Angelo Decembrio / Fool / Pisani / Alberti

Huck

General biography to the Decembrio family

http://trionfi.com/0/b/

Angelo's major work, which gives possibly the best insight about the life at the court of Leonello. Unluckily we earlier had difficulties to get more information about this text.
http://books.google.de/books?id=H49...a=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result#PPP1,M1

http://blogs.princeton.edu/rarebooks/2007/07/recently_acquired_angelo_decem.html

http://blogs.princeton.edu/rarebooks/dec.html

and then ...

A really interesting article about Angelo Decembrio, his De politia litteraria and a curious person with the name "Ugolino Pisani" ...
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2862321

******

... generally in Tarot research we've to reflect, that at some time the playing card of the Fool was invented - perhaps it's understandable, that this didn't happen without some essential quality of humour and irony, not easily discoverable by researchers more than 500 years later.

It's not an impossible assumption, that this happened just in Ferrara, cause Ferrara has the merit of the first documented notes with use of the "Trionfi" word in context with playing cards.

So there is a certain warning "beware of the Fool", when studying the Ferrarese context around the specific time.

In the past studies of our Trionfi research we were able to identify 3 objects, which might have been of influence:

* Gonella, the real Fool of Niccolo d'Este
http://trionfi.com/0/d/93/

* The general feast of the Fools, which was near to a general papal prohibition just in this time
http://trionfi.com/0/d/91/

* Leon Battista Alberti with his text Momo on the base of the funny antique author Lucian
http://trionfi.com/0/d/22/
http://books.google.com/books?id=2Z...a=X&oi=book_result&resnum=5&ct=result#PPP1,M1

... and, that's my guess, we've found here a fourth influence: Ugolino Pisani, a man, whose life we can see by the above article in a period of about 10 years, from ca. 1435 (in Bologna) - 1445 (in Naples), just in the right time.

******

Getting curious we followed the lines and detected another text of relevance, Alberti's Philodoxus. Funny enough, Alberti had created it as a young man in the age of 20 years (in 1424) and had it declared as something, what he found in an old manuscript. A classical text ... As Alberti told it, the small peace for the theatre reached with this announcement some fame and people congratulated him for the finding (well, the story told about the weddings of the sisters Glory and Fame and it worked ...). It was the time, when rich people hunted classical texts and Nicolaus of Cusa made his luck, when he gathered comedies of Plautus and brought them to Italy.

Alberti later confessed the true authorship to Leonello d'Este.

http://parnaseo.uv.es/Celestinesca/Numeros/1993/VOL 17/NUM 1/1_documento.pdf

Well, it features some figures, which later appeared in the Tarot iconography, for instance Father Time and Tyche as Fortuna.

******

One should reflect, that it's curious, that we have with the Tarot an object "without author" ... and with Alberti we have a man, who at least once didn't claim the authorship for some time ...

... perhaps as a test for a much bigger deal ...

I remind, that earlier researches about Alberti's text "Momus" led to our opinion, that the figure of the beggar inside the Mantegna Tarocchi was made after Alberti's central figure and glorification of the universal beggar with not much responsibility to care about.

Ross G Caldwell

Huck said:
Alberti later confessed the true authorship to Leonello d'Este.

http://parnaseo.uv.es/Celestinesca/Numeros/1993/VOL 17/NUM 1/1_documento.pdf

Well, it features some figures, which later appeared in the Tarot iconography, for instance Father Time and Tyche as Fortuna.

******

Thanks for finding this play. It is very interesting and pertinent I think, even if it does not go beyond "background". I don't find that it helps me interpret the trump series yet any differently - although Philodoxus likens his journey to a triumphal procession, there is no mention of either Death (except as colloquial expression, perhaps not present in the Latin) or Treason.

The distinction made between worldly fame and true glory is nice, for me.

Very tasty find.

My library in Béziers has the Decembrio book - but I'm afraid it's not able to be borrowed or scanned.

Huck

Ross G Caldwell said:
I don't find that it helps me interpret the trump series yet any differently - although Philodoxus likens his journey to a triumphal procession, there is no mention of either Death (except as colloquial expression, perhaps not present in the Latin) or Treason.

...

