View Full Version : The 1861 Essay of William Pinkerton
And now for something completely different. Lets see what other fun we can have with Tarot history. Not much, I'm afraid. If one is content with unsubstantiated speculation and finding the most appealing modern fantasy or traditional folklore, Tarot history is easy and fun, and the results usually fit your preconceptions quite closely -- what a surprise. Of course, that's properly termed historical fiction or pseudo-history. Real history is work, and even when you actually find something new and directly related to Tarot history (as opposed to all the tangentially related subjects that dominate this forum) it changes essentially nothing in the larger historical narrative. So, let's get boring here, and talk about something real.
There is an essay on Tarot by William Pinkerton in an 1861 issue of Notes and Queries. It is a fairly interesting account, and Pinkerton's essay does not appear to be commonly cited in Tarot bibliographies. Notes and Queries itself is a pop-culture periodical that is still in business.
Notes and Queries
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notes_and_Queries
Among other things, Notes and Queries answered inquiries. This particular article began by answering a question about the term "Jew Cisian dozen", which was an obscure reference to a card game. In an earlier issue, the Registers of the Stationers' Company were reproduced. These contained some items about patents of Raphe Bowes, and included that peculiar term. (Bowes patents are an interesting line of inquiry in themselves, involving a famous legal case, Darcy v. Allein, referred to as "The Monopoly Case" or "The Case of the Playing Cards". I'll post more on it below.) Here are pertinent snips from that issue.
xviij die Octobris. Mr. Raphe Bowes, Esq. Allowed unto him the wholle Sute of Mouldes belonginge to the olde fomme (sic) of plaienge Cardes, commonlie called the French Carde, by warrant from M warden Coldocke. Entred with the Jew Cissian dozen and all other things thereunto belonging.
Mr. Raphe Bowes, Esq. Item allowed unto him, by the warrant aforesaid, the new addicion of the wholle sute of newe mouldes belonginge to the old and newe forme of playeinge Cardes, commonlie called the Frenche Carde: with the Jew Cissian dozen, and all other thinges thereunto belonging.
[We can offer no plausible explanation of the "Jew Cisian dozen" mentioned in the two preceding registrations relating to the patent for playing-cards, which had been obtained by Mr. Raphe Bowes. He was the sone of Jerome Bowes, who, in 1577, had some dramatic project on foot (see Hist. Eng. Dram. Poetry, i.233). It appears that both the old and new form of cards were French, and that they were then cast, or made into moulds, which, for greater security, were entered at Stationers' Hall as if they were literary productions.]
(Vol. 12 2nd S. (295) Aug 24 1861 Page 142)
That passage raised the question which Pinkerton addressed. Among other things, he cited four references to Tarot in England, three of which appear genuine, and claimed that he could cite a dozen others, which -- unfortunately for us -- he did not. Given the general sobriety of his essay, however, along with the references he does give, it is not an altogether hollow claim. But he begins with his analysis of the Jew Cisian dozen.
With deference, but thorough confidence in the correctness of my opinion, I would suggest that the words "Jew Cisian dozen" are a corruption of Jeu soixante-dix-huit, a phrase still used in France to designate a pack of tarots; just as, in contradistinction, the pack of common playing cards is termed jeu de cinquante-deux. I scarcely need to observe, that the word jeu signifies a pack, as well as a game or play of cards: the German spiel karten, having exactly the same literal signification. I consider, then, that the "Jew Cisian dozen" meant a pack of tarots, which contains seventy-eight cards; and the "old form of plaienge cardes, commonlie called the Frenche cardes," was no other than tarots. It has been doubted whether tarots have ever been played in England; but I could give a dozen proofs that they have, one however may suffice. Cleland, in his Institution of a Young Nobleman, 1607, speaks of "honest house-games, as cardes, French cards called taraux, tables, and such like plaies.
As tarots have long since fallen out of use in England, it may not be out of place to give some account of them here. The pack consists of seventy-eight cards. Twenty-two of those are symbolic cards, termed atouts. The derivation of this word is most probably from a tutti, above all. The French word atout is not the representative of our English word trump. The atouts, besides their several symbols, are numbered from one to twenty-one inclusive. The unnumbered one seems to be the equivalent of the Zero in the Arabic numerals. For through this card, like its analogue, the cipher, represents no number in itself, yet it greatly increases the values of the other cards according to its position among them.[...]
(Vol. 12 2nd S. (302) Oct 12 1861 Page 294)
Pinkerton presented a table of trump cards (TdM sequence) and a description of the suit cards, and notes the existence of variations.
As may be supposed, there are considerable variations in the order, names, and numbers of the atouts. I have compiled the above list, however, from several ancient and three modern packs of tarots. Of the latter, one was made in Brussels for the Swiss market; the second in Paris; the third, although it bears the epigraphe Barcelona, I suspect was also made at Paris for the Spanish market. The symbols, too, though representing the same thing, are varied.
Pinkerton refers to Paul Boiteau D'Ambly's 1854 Les Cartes a Jouer Et La Cartomancie as a "wretched catch-penny publication". However, he also presents the legend of Henry Cuffe, apparently as told by Boiteau. That is, Pinkerton interprets the legend in terms of Tarot. Robert Chambers tells the Cuffe tale in his Book of Days, (online in several places), another pop-culture tome which was apparently first published three years after Pinkerton, in 1864, but does not mention Tarot. Edwin S. Taylor, (History of Playing Cards, 1865), also claimed the cards used must have been Tarot trumps, specifically the Devil, Justice and the Hanged Man. (That is according to an old TarotL post by Mary Greer.) This is the same interpretation, re Tarot, related by Pinkerton. We know that Pinkerton read Boiteau D'Ambly's book, and Kaplan and WPC note that Taylor is "practically a translation of an earlier work by P. Boiteau D'Ambly." (K:I-373.) Thus, Pinkerton and Taylor, because of their interpretation in terms of Tarot, appear to have both followed d'Ambly, while Chambers quoted Rowland directly. Rowland, in turn, quoted an earlier writer named Melton, but we'll get to that later.
Moving on, Pinkerton sensibly concludes that regular cards undoubtedly pre-date Tarot: "the tarots were an innovation, which, like many innovations on the chess-board, had a limited reign, and then sank into comparative oblivion." Of Antoine Court de Gebelin, Pinkerton says that Tony should have looked to emblem books. His comments are again reasonably sensible, more so than most of those presented before or to this day.
Of course, Gebelin derives the atouts, as he was inclined to derive everything else, from ancient Egyptian sources. The atout entitled the "House of God," representing a tower struck by lightning, he terms the "House of Plutus," and absurdly asserts that it represents the Memphian Tower of Rhampsinitus!! Now, the very symbol was a favourite one in the old books of emblems and devices, or impressas. It symbolized the danger of high station, and the comparative safety of the humble life. The "Wheel of Fortune," "Death," "The Last Judgment," and other tarots, may also be found in emblems and devices. And it is a suggestive fact that the earliest notice we have of tarots is at the very time when device-making was in its palmiest era. When Peter le Moyne said:-- "Philosophy and poetry, history and fable, all that is taught in colleges, all that is learned in the world, are condensed and epitomised in this great pursuit; in short, if there be an art which requires an all-accomplished workman, that art is device-making." There certainly could be no difficulty, at that period, to find symbols for a few fancy cards.
