Sun - April 25, 2004The TarotL Tarot History Information SheetTarot History Information Sheet
The TarotL Tarot History Information
Sheet
by members of the TarotL discussion group (http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/TarotL) (Mary K. Greer, Tom Tadfor Little, Nina Lee Braden, Linda Dunn, Mark Filipas, Robert V. O'Neill, Christine Payne-Towler, Robert Place, James Revak, and others) Compiled and edited by Tom Tadfor Little Introduction Many things (true, false, and speculative) have been written about the history of the tarot. This sheet addresses some oft-repeated statements about the tarot that may seem like historical fact, but are actually without basis in the evidence presently available. This is not to say that there is no room for speculative or non-factual stories about the tarot. Myths and lore express the human soul and creativity. These myths tell us much about the significance tarot has on an inspirational growth level. They speak an inner truth that is, at times, more personally true than external facts. However, both history and myth may suffer when the two become confused. The information given here consists mostly of conclusions that recent tarot historians have drawn from studying the evidence of written documents and cards that have come down to us. Other interpretations might be drawn from the same body of evidence. Readers interested in examining the evidence for themselves and drawing their own conclusions are directed to the references listed at the end of this sheet for useful starting places. Readers should also be aware of the limitations of relying on documentary evidence alone. Although written records are our most reliable contact with centuries past, they do not preserve everything that people thought or did, especially pertaining to an aspect of popular culture, such as the tarot. The information on this sheet may be freely used, although direct quotations must be credited and an acknowledgement would be appreciated if you found this sheet especially useful. Permission is granted to photocopy for educational, nonprofit uses. Topic: The time and place of the origin of the tarot Inaccurate: The tarot comes from Egypt; India; China; Fez, Morocco; the Sufis; the Cathars; Jewish Kabbalists or Moses; or the origin of the tarot is unknown. Current Historical Understanding: The tarot originated in northern Italy early in the 15th century (1420-1440). There is no evidence for it originating in any other time or place. The earliest extant cards are lavish hand-painted decks from the courts of the nobility. Topic: The origin of the word "tarot" Inaccurate: The word is Egyptian, Hebrew, or Latin; it is an anagram; it holds the key to the mystery of the cards. Current Historical Understanding: The earliest names for the tarot are all Italian. Originally the cards were called carte da trionfi (cards of the triumphs). Around 1530 (about 100 years after the origin of the cards), the word tarocchi (singular tarocco) begins to be used to distinguish them from a new game of triumphs or trumps then being played with ordinary playing cards. The etymology of this new word is not known. The German form is tarock, the French form is tarot. Even if the etymology were known, it would probably not tell us much about the idea behind the cards, since it only came into use 100 years after they first appeared. Topic: The cultural source of the tarot symbols Inaccurate: The symbolism of the trumps comes from Egypt (or India, or other exotic locale). Current Historical Understanding: The symbolism of the trumps is drawn from the culture of Medieval and Renaissance Europe. Most tarot subjects are distinctive to European Christendom. Illustrations virtually identical to each of the tarot subjects can be found in European art, and such precise analogs are not found in other cultures. Topic: The gypsies and tarot Inaccurate: The gypsies brought the tarot to Europe and spread its use. Current Historical Understanding: This idea was popularized in the 19th century by several writers, notably Vaillant and Papus, without any basis in historical fact. There is no evidence that the Rom (gypsies) used tarot cards until the 20th century. Most of their fortune-telling was through palmistry and later through the use of ordinary playing cards. Topic: Relationship between tarot and ordinary playing cards Inaccurate: The 52-card deck evolved from the tarot, leaving the Joker as the only remnant of the major arcana. Current Historical Understanding: Playing cards came to Europe from Islam, probably via Muslim Spain, about 50 years before the development of tarot. They appeared quite suddenly in many different European cities between 1375 and 1378. European playing cards were an adaptation of the Islamic Mamluk cards. These early cards had suits of cups, swords, coins, and polo sticks (seen by Europeans as staves), and courts consisting of a king and two male underlings. The tarot adds the Fool, the trumps, and a set of queens to this system. Some time before 1480, the French introduced cards with the now-familiar suits of hearts, clubs, spades, and diamonds. The earlier suits are still preserved in the tarot and in Italian and Spanish playing cards. The