... well, it's not the sausage, but part of the soup, to which the sausage was added later.

btw. "death" is there, one of the 3 houses is decorated with a statue of Pluto. And possibly there's a hidden traitor somehow, perhaps in the figure of Fortunatus, who marries Fame.
But details don't matter too much, I would say.

It was suspected earlier by other arguments, that Alberti was "somehow" active by the creation of 14 motifs on pictures made for Bianca Maria Visconti at 1.1.1441 ... what motifs these 14 figures really were, we've not enough informations to give a judgment.
Though, we've the information, which 14 were chosen in the Milanese production (Bembo) probably by Bianca Maria herself and the suspicion is given, that the 14 motifs of the earlier production might have been near to it. Also we've information about the contemporary Cary-Yale, and with comparing Cary-Yale and the 14 Bembo cards it's clear cause other reasons, that there were not always the same motifs.

Alberti's potpourri of allegorical motifs long before in 1424 in his love comedy naturally is another mix of similar motifs ... the accent is on "similar". And perhaps on the topic "wedding" ... the project for the motifs of 1.1.1441 was also a "wedding" and probably this is also true for the Cary Yale Tarocchi.

Also there is the aspect, that a relation between theatre and Trionfi motifs existed ... and that very early.

Ross G Caldwell

Huck said:
... ... well, it's not the sausage, but part of the soup, to which the sausage was added later.

Indeed, we are all "making sausage" to add to the soup. You probably know this quote, attributed to Bismarck among others - "Je weniger die Leute darüber wissen, wie Würste und Gesetze gemacht werden, desto besser schlafen sie nachts."

(Good source here, at the bottom, for the various English versions -
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Otto_von_Bismarck )

btw. "death" is there, one of the 3 houses is decorated with a statue of Pluto. And possibly there's a hidden traitor somehow, perhaps in the figure of Fortunatus, who marries Fame.
But details don't matter too much, I would say.

I'll have to read it more deeply to see what resonances I feel with the standard trump sequences.

I like where Jones/Guzzi say "[Lucia Martinelli] clearly perceives, however, the high seriousness of the underlying theme (virtu vs. fortuna: man's effort to control his destiny) and relates it to an important current of humanist thought." (p. 89) I see the same theme in the trump sequence.

I also like the next paragraph of the introduction, where the authors mention in exasperation how unappreciated Spain is in some aspects of literary studies. The same can be said of playing card history - Trevor Denning makes the same observation in his introduction - especially from what I've noticed so far in Etienvre.

It was suspected earlier by other arguments, that Alberti was "somehow" active by the creation of 14 motifs on pictures made for Bianca Maria Visconti at 1.1.1441 ... what motifs these 14 figures really were, we've not enough informations to give a judgment.
Though, we've the information, which 14 were chosen in the Milanese production (Bembo) probably by Bianca Maria herself and the suspicion is given, that the 14 motifs of the earlier production might have been near to it. Also we've information about the contemporary Cary-Yale, and with comparing Cary-Yale and the 14 Bembo cards it's clear cause other reasons, that there were not always the same motifs.

Alberti's potpourri of allegorical motifs long before in 1424 in his love comedy naturally is another mix of similar motifs ... the accent is on "similar". And perhaps on the topic "wedding" ... the project for the motifs of 1.1.1441 was also a "wedding" and probably this is also true for the Cary Yale Tarocchi.

Also there is the aspect, that a relation between theatre and Trionfi motifs existed ... and that very early.

You're exactly right we don't know what those 14 images were. I don't speculate they were related to the tarot trumps though.

If we want a literary source for 14 images, maybe Petrarch is it. In the Triumph of Chastity he mentions 14 Virtues accompanying Laura, in pairs:

"With her, and armed, was the glorious host
Of all the radiant virtues that were hers,
Hands held in hands that clasped them, two by two.

Honor and Modesty were in the van,
A noble pair of virtues excellent,
That set her high above all other women;
Prudence and Moderation were near by,
Benignity and Gladness of the Heart -
Glory and Perseverance in the rear;
Foresight and Graciousness were at the sides,
And Courtesy therewith, and Purity,
Desire for Honor, and the Fear of Shame."

(Ernest Hatch Wilkins translation, 1962)

These seem appropriate subjects for young women.

Ross

Huck

Ross G Caldwell said:
I like where Jones/Guzzi say "[Lucia Martinelli] clearly perceives, however, the high seriousness of the underlying theme (virtu vs. fortuna: man's effort to control his destiny) and relates it to an important current of humanist thought." (p. 89) I see the same theme in the trump sequence.