Pinkerton relates a remarkable anecdote about Tarot being known to Charles Edward Stuart, "Bonnie Prince Charlie". The Young Pretender was born in Italy and grew up in Rome and Bologna, so the tale is quite probably true.
Tarots were played in the highest circles of Roman society in the latter part of the last [18th] century. Mrs. Miller, authoress of _Letters from Italy_, describing an interview with the person "stiled Il Re" (Charles Edward Stuart) says:--
"We were at the Princess Palestrine's conversazione. He asked me, if I understood the game of Tarocchi (what they were about to play at); I answered in the negative; upon which, taking the pack in his hands, he desired to know if I had ever seen such odd cards: I replied that they were very odd indeed: he then displaying them said, 'Here is everything in the world to be found in these cards, the sun, the moon, the stars; and here, says he (showing me a card) is the pope; here is the devil (and added) there is but one of the trio wanting, and you know who that should be'." Of course the one wanting was an allusion to himself, in his English, but unjust, title of Pretender."
Pinkerton doesn't like anything about the game of Tarot, but it is not clear how well he understands the game.
With all its variety of cards, tarocchi is a childish, insipid, monotonous game. I have often seen it played in the coffee-houses of New Orleans, frequented by the Creole descendants of the French and Spanish settlers of Louisiana. The great point of the game is to form verzicole, or sequences; the Matta or Fool representing any other card, of which its holder might be deficient, to form the sequence.
Notes and Queries can be accessed online in several ways, including Google Books and some subscriptions services. However, the best source appears to be the Internet Library of Early Journals.
Notes and Queries Vol. 12 2nd S. (295) Aug 24 1861 Page 142
http://tinyurl.com/yul6at
Notes and Queries Vol. 12 2nd S. (302) Oct 12 1861 Page 294
http://tinyurl.com/fh7sw
So what does the would-be researcher do after finding something new, something like Pinkerton's essay with it's assorted interesting goodies? Well, make stuff up, of course. After all, history begins with speculation. That's were all the really cool stuff comes from, getting as far from that "middle ground" of factual foundation as possible. That's why Tarot history is easy and fun. Oh, wait... that's Tarot PSEUDO history.
What the would-be researcher *might* do is follow up on some of the leads, tracking things down, expanding on what he found in a methodical, step-by-boring-step approach, building a foundation before taking each step. Let's try that a bit.
Pinkerton's main example of Tarot in England has been well known among playing-card historians since Samuel Weller Singer's 1816 Researches into the History of Playing Cards. It is the mention in James Cleland's 1607 Institution of a Young Nobleman. Here is the quote:
His Maiesties [King James I] permission of honest house games, as Cardes, French Cardes, called Taraux, Tables and such like plaies, is sufficient to protect you from the blame of those learned men, who thinke them hazards; as for myself, I thinke it great simplicitie and rusticitie in a nobleman to be ignorant of any of them, when he cometh into companie: yea I would wish you to be so perfit in them all, that you may not be deceived or cousened at play.
A young English nobleman might naturally desire familiarity with the pastimes of Continental nobility, and Tarot was certainly such a game. Michael Dummett noted that "such occasional references do not controvert the proposition that neither in Spain nor in England has the game ever been generally known." This is a reasonable conclusion in the absence of additional evidence.
Still, the claim that some permission had been given for Tarot suggests that the game was sufficiently well known to generate official notice. Cleland might have been referencing a permission specifically mentioning Tarot (rather than simply cards) granted a couple decades prior to King James' 1620 license to Clement Cottrell, or the famous declaration known as the Book of Sports. Both of these show a tolerance of games which would be consistent with such an earlier pronouncement. Perhaps a document recording some such official notice is lurking somewhere, as yet undiscovered. Another lead...
Pinkerton also discussed a series of documents which indicate that Tarot cards were *printed* in England during the late 16th century. But first, a brief legal digression. Although early in Queen Elizabeth I's reign a statute forbade the importation of playing cards, in 1571 she granted a 12-year patent (monopoly) to Ralph (Raffe, Raphe) Bowes to import, manufacture, and sell playing cards, and to license others to sell them. Bowes' patent was renewed on June 13, 1588, for twelve years, and on his death the patent was granted to Edward D'Arcy, (a Groom of the Chamber to Queen Elizabeth), August 11, 1598. A court order on November 3, 1600 declared that D'Arcy, "shall haue entred as mr bowes had the ij sutes of moulds for playing cards wch were entred to mr Bowes xj Octobr' 1588." (The term "sutes of moulds" refers to sets of printing blocks.)
This was all quite excellent for Bowes, and then for D'Arcy, until Thomas Allein, a London haberdasher, started making and selling cards in 1601. This resulted in the landmark legal case of Darcy v. Allein, known as "The Monopoly Case" or "The Case of the Playing Cards", as it is commonly cited to this day. For any who might want to look up the case, spoiler alert: The ruling was that monopoly, while good for the patentee, was bad for the commonwealth. Little of that interests us here, but there is a lot more online if anyone is intrigued. We are presently concerned with some peculiar wording in the patent entries, the term "Jew Cisian dozen".
PATENT to RAFFE BOWES and THOMAS BEDINGFIELD, Esquires, to import playing cards into this kingdom, and dispose of them in large or small quantities, notwitstanding any Act, &c. formermade, &c.
June 13, 1571
ALLOWANCE by the Stationers' Company to RAFFE or RALPH BOWES. "The whole sute of mouldes belonging to the olde fourme of plaieinge cardes, commonly called the French cardes, with the Jew Cisian dozen, and all other thinges thereunto belonging. Item.—The newe addition of the whole sute of new Mouldes belonging to the olde and newe forme of playeing cards, commonly called the French cards, with the Jew Cisian dozen, and all other things thereunto belonging."
October 18, 1588
ALLOWANCE by the Stationers' Company to RAFFE or RALPH BOWES (ante, p.50) to be printed, "the wholle sute of carved mouldes in woode or caste in mettal belonging to the oulde fourme of playing cardes, commonly called the French carde, with the Jew Cisian dozen, and all other things thereunto belonging."
January 8, 1589
ENTRY at Stationers’ Hall for RAFFE or RALPH BOWES "to print these markes folowing, which are to bind up cards in, viz., a dozen m'ke. Jtem, a Sizian m'ke. Item, a Jew m'ke."
January 12, 1590
As noted above, Pinkerton explained the puzzling "Jew Cisian dozen" phrase by noting that the 78-card Tarot deck (and the game) is jeu soixante-dix-huit (zhew swahsah(n)t-dee-zweet), a game of 78. This term might readily be corrupted into jew cisian dozen. This interpretation coincides neatly with the playing-card context of the entries, and also fits with the reference to the "French cardes", the same term used by Cleland two decades later: "French Cardes, called Taraux".
Pinkerton's interpretation was quoted above, and it seems plausible, although the fourth entry in the patent records above suggests that the term "Jew Cisian dozen" may have been incomprehensible to the clerk who wrote it down. (That fourth entry seems to have been for wrappers to package the Tarot cards.) All in all, Pinkerton's report suggests that not only were Tarot cards known in England, as evidenced by Cleland, but also printed there, however briefly.