Joker originated in the United States around 1857, used as a wild card in poker and as the highest trump in Euchre. It appears to have no direct relationship to the Fool of the tarot. Topic: The "Charles VI" or "Gringonneur" tarot cards Inaccurate: The tarot was invented to amuse Charles VI of France in 1392, as evidenced by a deck by Gringonneur in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris. Current Historical Understanding: It is recorded that in 1392, Jacquemin Gringonneur was paid to paint three decks of cards for Charles VI. These were probably playing cards, not tarot. The deck in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France is a late-15th century hand-painted deck of the Northern Italian type (probably from Venice or Ferrara). Topic: Tarot and the Hebrew Alphabet Inaccurate: Eliphas Lévi (c. 1850) was the first to ascribe Hebrew letters to the tarot. Current Historical Understanding: The Comte de Mellet, whose short article on the tarot was published in Court de Gébelin's Le Monde Primitif (1781), was the first to write of a connection between the Hebrew letters and the cards. Court de Gébelin also mentioned the idea in passing in his own essay. Topic: Tarot censored by the church Inaccurate: The Catholic and Protestant churches outlawed tarot and all who used it in an effort to stamp out either heretical teachings or a work of the Devil. Current Historical Understanding: The Inquisition documented in considerable detail what the church regarded as evidence of heresy and the tarot is never mentioned. Many printers made their living printing both religious cards and playing cards. Playing cards were sometimes restricted or outlawed because of their use in gambling. Tarot cards were, in fact, sometimes explicitly exempted from bans on playing cards, perhaps because of their association with the upper classes. In 1423, playing cards (tarot cards were not mentioned) were among many things thrown on the fires in Bologna by followers of Bernadino of Sienna during an attack against all studies and pastimes not focused on religion. After the Reformation, the church did object to the cards depicting the Pope and Papess, and cardmakers substituted less controversial images. Topic: Original use of tarot cards Inaccurate: The tarot was originally used for divination/magic/teaching secret doctrines/etc. Current Historical Understanding: Written records tell that the tarot was regularly used to play a card game similar to Bridge. The game was popular throughout much of Europe for centuries and is still played today, particularly in France. Early poets also used the titles of the trump cards to create flattering verses, called tarocchi appropriati, describing ladies of the court or famous personages. Although it is possible that tarot cards might also have been sometimes used for other purposes, there is no clear evidence of such use until long after the cards were invented. Records from a trial in Venice in 1589 suggest that tarot may have been associated with witchcraft (at least in the minds of the accusers) at this date, about 150 years after the appearance of the tarot. After this, there are no references connecting tarot with magic or divination until the 18th century. (See also next three questions.) Topic: Tarot and divination Inaccurate: Tarot was not used for divination before Etteilla and Court de Gébelin around 1781. Current Historical Understanding: There is evidence of such use, but it is fragmentary and suggestive rather than conclusive. Tarot was used as early as the 16th century to compose poems describing personality characteristics (tarocchi appropriati). In one case (1527), the verses are presented as relating to the person's fate. There are records of divinatory meanings assigned to tarot cards in Bologna early in the 1700s. This is the first unambiguous evidence of tarot divination as it is commonly understood. However, it is known that ordinary playing cards were connected with divination as early as 1487, so it is reasonable to conjecture that tarot was also. From the 1790s with Etteilla's deck we find tarot design being modified specifically to reflect divinatory and esoteric meanings. Topic: Occult philosophy and the original design of the tarot Inaccurate: There are no hermetic, heretical, or kabbalistic characteristics in the original tarot. Current Historical Understanding: This topic is still open. The early Italian Renaissance, which gave birth to the tarot, was a time of great intellectual diversity and activity. Hermeticism, astrology, Neoplatonism, Pythagorean philosophy with roots in Alexandrian Egypt, and heterodox Christian thought all thrived. Any or all of these may have left their mark on the design of the tarot. Although it should be remembered that all of the symbolism of the tarot has close analogs in the conventional Christian culture of the time, many scholars today believe that these philosophies, which are foundations of occultism, were important in the design of the tarot. Topic: Tarot and the western esoteric tradition Inaccurate: The tarot has always been a pillar of the western esoteric tradition. Current Historical Understanding: The first occult writers to discuss the tarot were Court