Reconstructing the Cary-Yale
12-10-2003
.... (answering to questions)
We assume a scenario like that:
There was a scenario of origin of the 5x14-deck, one hot spot is the 1st of January 1441 (might be earlier, but this spot is hot in the moment and perhaps further evidence appears, which makes the date probable).
The participants at this hot spot were Bianca Maria Visconti and Leonello d'Este (and the complete d'Este court, which were more or less all rather young persons at that time beside the also present philosophs, artists, humanists etc.). These young persons (nearly kids) formed the deck or a deck idea till the point, that their idea was commissioned to a painter, Sagramoro.
14 paintings existed and were paid (it's not clearly said, that they were Trionfi cards).
Then Bianca Maria Visconti left Ferrara (end of March 1441 after a half-year-stay with many private actions and communications between her and the d'Este-family). With that departure two different developments existed - which not necessarily influenced each other on short way.
This was either after Cary-Yale-production or slightly before Cary-Yale. If the Cary-Yale was earlier produced than January 1441, then Bianca Marias visit might have influenced the Este court to think new about card-playing (cause she knew the Cary-Yale).
If the Cary-Yale was later (marriage October 1441), then the action in Ferrara prepared the painting of the Cary-Yale in October, by giving Filippo Maria Visconti a new idea (if this case is true, then he modified the game according his own taste (chess-game ?) and his educational interests (the 14-card deck didn't know more or less no virtues - the Cary-Yale knows them all).
But - it stays, that two different ideas existed: one stayed in Ferrara and the other Bianca Maria took with her.
As no numbers were painted on the cards probably (the time of creativity was great, the play was just not a very developed object and not famous), the motifs could be interpreted rather free, without hurting any esoterical laws or intentions :-), it was just playing around a little bit.
So in Milan and in the follow-up around Bianca Maria existed a view of the game and also another in Ferrara, and both developed different, only slightly different, as there had been some basic discussions at the beginning. So it happened, that a Milanese and a Ferrarese order existed very early. When later the contact between Bianca Maria and Ferrara (1454) did rise again (marriage Beatrice d'Este - Tristano Sforza) after a perode of wars, two versions existed (probably still in a 5x14-manner).
The Milanese version we know by the 14 trumps of Bembo. It should be - in its inner system - rather near to the number-system used in the later Marseille-deck. The probable number key is 5-5-4 (an order with 1-5, 6-10, 11-14, - structure, which changed to 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 ... 12, 13 ...20 for counting reasons).
compare http://trionfi.com/0/f/11/
The Ferrarese version we don't know, but we assume, that it had at the base similar motifs (later creative changes can't be excluded), as the deciding difference we assume a pairing-idea. Somebody regarded them as 2x7-, not as 5+5+4-system, similar to a system used contemporary in astrology: the 7 planets and their 7 spheres.
This did lead to the major difference of the orders: Iustitia was paired with judgment and so was positioned at the end of the numerological row. This skipped and changed the whole system (we can't say, which system was earlier; Leonello had the favour, to chose his clothes according to the astrological sign of the day, so the 2x7-idea looks rather appropriate for Ferrara).
The early Ferrarese version (our opinion) used the same motifs, only the mental perception was different, and this was possible or even intended as possibility by the inventers, who didn't paint numbers at the cards.
Just a speculation. The Cary-Yale is unclear in his date. But there is an action in Ferrara, which might be the situation of "origin of the 5x14-deck". The document to it was found by Ross Gregory Caldwell in March 2003. The 5x14-theory was regarded as true with 99% probability (cause of other reasons) by autorbis since 1989, 14 years ago.
As the document is only interesting, if one knows about the 5x14-theory, it stayed hidden to other card researchers before.
It's the second entry (before Dokument 1) at:
http://trionfi.com/0/e/
and reflected in the start article
http://trionfi.com/0/d/
Article at Aeclectic
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