Pinkerton also gives an anecdote showing how English travelers might have become familiar with the game. He quotes an 18th-century account from Lady Miller’s Letters from Italy, written in 1770-71 and published in 1776. Discussing Prince Charles Edward Stuart, Lady Miller acknowledged that the Pretender was an affront, not to be spoken to by a decent English gentleman loyal to the Crown. However, "it struck me as very ridiculous for me, a woman, not to reply to the Pretender if he spoke to me, as such a caution would bear the appearance of passing myself for being of political consequence; added to these considerations, I had great curiosity to see him and hear him speak." Her conversation was related, including the following discussion about Tarot, which they were about to play. Above I quoted Pinkerton's retelling; this is her account:
This evening, after quitting the Cardinal’s, we were at the Princess Palestrine’s conversazione, where he was also. He addressed me as politely as the evening before. The Princess desired me to sit by her; we played with him: he asked me, if I understood the game of Tarocchi, (what they were about to play at); I answered in the negative, upon which, taking the pack in his hands, he desired to know if I had ever seen such odd cards: I replied, that they were very odd indeed; he then displaying them said, "Here is every thing in the world to be found in these cards, the sun, the moon, the stars; and here", says he, (showing me a card) "is the Pope; here is the Devil", (and added) "there is but one of trio wanting, and you know who that should be". I was so amazed, so astonished, though he spoke this last in a laughing, good-humoured manner, that I did not know which way to look; and as to a reply, I made none, but avoided cultivating conversation as much as possible, lest he should give our conversation a political turn.
The third member of that diabolical trio, of course, was the Catholic Pretender himself. Given that she was in Italy, that the Young Pretender was born in Italy, and that he spent much of his childhood in Rome and Bologna, the tale is hardly surprising. It interests us here because it demonstrates how English travelers would be introduced to the game, and thereby explains why Cleland would consider it important to a young nobleman's education.
Let's take a moment at this point to observe this boring, tedious tracking down of little details that, step by step. This is what builds up a coherent understanding of a bigger piece of the puzzle, each part building context for the whole. The details are to be understood *in* context, rather than taken out of context and distorted to fit a preconceived theory. And all this work, looking up the sources discussed by Pinkerton and related subjects, and it's all for such a tiny little corner of Tarot history. I can certainly see why so many prefer speculation -- just making things up -- to actually *looking* things up.
So from Pinkerton's account there appear to have been Tarot cards produced in England in the late 16th century and recognized as a permitted game and a desirable social skill (for young noblemen, who might well play the game when abroad) in early 17th century England. In addition to Bowes, Cleland, and Lady Miller, Pinkerton also mentions a fourth example connecting England with Tarot—Henry Cuffe. For various reasons it is almost certainly apocryphal, but it was often repeated in the 19th century, and it is the most well known of the four among the occult Tarot community. But it too needs to be tracked down.
Like Bowes and the legal case of Darcy v. Allein, Henry Cuffe was an important figure in an involved and famous historical incident, the Essex Rebellion. For any who might want to look up the event, spoiler alert: Cuffe and the other villains were executed. But little of that interests us here. We are presently concerned with an alleged prediction of his execution, a prediction which allegedly took place 20 years before the hanging, and which was allegedly performed with Tarot cards. If true, this would be not only the earliest example of fortune-telling with Tarot cards, but the earliest example of something resembling modern cartomancy with any cards.
William Rowland, in his 1652 Judiciall Astrologie, Judicially Condemned, tells a story of Henry Cuffe, secretary to the Earl of Essex, having his death foretold twenty years in advance of the fact. That would have been when he was 18. This prediction, according to the earliest known account of it, (Rowland copied it verbatim from John Melton's 1620 Astrologaster, or, The Figure-caster) was based on astrology and sorcery. However, when Cuffe scoffed, the "Wizard" had him draw three cards. The cards drawn were three Knaves (Jacks). Cuffe was then instructed to interpret the meaning of the cards for himself. The first Knave Cuffe interpreted as himself. The second Knave he interpreted as the judge who would sentence him. The third Knave he interpreted as the hangman who would execute him. "Knaves one and all" appears to be the point of the mildly clever story, and before being picked up by Rowland it was probably an urban legend with some implied social comment regarding the Rebellion probably intended. Melton (and Rowland) are available online at Early English Books Online.
There was another Wizard (as it was reported to me by a learned and rare Scholler, as we were discoursing about Astrologie) that some twentie yeeres before his death told Cuffe our Countreyman, and a most excellent Graecian, that hee should come to an untimely end: at which, Cuffe laughed, and in a scoffing manner entreated the Astrologer to shew him in what manner he should come to his end: who condiscended to him, and calling for Cards, entreated Cuffe to draw out of the Packe three, which pleased him; who did so, and drew three Knaves: who (by the Wizards direction) layd them on the Table againe with their faces downewards, and then told him, if hee desired to see the summe of his bad fortunes reckoned up, to take up those Cards one after another, and looke on the inside of them, and he should be truly resolved of his future fortunes. Cuffe did as he was prescribed, and first took up the first Card, and looking on it, he saw the true portraiture of himselfe Cape a Pe, having men compassing him about with Bills and Halberds: then he tooke up the second Card, and there saw the Judge that sat upon him: at last, he tooke up the last Card, & saw Tyborne, the place of his Execution, & the Hangman, at which he then laughed heartily; but many yeres after, being condemned for Treason, he remembred the fatall Prediction of the Wizard, & before his death revealed it to some of his friends. If this be true, it was more then Astrology, and no better then flat Sorcery or Conjuring, which is divellish.
(John Melton, Astrologaster, or The Figure-caster, p.42.)
Slightly different details were invented by different writers. For example, in some versions the cards were changed, by sleight of hand, into the detailed pictures described. The salient point here, however, is that some of these 19th-century retellings include the supposedly obvious fact that the cards used were Tarot. Willshire quotes Taylor on this point:
It is evident that the cards used by the cartomancist on this occasion were tarots. The first drawn was in all probability an atout, called the traitor, which in some Italian packs held the place of the devil, the second could be no other than Justice, and the third would be sufficiently shadowed forth by the hanged man (Le Pendu).
(William Hughes Wilshire, Playing and Other Cards, p.162.)
We might reflect for a moment on Taylor's ignorance and fantasy, so similar to the inventions we see here daily. Also, before proceeding, let"s look at a timeline of (potentially) relevant events and publications.