de Gébelin and the Comte de Mellet in 1781. For the first 350 years of its history, the tarot was not mentioned in any of the many books on occult or magical philosophy. Following 1781, occult interest in tarot blossomed and the tarot then became an integral part of occult philosophy. Topic: Astrological, elemental, and kabbalistic correspondences Inaccurate: The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (or Eliphas Lévi, Papus, Zain, Case, etc.) knew the true astrological, elemental, and Kabbalistic correspondences to the Tarot and corrected previous errors. Current Historical Understanding: There are many, many systems of correspondences for the tarot. None can be shown to go back to the tarot's origins, although the French tradition exemplified in the works of Eliphas Lévi predates the English tradition now familiar through the works of Waite and Crowley. Most sets of correspondences have a rationale and system that make them meaningful and useful when studied within their own tradition. Correspondences are a matter of individual choice and of intention or adherence to a school of thought rather than right or wrong. Topic: The Waite-Smith Tarot Inaccurate: The Waite-Smith (or "Rider Waite") Tarot is the original, standard, or most authentic tarot. Current Historical Understanding: The Waite-Smith deck was created in 1909, making it a relative newcomer in the almost-600-year history of the tarot. A. E. Waite was a prominent member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The deck owes much of its symbolism to that group and represents a departure from the earlier French tradition. The artist, Pamela Colman Smith, contributed her own vision, especially in the innovative creation of fully illustrated scenes for the minor arcana. For many years, the Waite-Smith deck was the only one readily available in the US, so it became familiar to whole generations of tarot readers. There is actually no "definitive" version of the tarot. The well-known Celtic Cross spread, publicized by Waite as "an ancient Celtic method of divination" is also relatively recent, although it was not invented by Waite. Some things to be careful of when writing about tarot history The terms "major arcana", "minor arcana", "High Priestess", and "Hierophant" are anachronistic when referring to the older tarot decks. The historically appropriate terms are "the trumps and the Fool" (the Fool was not usually regarded as a trump), "the suit cards", "Papess" or "Popess", and "Pope". Likewise "pentacles" and "wands" are relatively recent substitutions for the traditional suit names of "coins" and "staves" or "batons". The original Italian titles of the cards were in some cases different from the later French titles (and their English translations) that have become familiar to us through the Tarot de Marseille and its descendants. Also, the ordering of the trumps varied considerably in Italy where the cards originated; it is not known which ordering is the earliest one. Even the number of cards in the deck varied a great deal! So care should be used in making statements about the original meaning of the cards based on the familiar titles and ordering. The intention of the original designer(s) of the tarot in selecting the symbols for the trump cards is unknown, although there are many conjectures, some more plausible than others. Writers should avoid giving the impression that the intention is known or obvious. Sources and suggested reading: Decker, Ronald, Michael Dummett, and Thierry Depaulis, A Wicked Pack of Cards Dummett, Michael, The Game of Tarot Giles, Cythnia, The Tarot: History, Mystery, and Lore Kaplan, Stuart, The Encyclopedia of Tarot, Vol. I & II Moakley, Gertrude, The Tarot Cards Painted by Bonifacio Bembo O'Neill, Robert V., Tarot Symbolism Williams, Brian, A Renaissance Tarot Williams, Brian, The Minchiate Tarot Web sites: The Hermitage, http://www.tarothermit.com/ Andy's Playing Cards, http://www.geocities.com/a_pollett/ Villa Revak, http://jwrevak.tripod.com/ Sources of the Waite-Smith Symbols, http://www.geocities.com/~ninalee//oneill/ Tarot Magick in the 16th Century, http://lonestar.texas.net/~r3winter/tarmag116.html This information sheet is available in several formats: printed hardcopy, formatted electronic (Microsoft Word for Windows), and unformatted electronic (email text), print-friendly web page (http://www.tarothermit.com/infosheet.htm), and illustrated and hyperlinked web page (http://jwrevak.tripod.com/misc/tarotl_1.html). Direct inquiries to the editor, Tom Tadfor Little, at tom@telp.com. Copyright 2000-2001 members of TarotL From: The TarotL Tarot History Information Sheet http://www.tarothermit.com/infosheet.htm Posted at 02:59 PM Read More The Gringonneur CaseFirst recorded painter of Tarot cards
The Gringonneur
Case