Well, it's a common and reappearing topic and it might be it was also in the mind of the Tarot designer a little bit.

You're exactly right we don't know what those 14 images were. I don't speculate they were related to the tarot trumps though.

Alberti 1424 with Bembo ca. 1452 have raised the chance, that it was similar to Tarot in some way. From the 4 models, that we know of this early time - Michelino - Alberti - Cary Yale - Bembo - the Michelino is most foreign, not the Alberti-work. And from the iconographical viewing point the Alberti context is more parental toTaro than the Michelino, of course ...

... although the Michelino deck has naturally the advantage, that it is a playing card deck.

If we want a literary source for 14 images, maybe Petrarch is it. In the Triumph of Chastity he mentions 14 Virtues accompanying Laura, in pairs:

"With her, and armed, was the glorious host
Of all the radiant virtues that were hers,
Hands held in hands that clasped them, two by two.

Honor and Modesty were in the van,
A noble pair of virtues excellent,
That set her high above all other women;
Prudence and Moderation were near by,
Benignity and Gladness of the Heart -
Glory and Perseverance in the rear;
Foresight and Graciousness were at the sides,
And Courtesy therewith, and Purity,
Desire for Honor, and the Fear of Shame."

(Ernest Hatch Wilkins translation, 1962)

These seem appropriate subjects for young women.

Ross

The Visconti genealogy knew 12, if you remember
http://trionfi.com/0/b/75/

1. Faith
2. Hope
3. Charity
4. Justice
5. Fortitude
6. Temperance
7. Prudence
8. Piety
9. Clemence
10. Magnificence
11. Intelligence
12. Humility

Such groups existed here and there, modified according the opportunity, it's not a fixed system.

The Fool as motif had exaggerated game function and its existence fits much better to the humour in Ferrara, as we know it from the writings of Alberto and specific passages of Angelo Decembrio than to Milan ...
Especially the Momus text makes the "Fool in Ferrara" very illustrative.

Huck

hi Ross,

we spend some time reading and analysing the Philodoxus of Alberti ...

http://parnaseo.uv.es/Celestinesca/Numeros/1993/VOL 17/NUM 1/1_documento.pdf

... and I would say, not totally successless.

...

... however, if a reader wishes to understand the following, he better takes the care to read the text (see link above)

COUNTING SCENES AND FIGURES

Point 1: The text has 20 scenes (plus an introduction)
Point 2: The text has 20 figures or persons (plus the imaginative author Lepidus in the introduction)

The counting of the "figures" is a matter of discussion ... the appearing figures don't have the same action level. In Alberti's introduction he only notes 15 figures... but we found 20:

11 figures are real actors - 2 minor roles between them (Phimia + Alithia)
4 are parents - they don't really appear, they just exist as a name
5 are no-words actors, very small roles, it's insecure, if they really appear at the stage, some of them even don't have a name.

As this may be, the 20 figures seem to present an organised pattern with some mathematical symmetrie:

6 persons are three pairs of lovers, which either will marry or are already married:

* Polydoxus will marry Doxia ; "I love glory" and "Glory", the positive heroes
To Philodoxos belong his father "Argos" and his mother "Minerva"

* Fortunius will marry Phimia ; "Luck", the adopted sun of Tychia (Fortuna) and Fama ; negative
To Fortunius belong his father with the meaning "Tyranny" and mother with the meaning "Arrogance"

* Phroneus detects his earlier wife Mnimia ; Phroneus is an "autobiobiographical element of Alberti" and Mnimia presents "Memory"

(this altogether are already 10 persons)
******

A fourth pair are Chronos (Father Time) and Tychia (Fortuna) - as contrasts.
Both have accompanying persons: Chronos has 2 servants and a daughter and Tychia has 3 servants

* Chronos
* an "attendant, used as bailiff" - silent figure
* Calilogo, the "beautiful speaker", used as a writer - silent figure
* Alithia, the "Veritas" (truth), the daughter - has 4 sentences in the text

* Tychia
* Diotonus, a freed slave of Tychia - deeply involved in Fortunius' plans
* Dynastes, still a slave of Tychia - deeply involved in Fortunius' plans
* Volipedia, "Flying Feet" - send from Tychia with the mission to come back successless

In the Tychia-group it's easy to decipher, who the 3 partners are: The wheel of Fortune has four figures. Diotonus seems to be the ascending figure (with some incomplete wealth), Dynastes is the descending figure and the unlucky bottom figure is with irony given as "Flying Feet" completed with a "mission without success".
Similar one has to see the three accompanying figures of Father Time: Punishment, which comes with the time in the role of the bailiff, the collection of passed time through documents by Calilogo, and Veritas, which as "truth" with the time comes to the surface.