ORIGINAL EVENTS
* 1581 Henry Cuffe's execution allegedly predicted
* 1601 Henry Cuffe's execution took place at Tyburn
17TH CENTURY REPORTS
* 1600-1613 Samuel Rowlands' Knave books were published
* 1620 John Melton's Astrologaster, or, the Figure-caster
* 1652 William Rowland's Judiciall Astrologie Judicially Condemned
18TH CENTURY CARTOMANCY
* 1770 Etteilla's A Way to Entertain Oneself with a Pack of Cards
* 1781 Court de Gebelin’s Monde Primitif
19TH CENTURY REFERENCES
* 1816 Samuel Weller Singer's Researches into the History of Playing Cards
* 1854 Paul Boiteau D'Ambly’s Les Cartes a Jouer et la Cartomancie
* 1861 William Pinkerton's Notes and Queries essay (Jew Cisian Dozen)
* 1864 Robert Chambers' Book of Days
* 1865 Edwin S. Taylor's History of Playing Cards
* 1870 Andrew Steinmetz's The Gaming Table: Its Votaries and Victims
* 1876 William Hughes Willshire's Descriptive Catalogue of Playing and Other Cards
* 1905 John Brand's Faiths and Folklore (the only citation of Melton)
Samuel Rowlands' Knave books, along with Jean-Baptiste Alliette (Etteilla) and Antoine Court de Gebelin, form an important part of the chronology even though none of them mention the legend of Henry Cuffe. They are probably much more important in the creation of the legend than the actual events of Cuffe's life and death. The original account appears to be more of a literary joke about three Knaves diversely interpreted than a journalistic report of cartomancy with Tarot. The account in Melton follows a popular series of books earlier in the 17th century. The use of Knave cards as symbols for knaves and their characteristic (knavish) behavior is both obvious and commonplace. Rowlands wrote several Knave works based on that conceit. These were written in verse, witty, and judging from the number of reprints and subsequent books they were quite popular. They included Tis Mery When Knaves Mete (1600), which was banned; the expurgated version, The Knave of Clubbs (1609); The Knave of Harts (1612); and More Knaves Yet (1613). Here is a brief snippet.
Wee Knaues (whom all men Knaues do call)
That serue Knaues turnes to play withall,
Imploid for precious Time's abuse,
And turned to euery Cheaters vse,
That in the Ale-house day and night,
Cause drunken knaues to brawle, and fight.
Given the popularity of Knave stories at the time when the legend regarding Henry Cuffe is first reported, it appears to be an offshoot of that genre. (Searching through Samuel Rowlands' Knave books, and any other Knave books of the period, might turn up the original version of what became the Cuffe legend. Yet another lead....) The Knave books appeared at the time when Cuffe's execution (more generally, the Essex Rebellon) was extremely prominent news of the day, and his incorporation into such a trope is to be expected. The subsequent adoption of the story, which involved fortune-telling, into books on astrology is likewise not surprising. This chronology suggests that the original version of the story was a purely literary invention rather than a journalistic report.
Here we have ventured one foot beyond the fact-based "middle ground" into the realm of speculation. Note, however, that one foot remains planted on the firm foundation of fact. That means that the speculation is pretty boring -- no soaring flights of fancy.
Another factor suggesting a literary rather than journalistic origin is the long-established evolution of playing cards for fortune-telling. Playing cards had been used as a selection or randomizing device since the Mainz lot book of the early 16th century, but this was nothing like modern cartomancy. Specialized fortune-telling decks, basically printing the readings of a lot book on the cards themselves, begain with Dorman Newman's 1690 deck, famously published by the Lenthall company. Given this larger historical context, as an account of actual practices it appears anachronistic and less likely than as a literary invention, wherein the magical fiction of the tale makes sense. Modern-style cartomancy appears virtually unknown before 1770, when Etteilla published the first book on the subject. (One of the most persuasive arguments that there was no long-standing oral tradition of cartomancy prior to that time is the rapidity with which the practice spread and florished after 1770.) In 1783, Etteilla published A Way to Entertain Oneself with a Pack of Cards called Tarot. The many secondary tellings of Cuffe's legend are all post-Gebelin. Again, historical context and chronology matters when it comes to evaluating these secondary reports.
Both playing-card historians and antiquarians enjoyed telling the legend of Henry Cuffe. Some added bits about the cards being Tarot, while others stayed closer to the version in Rowland's anti-astrology book. Just as the original story appears to be a literary invention based on the genre of Knave books, the elaboration in terms of Tarot appears to be based on the modern myths spread by Etteilla and Court de Gebelin. So, albeit interesting in its own right, the legend of Henry Cuffe's three Knaves cannot be used to support Tarot in England.
As an aside, the two 17th-century reports of Cuffe's legend, Melton and Rowland, were part of a decades-long series of polemical writings about the efficacy and morality of judicial astrology and astrologers. In 1601, John Chamber wrote A Treatise Against Judiciall Astrologie, a broad indictment of astrologers, condemning them all as charlatans. In 1603, Christopher Heydon wrote A defence of iudiciall astrologie: in answer to a treatise lately published by M. Iohn Chamber. The debate picked up again when, in 1618, William Perkins wrote A Resolution to the Countryman, Proving It Utterly Unlawfull to Buy or Use Our Yeerely Prognostications. In 1620, John Melton wrote Astrologaster, or, The figure-caster. In 1624, George Carleton wrote Astrologomania: the madnesse of astrologers. In 1650, Nathaniel Homes wrote Daemonology. In 1651, William Ramsay wrote Lux Veritatis. Then in 1652, William Rowland wrote "Judiciall Astrologie Judicially Condemned. Upon a survey and examination of Sr. Christopher Heydons apology for it, in answer to Mr. Chambers, and of Will. Ramsey's morologie in his pretended reply (called Lux veritatis) to Doctour Nathanael Homes his Demonologie. Together with the testimonies of Mr. W. Perkins resolution to the countrey-man; Mr. John Miltons figure-caster; and Dr. Homes his demonologie, all here exhibited against it, seconded and backed by 1. Evident scripture. 2. Apparent Reason. 3. Authority of Councils. 4. Justice of Laws. 5. Arguments of Fathers, Schoolmen, and Modern Learned men. Concessions of Ptolomy, &c. friends of Astrology. 7. And the wicked practises of Astrologers themselves." It is significant that he adopts Melton's anti-astrology book, his source for the Cuffe story which might otherwise have been forgotten.
That essay may be tiring and relatively uninformative to read. At the end of it, perhaps the idea of Tarot in England is a bit more plausible than it was before. If so, that is not because I made stuff up, but because I looked stuff up. It's not sexy and startling, but it's real.
____________________
P.S. Another interesting English reference to Tarot comes from 1769. In a book on the manners and customs of Italy, Giuseppe Baretti has a short chapter (217-223) regarding Tarot games. He suggests the superiority of Minchiate and Tarrocco to the most popular card games of Britain (Whist), France (Piquet), and Spain (Ombre). He notes that Minchiate is popular "all over Tuscany and the Pope's dominions" while Tarrocco is popular "in Piedmont and Lombardy."
An account of the manners and customs of Italy: (http://www.archive.org/details/accountofmanners02bareiala)
with observations on the mistakes of some travellers, with regard to that country
Author: Baretti, Giuseppe Marco Antonio, 1719-1789
Volume: 2
Subject: Sharp, Samuel, 1700?-1778; National characteristics, Italian; Italy -- Social life and customs
Publisher: London : Printed for T. Davies and L. Davis
philebus
22-11-2007, 21:20
This looks like interesting stuff and a lot to digest, I shall certainly give it some proper attention tonight. However, I must admit that I am more of a card player than a card historian and so it was Mr Pinkerton's description of the game itself that struck me. The use of Matto for a wild card and the mention of verzicole tells us that he's describing the game of Minchiate. While the tarocchino games also use Matto for a wild card and employ sequences, they also employ the Bagatto for a wild card. Further, the term verzicole is not used in tarocchino and the games/cards have never really left Bologna. Minchiate's popularity did spread however, though I had not guessed as far a field as Louisiana!
