The Hanged Man - Gypsy or Knight?

Fulgour

I can easily see The Hanged Man as a Gypsy violinist,
hanging from the rafters and playing behind his back.

But then there are many mainstream possibilities with
the presentation of a Knight, being taught a lesson...

... Il a donc une activité utile, bénéfique~
Il a été capable de dompter la sauvagerie.

*

Perhaps our story began when...

... Hugh de Payens and eight other knights took vows
on June 12, 1118 at Arginy Castle near Lyons, France.

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BAFFLE: a punishment or degradation of a recreant Knight,
including hanging him or his effigy by the heels from a tree.

*

Baffle 1548, "to disgrace," perhaps a Scottish respelling of bauchle
"to disgrace publicly" (especially a perjured knight), prob. related to
Fr. bafouer "to abuse, hoodwink," possibly from baf, a natural sound
of disgust, like bah. Meaning "to bewilder, confuse" is from 1649;
that of "to defeat someone's efforts" is from 1675. The noun sense
of "shielding device" is first recorded 1881.

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=baffle

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[1913 Webster]

Baffle \Baf"fle\ (b[a^]f"f'l), v. t.
[imp. & p. p. Baffled (-f'ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Baffling (-fl[i^]ng).]

[Cf. Lowland Scotch bauchle to treat contemptuously, bauch tasteless,
abashed, jaded, Icel. b[=a]gr uneasy, poor, or b[=a]gr, n., struggle,
b[ae]gja to push, treat harshly, OF. beffler, beffer, to mock, deceive,
dial. G. b["a]ppe mouth, beffen to bark, chide.]

To cause to undergo a disgraceful punishment, as a recreant knight.

*

He by the heels him hung upon a tree,
And baffled so,
that all which passed by
The picture of his punishment might see.

Sir Edmund Spenser
 

le pendu

Thanks for posting this Fulgour.

I remember coming across the word Baffled a few years ago.. did some searching.. and then forgot about it.

I think it is very important to consider how widespread this was, and how it was seen by different cultures. We seem to be seeing that it was not only a practice in Italy, but France, Germany, England and Scotland as well. Shakespeare seems to use the word in this way as well. "I am disgraced, impeach'd and baffled here", Rich II, where a Shakespearean Dictionary says "cause to undergo a disgraceful punishment, as a recreant knight".

Here's the page where I first found it mentioned:
http://www.cs.utk.edu/~mclennan/BA/PT/M12.html

I would love to find some images of knights in this position. Or I wonder if they would have been stripped of any "regalia" before being baffled?
 

Fulgour

hello le pendu

Nigel Jackson refers to "baffle" and such in his new book
"Fortuna's Wheel" ~which also pays a nice introductory
acknowledgement to Ross Caldwell~ for his "pointers" :)
and historical highlights. Congratulations is due to both
of these fine scholars~which is not in the least baffling!
 

jmd

It's fascinating how threads cross-reference.

Looking through some images regarding the Medieval Housebooks, the image of a baffled knight becomes here pertinent - here within the context of a title that is named 'the ill-defended castle of Love' (late 15th century).

XII_Mediaeval_Housebook.jpg
 

Ross G Caldwell

jmd said:
It's fascinating how threads cross-reference.

Looking through some images regarding the Medieval Housebooks, the image of a baffled knight becomes here pertinent - here within the context of a title that is named 'the ill-defended castle of Love' (late 15th century).

XII_Mediaeval_Housebook.jpg
Click to expand...

Hi jmd, that's a great colour picture - I've only seen it in b/w before (in Vitali's books).

I think the hanged man here is the victim of a practical joke. I wrote a little page on it here -

http://www.geocities.com/anytarot/pendujoke.html

Here's a detail -

1483detail.jpg


You can see the guy hiding in the bushes, and the rope tied between two posts in the ground that tripped him up (and the woman coming up the path behind is looking shocked and perhaps askance at the culprit).
 

Ross G Caldwell

Fulgour said:
Nigel Jackson refers to "baffle" and such in his new book
"Fortuna's Wheel" ~which also pays a nice introductory
acknowledgement to Ross Caldwell~ for his "pointers" :)
and historical highlights. Congratulations is due to both
of these fine scholars~which is not in the least baffling!
Click to expand...

Thanks Fulgour. I had no idea that Nigel had published his book - let alone acknowledged me for anything! That's very considerate, and humbling.
 

jmd

I agree with you: it does appear to be a practical joke for the innocent passer-by to be caught by.

What it shows is also, of course, quite distinct to what appears to be the depiction of the hanged man in more-or-less standard Marseille-type decks, in which a variety of imagery from the times could initially elicit the imagery - and would suggest, of course, that this is an example unlikely to have influenced its incorporation into the deck... still, as the image I also added in the Lover thread with those dancers with pointy shoes, it shows that each image has a wonderful variety of related cognates from the time in question.

As I had not been aware of your notes on this image, it makes for a wonderful addition to our communal increased insights!
 

Ross G Caldwell

I agree that baffling is similar to the practice behind the Italian "shame painting", and as a punishment is a pan-European practice. I think Moakley first brought up baffling in this context. Clearly, it is something that could have been done anywhere at any time.

The reason for suspecting the tarot image to be closely tied to the Italian practice is because tarot first appears there, at a time when its meaning was universally understood (by Italians at any rate) and used in several high-profile cases right around the time of the earliest tarot images and mentions. And also, that the archetypal reason for the punishment was treason, and the card was often called "the traitor" in Italian sources. And these are earlier than the 1548 attestation of the term baffle in the Scottish sense, while the practice itself is well attested in Italy - institutionalized - from the mid-13th century.

It could have been a knight - or at least a condottiere! Piccinino, Visconti's condottiere, was subjected to this in Florence in the 1420s after going over from Florence to Visconti's employ; Visconti demanded that they remove the shame paintings of him (Piccinino) as a condition in the peace treaty. Earlier, there was the now better-known event of (anti-)Pope John XXIII (Baldassar Cossa) putting up shame paintings of Muzio Cotignola (Sforza), Francesco Sforza's father, on the bridges of Rome. Along with the Florentines, the Bolognese did it the most. It was illegal in Milan (as far as I know Filippo Maria Visconti didn't overturn his father's laws in this regard). Galeazzo Maria Sforza, in 1469, did however use it when one of his close friends fled the city (he later returned to Sforza's good graces).
 

le pendu

I guess for me.. I've made a journey with this image. I enjoy exploring all the possibilities. I chose it for my namesake here at AT because I found the image so... "baffling".. har har.

It seemed to me to be the most mysterious image in the deck, and the one that maybe held the "key" to identifying the "origin" of the Tarot, and as you state Ross, that key seems very much to point to Italy.

However, as we have continued to explore all of these many connections to Tarot, to iconography, to the literature and art of the age.. my scope of "possibility" has expanded.

The thread on "Jewish Punishment" expanded the symbol out of Italy into neighboring countries, and as Fulgour points out here, the practice reaches farther then that as well.

So I guess I can look at this and say that all things taken together, the Hanged Man and Italy certainly go well as a pair. But I would also say that the Hanged Man doesn't exclude everything but Italy, as I would have not too long ago. My scope of possibility has expanded.

My concept of the "meaning" has also changed slightly. I focused initially on "Traitor", that being a common name for the card. But now I lean more towards the "shame", "disgrace", "dishonor" aspect. The crimes leading to the punishment also seems to me to be wider than "treason", the practice being connected to lesser offenses, such as thievery.

These discussions and explorations are great. Thanks!
 
Origins of the Tarot de Marseille? Spanish Tarot (Marseilles)