Ross Gregory Caldwell has researched in detail the Gringonneur entry from Paris 1392 and its long being taken as the oldest reference to Tarot cards: Jacquemin Gringonneur is an extremely obscure man. If a historian were to rely only on what the few scholars who know about him consider trustworthy sources, the only two things one could say about him would be that he was a painter who lived in Paris at the turn of the 14th century, and he is recorded to have been paid for painting three packs of cards for King Charles VI during his mental breakdown. However, there is legend around him too, both concerning the apparently erroneous identification of some large tarot cards once belonging to Roger de Gaignières with the three packs of cards painted for Charles VI, as well as his association with Nicolas Flamel in the artisan's quarter of early 15th century Paris. Below is an annotated bibliography of the sources I have found that have contributed to, or that shed light on, both the history and legend of Jacqemin Gringonneur. If, with poetic license, I were to try to conjure a vision of him for the reader, it would be of a painter, illuminator or cartonnier from Flanders or somewhere else in the north of France. He comes down as part of the movement of artists to the wealthy courts of Charles V and VI, and the dukes of Burgundy and Berry. At the sumptously decorated palace in Abbeville, which the King's uncle the Duke of Burgundy had decorated and provided with every convenience for King Charles' recovery, Gringonneur is asked to paint some packs of cards for him. These cards are playing cards with allegorical scenes which reflect those on the tapestries covering every wall – perhaps mythology, hunting, or the Passion of Christ. Perhaps the cards were the cartons used to outline the designs on the tapestries. Cards were not unusual in the court, and the King's brother Louis, Duke of Orléans, was known to have a few packs of them. Gringonneur continued his profession in the city of Paris for the first decade or so of the 15th century, perhaps suffering after the loss of patronage in the wake of the noble French losses at Agincourt. As a painter, he is associated the manuscript illuminator Nicolas Flamel and his brother, as well as Christine de Pizan. The information below is divided into Primary and Secondary sources, Internet links and some suggestions on the meaning of the name "gringonneur." It's annotated, so be sure to read the comments! BIBLIOGRAPHY. If one accepts the identification of Jean Gingonneur with Jaquemin Gringonneur, the only contemporary primary source attesting to his life appears to be Guillebert de Metz (or a contemporary), writing in « Description de la ville de Paris sous Charles VI ». Charles Poupart's entry in the Chambre des Comptes for 1392, reported by Pére Menestrier in 1704, has not been found (Despite a valiant search by Thierry Depaulis). Nevertheless, judging by the entry itself and Menestrier's character in general, we may regard his account of the Poupart entry as trustworthy, and therefore a primary source. The five primary sources below appear to witness independent traditions about Gringonneur, even where not contemporary with him. PRIMARY SOURCES – 1392 (?) Charles Poupart, recording in the register of the Chambre des Comptes "A Jaquemin Gringonneur, peintre, pour trois jeux de cartes à or et à diverses couleurs, ornés de plusieurs devises pour porter devers ledit seigneur roi pour son ebattement : LVI sols parisis." - (To Jaquemin Gringonneur, painter, for three packs of cards in gold and in diverse colours, ornamented in many divisions to be brought to the said lord King for his entertainment : 56 parisian sols). - published by Menestrier in 1704 (note that Depaulis (1995) thinks that "couleurs" refers to pigmentation, colouring, while "devises" refers to modern French "couleurs", English "suits." For "device" meaning a heraldic motto, he finds evidence only from the 16th century forward). 1434 (?) Guillebert de Metz _ Description de la Ville de Paris sous Charles VI_ - first edited and published by Le Roux de Lincy in 1855, this book names Jean Gingonneur in the quarter of "Writers, Illuminators, Designers, Jongleurs, Booksellers, Minstrels, Paper-makers, Painters, Binders". 1704 Menestrier, P.Claude-François "Des Principes des sciences et des arts disposés en forme de jeux" in _Bibliothèque Curieuse et instructive de divers ouvrages, anciens et modernes, de littérature et des arts_ (Trevoux, 1704, vol. II, pp. 174-175) - this is the original and only source for the famous quotation from the Chambre des Comptes of 1392 above. 1832 Béraud, A. et P. Dufey _Dictionnaire historique de Paris_ (Paris : 1832) cited by Depaulis in his 1995 article, this work presents a tradition that Gringonneur lived on the "Rue de la Verrerie" with other artisans. Depaulis believes it is this tradition that is taken up by Jacques Hillairet in various works, cited below. 1855 Lincy, Le Roux de _ Description de la Ville de Paris sous Charles VI_- first edition of this text, see next entry. 1867 Lincy, Le Roux de and L.M. Tisserand _Paris et ses historiens aux XIVe et XVe siècles_ (rpt. in "Le Paris de Charles V et de Charles VI, vu par des écrivains contemporains" p. 217) - this book gives Guillebert de Metz "Description de la Ville de Paris sous Charles VI", where, in a list of the inhabitants of various quarters listed by their profession, we find *Gingonneur (Jean) *, listed in the same column with Nicolas Flamel and (Flamel) the Young (Jean, Jacques and Jaquemin seem to have been more or less interchangable at this time, I discovered) (I think the list is due to Lincy and Tisserand, extracting all the names from G. de Metz and other contemporary accounts). 