Abrac
The Sola-Busca may have been influenced by Boiardo, but it's clearly not an illustration of his tercets. The Capituli and the Sola-Busca came from the same time period, but they don't have much in common near as I can tell.
Boiardo was a poet; and the deck he describes in the Capituli reflects a poet's perspective. His themes come from classical literature. The Sola-Busca on the other hand reflects the work of someone deeply immersed in the occult, alchemy, astrology, and and magic. The deck is illustrated with known historical figures; however, the presence of these figures can easily be explained. Illustrating cards with known characters was common. The author(s) of the Sola-Busca may have simply been expanding on this tradition, or they may have put them there as a misdirection tactic. The deck has all the earmarks of a magical tutorial in picture form.
As for Boiardo's "game", I find his use of the word "art"(it's up to you to find the art of the game)most interesting. Art is the word used by alchemists to descibe their craft(Art of Perfection, Philosophic Art, etc.).
-fof
Boiardo was a poet; and the deck he describes in the Capituli reflects a poet's perspective. His themes come from classical literature. The Sola-Busca on the other hand reflects the work of someone deeply immersed in the occult, alchemy, astrology, and and magic. The deck is illustrated with known historical figures; however, the presence of these figures can easily be explained. Illustrating cards with known characters was common. The author(s) of the Sola-Busca may have simply been expanding on this tradition, or they may have put them there as a misdirection tactic. The deck has all the earmarks of a magical tutorial in picture form.
As for Boiardo's "game", I find his use of the word "art"(it's up to you to find the art of the game)most interesting. Art is the word used by alchemists to descibe their craft(Art of Perfection, Philosophic Art, etc.).
-fof