It does seem a little odd that he should describe such a distinct game that uses 97 cards when discussing a pack of 78 cards. This alone is reason to assume that he was not at all familiar with the games themselves. Of course, that he describes tarocchi as "a childish, insipid, monotonous game" is another good reason. I have only played Minchiate on a couple of occasions (its just not easy to get people to learn these games) but that's enough to convince of it's greatness - a monster of a game, no question, but very, very, clever stuff!
philebus
23-11-2007, 03:31
History suffers along with so many others as well. What passes for philosophical arguement or scientific reasoning by many can give cause for despair. Philosophy is my subject and I have learned over the years to just keep my mouth shut.
Perhaps I have become overly cynical but I have reached the point where I believe that most people don't care about what is true or false, right or wrong. What most people care about is what they prefer, for whatever reason, to call true or false, right or wrong.
Academia is also suffering the effects of this with so much made up non-sense available to students. I dropped a unit on film in my first year at university when I discovered I could get a 2:1 from 3 hrs work inventing all kinds of twaddle 'wrapped up' in a convoluted vocabulary. People can write and have published 'academic' work describing the three characters in Jaws as representing three socio-economic stages of US history or exploring Dracula as being aboug Bram Stoker's homosexuality (yes, she knew he wasn't but said that it was an interesting way to read the book - and get an Masters degree). Relativism increasingly dominates Sociology, Cultural Studies, and Literature. Get the lingo right and you can write and believe whatever you want - anything goes. It is all so much easier than working to learn the truth.
Well, there's my rant. These days I keep my mouth shut and just engage with interesting matter when it presents itself. Otherwise, I restrict myself to card games and the artwork. This is interesting though, as I mentioned, for the curious description of tarocchi. I've been going through my notes since posting and can only find the two groups of games, tarocchino and minchiate, that score for sequences. I shall have to break out Dummett and have another read through tomorrow but for now, it does look as if you've found something interesting (at least to me) about the spread of this game.
Thanks for posting this again Michael, this time I saved it; not only for the information within it, but as a model of how to present such.
Kwaw
philebus
23-11-2007, 04:52
Well, reading the essay, he does make explicit mention of minchiate and that the pack has 97 cards on page 297. So, he knew of both packs and their differences.
It still strikes me as a little odd that his description of 'tarocchi' seems to be of minchiate. With the exception of tarocchino, all other games score on card points, bids, and bonuses. There is one discrepancy - though I shall have to check and see if the rules had altered much since the time of Pinkerton's writing this - the use of Matto in minchiate is not quite as a wild card as Pinkerton says, it can be added to a sequence to extend it but it cannot be used to replace a missing card from a sequence.
philebus
23-11-2007, 05:18
OK. At a glance, Dummett's latest source for the rules predates this essay by less than 10 years and it doesn't look as though the rules had increased in complexity over the years. I would want to put the discrepancy in the Matto's use down to lack of knowlege of the game. So, I'm just about convinced, minchiate was played in 19th century Louisiana.
Just to illustrate what I mean by the game being far from childish, here is a draft of the rules extracted from Dummett's account of them.
I've never found these rules elsewhere on the internet, so this might be of interest to folk beyond Pinkerton's essay.
The Cards
There are four regular suites each of four court cards and ten pip cards with Latin suits and irrational ranking. This means that the suits of swords and batons rank K, Q, C, V, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and the suits of cups and coins rank K, Q, C, V, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. There is then the fifth suit of trumps numbering forty, with the last five being unnumbered. Finally there is a Fool which is played as an excuse.
Card points do not win a game, it is the points won from sequences and combinations that tip the balance. However, points are scored from cards - though not by all the traditional ones. To begin with, the empty cards (those that don’t carry any points or at least have very low points) really are empty - they score for nothing. Most striking of all is that the court cards below the rank of King are relegated to being empty cards.
The Arie (the top 5 trumps) 10
Papa Uno (the 1 of trumps) 5
X 5
XIII 5
XX 5
XXVIII 5
XXXtoXXXV 5
Matto (The Fool) 5
Kings 5
Papa II-V (Trumps II-V) 3
With 10 points scored for the last trick. The cards are counted individually making 91 points in the pack.
Noble Trumps: These are the trumps that carry points
Ignoble Trumps: These are the trumps that carry no points.
Papi: These are the five lowest trumps
Arie: These are the five highest trumps
Sopratrenti: XXXI-XXXV
Sopraventi: XXI-XXIX
Sottoventi: XI-XIX
Rossi: XXXIII-XXXX (all of these cards have a red background)
Salamandre: XVI-XIX
Versicole: These are the scoring combinations
La Fola: This is the stock
Versicole
Regular versicole:
These consist of three or more consecutive trumps
Versicole di papi: a sequence within the first five trumps
Versicole di tarocchi: a sequence from XXXVIII or higher
Versicole d’arie: a sequence within the last five trumps
Versicole di trenti: a sequence including the XXX
Versicole di sopratrenti: a sequence beginning with XXXI or XXXII
Versicole di rossi: the XXXIII, XXXIV, and XXXV
Irregular versicole:
Versicole del Matto: the I, XXXX, and Matto
Versicole del Tredici: I, XIII, and XXVIII
Versicole delle diecine: X, XX, and XXX or
XX, XXX, and XXXX or
X, XX, XXX, and XXXX
Versicole dei Regi: any three or four Kings.
All versicole may have Matto added to them but it cannot act as a wild card to in lieu of a missing card to make the sequence.
All versicole score for the card points within them with the XXIX scoring for 5.
If you look at the list of versicole, you will see that only the counting cards and the XXIX are used to make sequences.
Partnerships
Players form two partnerships, and sit with each partner opposite the other. After four rounds have been played, it was usual for players to switch partners for the next round.
Robbing the Pack
The first dealer is chosen at random, deal then moves to the right with each hand. Youngest (dealer’s left) cuts the cards and turns over the lifted part of the pack. If the exposed card is a counting card or a trump higher than XX, then Youngest takes the card, placing it face up. The same is repeated with the next card until either the card cannot be taken or youngest has taken 13.
Deal
Dealer completes the cut and deals each player one packet of 10 cards and a second of 11 cards with the last card dealt face up. If the exposed card carries any points, the player dealt it scores for them. Youngest’s side then score for any card points in the robbed cards.
Robbing the Fola
The remaining cards are called the Fola. Dealer places the pile face down and exposes the top card. If it is a counting card or a trump higher than XX, then dealer takes the card, placing it face up. The same is repeated with the next card until the card cannot be taken or there are no cards left. Dealer’s side then sore for any card points in the robbed cards.
Pigliare
Dealer now examines the fola and removes any counting cards, placing them face up. These cards will go toward the dealer’s sides tricks but they are not scored now. What remains of the fola is now passed to dealer’s partner who sorts them into their suits. The trumps are placed in pile face down and the regular suit cards are placed face up.