1985 Hillairet, Jacques _Dictionnaire historique des rues de Paris_ (7th ed., Paris : 1985 ; s.v. `Verrerie, rue de la') – cited by Depaulis, art. cit. below.- asserts that Gringonneur was a painter living at No.28, Rue de la Verrerie, where a confraternity of glass painters and enamelers was installed. --------------------------- SECONDARY SOURCES (direct or indirect mention of Gringonneur)– 1754 Longuerue, Abbé Louis du Four de _Longueruana, ou Recueil de pensées, de discours et de conversations de feu M. Louis du Four de Longuerue_ (Berlin 1754) - in these memoires, published posthumously (Longuerue died in 1733), he indirectly connects the cards he saw during a visit to the home of Roger de Gaignières, with the passage in Menestrier that he had read. Depaulis thinks this may be the origin of the legend connecting the cards with Gringonneur. 1842 Leber, M.C. "Etudes historiques sur les cartes à jouer", in _Mémoires de la Société des Antiquaires de France_ n.s. vol. 6 (1842) pp. 256-348 - Leber was the first to explicitly suggest that Menestrier's Gringonneur painted the 17 cards. 1845 - Biographie Universel s.v. `Gringonneur', cites a M. Lenoir who attributed a painting of Juvenal des Ursins to Gringonneur. This is the only attribution of any other work to Gringonneur, on what basis I don't know, that I have found. The Biographie gives the source as Lenoir's _Musée des monuments français_. I haven't been able to trace it further, and it is never mentioned again. I have seen two portraits of Juvenal des Ursins, who was a councilor to Charles VI and VII and wrote a history of the former. 1846 Bache, Paul Eugène _Jacquemin Gringonneur, ou l'invention des cartes à jouer_ (Blidah, Tissot et Roche, 1846; Bibliothèque Nationale notice no. FRBNF32910723) - I haven't seen this one, the BN has several copies. 1855 Teste d'Ouet _Jacquemin Gringonneur et Nicolas Flamel_ (Paris, V. Didron, 1855 ; BN notice no. FRBNF36417369, inter alia) - haven't seen this one either, BN has several copies. 1888 Mathers, S.L. Macgregor _The Tarot, Its Occult Significance, Use in Fortune-Telling, and Method of Play, Etc._ (London (?), George Redway, 1888). - While noting the error of the attribution of the cards to Gringonneur, Mathers writes of him as "Jacques Gringonneur, an Astrologer and Qabalist". I wonder if he had read Teste d'Ouet? 1911 Waite, A.E. _The Pictorial Key to the Tarot_ (London :1910) - mentions the account of Charles (!) Gringonneur painting three packs of cards for Charles VI, but acknowledges that no one any longer attributes the 17 cards to Gringonneur. 1951 Hillairet, Jacques _Evocation du vieux Paris _(tome 1, Paris: 1951) - writes that the Rue de la Verrerie was home to a "communauté", or corporation on page 199. In his 1985 edition of the Dictionnaire (cited above) he places Gringonneur here (according to Depaulis). 1995 Depaulis, Thierry "Jacquemin Gringonneur et les cartes à jouer", in _L'As de Trefle_ no. 54 (March 1995) pp. 7-8. - describes his futile search for the original Poupart account in the Chambre des Comptes for the years 1391-1394, as well as giving all the primary documentation he could find about Gringonneur, including the Vieux Paris references. ------------------------------ THE CARDS The cards are currently housed in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, in the Département des Estampes et de la Photographie, Kh 24 rés. I don't know if they are on display. Undated manuscript B.N. Mss. Fr. 14888 (perhaps 1690s) - Roger de Gaignières; published in facsimile and transcription by Thierry Depaulis in _Le Vieux Papier_ 301 (July 1986), pp. 117-124; a manuscript of four columns, listing the Trumps as they appear in 1) a 16th century Italian poem, 2) de Gaignières' own "golden cards" (the Charles VI or Gringonneur cards), 3) another Tarot pack belonging to him (the Anonymous Parisian Tarot, illustrated for example in Olsen, pp. 106-125), and 4) some trumps "in the book" (Depaulis suggests this may be a book with rules for Tarot from 1654). The list of "golden cards" corresponds exactly to the 17 "Gringonneur" cards. 1698 Lister, Martin _A Journey to Paris in the Year 1698 _ (pub. Information unknown). - Lister recounts a visit to de Gaignières "One Toy I took notice of, which was a Collection of Playing Cards for 300 Years. The oldest were three times bigger than what are now used, extreamly well limned and illuminated with gilt Borders, and the Pastboard thick and firm; but there was not a compleat Set of them" (quoted by Depaulis op. cit. p. 117) 1711 Clairambault, B.N. Mss. Clairambault 1032 - Published again by Depaulis in Le Vieux Papier, this manuscript by one of the executors of de Gaignières' estate simply itemizes de Gaignières' effects, noting some "anciennes cartes tarotées". Jacquemin Gringonneur in tarot history. 1754 Longuerue (see Secondary Sources above) 1842 Leber (see Secondary Sources above) 1848 W. A. Chatto _Facts and Speculations on the Origins and History of Playing Cards._ (London, 1848). - debunks the idea that Gringonneur painted the cards, and suggests a Venetian origin (cited by Waite (?) and Dummett). 