This together are further 8 persons.

2 minor figures are still remaining. One is Climarchus, the barber (a silent figure), who own's a house next to the house of Doxia and the other is an anonymous trumpeter (also silent in the text) in the final scene of the whole work.

10 + 8 + 2 = 20 persons

*******

So 20 scenes meet 20 persons (or ideas). When there is some intention in this "accident", then Alberti had (probably) a scheme to order in a certain way scenes with persons with the natural result, that the 20 persons or "ideas" would develop a sequence, as we know it from the usual Tarot games - in this case a row from 1-20.

IT'S A TRIUMPHAL PROCESSION

So it's the question, if the original intention of Alberti is reconstructable. I'll try it soon, but first we shall look at two interesting passages in the text:

Scene IV (at the beginning) - Philodoxos declares: "My journey is like a triumphal procession ..." and then follows a rather optimistic series of joyful exclamations, which ends with the disturbing detection, that competitor Fortunius is also in the game around Doxia.

Scene VI (in the middle of action) - Phroneus tries a trick with Fortunius and it works: he tells of an African "parade, which you would have called a triumphal procession. There were trumpets, chariots, horses, lions, panthers and - in short - remarkable and innumerable things, which it's certainly worth the effort to see" and Fortunius is up and away ... the friend Polydoxos has opportunity to enter the house of Doxia unseen.

So there is no doubt ... Alberti is with his work near to the idea of "triumphal processions" and the idea, that we have here an object of "triumphal processions for small theatres" is not very strange in the context.

RECONSTRUCTION

So let's try the reconstruction of the sequence of the 20 persons or "ideas".

First we have a series of persons, which appear only in one scene in the text (7 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 20). It seems natural to give these scenes to them, as there is no alternative. In consequence Tychia can have only 19 (cause she appears first in 16 and 16-18 are already gone). By this Chronos could only have 14 or 15 (he appears in 14 ... 15 seems to be not elegant). Giving Chronos the 14, Alithia - as belonging to the Chronos group - could have only 16.
Now the Tychia group has 18-19, but couldn't have for the other two members 17-16. It's more logical to give them 2-3 (mirror position to 18-19) and this place is ideal, cause the relevant figures, Diotonus + Dextrinus, have there their greatest scenes. The barber has chances to appear in scene 1 + 6 or 10, but 1 is prefered, cause he is the partner (so also mirror position) to the trumpeter (20) and to the other neighbour to Doxia (as it is also Diotonus - number 2).
Now we have the 3 pairs left and the 4 parents.
Mnimia has in the pair group (Memory) a special function. She is discovered by her husband in scene 13 ... that's her scene. Scene 12, in which Mnimia is also present, is dominated by the crime of Fortunius (Fortunius is called in this scene by the name of his father Thrasis ... so this is a parent scene, Fortunius commits the crime of his father). And then the solution of this inner riddle (4-13) solves with:

4-6 the three male lovers
7-8 two female lovers
9-12 the 4 parent figures
13 Mnimia as the surprizing 3rd women

So we have totally:

