Tarocchi

The Name Tarocchi

Tarocchi (Italian, plural form of Tarocco) also known as Tarock (German-Austrian name) and Tarot (French name), is a specific form of playing card deck, which in its history was used for different trick-taking games and also for cartomantic interests and divination (concrete forms appear at least since the article of Court de Gebelin in the year 1781), also as a field for artists to display specific iconographical forms often connected to an ideological system in the background (already a strong factor in the first decks known in 15th century). It is recorded as one of the oldest types of playing card decks known.

The playing material (a deck with usually 4x14 normal Italian suits and court cards, which include in contrast to other forms a cavallo or knight, with additional 21 trumps and a Fool; the suits may differ to other national patterns) is older than the name of the game, which, according current research state, became known in the year 1505 parallel in France (Taraux) and Ferrara (Italy, as Tarocchi) (Tarot press note) (Details). An earlier form of the game had the name Trionfi or triumph, this name developed later as general term for trick-taking (trumpfen in German, to trump in English) and disappeared in its original function as deck name. This earlier name of the game is first documented in February 1442, Ferrara {document).

Although the objects are relatively clear of Italian origin (28 notes of the term Trionfi from 1442 - 1463 are counted)^*, it seems, that the final name Tarocchi developed from French influence (Italian speakers of today claim that French words with an ending "-ot" had been commonly transformed in endings with "-occo" and "-occhi".) The poet Berni in 1526 still has some mockery for this (still new) word: "Let him look to it, who is pleased with the game of Tarocco, that the only signification of this word Tarocco, is stupid, foolish, simple, fit only to be used by bakers, cobblers, and the vulgar".

Various contradicting suggestions has been made in the past to explain the original meaning of the word "Tarot". They range from "old Egyptian origin" till the more profane "a cardmaker from the French village Taraux produced Tarot cards".

Trionfi Cards (later called Tarocchi) and their Iconography

All relevant early documents point to an origin of the Trionfi cards (later Tarocchi cards) in the upper class of the society in Italy and specifically to the courts of Milan and Ferrara, which belonged to the most exclusive courts of their time in Europe. In the given context it's obvious, that the special motifs on the trumps, which were added to normal playing cards with a usual 4x14-structure, were ideological determined, they had been thought to show a specific system, which could transport messages of different content (the known early examples show philosophical, social, poetical, astronomical and heraldic ideas for instance, also a group of old Roman/Greek/Babylonian heroes could serve as content as in the case of the Sola-Busca-Tarocchi).

As example: The earliest known deck (socalled Michelino deck after the painter)(http://trionfi.com/0/b] is described only in manuscript (by Martiano da Tortona, produced at an unknown time between 1418 - 1425)^*, the cards are lost. But the document shows clearly, that this deck was produced to show a Greek gods system (an ideological idea in a time, when Greek content was taken in Italy with some enthusiasm) and likely the production accompanied a triumphal festivity of the commissioner Filippo Maria Visconti, which means, the deck had concrete function to express and consolidate the current political power in Milan (as common for the time also in other productions of art). The 4 suits showed birds, which appeared regularely in common Visconti-heraldic, and the used specific order of the gods gives reason to assume, that the deck partly should focus, that the Visconti identified themselves as descendents from Jupiter and Venus (which were - as in this time usual - seen not as gods, but as heroes, which were deified once).

This first known deck seems to have had the usual 10 number cards, but kings only and only 16 trumps - the later standard (4x14 + 22) wasn't settled and still in 1457 a document is known, which speaks of Trionfi decks with 70 cards only Till the Boiardo Tarocchi poem ^* any confirming evidence for the final standard form with totally 78 cards is missing.

Individual researcher's opinions formulate in the current moment, that the Trionfi decks of the early time had mostly 5x14 cards ^* only and that the row of trumps and fool were simply considered as a 5th suit with predefined trump-function. The number of the produced decks (mostly very expensive items) is considered to have been rather small a longer time, first forms of mass production with cheap decks developed according this opinion late (in the discussion is ca. 1470 - 1480).

The "standard form of Tarocchi" - similar to the Tarot deck nowadays - could logically only develop with mass-production. This final result of a longer development had as its most similar forerunner the 70 cards of (likely) Bonifacio Bembo (from which 68 still exist), which together with an addition of six cards by the hand of a second unknown artist were formed to the socalled Pierpont-Morgan-Bergamo Tarocchi (a Milanese production in the time of Francesco Sforza, who reigned 1450 - 1466).

Tarocchi as Game (mostly as Tarot or Tarock)

The game is nowadays known in many variations, first basic rules appear in the manuscript of Martiano da Tortona (before 1425; translated text), the next are known from the year 1637. In Italy the game has become less popular, one version named Tarocco Bolognese: Ottocento has still survived, but the number of games outside of Italy is much higher, there connected to the words Tarot and Tarock. It is played with a tarot deck of playing cards. The so-called "esoteric" decks used for divination are usually ill-suited for playing, for example the corner symbols are missing; thus there are regular playing decks in the countries where tarocchi is popular.

The 78-card deck contains:

four suits: depending on the region, either the Anglo-French hearts, diamonds, spades and clubs or the original Latin suits of swords, batons, cups, and coins; numbered one through ten, plus four court cards—a page (or jack), a knight, a queen, and a king;
the twenty-one tarots, known in divination as the Major Arcana, which function in the game as a permanent suit of trumps;
the Fool, also known as the Excuse, an un-numbered card that in some variations excuses the player from following suit or playing a trump, and in other acts as the strongest trump.

After the hand has been played, a score is taken based on the point values of the cards in the tricks each player has managed to capture.

For the purpose of the rules, the numbering of the trumps are the only thing that matters.The symbolic tarot images customary in divinatory tarot have no effect in the game itself: though, rather ironically, the tarot deck was originally designed to play this game (see playing card history), the design traditions subsequently evolved independently and the tarots often bear only numbers and whimsical scenes arbitrarily chosen by the engraver. However there are still traditional sequences of images in which the common lineage is visible: for example, a moon is visible at the bottom left corner of the XXI in the picture at the top of the page. This stems from confusion of German Mond with Italian mondo, meaning "world"—the usual symbol associated with the 21 in divinatory tarot.

In tarot decks made for playing the game (as opposed to those made for divination or other esoteric uses), the four Latin suits are replaced in many regions with the French suits of hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades. Some variations of the game are played with a 54-card deck (5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 of hearts and diamonds and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 of spades and clubs are discarded).

Variations of the game are still played in France, Germany, Italy, and especially in the countries on the area of the former Austro-Hungarian monarchy, for which even the name Tarockanien has been coined.

The Name Tarocchi

Trionfi Cards (later called Tarocchi) and their Iconography

Tarocchi as Game (mostly as Tarot or Tarock)

External links

See also

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Tarocchi

The Name Tarocchi

Trionfi Cards (later called Tarocchi) and their Iconography

Tarocchi as Game (mostly as Tarot or Tarock)

External links

See also