1869 Merlin, R., _L'Origine des cartes à jouer : Recherches nouvelles sur les Naibis, les tarots et sur les autres espèces de cartes_ (Paris: 1869) - also debunks the connection of Gringonneur with the cards (cited by Dummett). 1906 D'Allemagne, Henry René _Les Cartes à jouer du XIVe au XXe siècle_ (Paris: 1906) - first publication of the cards themselves (I think) ; attributes the cards to Venice (cited by all later authorities) 1937 Schrieber, W.L. _Die ältesten Spielkarten_ (Strasbourg, 1937) - first to suggest Ferrara for the origin of the cards. 1967 Klein, Robert "Les Tarots enluminés du XVe siècle" in _L'Oeil_ 145 (January, 1967) - considers the Charles VI cards as coming from Italy mainly because of the clothing and xylographic method. 1978 Kaplan, Stuart _The Encyclopedia of Tarot_ (New York, 1978 pp. 111- 116) - gives the cards in b/w with a good brief discussion 1980 Dummett, Michael _The Game of Tarot_ (London : Duckworth 1980 pp.65-66, 69, 395) -recapitulates the consensus to 1980, provides good bibliography. 1984 Depaulis, Thierry ed. _Tarot ; Jeu et Magie_ (Paris : Bibliothèque Nationale, 1984 pp. 40-41) - excellent discussion, followed by the results of an examination of the cards by the Laboratoire de Recherche des Musées de France, by J.P. Rioux 1986 Depaulis, Thierry "Roger de Gaignières et ses tarots" in _Le Vieux Papier_ 301 (July 1986 pp. 117-124, with an addendum 160 describing his discovery of the reference in Longuerue's memoires) - this article presents Depaulis' discovery of de Gaignières' own manuscript, the sole place so far known where he mentions the cards. 1987 Algeri, Giuliana, "Tarocchi di Carlo VI" in Berti, Giordano and Andrea Vitali, eds. _Le Carte di Corte : I Tarocchi : Gioco e Magia alla Corte degli Estensi_ (Ferrara : Nuova Alfa Editoriale, 1987 pp.34-35 and passim) - perhaps the best discussion to date on the cards and their symbolism. It is not clear who wrote the article on the cards, or the other catalogue descriptions, but since it is appended to her essay I assume it is her. She attributes them to 1470-1480, based on the preceding authorities. 1995 Olsen, Christina _The Art of Tarot_ (New York :Abbeville, 1995 pp.19-20, 70-85) - Olsen gives good colour reproductions of all of the surviving cards except for the Fante (the Page or Jack of Swords). The Gringonneur Case Ross Gregory Caldwell has researched in detail the Gringonneur entry from Paris 1392 and its long being taken as the oldest reference to Tarotcards: Jacquemin Gringonneur is an extremely obscure man. If a historian were to rely only on what the few scholars who know about him consider trustworthy sources, the only two things one could say about him would be that he was a painter who lived in Paris at the turn of the 14th century, and he is recorded to have been paid for painting three packs of cards for King Charles VI during his mental breakdown. However, there is legend around him too, both concerning the apparently erroneous identification of some large tarot cards once belonging to Roger de Gaignières with the three packs of cards painted for Charles VI, as well as his association with Nicolas Flamel in the artisan's quarter of early 15th century Paris. Below is an annotated bibliography of the sources I have found that have contributed to, or that shed light on, both the history and legend of Jacqemin Gringonneur. If, with poetic license, I were to try to conjure a vision of him for the reader, it would be of a painter, illuminator or cartonnier from Flanders or somewhere else in the north of France. He comes down as part of the movement of artists to the wealthy courts of Charles V and VI, and the dukes of Burgundy and Berry. At the sumptously decorated palace in Abbeville, which the King's uncle the Duke of Burgundy had decorated and provided with every convenience for King Charles' recovery, Gringonneur is asked to paint some packs of cards for him. These cards are playing cards with allegorical scenes which reflect those on the tapestries covering every wall – perhaps mythology, hunting, or the Passion of Christ. Perhaps the cards were the cartons used to outline the designs on the tapestries. Cards were not unusual in the court, and the King's brother Louis, Duke of Orléans, was known to have a few packs of them. Gringonneur continued his profession in the city of Paris for the first decade or so of the 15th century, perhaps suffering after the loss of patronage in the wake of the noble French losses at Agincourt. As a painter, he is associated the manuscript illuminator Nicolas Flamel and his brother, as well as Christine de Pizan. The information below is divided into Primary and Secondary sources, Internet links and some suggestions on the meaning of the name "gringonneur." It's annotated, so be sure to read the comments! BIBLIOGRAPHY. If one accepts the identification of Jean Gingonneur with Jaquemin Gringonneur, the only contemporary primary source attesting to his life appears to be Guillebert de Metz (or a contemporary), writing in « Description de la ville de Paris sous Charles VI ». Charles Poupart's entry in the Chambre des Comptes for 1392, reported by Pére Menestrier in 1704, has not been found (Despite a valiant search by Thierry