1: Climarchus, the barber (left neighbour to Doxia) - is given only by the scene background (3 houses), the scene is dominated by Phroneus
2: Diotinus, the freedman of Tychia (Tychia-group) (right neighbour to Doxia) - promises to help Philodoxos
3: Dynastes, the slave of Tychia (Tychia group) - tries to arrange that Fortunius gets Doxia
4: Philodoxos (pair - male) - on a triumphal march
5: Fortunius (pair male) - disturbs the good hopes of Philodoxos)
6: Phroneus (pair male) - tricks Fortunius to visit another triumphal march
7: Phimia (pair-female) - only scene with Phimia (Fame), she cares for the good name and the reputation
8: Doxia (pair female) - Philodoxos declares his love to Doxiain a monolog
9: Argos (parent - father Philodoxos) - Philodoxos spies the talking of the slaves (Argos has 100 eyes)
10: Minerva (parent - mother Philodoxos) - Philodoxos shows further details of his character
11: Autadia (parent - mother Fortunius) - Fortunius shows his arrogance
12: Thraso (parent - father Fortunius) - Fortunius makes his crime, he robs Phimia)
13: Mnimia (pair female)
14: (Chronos - Chronos-group) - 1st appearance of Chronos
15: (Alithia - Chronos-group) - Alithia is called here by her real identity: daughter of Chronos, guarded by Mnimia
16: Bailiff - Chronos-group - only scene with him, in search for the criminal
17: Calilogus - Chronos-group - only scene with him, documents the criminal case
18: Volipedia - Tychia-group - only scene with him, attempts to keep Fortunius away
19: (Tychia - Tychia group) - last appearance of Tychia, she's successful to excuse Fortunius
20: Trumpeter - only scene with him, successful and lucky finish

As far I can see it, this makes sense ... .-) ... but anybody might try another and possibly better solution.

******

AUTOBIOGRAPHIC DETAILS

Why has the figure Phroneus autobiographic details? About Alberti ...

In 1421 at the age of 17, he was back in Bologna, studying canon and civil law at the university. His father died the same year, and at this point his fortunes began to worsen. The substantial inheritance his father had arranged for his natural sons was challenged, and Battista's health broke, his doctors told him, under the stress of excessive study of the law. Worse afflictions followed, including loss of memory and a morbid visual sensitivity, and he gave up law for physics and mathematics (which must have included optics).
http://books.google.com/books?id=Jk...2N2NAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=6&ct=result

In the Philodoxos, made 1424, which means 3 years after Alberti's sickness in 1421, Phroneus finds his earlier wife Mnimia (meaning "Memory") after he had divorced 3 years ago. Part of the sickness in the year 1421 was "the loss of memory".
I think, that in the order of the scenes Mnimia is sorted intentionally after the parents cause her special function (Memory), cause memory involves the idea "knowing the parents".

BARBER (begin)

The barber at position 1 is somewhat curious ... I think, that Burchiello, the poet barber in Florence might have played a role in this context. In his early time in Florence Alberti might have been in his shop (although this should have been late than 1424). Grenerally one has to reflect, that this is a revised version of the Philodoxos, possibly refined and repaired around 1436.

Perhaps the "barber" signals, that position 1 is the position of the poet and in the text the scene is dominated by a monolog of Phroneus (the alter ego of Alberti, which means "the author").

This is the description of the stage (which naturally stands at the beginning in scene 1)

A street in Rome, with three doors: in the center, an elegant one, with columns, leading to Doxia's house; to the left, a half ruined door to Ditonus' house, next to which is a statue of Pluto; and to the right, a third door leading to Climarchus the barber's establishment

TRUMPETER (finish)

The trumpeter in the finishing scene ... he has a logical function there, nothing surprizing, the show is over ... Considering this very concrete feature, we might reflect the appearance of trumpets in the Trionfi card series, starting perhaps with the 14 Bembo cards, which has the Judgment card at the highest position.

Actors in the theatre close the curtain at the finish of the game, and then they reappear before the curtain to get the applause ... independently, if the piece was a tragedy with many dead persons or a comedy. So the dead persons come back to life again ... as on the judgment card.

AUTHOR (the Fool)

There's a 21st person in the text, the imaginative author "Lepidus" ("Charming"), responsible for the introduction. He describes himself as "I am a demented wit and an ignorant sage" and he feels free enough to confess "not much time has gone by since I had a drink - I don't know if I drank too much, but you'll be able to tell how far I have exceeded the limits of drinking if I speak gibberish here before you ..."

Somehow he plays the Fool and Lepidus is a figure outside the actual game ... as the Fool in the Tarocchi game is taken out of competion.

******

In the context of Alberti's delivery of the Philodoxos to Leonello (still I haven't found a way to determine the date of first contact precisely, but I think around 1436/37) has to be considered the story of Ugolino Pisani, which is described by Angelo Decembrio ...

http://www.jstor.org/stable/2862321?seq=1
(really necessary to read, it's interesting)

... which also happened 1437.

