Tarot based on England's tudor era

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 30 May 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

clkingjr	30 May 2004
I have been looking for a tarot deck based on Tudor England. I have seen many with the "Tudor Rose", but none actually based on Tudor England. Do you have any idea where I could locate such a deck? Any help or guidance you can provide will be appreciated. My thanks to all who have responded so far. I would also entertain the possibility of a custom made deck if there is anyone capable of such a task

HudsonGray	31 May 2004
Did the Durer deck cover part of it?

Rusty Neon	31 May 2004
Tudor England (1485 to 1603) I can't think of anything exactly Tudor. .... Old English Tarot ... depicts England in the 14th century - so that deck would be at least a century too early. http://www.learntarot.com/oedesc.htm In terms of the period of time, but a different country .... Visconti decks and Marseilles decks could give a feel for the approximate period. Also, the new Golden Tarot. English / Arthurian decks / Medieval-Renaissance decks http://www.learntarot.com/subjen.htm http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/medieval-renaissance.shtml

Aerin	31 May 2004
Shakespeare Tarot (Romeo and Juliet) by Scapini http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/shakespeare/ has Wm. Shakespeare's house as one of the cards. Very Tudor architecture. It also uses Queen Elizabeth as one of the cards. A lot of W.S. plays appear to originate in Tudor times e.g. see here http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/timeline/summarychart.htm This is the nearest I can think of. It isn't exactly Tudor England though. Aerin

Cerulean	31 May 2004
Shakesphere Oracle - available through Barnes and Noble Luigi Scapini's Romeo and Juliet style characters with Queen Elizabeth and Mary Stuart in the majors. The Shakesphere Oracle has a few similar cards, although the Romeo and Juliet Tarocco was first. Available through Tarotgarden.com or Alidastore.com Doreen Ashkroft Norwicki's Shakesperean Tarot is based on the characters of each play, which may yield a closeness to the time. Usually offered on E-Bay There is a Tarocco for Mary Stuart, but she is Scottish and that doesn't fit your needs. Still, it is on alidastore.com if you want to check it out. I'm sorry to say that all I know of are retrospective cards really reflecting comparable or earlier time periods, such as Columbus' discovery of America, are Italian and usually reflect that culture. Rusty Neon's suggestion of the Golden Tarot will be much closer than any of the other Renaissance oriented ones that I've seen. I hope you find something and let us know--I remember your question from months back and we've not seen anything. The out of print Alchemical Tarot had that beautiful red rose in the back and some period costume, but it's not related to the history that you were looking for in a tarot. Sorry. Good luck--I know how it is to want something specific and it is a beautifully sparkling period of history that deserves a gorgeous tarot. Perhaps if you come across tribute sites on the web with appropriate painters or pictures (the warburg archives?), there might be a way for you to make your historic tribute tarot collection. Regards, Cerulean Mari P.S. A link for anyone researching this era - the document suggests 1485-1603: http://www.cwru.edu/UL/preserve/stack/Tudors.html

Aure	04 Jun 2004
I would also love to have a deck from this era since I'm interested in Tudor and Elizabethan England among other historical periods (still trying to save some money to be able to order a new gown from my seamstress who also made my elizabethan wedding gown :) ). I guess there aren't any decks specifically tudor at the moment. Is the Estensi deck from wrong era?

Cerulean	04 Jun 2004
There are many commerative and fun decks out there...when I look at the Northern Italian corners and historical timeframes from 1300 to 1500, I think I follow too narrow path from art and literature. I can see from Ferarra there is Rome, Florence, Venice, Naples, Milan and even some interaction with France...but I've never come across any English history links from Ferarra and so, nothing related to Tudor culture. The Mantegna and Estensi recreations by Lo Scarabeo can be reflective of Northern Italian culture in Italy from 1470 and somewhat later, but Ferarra by 1505 was taken over by a weaker, less efficient ruler. Italian art also had a major shift in art with Raphael that was observeable after his death in 1520. Ferrara art was actually rather conservative, and isn't as widely written about or influential to many art historians. I don't know about English art from 1300 to 1520. Would Italian art be reflective of English culture around the time of the Tudors? Someone mentioned the Golden Tarot by Kat Black for International Gothic from 1300 to 1500 or 1600, which may be more reflective for a general reflection of the transition from Medieval to Renaissance iconography. Best wishes, just my take. Cerulean Mari

The Tarot based on England's tudor era thread was originally posted on 30 May 2004 in the Tarot Decks board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Tarot Decks, or read more archived threads.