Discards
Youngest and dealer now pick up any cards they have robbed into their hands and must then discard the same number of cards that they took. The discards may not include any counting cards but may contain any others, including trumps. With the discards completed, Eldest leads to the first trick - however, other players do not yet play to the trick.
Declarations
Players may now declare any versicole in their hands by placing the relevant cards face up for all to see. When each side has scored for their declarations, the exposed cards are gathered back up by their declarers.
Completing the Fola
Dealer and Youngest now pass their discards to dealer’s partner who sorts them and places them with the other cards of the Fola. Again, the trumps are placed face down but the suit cards are face up. After everyone has seen them, all the fola cards are gathered up and passed to Dealer who placed them to one side. Dealer may examine the cards at any time and other players may as at any point to be reminded on the number of cards of each suit.
Dealer also collects up those cards of the Pigliare to form the start of his/her side’s trick pile.
Play
Play now continues to the first trick, each player in turn, moving to the right, must then play a card of the same suit (follow suit) as that led. If a player cannot follow suit, then they must play a trump, if they cannot play a trump, then they can play any card, though it will not win. If no trumps have been played, then the highest card of the suit led wins the trick and that player takes the cards and puts them into his/her trick pile. Otherwise, the highest trump played wins the trick.
The Matto may be played to any trick as an excuse for not playing a card you are otherwise obliged to play, but may be neither won nor lost. At the end of a trick to which the Matto has been played, the side who played it takes it into their own trick pile and gives the side who won the trick, an empty card from their trick pile in exchange. They may wait until the hand has been played to hand over the card but if they have only taken counting cards, then they must surrender one and the other side will score for it immediately.
When following suit to the first trick led to any of the regular suits, the player who holds the King must at their turn play it to the trick if a trump has been played.
When a trick is won, any counting cards in the trick that played by the opposing side are scored by the team that wins it.
At the end of the hand, if the team that had the Matto won no tricks, they must hand over the Matto which immediately scores for the other side.
When a player has no more trumps, then they have the option of dropping their hand. To do so, they place their cards face up on the table and make no further play. The winner of each trick may take any suitable card from the exposed hand - ie they must take a card of the suit led if there is one or, if not, then any other. Obviously, it would be a mistake to take this option if any Kings are still held.
Final Scores
Players should already have made a number of scores during the game. In the original scheme these scores were tracked by a running total, whereby the points scored by the side with the fewer points were deducted from those of the team with the most points. A little long winded - and unnecessary. I recommend just tracking your team’s own total till the end.
The team that won more than 42 cards in their tricks, now wins as many points as they won cards over 42.
Each team scores for all the card points in its tricks.
Each team scores for any versicole in its tricks.
The team with the most points wins and players pay in game points or in stakes according to the difference between the points taken by each side. If the difference is up to and including 60, then 1 game point is paid. If above 60 up and including 120, then 2 game points are paid. This scoring system then just continues in multiples of 60.
philebus
23-11-2007, 05:29
Yep, I've played most of them too.
As I posted earlier, the use of sequences is unique to two families of tarot game, those of the tarocchino and minchiate. The term verzicole is what ties Pinkerton's account to minchiate. As he has knowlege of the minchiate pack but doesn't mention the distinct (by then with the four moors), tarocchino, I'm inclined to accept that he is describing minchiate.
I've been reading through this thread, and I have to ask a fairly flat-footed question (but forgive me -- I'm not a tarot historian though I do read some)....
William Pinkerton -- what do we know about him aside from this publication?
Julien
philebus
23-11-2007, 05:40
Off hand, the only William Pinkerton I know of is of the detective agency. I'm about to have a little dig into the internet to see if I can find something. I want to know more if I'm to include this minchiate stuff in my notes.
Yep, that's the Pinkerton I thought of, too -- I did a quick google and searched a few websites, but I've found nothing about him. I'm just curious though whether he wrote other pieces, and where they were published...
Julien
philebus
23-11-2007, 05:47
The essay ends with a note that this is a William Pinkerton of Hounslow, so I don't think it's the detective. This may be someone we never know more of - his 15mins could just be this.
I was being unclear -- I didn't look up the detective. LOL... I looked up "Pinkerton AND tarot". But struck out. You may be right...
He was an anthropologist. Apparently F.S.A. refers to a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.
Society of Antiquaries of London
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_Antiquaries_of_London
For any who have JSTOR access, there is the following article.
The Late Mr. William Pinkerton.
The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 1, 1872 (1872), p. 264
This article consists of 1 page(s).
WorldCat lists the following title:
Historical notices of old Belfast and its vicinity; a selection from the mss. collected by William Pinkerton, F.S.A., for his intended history of Belfast, additional documents, letters, and ballads, O'Mellan's narrative of the wars of 1641, biography of Mary Ann M'Cracken, now first printed ...
by Robert Magill Young; William Pinkerton; O'Mellan, Friar.; Robert Shipboy Macadam; Anna M'Cleery
Apparently the well-known article "The Folklore of Playing Cards" in Chambers Book of Days was written by him.
Chambers Book of Days - February 21st
http://www.thebookofdays.com/months/feb/21.htm
And there are a number of other articles by him in Notes and Queries.
Internet Library of Early Journals
http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/ilej/
Thank you Michael -- I do have JStor access, and I should have checked myself... I plead slothfulness -- I'm avoiding all things university library related today. :)
Julien
Ah, found it on Google Books.
THE LATE MR. WILLIAM PINKERTON, F.S.A. -- We are sorry to have to record the death of this gentleman, which took place on the 30th July, 1871. Mr. Pinkerton was a devoted anthropologist, and the following extract from Notes and Queries shows the general estimation in which he was held :—
"Many of our old friends must have missed for some time from our pages, and missed with regret, the once familiar signature of William Pinkerton. That silence was caused by illness -- an illness which, we are grieved to say, terminated fatally on Sunday last. To those who remember how varied were the subjects which were treated by Mr. Pinkerton, it is superfluous to state that he was a gentleman of wide and discursive reading; and if his style was sometimes a little trenchant, it was a venial fault, springing as it did from his earnest love of truth, and a warmth of heart which endeared him to all who had the advantage of his friendship. Mr. Pinkerton, who was born at Belfast on the 22nd of January, 1811, was an extensive contributor to many of our chief periodicals, as well as to the Ulster and Kilkenny Archaeological Journals, the Anthropological Review, and the "Book of Days"; and he printed privately in 1870 a "History of Hounslow Chapel", &c. He had for many years been engaged on a history of his native place, still in manuscript. His remains will be interred today (August 5) in the cemetery at Kensal Green."
philebus
23-11-2007, 06:18
Excellent. Thanks for the references. I can now start adding some of this to my game notes.
Thank you again Michael... I love this line:
and if his style was sometimes a little trenchant, it was a venial fault, springing as it did from his earnest love of truth, and a warmth of heart which endeared him to all who had the advantage of his friendship.
I might just have to put that up in my office at the university.... My students are constantly complaining about academic writing. (Sigh... They don't seem to find the irony in complaining about academic writing to their professor who writes academically...)
