educativas se habían metamo rfoseado en naipes de juego, y éstos devenían el más flamante y popular de los métodos adivinatorios. [?]
1665	A deck of 52 cards (with 2 cards of explanation) by John Lenthall is published in England as a fortune-telling deck. "In the upper left-hand corner of each card is the usual suit sign, and the cards in each of the four suits are number I to XIII. The cards bearing the odd numbers each have a circle with signs of the zodiac upon them, the even numbered cards each holding thirteen numbered answers. Plus there are Court Cards named Cupid, Semiramis, Wat Tyler, Holophernes, Mahomet, Proserpina, Nimrod, Hewson, Clytemnestra, and Pharaoh. On each king are five numbered questions, such as 'whether the person is beloved or not.' According to the directions, 'When any person is desirous to try their fortune, let them go to one of the four kings and choose what question they please,' and the elaborate process involving the other cards is described at length. The explanation ends, 'The stars foretell, they love you well.'" (Hargrave p. 172) (more complete text in Taylor, p. 457-460). Deck designed by Dormann Newman D 96 designed for fortune-telling (later Lenthall took over publication)
early 1700s	A sheet of 35 Bolognese cards (trumps and number cards) are labeled with simple divinatory meanings such as "journey," "betrayal," "married man," "love." A later deck of double-headed Bolognese cards from the 1820’s are labeled both top and bottom with divinatory meanings, showing a continuity of use.
1765	Casanova said his Russian peasant mistress read the cards every day.
1781	Le Monde primitif by Court de Gebelin