Decembrio describes a man 30 (in 1437), gotten up in foppish costume, a peripatetic musician and entertainer, and a newly acclaimed literary talent. He was famous throughout Italy and abroad as a singer, comedian, and entertainer, Decembrio and other sources agree. At any rate, his status as a celebrity had already earned him some unflattering nicknames by the time he came to Ferrara.

So Ugolino is somethig like a popstar in his time. And Leonello probably had shown interest in this form of theatre, otherwise we wouldn't find two writers interested to get his attention (possibly this connects to the many weddings at the Ferrarese courts in this time, to which a small comedy about love and other related things would please well).
Ugolino and Alberti are in this time both in Bologna and it's interesting, how far in the social reality Bologna is from Ferrara (real distance maybe 25 km), that Alberti has this big difficulties to get in contact.
Ugolino at least gets a bad reception in Ferrara, he meets the full arrogance
of the court. The 14-years-old Tito Vespasiano Strozzi is taken to give him some education in the course of the audience, Ugolino has to suffer.

Ugolino has a "foppish costum" ... this also reminds "the Fool". If we think the author as the "Fool", possibly we find the true origin of this figure. In face of the high nobility the author had to show modesty and humilate himself ... perhaps that's the true background.

FATHER TIME and TYCHIA (Fortuna)

Inside Alberti's sequence the figure of "Father Time" has an unusual high position. This is repeated in the later Boiardo Tarocchi, when Time is presented by the Greek hero Nestor. Boiardo was too young in Alberti's time in Ferrara, but Boiardo's uncle Tito Vespasiano Strozzi was already present.

In the Tarocchi sequence the Hermit (="Father Time") and the Wheel of Fortune (both a contrasting pair) are usually close to each other and this is also shown in later art:

(17th century)

3 PAIRS OF LOVERS

The motif reappears in the later Charles VI. Tarocchi

... reflecting our earlier talkings about the Charles VI. Tarot, I made the suggestion, that this deck was made for the young Lorenzo de Medici at about the year 1463 ... well, you prefered "around 1450".

Alberti in 1460 wrote a specific text for Lorenzo de Medici. The notebook says: "Short rhetorical handbook, dedicated to Lorenzo de Medici (the younger, then 11 years old), Trivia senatoria (Senatorial exercises)." In this time Alberti should have had contact. Also Alberti was friend to Toscanelli. In the context of the Charles VI card it was suggested, that the both astronomers at the moon card would present Regiomontanus and Toscanelli:

ALBERTI'S PREFERENCE

Mnimia (memory), the wife of Phroneus (= the alter ego of Alberti), is a little ugly. But it's she, who is the guardian of Alithia (Veritas = truth), just telling the maxime of Alberti, that true memory, even it tells and contains some unpleasant details, should be prefered against elegant lies and too much glory and fame and an untroubled surface.

Philodoxus describes Mnimia: "The reddish-haired, quarrelsome one, with a harsh expression, bulging eyes, sharp nose, pointed chin - the scrawny one? Golly, Phroneus, you've found a beautiful wife."

And Phroneus answers: "Well, she has a good character, if she's no beauty. And it's not easy to explain how comforting it is to have an ugly wife: her husband is the only man she doesn't hate, because nobody loves an ugly woman, and she frees a jealous man from suspicions."

...

... well, somehow a true researcher, this Alberti.

THE STORY OF RECEPTION

Alberti tells about the early reception himself. He makes the point, that he in 1424 was cheated by a friend, who stole the incomplete manuscript and gave it to others without his permission and knowledge ... Alberti himself spread the story, that he found the text in an old codex. The work became an early success with the author name "Lepidus". This part of the story is confirmed by a letter between Panormita and Toscanelli in 1426.

With the letter of Alberti to Leonello Leon Battista tried to correct the earlier authorship of "Lepidus". Not totally successful ... the author Lepidus didn't die early.

The Philodoxus has survived in 21 manuscripts and two imprints - that's rather much and sounds like "a real great success" already before book printing arrived. It was the only humanistic comedy reprinted in Italy in the 16th century. It is said to have taken influence on the tragical comedy "Celestina", which had been a great literary success in Spain very late in 15th century.

******

P.S.