Julien
One more brief item, from the Dictionary of Ulster Biography.
PINKERTON, WILLIAM 1809-1871
William Pinkerton was born in Belfast and became a sailor as a young man. His life was devoted to collecting printed material that related to the history of Belfast, and he owned a large collection of books that had been printed there. He was a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and was responsible for the reprinting of Hounslow Heath, which he funded.
Dictionary of Ulster Biography - P
http://ulsterbiography.co.uk/biogsP.htm
Also, elected a Fellow of the Anthropological Society of London.
Anthropological Society of London
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropological_Society_of_London
Thank you for these details. As I said in another thread, I do not consider myself a historian, but rather rely very much on the hard work that a few people are doing and placing for the benefit of all.
There is a dual constraint on the presentation of this material: on the one hand little place where it can easily be posted for general discussion and it being adequately criticised without others feeling somewhat overwhelmed with the details; on the other feeling unwelcome when trying to add to the discussions by actually carefully presenting materials found - as said in other context, it's similar to being between a rock and a hard place.
I very much appreciate those details, and skip over the sentences that seem more personal expressions of frustration as to there not being many amongst us actually doing the work from which we all ultimately benefit.
I'll have to take the time to carefully read through mjhurst's opening posts and see its relevance to those areas of personal interest. As Umbrae notes, of course, there are rules not only that change and differ over time and place, but also, I would suspect, some very regional (town-specific) rules that may never have seen publication and since simply disappeared.
I just think it's best to stay with what you know. It's human nature to talk out of your ass, pretending you know a helluva lot more than you actually do. :smoker:
philebus
23-11-2007, 16:55
Yes, of course, the game described may be a local variant but we have three traits that link it to minchiate along with his own mention of the cards. If it is not minchiate being played, then I think we can be sure that it is a game developed from it, perhaps with a 78 card pack. On that point, we can only speculate.
Ross G Caldwell
23-11-2007, 18:19
Hi Michael, Philebus et al.,
I was also quite struck by Pinkerton's mention of seeing tarot played in New Orleans, and the term "verzicole", which AFAIK is unique to Minchiate.
Since the term is purely Italian, it makes me wonder how it could be used by French speakers. The term is adopted into French as "Brizigole" by the time of the earliest printed rules "Regles du Jeu des Tarots", in 1637 - "Si quelqu'un a les quatre hautes ou les quatre basses de triomphes, ce qui s'appelle Brizigole, gaigne une marque de chacun." ("Regle" in the booklet for the Vieville tarot, p. 12, and note 15; see also http://www.tarock.info/depaulis.htm p. 6)(translation: "If somebody has four highest or the four lowest trumps, which is called Brizigole, wins a point for each one.")
Since it doesn't seem plausible that it was "re-Italianized" by the early 19th century in Louisiana, it appears that Pinkerton is really reporting a purely Italian term, from the game of Minchiate, in mid-19th century Louisiana. It is possible that the French players of this game were using a French 18th century rulebook for Minchiate. Here's something from Dummett and McLeod, "History of Games Played With the Tarot Pack" (Mellen, 2004) -
"Not only did Minchiate spread from Florence to other parts of Italy, to Rome and the Papal States, to Sicily and Liguria: it also became known abroad. In France, Nicholas de Poilly produced a Minchiate pack with highly non-standard designs in 1730, and in 1775 an instruction booklet Regles du Jeu des Minquiattes was printed. At least two descriptions of the game were published in German. One such was included in the second edition of the Die Kunst, die Welt erlaubt mitzunehmen in den verschiedenen Arten der Spiele (Nuremberg, 1769); this was a translation of that given in Il Giuoco Pratico. A separate account, which appears to be independent, was published in Dresden in 1798 under the title Regeln des Minchiatta-Spiels (RMS); this is a very careful description, more explicit than any of the Italian ones and painstaking in its reproduction of the Italian terminology, which, however, it sometimes misspells. It is unlikely, though, that the vogue for Minchiate outside Italy was ever very widespread.
"The game of Minchiate is generically similar to that of Tarocchino. In both cases, the principal form is a four-handed game with fixed partnerships. In Minchiate, as in Tarocchino, there are scores for special combinations of cards, both when held in the hand of one player and declared at the beginning of play, and also when contained among the cards won in tricks by a pair of partners; and, as in Tarocchino, these scores swamp the points won in tricks. Both games have a bonus for winning the last trick; and neither has any idea of a special bonus for winning it with the trump I. In detail, however, the two games are very different." (pp. 327-328)
Unfortunately, Dummett and McLeod don't give an account of the French version's rules, so I can't say whether the Italian terminology was preserved, as it was in the second German account (RMS) mentioned by them. I suspect it would have, since there seems no indication that the game ever became naturalized and lost its Italian roots. There is no hint of a long independent development of the game in France, so the terms probably came straight from Italian. Thus, there is no problem in seeing French-descended Americans in New Orleans in the early 19th century (thanks Julien for asking about Pinkerton, and thanks Michael for finding the answers, because it tells us how he might have got to the port-city of New Orleans and about when. If he were a sailor early in life, that might mean he started about age 16, which would be (depending on the date of his birth, given in the two accounts variously as 1809 or 1811) around 1825 or 1827. If we give him a decade or two at sea, he might have seen the game played in New Orleans anywhere from 1825-1845) playing Minchiate with Italian terms.
It is doubly fascinating for me to find evidence of tarot (or Minchiate) in America. A while ago I asked on various groups if anyone with German ancestry in America could research family archives to find evidence of tarock coming over with the first immigrants. I suspected it would be in the Mid-West primarily. I never thought to look in French New Orleans! (Duh) I'm sure there must be other early evidence of tarot in America - or French Canada.
Ross
I just think it's best to stay with what you know. It's human nature to talk out of your ass, pretending you know a helluva lot more than you actually do. :smoker:
On one level I agree with you -- best not to talk out your a** (too much a lady, am I, to use cuss words :) )... But, one can only learn to stretch beyond comfort zones if one is willing to ask and listen to things that one knows nothing about...
That said... And keeping in mind that I have a special non-tarot interest in the critical geography and the movement of ideas...
Michael/Ross/Kwaw, and others with more expertise:
Ross suggests that perhaps (speculatively), Pinkerton may have run into tarot in the Port of New Orleans. I've been going back through my history on tarot books as well as my own memory and thinking about places where tarot pops up. Am I incorrect in seeing a lot of port cities in those lists? Are you aware of a geographical study of the history of tarot that considers how it may have been carried in this fashion? Into ports by emigrants, sailors, and others who were traveling about (I'm reminded of another thread about Shakespeare and Tarot)...
Such a study might give more credence to Ross's speculation -- one that seems grounded and is most intriguing, with much broader implications (if true) than he gave them.
Julien
Ross G Caldwell
24-11-2007, 04:02
Hi Julien,
Ross suggests that perhaps (speculatively), Pinkerton may have run into tarot in the Port of New Orleans.
Pinkerton himself said that, so Philebus and I aren't speculating on that point. What we're speculating about is whether it was Tarot or Minchiate (an extremely technical distinction, I admit).