Depaulis). Nevertheless, judging by the entry itself and Menestrier's character in general, we may regard his account of the Poupart entry as trustworthy, and therefore a primary source. The five primary sources below appear to witness independent traditions about Gringonneur, even where not contemporary with him. PRIMARY SOURCES – 1392 (?) Charles Poupart, recording in the register of the Chambre des Comptes "A Jaquemin Gringonneur, peintre, pour trois jeux de cartes à or et à diverses couleurs, ornés de plusieurs devises pour porter devers ledit seigneur roi pour son ebattement : LVI sols parisis." - (To Jaquemin Gringonneur, painter, for three packs of cards in gold and in diverse colours, ornamented in many divisions to be brought to the said lord King for his entertainment : 56 parisian sols). - published by Menestrier in 1704 (note that Depaulis (1995) thinks that "couleurs" refers to pigmentation, colouring, while "devises" refers to modern French "couleurs", English "suits." For "device" meaning a heraldic motto, he finds evidence only from the 16th century forward). 1434 (?) Guillebert de Metz _ Description de la Ville de Paris sous Charles VI_ - first edited and published by Le Roux de Lincy in 1855, this book names Jean Gingonneur in the quarter of "Writers, Illuminators, Designers, Jongleurs, Booksellers, Minstrels, Paper-makers, Painters, Binders". 1704 Menestrier, P.Claude-François "Des Principes des sciences et des arts disposés en forme de jeux" in _Bibliothèque Curieuse et instructive de divers ouvrages, anciens et modernes, de littérature et des arts_ (Trevoux, 1704, vol. II, pp. 174-175) - this is the original and only source for the famous quotation from the Chambre des Comptes of 1392 above. 1832 Béraud, A. et P. Dufey _Dictionnaire historique de Paris_ (Paris : 1832) cited by Depaulis in his 1995 article, this work presents a tradition that Gringonneur lived on the "Rue de la Verrerie" with other artisans. Depaulis believes it is this tradition that is taken up by Jacques Hillairet in various works, cited below. 1855 Lincy, Le Roux de _ Description de la Ville de Paris sous Charles VI_- first edition of this text, see next entry. 1867 Lincy, Le Roux de and L.M. Tisserand _Paris et ses historiens aux XIVe et XVe siècles_ (rpt. in "Le Paris de Charles V et de Charles VI, vu par des écrivains contemporains" p. 217) - this book gives Guillebert de Metz "Description de la Ville de Paris sous Charles VI", where, in a list of the inhabitants of various quarters listed by their profession, we find *Gingonneur (Jean) *, listed in the same column with Nicolas Flamel and (Flamel) the Young (Jean, Jacques and Jaquemin seem to have been more or less interchangable at this time, I discovered) (I think the list is due to Lincy and Tisserand, extracting all the names from G. de Metz and other contemporary accounts). 1985 Hillairet, Jacques _Dictionnaire historique des rues de Paris_ (7th ed., Paris : 1985 ; s.v. `Verrerie, rue de la') – cited by Depaulis, art. cit. below.- asserts that Gringonneur was a painter living at No.28, Rue de la Verrerie, where a confraternity of glass painters and enamelers was installed. --------------------------- SECONDARY SOURCES (direct or indirect mention of Gringonneur)– 1754 Longuerue, Abbé Louis du Four de _Longueruana, ou Recueil de pensées, de discours et de conversations de feu M. Louis du Four de Longuerue_ (Berlin 1754) - in these memoires, published posthumously (Longuerue died in 1733), he indirectly connects the cards he saw during a visit to the home of Roger de Gaignières, with the passage in Menestrier that he had read. Depaulis thinks this may be the origin of the legend connecting the cards with Gringonneur. 1842 Leber, M.C. "Etudes historiques sur les cartes à jouer", in _Mémoires de la Société des Antiquaires de France_ n.s. vol. 6 (1842) pp. 256-348 - Leber was the first to explicitly suggest that Menestrier's Gringonneur painted the 17 cards. 1845 - Biographie Universel s.v. `Gringonneur', cites a M. Lenoir who attributed a painting of Juvenal des Ursins to Gringonneur. This is the only attribution of any other work to Gringonneur, on what basis I don't know, that I have found. The Biographie gives the source as Lenoir's _Musée des monuments français_. I haven't been able to trace it further, and it is never mentioned again. I have seen two portraits of Juvenal des Ursins, who was a councilor to Charles VI and VII and wrote a history of the former. 1846 Bache, Paul Eugène _Jacquemin Gringonneur, ou l'invention des cartes à jouer_ (Blidah, Tissot et Roche, 1846; Bibliothèque Nationale notice no. FRBNF32910723) - I haven't seen this one, the BN has several copies. 1855 Teste d'Ouet _Jacquemin Gringonneur et Nicolas Flamel_ (Paris, V. Didron, 1855 ; BN notice no. FRBNF36417369, inter alia) - haven't seen this one either, BN has several copies. 1888 Mathers, S.L. Macgregor _The Tarot, Its Occult Significance, Use in Fortune-Telling, and Method of Play, Etc._ (London (?), George Redway, 1888). - While noting the error of the attribution of the cards to Gringonneur, Mathers writes of him as "Jacques Gringonneur, an Astrologer and Qabalist". I wonder if he had read Teste d'Ouet? 1911 Waite, A.E. _The Pictorial Key to the Tarot_ (London :1910) - mentions the account of Charles (!) Gringonneur painting three packs of cards for Charles VI, but acknowledges that no one any longer attributes the 17 cards to Gringonneur. 