In the Ferrarese theatre development in the 1430's should be also considered the occasional presence of Tito Livio Frulovisi

http://books.google.com/books?id=F1...&as_brr=3&ei=AXDKSc-ANp2EyATUoOmLCg#PPA231,M1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tito_Livio_Frulovisi

Ross G Caldwell

Good work Huck, nice analysis/summary - thanks for posting it. Your schematic will be useful in remembering the parts as a I read it.

I haven't even printed it out yet (the play) to read. I can't study a long text properly on a computer screen.

I can't get the whole Ugolino Pisani article yet - do you have JSTOR access?

I am interested in this Alberti text on Rhetoric - do you have it?

Ross

Huck

Ross G Caldwell said:
Good work Huck, nice analysis/summary - thanks for posting it. Your schematic will be useful in remembering the parts as a I read it.

I haven't even printed it out yet (the play) to read. I can't study a long text properly on a computer screen.

I can't get the whole Ugolino Pisani article yet - do you have JSTOR access?

I am interested in this Alberti text on Rhetoric - do you have it?

Ross

About Istor ... I don't know, what changed, but often (or always?) more than the usual one-page is readable now (at least here to me).
You have to use the small arrows at the pages (left bottom). I think, Istor has changed something.

Alberti 1460? No, I haven't searched till now.

PS

About Istor again.
My Istor has a link from a local library ... so I've changed my Istor-account, probably with a reply to an email, which was send by the library to me. Or cause I've a local provider? Anyway, it works .. reality is a little bit better.

Huck

Some additions:

I found a passage, that declares, that Alberti and Leonello met for the first time in January 1438, at the begin of the council. 14 months before (would be Nov. 1436) Alberti had send his manuscript to Leonello.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/2862321.pdf p. 627
Ugolino-Pisani-article

********

Angelo Decembrio: De politeia litteraria - (Book V, section 60) ... Decembrio
reports about the visit of Ugolinio
text is translated in Appendix A of the above noted PDF (p. 629):

"Ugolino of Parma, avid imitator of Plautus' play and comic style, who from the time he was barely forty lost the remaining yearsof his life in madness, living like a vagabond, with hair uncombed and with a long beard (for from his youth he was not thought of as quite of sound mind), presented Leonello with his little book 'A Culinary Confabulation'."
The text finds Decembrio's harsh critique, but the book is produced very splendid.

"... many people called him a literary monkey ... " (btw. with similar words Lodovico Lazzarelli is later titulated in his appearance as a very young poet, maybe 1463, if I remember correctly)

"... he had acquired rich clothing, often in kingly style, after the fashion of entertainers, and the rank of knight and was known to all the matrons in whatever city he was engaged, and experienced in all the games of masques."

Ugolino claimed to have been dubbed poet laureate by emperor Sigismondo. "Because of this, learned men often called him larvate instead of laureate.
men often called him larvate instead of laureate."

..

... the following harsh critique on Ugolino Pisani and his work seems to be an unfair and arrogant replique of the Ferrarese elitist group, missing any details of the work, just focussing the general topic (some matters from the Italian kitchen) finds critique, not much more ... the text, anyway, is lost in history (?), as I've read. However, there is a quotation from the opening (says Zanino, the cook in 'A Culinary Confabulation') : "I do not want knowledge, but I believe that I can seem to be wise and that you can readily be persuaded of this, because though I make a large claim for myself as an idiot, I think that you will the greatest fools and thoroughly believe whatever stupid or childish thing I said."
(as reference for the passage is given "Teatro goliardico dell'Umanismo" ed. Vito Pandolfi and Erminia Artese, Milan 1965, pp 293-310)

In a certain way the author Ugolino has some right to feel disappointed about these clever men. Just my impression ...
But we, from our very specific perspective, search for a prototye of a "Fool in Ferrara" around the time of 1.1.1441 ... Zanino alias Ugolino might be one of the interesting sources.

******

In the general tendency of the research to this point it might be necessary to study a little deeper the development of comedy around this time.

Ross G Caldwell

This book should be a start -

"Humanist Comedies", Grund (Harvard University Press, 2005)
http://books.google.fr/books?id=PwCD7bt5UKEC&pg=PP1&dq="humanist+comedies"

Includes the Philogenia and Euphebius of Pisani.

Note that there are no mentions of cards, but "alearum ludo" is translated by Grund as "dice game". There are two or three other references to dice games in early plays.