I've been going back through my history on tarot books as well as my own memory and thinking about places where tarot pops up. Am I incorrect in seeing a lot of port cities in those lists?
Yes, actually (sorry to disappoint). Tarot is mostly attested in inland Europe. The places where it is first, and abundantly, attested, are Milan (and environs) and Ferrara. It's hard to get further inland than Milan in Italy, and Ferrara is no port, although it's only a few hours on horseback to the coast.
Naturally there are a lot of big cities on coasts, so places like Ancona, Rome and Naples also have references to tarot in the 15th century.
But judging by the diffusion of the game (according to the sources arranged chronologically), the game of Tarot spread on foot within Europe.
Are you aware of a geographical study of the history of tarot that considers how it may have been carried in this fashion? Into ports by emigrants, sailors, and others who were traveling about (I'm reminded of another thread about Shakespeare and Tarot)...
I'm not aware of a study of tarot's overall diffusion - that would something interesting. But it seems to have been more of a society game than a sailor's or soldier's game (there are a few exceptions), so we find it mentioned in that environment more. It could be argued that that kind of environment is more prone to preserving records, being more literate, but the nature of the game itself seems to demand a more tranquil and reflective environment. Tarot games are hardly ever (mere) gambling games, nor the kind of game you can play when drunk (although you should never gamble when drunk - you'll definitely lose to those whose addiction is winning). It's favorite setting seems to be urban and genteel.
Such a study might give more credence to Ross's speculation -- one that seems grounded and is most intriguing, with much broader implications (if true) than he gave them.
Julien
Not sure where your speculations are headed, but give them a go.
Ross
philebus
24-11-2007, 04:47
Thanks for pointing out that Minchiate reached France, it does make sense of the games' migration. I've just been reading Dummett's chapter again and it is now the more frustrating that we don't have more rules - could it be that they did use Matto as a true wild card?! We just can't know, as Pinkerton compares the game to Pope Joan(!), we can't rely too much on his account beyond those three features.
I'll second what you say about the nature of the games, there have been a couple of odd deviations but the tradition of tarot has been for more intellegence in play. Even in its most simple variations, a lot of thought is required.
Also, I should note that, for anyone who is intersted in trying out minchiate, I have simplified the scoring a tiny bit in the notes I posted here - but not in a way that affects the final outcome.
This thread has had some meta posts removed and I have tried to keep those removed to a minimum. This was necessary so that the thread discussion could be fully focussed on it's topic.
Thank you
Moonbow*
Ross,
Thanks for your thoughtful response to my meandering thoughts. And I apologize -- I should have said you were speculating on what brought Mr. Pinkerton to New Orleans -- and I was reading into your account a bit because of something that has intrigued me for a long time. However, what you said was:
Thus, there is no problem in seeing French-descended Americans in New Orleans in the early 19th century (thanks Julien for asking about Pinkerton, and thanks Michael for finding the answers, because it tells us how he might have got to the port-city of New Orleans and about when. If he were a sailor early in life, that might mean he started about age 16, which would be (depending on the date of his birth, given in the two accounts variously as 1809 or 1811) around 1825 or 1827. If we give him a decade or two at sea, he might have seen the game played in New Orleans anywhere from 1825-1845) playing Minchiate with Italian terms.
I'm aware that tarot was more of a society game -- but the upper ranks of the Navy and Army (in this time period) was often made of society-types. One reason this passage caught my eye was that tarot couldn't travel to the North American continent on foot -- it had to via ships. Even more importantly, Pinkerton was a citizen of the British Empire, and served in the British Navy. The diffusion of tarot TO England would be difficult to manage on foot, too. And, just in the name of outing myself a little bit – what I do in my professional life is study the movement of ideas within networks of elites… So I’m afraid that my speculations are at least partly fueled by other preoccupations… But what caught my eye in your post and was (for me) very exciting was this:
It is doubly fascinating for me to find evidence of tarot (or Minchiate) in America. A while ago I asked on various groups if anyone with German ancestry in America could research family archives to find evidence of tarock coming over with the first immigrants. I suspected it would be in the Mid-West primarily. I never thought to look in French New Orleans! (Duh) I'm sure there must be other early evidence of tarot in America - or French Canada.
My thoughts are inspired by two different sets of questions. First set: here we have indication from a former British sailor that tarot was in New Orleans by the early-mid 19th century… How did it get there? And, where else would we look – not just in the North American continent, but also in the Caribbean and Central/South America?
First, New Orleans is, as you say, a French port-city. And it’s a port city in the 19th century that serves the Caribbean (I’ll come back to this momentarily). But even by the early 19th Century, its also serving to move goods from all along the Mississippi valley. Until the St. Lawrence Seaway was in place in the twentieth century, goods had to travel either overland to an eastern port, or down the river to New Orleans. Not only would you want to look in French Canada, then, but you’d want to follow those trade paths, finding particularly large towns where groups of French Canadians and/or soldiers with gentlemanly officers in their ranks might have been playing the game. I live right in the middle of the Mississippi Valley (almost equal distances from Minneapolis and New Orleans), and I grew up in Minneapolis… French Canadian great grandfather was a fur trapper, and we have a family tradition of occult tarot coming from that line of women in the family. I couldn’t document where it came from, by my French Canadian great grandfather was married to a German immigrant… ;)
Regarding the Caribbean… Now I’m thinking about a bit of history involving Puerto Rico, because I’m a little more familiar with it than with other islands in the area. Ships regularly went between Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Port of New Orleans, carrying not only sailors, but individuals who were migrating from one place to the other. The game could have disseminated along those routes… But the other thought for places to look in North America… Trade between New Orleans, Puerto Rico and BOSTON was very important through out the late 18th , the entire 19th, and much of the 20th century. In fact, the relationship between Puerto Rico and Boston is so important that Puerto Rico was put into the First Appellate Circuit Court of Appeals of our federal judiciary – keeping it in the same circuit as Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Now, much of what was moving was slaves or trade goods. However, elites moved because they had land holdings in the Caribbean… And there are, indeed, French Canadians in New England as well.
So, yes, the German immigrants might have brought tarock over… And the French might have brought it with them to part of French Canada and Louisiana… But maybe, also, someone should poke around in the Caribbean and see if tarot moved from there onto the North American continent through trade routes and emigration pathways.
Second set of questions – and here again, my non-AT self sees an interesting research puzzle…
The idea that one might be able to do a geographical study of how tarot moved --the diffusion of the any form of the game -- would be fascinating. Better yet, comparing the diffusion of the forms of the game and seeing how they overlap and where they do not, would be utterly fascinating from a critical geographical perspective. And there are computer programs, now, that we can use to do this sort of study... The trick would be finding data that was documented demonstrating that tarot was in a certain place at a certain time…
And you have to have some starting points. Experience and reading tells me that using major cities as centers where the card games/rules evolved (and were documented with dates) would be a place to start. Port cities still strike me as an interesting element -- even if most of the diffusion was on-foot, and the majorities where we find tarot is off the coast... That jumps from one continent to another… Had to happen via port cities... Didn’t they?
Okay, wild speculations – just some thoughts though that have my brain spinning. Thanks for listening!
Julien