1951 Hillairet, Jacques _Evocation du vieux Paris _(tome 1, Paris: 1951) - writes that the Rue de la Verrerie was home to a "communauté", or corporation on page 199. In his 1985 edition of the Dictionnaire (cited above) he places Gringonneur here (according to Depaulis). 1995 Depaulis, Thierry "Jacquemin Gringonneur et les cartes à jouer", in _L'As de Trefle_ no. 54 (March 1995) pp. 7-8. - describes his futile search for the original Poupart account in the Chambre des Comptes for the years 1391-1394, as well as giving all the primary documentation he could find about Gringonneur, including the Vieux Paris references. ------------------------------ THE CARDS The cards are currently housed in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, in the Département des Estampes et de la Photographie, Kh 24 rés. I don't know if they are on display. Undated manuscript B.N. Mss. Fr. 14888 (perhaps 1690s) - Roger de Gaignières; published in facsimile and transcription by Thierry Depaulis in _Le Vieux Papier_ 301 (July 1986), pp. 117-124; a manuscript of four columns, listing the Trumps as they appear in 1) a 16th century Italian poem, 2) de Gaignières' own "golden cards" (the Charles VI or Gringonneur cards), 3) another Tarot pack belonging to him (the Anonymous Parisian Tarot, illustrated for example in Olsen, pp. 106-125), and 4) some trumps "in the book" (Depaulis suggests this may be a book with rules for Tarot from 1654). The list of "golden cards" corresponds exactly to the 17 "Gringonneur" cards. 1698 Lister, Martin _A Journey to Paris in the Year 1698 _ (pub. Information unknown). - Lister recounts a visit to de Gaignières "One Toy I took notice of, which was a Collection of Playing Cards for 300 Years. The oldest were three times bigger than what are now used, extreamly well limned and illuminated with gilt Borders, and the Pastboard thick and firm; but there was not a compleat Set of them" (quoted by Depaulis op. cit. p. 117) 1711 Clairambault, B.N. Mss. Clairambault 1032 - Published again by Depaulis in Le Vieux Papier, this manuscript by one of the executors of de Gaignières' estate simply itemizes de Gaignières' effects, noting some "anciennes cartes tarotées". Jacquemin Gringonneur in tarot history. 1754 Longuerue (see Secondary Sources above) 1842 Leber (see Secondary Sources above) 1848 W. A. Chatto _Facts and Speculations on the Origins and History of Playing Cards._ (London, 1848). - debunks the idea that Gringonneur painted the cards, and suggests a Venetian origin (cited by Waite (?) and Dummett). 1869 Merlin, R., _L'Origine des cartes à jouer : Recherches nouvelles sur les Naibis, les tarots et sur les autres espèces de cartes_ (Paris: 1869) - also debunks the connection of Gringonneur with the cards (cited by Dummett). 1906 D'Allemagne, Henry René _Les Cartes à jouer du XIVe au XXe siècle_ (Paris: 1906) - first publication of the cards themselves (I think) ; attributes the cards to Venice (cited by all later authorities) 1937 Schrieber, W.L. _Die ältesten Spielkarten_ (Strasbourg, 1937) - first to suggest Ferrara for the origin of the cards. 1967 Klein, Robert "Les Tarots enluminés du XVe siècle" in _L'Oeil_ 145 (January, 1967) - considers the Charles VI cards as coming from Italy mainly because of the clothing and xylographic method. 1978 Kaplan, Stuart _The Encyclopedia of Tarot_ (New York, 1978 pp. 111- 116) - gives the cards in b/w with a good brief discussion 1980 Dummett, Michael _The Game of Tarot_ (London : Duckworth 1980 pp.65-66, 69, 395) -recapitulates the consensus to 1980, provides good bibliography. 1984 Depaulis, Thierry ed. _Tarot ; Jeu et Magie_ (Paris : Bibliothèque Nationale, 1984 pp. 40-41) - excellent discussion, followed by the results of an examination of the cards by the Laboratoire de Recherche des Musées de France, by J.P. Rioux 1986 Depaulis, Thierry "Roger de Gaignières et ses tarots" in _Le Vieux Papier_ 301 (July 1986 pp. 117-124, with an addendum 160 describing his discovery of the reference in Longuerue's memoires) - this article presents Depaulis' discovery of de Gaignières' own manuscript, the sole place so far known where he mentions the cards. 1987 Algeri, Giuliana, "Tarocchi di Carlo VI" in Berti, Giordano and Andrea Vitali, eds. _Le Carte di Corte : I Tarocchi : Gioco e Magia alla Corte degli Estensi_ (Ferrara : Nuova Alfa Editoriale, 1987 pp.34-35 and passim) - perhaps the best discussion to date on the cards and their symbolism. It is not clear who wrote the article on the cards, or the other catalogue descriptions, but since it is appended to her essay I assume it is her. She attributes them to 1470-1480, based on the preceding authorities. 1995 Olsen, Christina _The Art of Tarot_ (New York :Abbeville, 1995 pp.19-20, 70-85) - Olsen gives good colour reproductions of all of the surviving cards except for the Fante (the Page or Jack of Swords). From: Origin of Tarot http://www.trionfi.com/01/e/r70/15.html Posted at 02:54 PM Read More |
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